Tickets on Norwegian ferries for tourists

Ticket prices and free ferries

Ticket prices can be looked up here: https://autopassferje.no/en/prices/

As a general rule, ferries to islands with no other means of road connection or with very little traffic are free. You can find a list of the free ferries here: https://autopassferje.no/en/free-ferries-from-july-1st-2022/

For car ferries, all passengers are free. On some very few privately run car ferries (such as Geiranger - Hellesylt) you will need to buy passenger tickets on the car ferry. Also, if you travel by high-speed passenger boat (boats with no cars), you will need to pay passenger tickets.

Reservation

The vast majority of Norwegian ferries operate on a first come, first served basis. You do not need to buy a ticket in advance, and there is for the most part no ticket reservation ahead of time. For most ferries, this is not a problem, however some distances very popular among tourists might have long queues in high season. If you are travelling with a ferry with few daily departures (for instance the Svolvær - Skutvik ferry), getting there early is probably a good idea.

There are a handful of ferries (such as the Utsira ferry or the Lofoten ferry Bodø - Moskenes) which are offering some kind of reservation.

Tickets for the Lofoten ferry to and from Bodø can be reserved here: https://torghatten.no/en/booking

Tickets for the Lysefjorden and Utsira ferries can be reserved here: https://billetter.kolumbus.no/en

Tickets for the ferry between Geiranger and Hellesylt can be purchased here: https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/transportation/car-ferry/geiranger-hellesylt

For other routes, you can check the ferry operators web pages for details. There is most likely no possibility for reservation though. The ferries along the main roads, such as E39, have large capacity, and in the daytime you will rarely have to wait for long.

Ticketing

Norwegian ferries use number plate recognition for ticketing. Do not assume this means you will not have to pay as a foreign visitor. If you don’t organize payment for the tickets, you will get a bill from a collection agency, and there will be fees added to the ticket price.

So what are the options for paying for ferries?

FerryPay - Recommended for most visitors

FerryPay lets you register your license plate number and register a credit card to be automatically charged for your ferry trips. Register at https://ferrypay.no/ - the registration is quick and easy. Then your registration number will be read automatically when entering the ferry and the correct amount withdrawn from your credit card.

Paying on board the ferry

You can pay on board the ferry with a credit/debit card, for the most part using a solution called SoftPay. To pay with a card onboard the ferry, contact a crew member. Paying onboard the ferry will let you avoid any billing fees. You can pay using a debit card that is accepted in Norway, and Visa or Mastercard. Some ferries also accept Diners Club and American express cards.

Getting a crew member to get out the ticket equipment can be a bit of a hassle since it is so uncommon to pay this way - the crew might be busy with other tasks, and especially for really short ferry trips it can be a bit stressful to finish paying before the ferry arrives at its destination. But for most ferry trips this should go perfectly fine. If you only plan a few ferry journeys on your trip to Norway, you might find it convenient to not have to do any registration.

AutoPASS Ferje - Recommended for visitors travelling a lot by ferry or with large vehicles

If you plan a lot of travelling with ferries in Norway, you can get a prepaid agreement to get a 50% discount for your ferry trips (30% on some very few privately operated ferries such as Horten - Moss). The downside is that you need to prepay 2.000 NOK, so for most visitors this will far exceed what you are going to spend on ferries for your trip. If you plan a lot of travelling or multiple trips, this might be a good option for you.

Also, if you are travelling with a vehicle which exceeds 6 metres in length, you might actually reach 2.000,- NOK quite fast - the Bodø - Moskenes ferries for instance costs 1.257,- NOK if you have a vehicle between 6 and 8 metres.

Registering for AutoPASS Ferje is not a problem for tourists, you will need to register here: https://minside.autopassferje.no/registrer?lang=en and follow the instructions for prepayment.

You will not need a AutoPASS tag to get the discount, number plate recognition will connect your vehicle to your AutoPASS account. However, the AutoPASS tag will get you a 10% discount on toll roads, so it might be worth getting. If you get a AutoPASS tag, be sure to get it from a provider without any fees, such as Skyttel: https://skyttelpass.no/en/ Also extremely important: if you get a AutoPASS tag, make sure you connect it to your AutoPASS Ferje account, or you won’t get a discount.

Paying via a bill

If you do nothing to pay aboard the ferry you will get a bill in the mail. This will probably take several months or even closer to a year to arrive. Most likely the actual bill will come from a collection agency in your country, and there will be a fee on top of the ticket price.