Ferries from Lauvvik ferjekai

When the Ryfast tunnel opened it killed the Stavanger to Tau ferry outright. This crossing survived, and the reason is geometry: for anyone coming up from the south, Lauvvik is still the short way into Ryfylke, and the tunnel is a detour.

The crossing that outlived the tunnel

Lauvvik to Oanes crosses the Høgsfjord at the mouth of the Lysefjord in about 7 to 10 minutes, with 26 sailings in each direction in our timetable, run by Høgsfjord Ferry. It operates year round.

Coming from Sandnes, Egersund or further down the coast, this is often the fastest route to the Preikestolen car park — roughly thirty minutes' drive on from the far quay, against a much longer run through the tunnel and around the north side of the fjord.

⚠ Two different boats leave from this quay

Lauvvik also has a short local link to Forsand, about 5 minutes, with 8 to 10 sailings each way under Kolumbus.

And from May to September a tourist car ferry runs up the Lysefjord from here to Lysebotn, calling at Forsand, Songesand and Flørli. That is a different product entirely — a sightseeing sailing along the fjord rather than a crossing of it — and it takes hours rather than minutes.

Getting to Lauvvik

From the E39, leave at Ålgård and follow the county roads northeast to the quay. It is a rural approach on a small road, which is part of why the crossing stays quiet even when Preikestolen is busy.

Practicalities

No booking on either the Oanes or the Forsand service. Payment is automatic by number plate through AutoPASS, and foot passengers cross free.

At ten-minute intervals a missed boat is a short wait. The Lysefjord tourist sailing is the exception — that one has fixed departures, a season, and should be treated like a booked excursion rather than a ferry.