Getting around Norway

We are cruising to The Fjords soon & 1 of the ports of call is Stavanger. We have decided to look around the city without an excursion & are planning to visit the monument of the 3 swords. As this is a short distance away from the port we will need to catch a bus but as we have never been to Norway before we dont know how their bus system operates. We know very little Norwegian so communication is a problem. Has anyone used a bus there who could advise?

We are cruising to The Fjords soon & 1 of the ports of call is Stavanger. We have decided to look around the city without an excursion & are planning to visit the monument of the 3 swords. As this is a short distance away from the port we will need to catch a bus but as we have never been to Norway before we dont know how their bus system operates. We know very little Norwegian so communication is a problem. Has anyone used a bus there who could advise?

Stavanger is lovley - and there's quite a lot to see; the old town is charming with cobbled streets, rose covered white clapboard houses, then there's the candy coloured Hanseatic style buildings on the opposite side of the harbour with shops and cafes, the cathedral is worth a look, the oil museum surprisingly interesting and an attractive lake behind the Cathedral.

We've never used buses here but there are a lot of bus stops all the way around the lake - so I guess this is Stavanger Centrum and within easy walking and not far at all from the harbour. I'm fairly sure that's where you'd need to go for local buses.

I'd never heard of the The Three Swords before but in looking it up I did read it was serviced by routes 1,2,3 (looks very interesting). Sadly I've lost that link and can't find it again - but here are the schedules - unfortunately in Norwegian! It might give you an idea of frequency though.

https://www.kolumbus.no/globalassets/ruter/nytt-rutehefte/rutehefte-sor-rogaland-fra-14.-desember-2014.pdf

There is a tourist office in town near the Cathedral so perhaps if you check out there they will be able to advise (in Oslo we found them very helpful and in Helsinki we were able to pre-purchase bus tickets at the Tourist office so that might be an option here too.)

I often write to Tourist Offices and ask for info on local buses, where they leave, timetable etc - you could try them or the link to the The Three Swords gives you an email contact.

info@RegionStavanger.com

http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/Product/?pid=31529

I don't always get a reply but have had some excellent advice from some.

Good luck with your planning. Oh and English is spoken very widely in Norway.

What a wonderful reply kruzseeka, really informative and the links are so helpful! :)

Now.....how about the same sort of info for me for Alicante and an alternative place to visit other than Rome from Civitavecchia! :D

(I dont want to hijack the thread, so if you have any ideas, kruzseeka, can you message me? Thankyou ;) )

What a wonderful reply kruzseeka, really informative and the links are so helpful! :)

Now.....how about the same sort of info for me for Alicante and an alternative place to visit other than Rome from Civitavecchia! :D

(I dont want to hijack the thread, so if you have any ideas, kruzseeka, can you message me? Thankyou ;) )

Thank you -very kind jasperado. Quick response to this one though - never been to Alicante and always gone into Rome from Civitavecchio. But if I can be of help with anything else.....;)

(P.S. Can you message posters? Not sure how you do that.)

Thanks for the reply kruzseeka but you are no help at all!! :p :)

As for the messaging fellow CC members, I dont know either....I was trying to look and seem intelligent and you found me out! lol

Take care. x

An alternative to Rome would be a visit to Ostia Antica. It's a Roman port but a bit inland now. Lots to see there. Well worth a visit if you like old ruins! Not sure how you would get there from Civitavecchia as we got the train from Rome but worth investigating.

Thanks for posting this and the replies. We are calling at stavanger in June and wanted to do the same. All we came up with was the hop on hop off bus and a fair walk from the nearest drop off point

We used a city sightseeing tour which was waiting by the cruise ships to visit the Three Swords Monument. We stopped at the swords then hopped off at Stavanger Cathedral only to realise that the ship was a short walk away! We didn't hop on the bus again as everything was so close to walk to, so the tour was a complete waste of money. The Three Swords were ok but not exactly a highlight of the city. The old town, cathedral and lake area, harbour shops and cafes and the Petroleum Museum are all worth seeing and can easily fill a day in port. We loved Stavanger. You will love Norway, enjoy your trip :)

Thank you all for your replies. Stavanger does look lovely & im sure we will be able to fill our time there no problem at all. I am hoping we can pre buy the bus tickets like in Helsinki, it will save the embarrassment of trying to ask the bus driver for them in Norwegian!

You don't need to worry about the language. Virtually every Norwegian between 10 and 80 years old can speak good English; those that don't speak good English, speak enough so you can get by. I've never met a bus driver (and I've travelled on quite a number of buses) who didn't speak enough English to understand us and communicate where to get off. Other passengers will also be very helpful.

Its a relief to know we should be able to communicate with the locals, they probably speak better English than me! One final question, when we get on the bus do we need to use the exact money for our fare or do the buses give change?

Its a relief to know we should be able to communicate with the locals, they probably speak better English than me! One final question, when we get on the bus do we need to use the exact money for our fare or do the buses give change?

lostboys

your ship will dock in one of two areas either side of the harbour.It does not matter which as when you leave the ship head towards the cathedral and bear right so that the cathedral and lake are on your left hand side.You will see a lot of bus stops along the main road.Go to the bus stop outside the Radisson Blu Atlantic Hotel and get on bus No 29.Bus departs at 12 and 42 minutes past the hour(at least it did last year,maybe check timetable)Journey time approx 15 minutes.Note the bus does not pass the 3 swords in rock monument.You need to get off at Madlaleiren stop which is across the road from an army base.Just ask the driver.Immediately after leaving the stop the bus will turn right away from the monument so make sure you get off at this stop.From the stop walk along main road which bears left and as you round bend the monument is about 300 metres.Walking time from bus stop to monument 5 minutes.On way back walk to bus stop which is across road from the one you got off at.Return times approx 3 and 33 minutes past hour.

lostboys

bus ticket is a zone ticket which is valid for 2 hours .

Cost 31 NOK each( 2014)