FAQs and Practical Information

Transportation

All of our walking tours begin within a 10 minute walk of the tourist office. To get into the city, take bus numbers 4, 5, 6 or 10.

Preparation

It is important that you are there 10 minutes before the tour begins. Familiarise yourself with the starting point ahead of time.

What to Bring

Bergen is the rainiest city in Norway. Please bring good clothing!

Information about Bergen

Read our introduction to Bergen by clicking the button below. 

Introduction to Bergen

Get to know the guides

We are a small team of guides working for I Love Bergen. You can learn about the guides below. We send out an email within 24 hours of the tour with the name of your Bergen guide. 

About the guides

Meeting Point

A Walk Through Bergen Past & Present, Bergen by Minibus and Bergen’s Historic Highlights start at the address Bradbenken 1. It is a very boring looking brick office building outside the fortress. It has an undercover area; this is where the guide will be standing. 

If using Google Maps, use the address Bradbenken 1. 

The guide will be standing there 10 minutes before the tour starts holding a sign with the tour name on it. 

Historic Nordnes begins at the street address Østre Murallmenningen 23, which is a stone white building with the raincoat store “Aksdal”. 

It is located five minutes from the Bergen Tourist Office. 

Step-by-step

Get to Bryggen (the famous colourful houses). If you look down one end of Bryggen, you will see this large, granite stone rectangular tower. That’s the Rosenkrantz tower. Walk towards that. 

You will cross one traffic light. See that boring brick building to the right? That’s where we meet! Do not walk to the other side of it! Stay on this side. The meeting spot is just behind those trees. 

There you are! See – the building has the address Bradbenken 1 above the front door. The guide will be close to where that red van is parked. 

Note that part of the parking lot is a taxi rank. Just behind the brick building is the Thon Hotel Orion, a large blue building. Straight ahead is the fortress entrance. 

Tips & Tricks

  • If you need to use the restrooms before the tour takes place, go into the fortress. Behind an orange building (you’ll see it to the right) is a free public bathroom. Note that the tour will not wait for you to get back, so allow extra time.
  • If your GPS recommends that you take a ferry across the bay, don’t do it!! This takes considerably extra time and it’s quicker to just walk around the bay. 
  • If your GPS takes you to the back of the building (where the bins are), that’s wrong. We’d never start a walking tour next to bins! We meet on the side of the building facing the water. 

Basically, don’t rely on GPS. It’s easy to get there. 

Cruise Ship Passengers

Welcome to Bergen, cruise ship passengers! Please note that there are three cruise piers in Bergen. 

Larger cruise ships dock at Jekteviken, while smaller ones dock at Skolten or Bontelabo. 

It takes 25 minutes to walk from Jekteviken to the meeting spot. 

It takes 15-20 minutes to walk from Hurtigruten to the meeting spot.

It takes 5-10 minutes to walk from Skolten or Bontelabo to the meeting spot. 

You can check which cruise pier you’re stopping at on the Bergen Harbour website: https://www.bergenhavn.no/en/arrivals. Under ‘type of ship’ select ‘cruise ship’. Then you can find the day you arrive and the name of your ship. It’ll show which cruise pier you’re docking at. 

Transportation

For our Past & Present, Historic Highlights and Minibus tours, the meeting point is five minutes by foot from Bryggen. 

The closest bus stop is ‘Bradbenken’. The following buses stop here:

  • Towards the city (from Sandviken, Åsane)
    • Bus 3 towards Vadmyra
    • Bus 4 towards Hesjaholtet
    • Bus 12 towards Lægdene – Montana
    • Bus 16e towards Nesttun terminal
    • Get off at Bradbenken, cross the street, enter the fortress
  • Away from the city (from Christies gate or Torget)
    • Bus 3 towards Stobotn
    • Bus 4 towards Flaktveit
    • Bus 12 towards Lønborglien
    • Bus 19 towards Åsane Terminal
    • You can get off at either Bryggen or Bontelabo. Both are equal walking distance to Håkons Hall (about a 4 minute walk)

The meeting point is 1.2km (0.7 mi) from the Bybanen light rail stop.

Please email us if you want help with public transport.

There are three main cruise ports in Bergen. Skolten and Bontelabo are a few minutes walk from Bryggen and our tours, while Jekteviken is around a 25 minute walk from our starting point. You would have to walk or take the taxi; no public transportation is available from Jekteviken to the fortress. 

Bergen is not designed for cars, and if you plan on driving to the tour please allow for extra time. The closest parking garages are the Bryggen P-Hus parking area, or the Rosenkrantzgaten P-Hus parking area. If you are doing the Nordnes tour, the closest parking is at Klostergarasjen.

Trip Preparation

Please be at the meeting point 10 minutes before the tour begins. We start promptly at the start time and do not wait for latecomers. Anyone who hasn’t shown up has their booking cancelled 15 minutes after the tour starts. 

For our minibus tour, you need to be there 15 minutes early. If you are not there at the start time, the bus departs without you and your booking is cancelled and not refunded. 

Bergen is a rainy city, so good clothing is required. We are not able to provide you with ponchos or umbrellas. 

  • We do not stop for coffee or restrooms during the tour. There are public toilets at the fortress that you can use (for free) before the tour begins. Arrive a little early and we can assist you in finding the bathroom. If you need to use the restrooms during the tour, please let us know.
  • We will be walking up-hill on cobblestone. It is not steep and it is very short, but it is definitely worth it!
  • No audio transmitters or megaphones are used during this tour. We don’t want to feel too touristy. We ensure small groups so you can always hear the guide. 

It rains in Bergen 250-ish days a year, so we couldn’t run a walking tour company if we cancelled every day it rains 🙂

The tour will not cancel due to rain, but it may be cancelled in the case of severe winds, blizzards, or otherwise conditions that make it unreasonable to be walking outside for 2+ hours. We will always notify you up to one hour before the tour begins.

The cancellation policy depends on your booking platform, but generally you are able to cancel up to 24 hours before the tour begins and get a 100% refund.

If we cancel the tour, you will also be fully refunded. We will cancel the tour due to extreme weather (blizzard, strong winds, hail), guide illness, or other extreme circumstances. We will always try and put you on a different tour.

Bergen Past & Present: There are three places with short staircases (8-10 stairs), so if you are okay bringing a stroller you can. There are no alternative routes; we must take the stairs. 

Bergen Historic Highlights: Wheelchair and stroller accessible. No stairs. 

Nordnes: Lots of cobblestone and stairs. Not wheelchair friendly. Stroller friendly for strong parents who don’t mind carrying it!

Minibus Tour

The buses we normally use are not wheelchair accessible, but we are able to provide one on special request. You must contact us at least 14 days before the tour to ensure we are able to book a wheelchair accessible bus. 

We are not able to provide any childcare seats, so you are allowed to come with your child provided you bring your own childcare seat and arrive 15 minutes early to set it up. We reserve the right to refuse any child who does not have legal seating on the bus. 

If the booking minimum of four people has not been met within 72 hours of the tour, we will cancel the tour and issue a full refund.

If you book the tour directly with us, you receive a 72 hour cancellation policy (cancel any time within 72 hours of the tour for a full refund). If you book through a third-party (e.g. Viator), we are unable to refund your tour no matter how far in advance. 

Share Your Pictures With Us!

We love seeing the photos you've taken on tour. Please feel free to end us pictures or tag us on social media at #ilovebergentours

What to Bring

Please bring good walking shoes that are preferably water resistant. 

These tours run no matter the weather. Please consider wearing windproof, water resistant clothing. Dress warm! We are outside the entire time and it can be cold and windy in Bergen. 

Please bring an umbrella, even if it doesn’t seem like it will rain. 

Have a Question?

Send us an email using the form below or contact us directly at bookings@thehiddennorth.com