We are lucky that the main regional airport (Sola Flyplass) is only a 30 minute drive from much of the greater Stavanger/Sandnes area, but it can be confusing to sift through the multitude of options and prices to get yourself to your flight or home. The following information attempts to sift through the various methods of airport transit to help travelers figure out the most optimal combination of cost and convenience for them. The information contained in this article is up-to-date as of January 2012, but routes and prices may be subject to change.
Getting To or From the Airport
There are several options for getting to or from your flight without using your own car. The Flybussen, an airport shuttle bus, departs from Stavanger sentrum (both the harbor and central bus station) every 20 minutes and every 30 minutes on Saturdays. The first bus leaves for the airport at 4.30 am and the last bus leaves from the airport at 12.30 am. Single tickets cost 95 NOK, but a round trip ticket is a deal for 150 NOK. Travel time is 25 minutes or less, depending on where you board the bus. The route goes along the 509 and includes a stop near Madla Amfi before turning south towards Sola and the airport.
An even cheaper bus option is to take the regular number 9 bus. The journey time from the city centre to the airport is approximately 35 minutes with departures every half hour. If you take the number 9, the price would be that of a regular one-way bus fare (factoring in additional zones if you are not boarding from the Sola Airport zone itself). Taxis are always an option as well, and cost about 380 NOK from the sentrum. A taxi may work out as a more affordable option if you have multiple travelling companions.
Parking at the Airport
If you decide to drive to the airport, Parking Zones 4-8 offer multiple day and weekly pricing. Zone 4 and the covered P-hus have weekly rates of 890 NOK, with 400 NOK for the weekend. Zones 6 and 7 are significantly cheaper, with prices at 490 NOK per week. Zone 8 is 390 NOK. Zone 8 is a bit far, but definitely walkable. We parked there before Christmas and one of us was able to walk out there, remove the snow from the car, and pick the rest of the group up at the terminal with only five minutes of extra waiting time after we had collected our luggage.
Thinking Outside the Box: Departures from Haugesund
Sometimes, particularly if you have nabbed an excellent deal, flying out of Haugesund could be worth the trip. While flights on Norwegian and SAS tend to cost the same whether flying from SVG or HAU, Haugesund offers the low-cost carrier Ryanair. If you are able to save thousands of kroner on your tickets, then it certainly might make sense to get yourself up to northern Rogaland. Haugesund offers direct flights to: London Stansted, Oslo, Bergen, Gdansk, Copenhagen, Aberdeen, and then seasonally to: Rhodes, Alicante, Antalya, Bremen, and Las Palmas.
There are several ways to get to Haugesund. The simplest option is to drive, which takes about 2 ½ hours and does involve a ferry ride. Alternatively, there is a Kysstbussen (Coastal Bus) from Stavanger sentrum to Haugesund’s main bus terminal, at which point you would switch to Haugesund’s Flybussen. The total cost is about 300 NOK one way. The Flybussen in Haugesund itself costs 70 NOK one way, 110 NOK return. The total journey time is around three hours. For sheer kicks, why not take a boat to the airport? The boat travels along the route from Stavanger to Bergen. This fast boat (hurtigbåt) to Haugesund costs 311 NOK one way full price, but booked in advance, the cost can be reduced to approximately 441 NOK return. The journey time is only 80 minutes but there are fewer departures per day than the bus and you may still have to connect to the airport by bus or taxi.
