The comparison
Hardangerfjord or Sognefjord? The real difference from Bergen
Norway’s two great fjords are 179 and 205 kilometres long, and from Bergen they are two completely different days. One is reachable by boat in a morning; the other needs a train and a bus. Here are the numbers and the practical consequence.
Quick answer
From Bergen the Hardangerfjord is the practical choice and the Sognefjord is the famous one. The Hardangerfjord is 179 km long and about 860 m deep, and a boat reaches Rosendal on it in two hours for $88. The Sognefjord is 205 km and about 1,308 m deep — the longest and deepest in Norway — but reaching its Nærøyfjord arm from Bergen is an eleven-hour day from $299.
Two fjords, side by side
- Hardangerfjord length
- About 179 kmsecond longest in Norway
- Sognefjord length
- About 205 kmthe longest in the country
- Hardangerfjord depth
- Up to about 860 m
- Sognefjord depth
- Up to about 1,308 mthe deepest in Norway
- From Bergen, Hardanger
- About 2 h by boat$88 for the day
- From Bergen, Sogne
- About 11 h round tripboat, train and bus
- UNESCO listing
- The Nærøyfjordan arm of the Sognefjord
- Narrowest famous arm
- About 250 mthe Nærøyfjord
- Character of Hardanger
- Wide and farmedorchards on the slopes
- Character of Sogne
- Deep and steepwalls past 1,000 m on the arms
What each one is actually like
A farmed landscape and a canyon
Hardanger is wide and farmed; Sogne is deeper, steeper and further away.
The Hardangerfjord is wide, long and lived in. Kilometres across in places, with orchards on the slopes and villages in the flat ground where rivers come down. It reads as a landscape you could live in, because people do. Rosendal at the inner end has a manor built in 1665.
The Sognefjord is deeper and steeper. Two hundred and five kilometres, and over a thousand metres deep for much of its length. Its arms are the dramatic part: the Nærøyfjord narrows to about 250 metres with walls going up past a thousand, which is why it is on the UNESCO list.
Neither is «better». The honest answer is that the Sognefjord arms are more spectacular and the Hardangerfjord is far easier to reach from Bergen and gives you somewhere to get off the boat.
Which to do from Bergen
The practical answer for one day, two days and three
One day: Mostraumen. Two: Hardanger. Three or more: both, plus the UNESCO arm.
One day in Bergen: neither. Take the three-and-a-half-hour Mostraumen boat from $68, which is on the Osterfjord, leaves from the city centre and gets you back with the afternoon free.
Two days: the Hardangerfjord, on the seven-hour run to Rosendal at $88. A full day, time ashore, and back in Bergen for the evening.
Three days or more: do both — a Mostraumen boat on one afternoon and the Nærøyfjord day on another, from $299. That covers a narrow strait, a wide fjord and a UNESCO-listed one.
If you are driving on to Hardanger anyway: the two RIB trips from Norheimsund and Ulvik, at $94 and $136, are the highest-rated things on this page.
Common questions
Hardanger or Sogne, answered
Which is bigger, the Hardangerfjord or the Sognefjord?
The Sognefjord. It is about 205 kilometres long and up to about 1,308 metres deep, against 179 kilometres and about 860 metres for the Hardangerfjord.
Which is easier to reach from Bergen?
The Hardangerfjord, by boat in about two hours. Reaching the Sognefjord system takes a combination of boat, train and bus on a day of about eleven hours.
Which is more beautiful?
The narrow arms of the Sognefjord, particularly the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord, are more dramatic. The Hardangerfjord is wider, gentler and farmed.
Is the Nærøyfjord part of the Sognefjord?
Yes — it is an arm of it, about seventeen kilometres long and around 250 metres wide at its narrowest.
Can I see both in one day from Bergen?
No. The Hardangerfjord day is seven hours and the Sognefjord day is eleven; they do not combine.
Which should I book if I only have one trip?
If it is your only day, neither — take the three-and-a-half-hour Mostraumen cruise from $68. If you have a whole day, the Hardangerfjord run to Rosendal.
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.
