The verdict
The best Hardangerfjord boat trip: seven compared, ranked honestly
Four RIB safaris from four villages and three full days out of Bergen. The boats are similar; what differs is where you start, how long you are on the water and whether the day includes a glacier or five hours of driving. Here is which to book, and from where.
Quick answer
The best Hardangerfjord boat trip for most visitors is the seventy-five-minute RIB safari from Norheimsund, at $94. It reaches the narrow Fyksesund arm, it goes under a waterfall on the way, and it is the only trip here that runs every month of the year. Take the Eidfjord trip at $81 if you are at the inner end of the fjord, and the Folgefonna glacier day at $207 if you are based in Bergen with a full day free.
The seven trips, at a glance
- Trips compared
- 7four on the fjord, three from Bergen
- Cheapest
- $81one hour, Eidfjord
- Most booked
- $9475 minutes, Norheimsund
- Most reviewed
- 896the Folgefonna glacier day
- Longest RIB trip
- 105 minutesfrom Ulvik
- Only all-year trip
- Norheimsundthe rest are seasonal
- Dearest
- $3,474a private yacht from Bergen
- Average rating
- 4.9across 1,399 reviews
- Thin evidence
- 3 of 7fewer than 60 reviews each
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 hon all seven
How we rank them
Three things separate these trips
The village, the hours and the evidence. Everything else is preference.
Where you start. This is the whole decision and the listings bury it. Norheimsund is about two hours from Bergen by road, Øystese ten minutes further, Ulvik two and a half, Eidfjord three and a half. If you are staying on the fjord, take the boat from the nearest village. If you are in Bergen, either accept a long driving day or move your accommodation.
How long you are on the water. One hour, seventy-five minutes or 105 minutes on the RIB trips. The differences are real: the longer trips get further into the arms and further from the villages, and the shortest ones still deliver a waterfall.
How much evidence stands behind the rating. The Folgefonna day has 896 ratings and Eidfjord 258. After that: 136, 56, 40, 9, 4. The average across the page is 4.9, which is the highest of any destination we track — and it is built on small operations in small villages, where scores are high and samples are small.
Every trip, current fare
Every trip, cheapest first
Seven trips with the two columns that decide it: where the trip starts and how long it lasts.
| Trip | How long | Price | Starts from | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eidfjord: 1-Hour Fjord RIB TourAn hour at the inner end of the fjord | 1 h | $81 | Eidfjord | $81.00 | 4.8 · 258 |
| Øystese: Hardangerfjord RIB safari to the Fyksesund branchInto Fyksesund from the other side | 1 h | $91 | Øystese | $91.00 | 5.0 · 40 |
| Norheimsund: All-Year Hardangerfjord & Fyksesund RIB SafariThe narrow arm, and it runs all year | 75 min | $94 | Norheimsund | $75.20 | 4.9 · 136 |
| Ulvik: Hardangerfjord Ultimate RIB TourThe longest RIB trip on the fjord | 105 min | $137 | Ulvik | $78.29 | 4.8 · 56 |
| Bergen: Folgefonna National Park & Glacier Lake Tour & LunchA glacier day, with 896 reviews | 10.5 h | $207 | Bergen | $19.71 | 4.9 · 896 |
| Bergen Private Full-Day Waterfall tour to Hardanger & cruiseA private car and guide for ten hours | 10 h | $954 | Bergen | $95.40 | 5.0 · 9 |
| From Bergen: Private yacht Fjord Cruise with WaterfallsA private yacht, and the priciest here | 7–7.5 h | $3,474 | Bergen | $479.17 | 5.0 · 4 |
The verdict, by traveller
Which Hardangerfjord trip to book, depending on who you are
Six situations, and only one of them starts in Bergen.
Staying anywhere on the fjord, one boat trip. The Norheimsund RIB at $94. Fyksesund is the most dramatic thing a small boat can reach here, and the trip runs all year.
At the inner end, near Eidfjord. The one-hour RIB at $81. Cheapest here, most-rated of the RIB trips, and the waterfalls at that end of the fjord are the thickest.
You want the longest time on the water. Ulvik at $137 — 105 minutes, from a village at the head of a quiet arm of its own.
Based in Bergen with a whole day. The Folgefonna glacier trip at $207: transport, a guided walk to the ice and the turquoise lake at Bondhus, with 896 reviews behind it.
A group of four or more who want their own schedule. The private day at $954. Per person it only makes sense split; for four people it is the best day available in Hardanger.
You are here in January. Norheimsund, because it is the only trip that sails.
Fyksesund is the arm the top pick goes into — a few hundred metres wide with a bridge across its mouth.
Fyksesund in full→What we would not book
Five honest warnings
None of these operators is bad; these are bookings that disappoint for predictable reasons.
- A Bergen day tour if you wanted a boat trip
Five to six hours of it is driving. The fjord time is short and the glacier walk is the point.
- A seasonal trip in November
Only Norheimsund runs all year. Check dates before you build a day around a boat.
- A private yacht for two people
At $3,474 it is the most expensive listing on this site. Split four ways it is a luxury; split two ways it is arithmetic that does not work.
- A trip booked for the blossom without checking the year
Flowering moves with the weather. Three weeks, and they are not the same three weeks every spring.
- The thinnest-rated listing as your only trip
Three listings here have fewer than sixty reviews. Fine as a second booking, riskier as your only one.
Two days in Hardanger
What a night on the fjord actually gets you
Two hours of driving instead of six, and the first boat of the day.
Almost every guide treats Hardanger as a day trip from Bergen. Two days is a different holiday, and the second one is the good one.
Day one, afternoon: drive from Bergen, stop at Steinsdalsfossen in Norheimsund, and walk behind the water. Check into a guesthouse in the village or in Øystese ten minutes away. Eat where the locals eat, which is not a hard problem in a village of two thousand.
Day two, morning: the first RIB of the day at $94, into Fyksesund while the water is still glass. Back by eleven.
Day two, afternoon: the Sørfjorden arm south towards Lofthus and Utne through continuous orchards, or the road east towards Ulvik and its cider farms. Either way you are back in Bergen for dinner.
That is two hours of driving instead of six, and a morning on flat water instead of an afternoon on a choppy one.
Four bookings we would make ourselves
Concrete answers rather than a shortlist
If somebody asked us on the quay, this is what we would say.
- One night on the fjord, one boat
The Norheimsund RIB at $94, first departure.
- Based at the inner end
The Eidfjord RIB at $81, plus Vøringsfossen by road afterwards.
- One day from Bergen, no car
The Folgefonna glacier tour at $207 — somebody else drives and the walk is the point.
- Four people who want the day to themselves
The private day at $954, split four ways.
Common questions
Which Hardangerfjord trip is best, answered
What is the best Hardangerfjord boat trip?
For most visitors, the seventy-five-minute RIB safari from Norheimsund at $94 — it reaches the narrow Fyksesund arm and runs all year.
Which is cheapest?
The one-hour RIB from Eidfjord at $81, which is also the most-rated RIB trip on the page.
Which trip has the most reviews?
The Folgefonna glacier day from Bergen, with 896 ratings at 4.9.
Which is the longest time on the water?
The Ulvik safari at 105 minutes, from a village at the head of its own arm.
Is a private boat worth it?
For a group of four or more who want their own schedule, yes. For two people it is very expensive per head.
Which trips run in winter?
Only the Norheimsund RIB runs every month. The others are seasonal, mostly spring to early autumn.
Go deeper
More on the Hardangerfjord
Hardangerfjord boat tours
What the trips are, where they leave from and what you see.
From BergenFrom Bergen
Two hours by road, and what actually fits into a day.
NorheimsundNorheimsund
The village with the waterfall you can walk behind.
FyksesundFyksesund
The narrow arm, the bridge and why the boats go in.
EidfjordEidfjord
The inner end, under the plateau and Vøringsfossen.
UlvikUlvik
A quiet arm of its own, and the longest RIB trip here.
