Does the Stavanger hop-on hop-off bus run every day?

No. Two companies run hop-on hop-off buses in Stavanger, and both are built around cruise calls rather than a year-round timetable. Hop On, sold internationally as Gray Line, runs when cruise ships are in port between April and September, with departures every 30 minutes from stop 1. City Sightseeing runs in the summer season, normally from 10:00 to 16:00 every 30 minutes, and moves its first departure to fit the ships' arrival times. City Sightseeing does not run during parades or events that close the streets, such as 17 May.

Where does the Stavanger hop-on hop-off bus pick up cruise passengers?

Both companies start at stop 1 by the Strandkaien cruise terminal, on the edge of Old Stavanger, so there is nothing to find first. City Sightseeing says its staff and buses wait right outside the port gates. The two companies use different buses and sell separate tickets, so check which company's name is on your ticket before you board.

How much does the Stavanger hop-on hop-off bus cost?

On the operators' own sites in October 2026, Hop On (Gray Line) charged NOK 446 for an adult one-day ticket, NOK 270 for children aged 5 to 15, and nothing for children under 5. Its tickets are non-refundable. City Sightseeing listed NOK 495, or NOK 396 when bought online, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The ticket sold on GetYourGuide is City Sightseeing's, from EUR 36. A ticket for one company is not valid on the other company's buses.

Which hop-on hop-off bus goes to the Iron Age Farm at Ullandhaug?

Only Hop On (Gray Line). Its stop 4 serves the Iron Age Farm, the Stavanger Botanic Garden and Ullandhaug Tower. City Sightseeing's 13 stops do not include it, and that includes the ticket sold on GetYourGuide. Both routes stop at Swords in Rock. The farm itself opens only in summer: in 2025 the University of Stavanger opened it from 2 May to 31 August, 10:00 to 16:00. If 2026 follows the same pattern, it is closed on an April or September call, so check its dates before you go.

Is Stavanger walkable without the hop-on hop-off bus?

Very much so. Old Stavanger starts about two minutes from the cruise terminal, and the cathedral and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum are within roughly ten minutes on foot. The buses earn their price on the outer stops: Swords in Rock at Hafrsfjord, Mosvatnet lake and the Stavanger Art Museum on both routes, and the Iron Age Farm on Hop On's route only.

How do I book the Stavanger hop-on hop-off bus?

Decide first which route you want. For City Sightseeing, book the City Sightseeing ticket on GetYourGuide or on Strömma's own site. Hop On (Gray Line), the route that goes to the Iron Age Farm, sells its tickets on hopon.no.

Stavanger Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Cruise Passenger Guide (2026)

Updated October 2026 · By Pierstop

Quick Facts

Two companies run hop‑on hop‑off buses from Stavanger's cruise terminal. They use different routes, prices and tickets.

	Hop On (Gray Line)	City Sightseeing
Stops	13 numbered stops; the first and last are both the cruise terminal	13 numbered stops; the first and last are both the cruise terminal
Iron Age Farm	Yes (stop 4)	No
Swords in Rock	Yes (stop 3)	Yes (stop 8)
Full loop	About 60 minutes	55 minutes
Departures	Every 30 minutes, following ship arrivals	Every 30 minutes, normally 10:00–16:00, following ship arrivals
Season	April – September, on cruise days	Summer season
Adult ticket	NOK 446	NOK 495, or NOK 396 online
On GetYourGuide	No	Yes, from EUR 36

Prices and times are from the operators' own sites, Hop On and City Sightseeing (Strömma), read on 9 October 2026.

Two Buses, Not One

Most guides to Stavanger, including an earlier version of this one, describe "the" hop‑on hop‑off bus. There are two. Hop On is a Norwegian company that also sells its tours under the Gray Line brand. City Sightseeing is run by Strömma. Both run double‑deckers, both start at the cruise terminal, and both run when ships are in. But they are competitors: separate tickets, separate stops, separate prices.

The difference matters because the routes split once they leave the centre. Both go out to Swords in Rock at Hafrsfjord and back past Mosvatnet. Only Hop On climbs to the Iron Age Farm at Ullandhaug, and that farm is the stop most often given as the reason to take a bus in Stavanger at all.

The ticket you are most likely to find online is City Sightseeing's. The hop‑on hop‑off ticket listed on GetYourGuide is the City Sightseeing hop‑on hop‑off bus tour, from EUR 36, with audio commentary in eight languages and free Wi‑Fi. It is a good way to see the centre and Hafrsfjord. It does not take you to the Iron Age Farm.

Where Each Bus Goes

City Sightseeing, in route order: Strandkaien cruise terminal / Old Stavanger · Central Station / City Park · Stavanger Cathedral · Norwegian Petroleum Museum · Skagenkaien / Øvre Holmegate · City Centre · Museum of Archaeology / Stavanger Museum · Madlaleiren / Swords in Rock · AMFI Madla shopping centre · Stavanger Art Museum · Mosvatnet · Ledaal · back to Strandkaien.

Hop On (Gray Line), in route order: cruise terminal / Old Stavanger · Ledaal / Breidablikk · Swords in Rock · Iron Age Farm / Botanic Garden / Ullandhaug Tower · Mosvangen · Stavanger Art Museum · Museum of Archaeology · Stavanger Museum · Norwegian Petroleum Museum · St. Petri Church · bus and railway station · Stavanger Cathedral · back to the cruise terminal.

These are the stops that reward hopping off:

Gamle Stavanger (Old Town)

The best‑preserved wooden‑house district in Northern Europe: over 170 white timber houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, along narrow cobbled lanes. It starts about two minutes on foot from the cruise terminal, so you do not need a bus for it. Both companies' stop 1 is at its edge.

Stavanger Cathedral

Norway's oldest cathedral, built around 1125. The Romanesque nave is the reason to go in. Admission for visitors is NOK 75, and the cathedral is normally open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00. On Sundays it is open for services, and it closes at times for rehearsals, events and weddings (the parish's own page). It is within ten minutes' walk of the terminal. It is City Sightseeing's stop 3 and Hop On's stop 12.

Norwegian Petroleum Museum

Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, and this waterfront museum tells the full story: the 1969 Ekofisk discovery, the engineering of offshore platforms, and the social transformation that followed. Even if energy history is not usually your thing, the interactive exhibits and the sheer scale of what Norway pulled off are genuinely impressive. Budget at least 90 minutes. Both buses stop here, but it is also an easy walk from the terminal.

Stavanger Museum and the Museum of Archaeology

Stavanger Museum covers cultural and natural history and has a museum for children; the Museum of Archaeology, a short walk away, shows finds from the region's excavations. Good for families, especially if the weather turns grey. Both buses stop at both.

Swords in Rock (Sverd i fjell)

Three swords, each about ten metres tall, set into the rock above Hafrsfjord. They commemorate the battle of 872 in which Harald Fairhair is said to have united Norway. The sculptor was Fritz Røed, and King Olav V unveiled the monument in 1983. It is out on the edge of the city, so this is the stop where a bus really earns its ticket. Both routes stop here.

Mosvatnet and the Stavanger Art Museum

A freshwater lake ringed by a park just west of the centre, with the art museum on its shore. The museum holds Norway's most important collection of Lars Hertervig's landscapes. A footpath runs all the way round the lake. Both buses stop by the museum.

Ullandhaug Iron Age Farm (Hop On only)

A farm from the Migration Period, around 350–550 AD, rebuilt on its original foundations. According to the University of Stavanger, which runs it, it is the only one of its kind in Norway. It sits on the hill at Ullandhaug, about 3 km from the city centre, with a view over Hafrsfjord. In season the fires burn in the original hearths and the "lady of the farm" and her household greet visitors. That makes it one of the best stops in the region for children.

Two conditions apply. Only Hop On's route goes there (stop 4). City Sightseeing's does not, and neither does the GetYourGuide ticket. And the farm is closed in winter: in 2025 it opened from 2 May to 31 August, 10:00 to 16:00 (University of Stavanger). Hop On's buses run from April. On an April or September call, check the farm's opening dates before you plan your day around it.

Honest Take: When the HOHO Is Worth It, and When It Is Not

Stavanger's city centre is exceptionally walkable. The cruise terminal at Strandkaien sits right on the harbour, two minutes from Gamle Stavanger and within ten minutes of the Cathedral and the Petroleum Museum on foot. If your plan is to spend the day in and around the centre, a hop‑on hop‑off bus is a nice‑to‑have rather than a necessity.

A bus earns its ticket price on the outer stops: Swords in Rock, Mosvatnet and the art museum on either route, and the Iron Age Farm on Hop On's. Those are impractical on foot within a typical cruise port day. A bus also makes sense if you have reduced mobility, are travelling with very young children, or simply want a narrated overview before you decide where to spend your time.

Pick the company by the stop you want, not by the brand you happen to find first. If the Iron Age Farm is the point of the day, it has to be Hop On, and the farm has to be open. If you only want Swords in Rock and the centre, either bus works.

Which One Fits Your Call

The bus is a way of getting around Stavanger, not the reason most ships stop here. If your time ashore allows something bigger, compare it with these two ways of seeing Preikestolen before you buy a ticket:

Half a day, in any weather: the electric fjord cruise to Lysefjord and Preikestolen, from EUR 82 and rated 4.6 across 10,463 reviews, is a half‑day sailing up the Lysefjord beneath Preikestolen, with an indoor saloon when the weather turns.
A long call and fit legs: the Preikestolen hike with a local guide, from EUR 119 and rated 4.8 across 524 reviews, includes pickup at the cruise terminal, a drive of about 40 minutes to the trailhead and the climb with a guide. It is a real hike, and the longer commitment of the two.
Tired legs, young children, or the outer stops: that is where a hop‑on hop‑off earns its ticket.

Ticket Price, Booking, and Practical Tips

Hop On (Gray Line): NOK 446 for adults and NOK 270 for children aged 5 to 15; under‑5s ride free. The ticket is valid for one day and is non‑refundable. Audio commentary in seven languages, with headphones from the driver.

City Sightseeing: NOK 495, or NOK 396 when booked online, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Audio commentary in eight languages. On GetYourGuide it is from EUR 36.

The two tickets are not interchangeable. Board the bus of the company whose name is on your ticket.
Both start at stop 1, by the Strandkaien cruise terminal.
Departures are every 30 minutes on both routes, but the first bus of the day follows the ships. City Sightseeing normally runs 10:00–16:00 and starts earlier when a ship arrives before 10:00.
City Sightseeing does not run during parades or events that close the streets, such as 17 May.
The Port of Stavanger publishes the cruise calendar, so you can see how many ships share your day.
Be back at Strandkaien at least 45 minutes before your ship's all‑aboard time.

Related Stavanger Guides

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