Ferries from Aker brygge

This is not a port. It is a tram stop that happens to be on water — 311 active sailings in our timetable, run by Ruter on the same tickets as Oslo's buses and trams, from the piers in front of the City Hall.

Where the boats go

• Hovedøya — 6 minutes, 54 sailings. The nearest island, with a ruined Cistercian monastery and swimming.
• Nesoddtangen — 13 minutes, 52 sailings. A commuter run to the peninsula opposite, not an excursion.
• Gressholmen — 18 minutes, 25 sailings.
• Lindøya Øst — 11 minutes, 12 sailings.
• Fornebu, Vollen and Slemmestad — a handful each, further down the fjord.

⚠ Two different systems leave from the same waterfront

The Ruter island boats are public transport, priced as a public transport journey and covered by ordinary Oslo travel passes. The sightseeing cruises and the Bygdøy museum boats that also leave from this area are separate commercial operations at commercial prices.

Standing on the quay, they are not obviously different. Check whether what you are boarding is a Ruter service before paying separately for something your travel card already covers.

The islands as a day out

Hovedøya, Lindøya, Nakholmen, Bleikøya, Gressholmen and Langøyene form a cluster in the inner fjord, all within twenty minutes of the city, and on a warm day the boats fill with Osloers going swimming. It is one of the few European capitals where an ordinary transit ticket takes you to a beach.

Facilities are minimal — Langøyene has the most, the smaller islands have almost nothing. Bring what you need.

Season

The Nesoddtangen commuter service runs all year and hard. The island boats are a summer network: frequency collapses outside the warm months, and some calls stop entirely.