Getting Around Stavanger
Stavanger's centre is compact and largely walkable, and the city's public transport network of buses, railway and passenger boats is coordinated by the transit authority Kolumbus. Fares and schedules for all of these modes are organised by Kolumbus, so a single ticketing system covers most of what a visitor will use.
On Foot
The most scenic and interesting part of Stavanger for visitors is the waterfront area around the inner harbour, which curves like a big "U" and is quite walkable. On the west side of the inner harbour is the old town with two museums. On the east side there are plenty of shops and restaurants, as well as the Petroleum Museum. At the bottom of the "U" sit the market plaza and Stavanger Cathedral. South of the cathedral is the man-made Lake Breiavatnet, which separates the harbour area from the train and bus stations and further museums.
The Tourist Information Office is located at Strandkaien, next to the harbour between the cruise pier and the historic Old Stavanger. It is a good source of free advice, brochures, maps and wifi. To go much farther afield than the central waterfront, some form of transportation is useful.
Public Transport: Buses, Railway and Boats
Public transit in Stavanger consists of bus, railway and passenger boats. There is no metro or tram network in the city; the rail element of the network is the mainline railway, and boats serve the fjord and island routes. Passenger boats from Ryfylke call at Fiskepirterminalen, in the northeastern corner of the city centre.
Reduced tickets for children, students and seniors are approximately half the adult price. On weekends and after 17:00 on weekdays, two adults and three children may travel on a single adult ticket.
Tickets can be purchased in a variety of ways:
- The Kolumbus Billett app — the primary way to buy tickets. Single tickets as well as daily, weekly and monthly passes are available for any number of zones, with any kind of concession. Virtually all trips within Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola and Randaberg are in the Nord-Jæren zone. You can select zones manually, or enter your origin and destination and let the app work out the zones required. The app can also be used to locate and unlock Kolumbus e-bikes, with 15 minutes of use free with a valid ticket in the app.
- The Kolumbus app — charges a distance-based fare using geolocation. Press the "Payment" button before boarding; the app automatically detects where you get off. Journeys with a transfer are charged as a single ticket, but you need to press "Payment" again when boarding a new vehicle. The fare is capped at the price of a zone-based ticket for the same journey. This app is cheaper than regular zone-based single tickets for shorter journeys, and should be the same price at maximum.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
The source material for this guide does not describe taxi or ride-hailing services in Stavanger, so no specific guidance on operators, ranks or apps can be given here. Visitors should treat the Kolumbus bus, rail and boat network as the documented public options, and check locally for taxi availability if needed.
From the Airport into the City
Stavanger is served by Stavanger Airport, Sola (SVG), which offers flights to cities in most major European countries as well as a limited number of intercontinental charter flights. It is located at Sola, a short drive from central Stavanger. There are frequent domestic services from Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim. From abroad, SAS and KLM serve Stavanger with multiple daily flights from their hubs in Copenhagen and Amsterdam respectively, and the airport is also served by Lufthansa from Frankfurt, LOT Polish Airlines from Warsaw, and Finnair from Helsinki and Stockholm.
Two main options connect the airport with the city centre:
- Airport shuttle bus — runs to downtown Stavanger roughly every 20 minutes, with frequencies possibly lower during early morning, late night, weekends and holidays. The journey takes about 25 minutes. Tickets are cheaper bought online in advance than from the driver, and child, student, senior and military personnel discounts are available.
- Local bus line 42 — a slower but cheaper option. It departs the airport with destination Sandnes roughly every 15 minutes, less often on Sundays and during holidays, and you then transfer to a bus towards Stavanger city centre. The best transfer point is Koppholen, where you can change to line 5 or line 3. Alternatives are transferring to line 7 at Sande terasse, or boarding a bus with destination Tananger from the airport and transferring to line 2 at Tjora. Upcoming bus stops are shown on a display on board. These lines are served by low-floor city buses with no dedicated space for luggage.
Tickets for the local bus option can be purchased using the Kolumbus arrangements described above.
Arriving by Train, Bus, Car or Boat
Stavanger Main Station sits next to the bus terminal, making the two easy to combine. Long-distance trains run from Oslo via Kristiansand, including a night service, and there is also a daily round trip from Kristiansand. Booking online in advance is considerably cheaper than buying on board; bookings can be made with the train operator, Go Ahead Nordic, or with the national ticketing company, Entur.
Long-distance express buses reach Stavanger from Bergen and from Oslo via Kristiansand, operated by Nor-Way Bussekspress, Vy Buss and FlixBus. From Bergen, the express bus is the primary mode of public transport, with Nor-Way Bussekspress offering the highest frequency. Departures branded "Strake veien" make limited stops and skip Haugesund altogether, while regular services take longer but serve the city centres of Haugesund and Leirvik. Ferries on the route are included in the bus ticket where applicable; passengers usually leave the bus and stay on passenger decks during crossings.
By car, the E39 is the primary north-south route in western Norway and the fastest route from Kristiansand or Bergen. Rv. 13 from Sogndal, Voss and Hardanger via Ryfylke is the slower but more scenic route from the north. From Oslo, the primary route runs along the coast on E18 to Kristiansand and then onwards on E39; a more scenic alternative via E134 and fv. 45 involves the mountain pass fv. 450 Brokke-Suleskard, which is closed for much of the year during winter.
By boat, Fjord Line operates a daily overnight cruise ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark to Stavanger and onwards to Bergen, with cheaper tickets for advance bookings. The ferry docks at Risavika International Ferry Terminal, a short drive from the city centre; foot passengers may use bus line 2, which calls outside the terminal and takes about 37 minutes to the centre. Passenger boats from Ryfylke call at Fiskepirterminalen in the northeastern corner of the city centre.