Port
Stavanger, Norway
Activity Level
Easy
Excursion Type
All
Wheelchair Accessible
No
Starting At
$79.95
Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
Duration
Approximately 2 Hours
Meals Included
Meals not included
From the city center, travel by coach across the city bridge to the nearby islands. The route affords a marvelous view back to the city of Stavanger.
Your panoramic drive takes you past Breiavannet -- the smiling eye of the city -- and the Stavanger Cathedral, built in 1125. The cathedral is one of the few churches in Scandinavia that has remained faithful to its original design.
Watch for the Iron-Age Farm at Ullandhaug -- this is a reconstructed farmstead from the Emigration period.
Continue along Jaeren -- a natural and cultural landscape that is unique to this part of Norway, with its long sandy beaches and rounded stones, its flat areas of intensive agriculture, and a rich selection of historical sights. Jaeren is also well known for its very special light, making it a mecca for painters.
You will pass Sola Beach -- a full mile of white-sand dunes. The most important plant here is marram grass, which binds the sand with its roots and stops the dunes from further runaway encroachment.
In the village of Sola, you'll stop briefly at the ruins of the 12th-century Sola Church.
On the way back to the city, take photos at Hafrsfjord where, a thousand years ago, the Vikings waged a historic battle. It goes without saying that King Harald Fairhair -- Norway's golden warrior -- won the battle and united Norway into the kingdom she is today.