Visit the historic Ryvarden lighthouse on the wild Sveio coast and discover its art, culture and dramatic sea views on a small-group tour from Haugesund
The Ryvarden Experience
A curated journey to Norway's storied coastal lighthouse — art, culture and the open sea
Your 4-4.5h Adventure
- ⏱️Start: Pickup from Haugesund Cruise Terminal
- 📍Main Event: The historic Ryvarden lighthouse on the wild Sveio coast
- 🏛️Tour description:
A scenic drive from Haugesund through the coastal landscape of Sveio brings us to the Ryvarden lighthouse, one of the region's most atmospheric cultural landmarks. Along the way we pause at two of the area's cultural highlights before reaching the coast. For a taste of what awaits — including stunning panoramic photography — visit the official Ryvarden Kulturfyr website.
1st stop - The Rising Tide sculptures
2nd stop - Haraldshaugen, home to both Krosshaugen and the National Monument commemorating the unification of Norway
3rd stop - The car park at Ryvarden, where we leave the car for the walk in
4th stop - A guided 30-minute walk out the Ryvarden peninsula to the lighthouse
5th stop - Ryvarden lighthouse, its art gallery, and included lunch at the cafeteria overlooking the sea
Note: This is a small group tour for 2 to 8 participants. Smaller groups travel in a Jaguar I-Pace (electric vehicle); larger groups of up to 8 are carried in our larger vehicle when it is available. Our guide cum driver speaks English, and tour information can be provided in audio in your preferred language.
- 👁️Bonus: If time allows, we will drive through Haugesund to see more of the city.
Reaching the lighthouse involves a 30-minute walk each way from where we park the car. It is a pleasant gravel path with plenty of info boards, grazing sheep and old stone walls along the way. Please wear comfortable shoes and clothing suited to the weather. The drive itself is only about 20 minutes from Haugesund.
The lighthouse's main building doubles as a weekend cafeteria and an art exhibition space — which is what makes Ryvarden a “cultural” lighthouse. A light lunch is included in the tour, with a choice of fish soup with bread, a hot dog, or a waffle.
Ryvarden sits right on the coast, where there is almost always some cold wind, so a good jacket is a must whatever the forecast. Should it rain, we provide umbrellas — just ask your guide.
Art gallery & cafeteria
Lunch surrounded by art, with the sea at the window
The lighthouse keeper's old quarters now house a warm, light-filled cultural space — part art gallery, part cafeteria — which is exactly what earns Ryvarden its name as a “cultural” lighthouse. Bold contemporary paintings and sculptures line the walls, while long rustic tables look straight out over the water.
Your included light lunch is served right here, among the artwork and the sea views, in one of the most characterful dining rooms on the coast. Choose from:
Fish soup
Served with bread
Hot dog
A classic quick bite
Waffle
Sweet Norwegian treat
Please note: as this is a small lighthouse cafeteria with very few visitors, gluten-free options are not available.
From the gallery & kitchen
The keeper's building
Step inside the old lighthouse keeper's home
A hand-painted door welcomes you with “Velkommen til Ryvarden Kulturfyr” — Welcome to Ryvarden Cultural Lighthouse. Inside, the keeper's building has been kept much as it was, so you can see how the families who tended the light actually lived at this remote outpost.
The keeper's desk still sits by the window, its logbooks and papers spread out beneath a view straight across to the white lighthouse tower and the sea beyond. Everyday objects like the old cast-iron mangle used for pressing laundry bring the daily rhythm of lighthouse life vividly to life.
On the way up, the staircase to the keeper's quarters is crowned by a hand-painted mural of a resting fisherman beneath the lettering “Fyrvoktarloftet” — the lighthouse keeper's loft — a quietly beautiful welcome to the rooms above.
Viking heritage
Where Raven-Floki set sail for Iceland
Ryvarden is no ordinary headland. Around 869 AD, the Norwegian Viking Floke Vilgerdsson — remembered as Ravnafloke, or “Raven-Floki” — is said to have waited here for favourable winds before setting out across the open sea to Iceland. This rocky point marked the old boundary between Hordaland and Rogaland, and Floki is credited with raising a cairn on it, the Flokavarden, which gives the place its name.
His voyage is one of the great sagas of the age of exploration. Lacking a compass, Floki carried three ravens aboard his ship. Released one by one on the crossing, the first two circled back, but the third flew onward to the northwest — and Floki followed it to land. After enduring a hard winter there, he gave the country the name it still carries today: Ísland, Iceland.
Standing on this windswept coast, you look out over the very waters that carried the Vikings west. It is a fitting place to begin — history, sea and story all meeting at the edge of Norway.
A place of remembrance
The Sleipner memorial
On the evening of 26 November 1999, the high-speed ferry MS Sleipner, sailing from Haugesund to Bergen, struck the Store Bloksen rock just off this coast and sank. Of the 85 people on board, 69 were rescued — but 16 lost their lives in one of Norway's worst maritime disasters of modern times.
Here at Ryvarden, looking out over the very waters where it happened, a striking memorial with a commemorative plaque honours those who were lost. It is a quiet, moving place to pause and reflect during the visit.
Architecture on the edge
The Floke cottages
A short distance from the lighthouse, the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) has built five striking cabins known as the Floke cottages — named, like so much here, for Raven-Floki himself. Their bold, angular architecture rises straight from the rock, with panoramic windows framing the open sea.
Perched right at the water's edge and fully exposed to the elements, they are built to let guests experience the raw coastal weather in comfort. They are wildly popular, too — the waiting time for a booking currently runs to more than a year. We will pause to admire them and their dramatic setting along the way.
Managed by Haugesund Turistforening, the cottages can be booked through the Norwegian Trekking Association's official portal at hyttebestilling.dnt.no, where new availability is released on the first of each month.
A sheltered spot
A quiet corner for a snack outdoors
The trekking association has also built a service building with a wind-sheltered corner of picnic tables and long timber benches, tucked beneath a handsome diamond-patterned slate roof. When the weather permits, it is a lovely quiet place to settle in with a snack and take in the surroundings.
Explore the 1849 Ryvarden lighthouse standing guard over the North Sea
Visit the gallery and cultural centre housed in the old lighthouse keeper's quarters
Wander the windswept trails along Sveio's dramatic, rocky shoreline
Enjoy lunch at the lighthouse cafeteria — hearty local dishes such as fish soup — overlooking the sea
Travel in comfort in our Jaguar I-Pace (electric vehicle)
Book Your Adventure
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Join other travelers on a shared adventure. Book individual seats for your group (2-8 people). Great for meeting fellow explorers!
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September 2026
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What Our Guests Say
Real experiences from travelers who have experienced the Langfoss adventure
"Amazing trip with unreal views! We booked this trip through GYG as a new provider so initially were unsure what to expect on our first trip to Norway, Jamie's trip looked perfect and well worth the money for a small group tour instead of the large busy coaches having to fight for a good photo op! Jamie had great communication throughout, she was kind and also brought along some of her family farms cider (and some Norwegian brown cheese and crackers) too! She was very knowledgable on everything we saw and there was prepared informational materials too which were nice to learn about! The smaller van also allowed us to get to some further better locations then other options were providing - I would highly reccomend this trip!"
Mary Priestner
"We had a great trip out with discovery tours. Jaime showed us the best of Haugesund. The van was well equipped with WiFi and chargers, we learned about local delicacies, folklore and geology and history. We would book with Jaime again as we really enjoyed the more personal experience."
Rebecca
-United Kingdom
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