Whole days
Fjord day trips from Bergen: what fits into one day, and what does not
Bergen is the door to three separate fjord systems, and they are not equally close. Some are a morning; one is a genuine eleven-hour commitment. Here is what a day actually buys, in order of how much of it you give up.
Quick answer
The shortest fjord trip from Bergen is three and a half hours to Mostraumen from $68; the longest is eleven and a half hours to Flåm and the Nærøyfjord at $427. In between sits the seven-hour run down the Hardangerfjord to Rosendal at $88, which is the only one that puts you ashore in a village for an afternoon.
Every trip, current fare
By length of day
What fits into a morning, a day and a long day
| Cruise | Duration | Price | Fjord | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen: Mostraumen Fjord Cruise, Operated & Guided by LocalsThe cheapest boat onto the fjord | 3.5 h | $68 | Mostraumen | $0.32 | 4.6 · 4,426 |
| From Bergen: The Original Fjord Cruise to MostraumenThe most-reviewed fjord cruise in Bergen | 3.5 h | $75 | Mostraumen | $0.36 | 4.7 · 10,064 |
| Bergen: Mostraumen Fjord Cruise with Live GuideA live guide the whole way to Mostraumen | 3.5 h | $85 | Mostraumen | $0.40 | 4.7 · 2,789 |
| Bergen: Cruise to beautiful Rosendal by the HardangerfjordSeven hours to a manor built in 1665 | 7 h | $88 | Hardangerfjord | $0.21 | 4.5 · 644 |
| Bergen Day Winter Tour: Nærøyfjord Cruise, Flåm & StegasteinThe Nærøyfjord in winter light | 11 h | $299 | Nærøyfjord | $0.45 | 4.9 · 25 |
| From Bergen: Flåm Railway, Stegastein & Nærøyfjord CruiseRailway, viewpoint and UNESCO fjord in one day | 11.5 h | $427 | Nærøyfjord | $0.62 | 4.8 · 47 |
Choosing by how much of the day you have
Four shapes of trip
These are genuinely different days, not longer and shorter versions of one thing.
- Half a day — Mostraumen, 3–3.5 hours
From $68. Leaves from the city centre, reaches a strait about fifty metres wide, and has you back with the afternoon free. This is what most people should book.
- A full day with time ashore — Rosendal, 7 hours
$88. Two hours down the Hardangerfjord each way and about three and a half hours in a village with a manor built in 1665.
- A long day with famous names — Flåm, 11–11.5 hours
From $299. The UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord, the Flåm Railway and the Stegastein viewpoint, with several hours of road either side.
- Not from Bergen at all — the RIB trips
$94 and $136 leave from Norheimsund and Ulvik on the Hardangerfjord. Excellent trips, but plan them for a day you are already out there.
What does not fit into a day
The honest limits
The Sognefjord proper, two systems in a day, and any long trip before a flight.
The Sognefjord proper. It is 205 kilometres long and the deepest in Norway at about 1,308 metres, and reaching its inner arms and coming back is not a day from Bergen by boat. The Nærøyfjord day trips get you into one arm of it by using train and bus for most of the distance.
Two fjord systems in one day. People try to combine Mostraumen in the morning with something else in the afternoon. The Mostraumen boat is three and a half hours and the Hardangerfjord run is seven; they do not stack.
A long day before a flight. The eleven-hour trips have fixed return times and a lot of road. Put them in the middle of your stay, never on the last day.
Common questions
Day trips, answered
What is the best fjord day trip from Bergen?
For a half day, the Mostraumen cruise from $68. For a full day with time ashore, the Hardangerfjord run to Rosendal at $88. For the famous names, the Flåm day at $427.
Can you see the fjords in one day from Bergen?
Yes. Three and a half hours reaches Mostraumen; a full day reaches the Hardangerfjord or the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord.
How long is the shortest fjord trip from Bergen?
Three to three and a half hours, on the Mostraumen route, leaving from Strandkaien in the city centre.
Can I do two fjord trips in one day?
Not sensibly. The shortest is three and a half hours and the next step up is seven, so they do not stack into a single day.
Do any day trips include time on land?
The Rosendal run gives you about three and a half hours ashore. The Flåm days include Flåm itself and the Stegastein viewpoint. The Mostraumen boats are round trips with no time ashore.
Which day trips run in winter?
The Mostraumen boats and the Fyksesund RIB run all year, and there is a dedicated winter day trip to the Nærøyfjord at $299.
Go deeper
More on fjord cruises from Bergen
What it costs
From $68 to $427, and what an hour on the water is worth.
The verdictWhich cruise is best
All eleven ranked, and the three that are one trip.
The classicThe Mostraumen route
Three and a half hours through a strait fifty metres wide.
HardangerThe Hardangerfjord
A hundred and seventy-nine kilometres, and how to reach it.
RosendalRosendal and the manor
Seven hours, and a house built in 1665.
UNESCOThe Nærøyfjord
Two hundred and fifty metres wide at its narrowest.
