The Best Time of Year to Visit Stavanger, Norway
What time of year is the best time to visit Stavanger in Norway?
Hi and welcome to my post on the historic and picturesque town of Stavanger in Norway! As an avid traveler, I am always googling “the best time of year to visit ____”. It’s such a key piece of information when you travel.
I’d like to start by saying that we planned this Norway trip 2 years in advance, and purposely picked the summertime to visit Norway. We live in Canada, and come from a climate where the weather can be quite cold for at least 6 months out of the year.
We didn’t want to visit Norway in the cold, so we worked our schedules around visiting in the summer, and it was totally worth it!
Why did we pick Stavanger as a city to visit?
I wondered if Stavanger was even worth visiting? Let me tell you, it is!! I’m Canadian travel blogger with ties to the UK. Generally speaking, we are in the UK visiting every 2 years. My husband’s family has Norwegian ancestry and so one year we planned an entire vacation around seeing Norway in the summertime as a side trip from England.
We almost NEVER leave Canada in the summertime, and boy was it a treat to go away in June and come home in July! We are almost always too busy with work, unfortunately.
In our family, I’m the one who typically does the research on the location. It is one of my favorite things to do, and I do it very thoroughly to the point I walk the streets on Google Earth! (Haha? Funny not funny).
I came up with two locations in Norway and asked my husband to pick one since it was his heritage we were going to see. He picked Stavanger. Pronounced by Norwegians, it sounds a little like Sta-vong-ehr. British pronunciation is more like stuh·vang·uh. I absolutely destroyed the pronunciation to begin with; it is a unique word for sure!
Great Flight Options
There was a couple reasons for this location choice. Great flight options make visiting Stavanger in the summer, the best time of year to visit!
Firstly, there was a direct flight from a hub city near where we were staying in England. This city is Newcastle in Northeast England. There are 100’s of terrific direct flights out of Newcastle everyday for very cheap. There is actually direct flights from MOST UK cities everyday, for very reasonable.
You can also find direct flights from major hub cities like Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Most of these flights are only just over an hour!
The flight from Newcastle to Stavanger was 1 hour 20 minutes long and we flew a carrier named LoganAir; it’s a Scottish airline based out of Glasgow.
The prices start at €200 per person, but there are many airports around the UK and Europe with cheaper options.
LoganAir was very comfortable and the service was great. The plane was pretty dated, and very small although they made up for it with copious amounts of shortbread as a snack! Woohoo!
The Weather in Stavanger
I fully believe that the best time of year to visit Stavanger in Norway is the summer. We when arrived in Stavanger the weather was bright and BEAUTIFUL! Flying in gave us stunning views of the Fjords and lush green countryside.
This got us really excited to explore, and we truly believed we had picked the very best time of year to see this beautiful country for the first time.
Car rentals and driving in and around Stavanger
Picking up the car at the airport was a breeze. They did offer us an electric car, but we are not really familiar with the systems yet and were nervous to charge it so we opted out. We should not have!
The technological advancements in Norway are pretty amazing from the automated toll roads, bridges and tunnels to even their high tech garbage service. We felt like we had stepped into the future!
There were electric car charging ports everywhere, but limited parking in the Old Town. We booked through CarRentalNet, a car rental broker service that I’ve been using for the last decade in Europe. I loved them so much that I decided to partner up with them.
Driving clear, dry roads made visiting Stavanger in the summer one of the best times to visit.
You can search my partner network below for the cheapest car rentals available.
Where we stayed in Stavanger
We arrived in the city of Stavanger and parked in an underground parking garage that was suggested to us by our Historical Apartment host. This was not cheap! It was around €20 per day to park there. At least we knew it was safe and close by.
As we came topside from the parking garage the bright sunlight was blazing, and the temperature was 25C. Straight below us was the Stavanger Harbor and a huge cruise ship; right in front of our eyes! The beautiful weather really made this the best time to visit Stavanger, we were so excited to start our holiday.
Gamle – Historic Old Town
We walked down the path into Gamle, which is historic Old Town Stavanger.
Our beautiful bright Historical Apartment was ready and waiting for us, and we accessed it with an old skeleton looking key. It’s these tiny details on a holiday that are some of my very favorite, and you totally miss opportunities like this when you stay in hotels.
While my family and I have been using Airbnb/Vrbo for years without problem, there are some recent issues with house-stays that have popped up globally. First, please check that the House-Stay is legal in the city you're planning to be in. Second, Self-Hosted accommodations are creating problems in major cities with a lack of affordable housing. Do your research when choosing a property to stay at, and always leave it better than you found it. As fun as travel can be, we don't want to contribute to housing shortages around the world.
The house above was our Airbnb and was split into two apartments. The one we stayed in was located on the middle floor and the entry door can be seen on the right-hand side of the screen.
The upper window that can be seen open in the photo above, is a one bedroom suite on the upper level. There is also basement storage, the access door being at street level on the left.
This home was directly on the harbor, and had some REALLY interesting views! The different cruise ships coming and going was really cool to see, and it felt like these were parked directly in front just for our viewing pleasure!
The houses in this area were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this home contains a fireplace refitted with modern amenities that is 200 years old.
People Watching from the Historic Apartment in Gamle
We were certain we picked the very best time to visit Stavanger, because the weather was so phenomenal! We had the windows open all day so that we could people watch. It is one of our very favorite pastimes.
My husband Curtis, absolutely loves renting a home on the water; and it could be located any where in the world! This is one of our to priorities when creating a list of places that we’d like to stay.
The picture below perfectly encapsulates his joy at the weather, the location and being on holiday in the country of his ancestors!
What’s to do in Stavanger in the Summer?
Gladmat Food Festival
We had ample opportunity to walk around the town enjoying the beautiful warm weather and sunshine. We just happened to book dates that coincided with Stavangers biggest food festival – Gladmat.
Not only were we able to take in the natural and historic charm of the city, but enjoy it at it’s peak season with the rest of the local residents! Because parking is so scarce in this area, everyone came down on electric scooters or walked from further up away from the historic center on which the festival was located.
We had musical performances right in front of our window, delicious food of all varieties to try; all mere steps away!
The weather was perfect to try all sorts of local and new flavors. I asked my son recently what was his favorite, and although this is not “local” it was new-ish for him. He loved the churros! What’s a food festival without churros, right?! Even in Norway.
My husbands favorite was more along the lines of traditional Norwegian food, as can be seen below in the photo. This is lefse with pickled beets and herring topped with sour cream and onions.
Activities in the City, and Nearby
The weather stayed nice the entire 5 days we were there except for a sprinkling of rain for about 45 minutes one afternoon. It was around 20-25C everyday which suited us just fine!
Norwegian Canning Museum
We spent lots of time exploring the old town, which contains the old fish canning factory which has been turned into a museum just behind our historical apartment. It sounded a little boring, but it was actually quite neat to see all the old techniques to used to can fish to send all over the world.
During the summer, there is a program where you can sample freshly-smoked brisling sardines straight from the old cannery’s oven.
Entry is free for children under 18, and around 140NOK or €12 for adults.
The Iron Age Farm
(Currently closed until Autumn 2024)
We drove just 10 minutes outside of Stavanger to the Iron Age Farm to see how the Vikings used to live! We spent a couple of hours exploring this fascinating place. The farm is set up on a hill looking out at Hafrsfjord. The location is a reconstruction of a REAL life farm that was used around 350-550AD.
The three houses are furnished with equipment and household utensils, and there are open fires burning in the original fireplaces. Sit and warm up your hands, just like other families did over 1500 years ago!
You can pick up a sword and shield and have mock battles with your family members! Be sure to watch out for the raven that lives there – Odin is watching all!
Sverd i Fjell
Just a short drive down towards the Fjord is the impressive monument of Sverd i Fjell.
The monument was created by sculptor Fritz Røed from Bryne and was unveiled by King Olav V of Norway in 1983.
The three bronze swords stand 10 metres (33 ft) tall and are planted into the rock of a small hill next to the fjord. They commemorate the historic Battle of Hafrsfjord which took place there in the year 872, when King Harald Fairhair gathered all of Norway under one crown.
Hiking to Pulpit Rock
The weather was just perfect for a hike up to the top of Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). We all wore shorts and t-shirts with running shoes and were very comfortable.
The climb up is 8kms, and it does feel completely vertical in some places! You must be in decent shape as some of the rock steps are very high/steep. There are also narrow ledges to cross with no ropes, so if you have a fear of heights – this part might get ya!
At the summit you’ve climbed up 604m. This was the perfect place for us to stop and have a picnic lunch and take in the breath-taking views of the Lysefjord below. Some of us wanted to get as close to the edge as possible, some of us DID NOT!
Fjord Cruise on The LyseFjord
The weather was still really mild when we decided we wanted to take a Fjord Cruise on another day. We wore jackets and sweaters because it was recommended for the wind on the boat. It can get a little cool while sailing between the Fjell’s.
If it ever got too windy, we could go inside and warm up inside the cozy ferry which included a restaurant and snack bar! The pickup location was only steps from our Airbnb in Stavanger.
To grab some fjord tickets, I recommend searching up the best deals by clicking the button below.
Gamle or Old Town
My favorite part about seeing Stavanger in the Summertime was how gorgeous the old town looked as we strolled around and saw everything in full bloom. It felt like we had stepped into a story-book!
There seems to be great pride of ownership all over the country, however. We did take a small car ride out into the countryside about an hour or so drive from the center, and were blown away by how neat and tidy everything looked.
Where to Stay in Stavanger?
As promised, I’m linking the Historical Apartment that we stayed in. It was so rustic and cute. I do have a video tour of it on my Instagram page @travelingtanya.
** Just a note that the view from the window changes every couple of hours. It is on a cruise ship dock, and we LOVED seeing all the different cruise ships up close and personal over the 5 days we spent there.
>>> Book a Stay Now at This Amazing Historical Apartment in the Gamle <<<
Is Stavanger Worth Visiting?
My advice to you is if you’re looking for adventure and somewhere off the beaten path with awesome weather in June/July; Stavanger is your place!
It has such a laid-back atmosphere; easily one of the most chill holidays we’ve had in Europe. Although chill may mean different things to everyone. I love to be physically active on vacation, and see as much as I can! There is also a fantastic food scene in Stavanger with lots of great restaurants and fun snacks to try!
Norway is ranked 7th in the world for happiness, and I can see why! You have to visit to see for yourself.
Thanks for journeying with me to Norway; I wish you good luck planning your own trip! Wishing you all the beauty and the warmth of the summer season we experienced while there ourselves.
xoxo Tanya
