Ferries from Gjermundshamn ferjekai

Gjermundshamn is the northern corner of the Varaldsøy triangle, and its 108 active sailings split unevenly: 32 across to Årsnes, 22 to the island in the middle. One boat, three landings, two very different jobs.

Where the boats go

• Årsnes — about 20 minutes, 32 sailings.
• Varaldsøy — about 15 minutes, 22 sailings.

Operated by Skyss as county road transport.

⚠ The boat alongside may be the other run

Because a single vessel serves all three landings on a rotation, roughly two out of five departures from here are the Varaldsøy call rather than the Årsnes crossing. Read the destination board rather than joining the queue in front of you.

Getting it wrong costs about forty minutes on a road where that is the whole margin.

What the crossing is for

The Hardangerfjord splits into long arms south of Bergen, and driving round them adds hours. This ferry is the direct line between the Bergen side and Kvinnherad, used by people going somewhere rather than looking at the fjord.

Where the road leads

North from Gjermundshamn the road runs toward Norheimsund, Kvanndal and the Voss–Bergen network. South through Årsnes it reaches Rosendal — where Norway's only barony stands, a manor house from 1665 — then Husnes and eventually the Haugesund coast.

Folgefonna

The glacier fills the high ground of the peninsula between this fjord arm and the next, and is visible from the crossing on a clear day. A summer ski centre operates on one arm of it.

Practicalities

No booking, arrival order, AutoPASS billing by plate, foot passengers free.