Ferries from Sandvikvåg ferjekai

Sandvikvåg is not a town. It is a slipway, a marshalling yard and a car park at the northern tip of Stord, and roughly two hundred cars land on it at a time. What happens in the ten minutes after a boat empties is the thing worth knowing about this quay.

The arrival, not the crossing

Sandvikvåg to Halhjem takes about 45 minutes across the Bjørnafjord, with 85 sailings in this direction and 83 back. It is part of the E39 and runs under Skyss, the Vestland transport authority.

Because it is a trunk-road crossing rather than an island service, everything that lands here leaves immediately in the same direction. The single road south fills for a few minutes after each arrival and then empties completely until the next one — which is why the quay feels deserted between boats and impassable straight after one.

⚠ The second route is not the same boat

Sandvikvåg also serves Husavik on Austevoll, about 20 minutes, with 19 sailings each way.

It loads from the same area, it is a much smaller vessel and it goes somewhere else entirely. Read the lane signage rather than joining the longest queue on the assumption that it is the E39 boat.

Where the road goes from here

South across Stord and on toward Haugesund and Stavanger, with more water crossings ahead — the E39 down this coast is a sequence of roads and ferries rather than a continuous highway. The next major one is the Boknafjord crossing at Årsvågen.

North is the boat you just left, and Halhjem forty-five minutes away on the mainland side, an hour or so from Bergen.

Practicalities

No reservations on either route. AutoPASS bills the plate automatically, foot passengers travel free, and there is nothing to buy before boarding.

Facilities are minimal — this is a working slipway, not a terminal. If you need food or fuel, do it before you arrive rather than expecting it at the quay.