Last year, I took the Oslo-Kiel ferry for the first time. With my blog post on the ferry between the Netherlands and Norway being one of my more popular blog posts, it only makes sense to write about the only ferry that currently sails between the European mainland and Norway.
I am a bit of an atypical type of ‘ferry traveller’. Out of season, most people who take the ferry are pensioners who go for the ‘cruise’ aspect. During the vacation period, this shifts more toward families who want to explore the Nordics with their own vehicle. I don’t fall into either of these groups; I travel somewhat regularly between Norway and the European mainland to visit family and friends, mostly travelling solo.
Others in my situation would likely consider taking a flight, and sometimes I do too. But I do prefer taking a ferry. For where I need to be, it takes about the same amount of daytime to travel, and I find taking a ferry and driving more enjoyable.
Booking on the Spot
I didn’t book in advance. My schedule was uncertain, and I figured if I couldn’t make the 14:00 departure from Oslo I’d take a flight instead. Color Line officially recommends arriving at least 60 minutes before departure without a vehicle, and their website will tell you to book ahead. What they won’t tell you is that if you just show up and ask, there’s a good chance they’ll find you a spot.
That’s what happened. The person at the desk raised an eyebrow, mentioned I really should have booked, and then sorted it out anyway. In my experience travelling Norwegian ferries over the years, there’s almost always capacity for foot passengers, particularly outside peak summer weeks. That changes if you’re bringing a large vehicle, but solo without a car? Probably fine.
The Ship: Cruise Ship Energy, Ferry Prices
The Color Line vessel on this route is, there’s no other way to put it, a cruise ship. Multiple restaurants, several bars, a spa, live entertainment, duty-free shopping, and an interior designed to make you feel like you’re somewhere more glamorous than the North Sea. Fjordline also offers ‘cruises’, but this ferry experience was much more cruise-like than Fjordline’s.
There’s even a central atrium with the kind of artificial lighting and fake foliage that seems to exist solely to confuse your sense of time.
Breakfast
The breakfast buffet in the morning was good and plentiful. Plenty of options to set you up well before arriving in Kiel.
The Cabin
I booked the cheapest available cabin, a standard twin. It was more spacious than I expected, particularly the bathroom. If you’ve taken the Fjordline or DFDS routes and found the cabins a bit cramped, this felt like a step up. Comfortable bed, TV, proper shower.
If you would like to have this cabin, with pictures of scarcely dressed women on the wall, make sure you ask for cabin 11941, as that was the one that I was given 😉
The Crossing
The departure is at 14:00 from Oslo’s Hjortneskaia terminal, about a 25-minute walk from the city centre or a short taxi ride. You arrive in Kiel at 10:00 the following morning, a 20-hour crossing through the Skagerrak and down into the Kiel Fjord. The sea conditions on my crossing were mild, a slight swell, but nothing dramatic. I’ve had much rougher crossings on shorter routes. I slept well, woke up as the ship approached Kiel, and felt genuinely rested in a way that just doesn’t happen after an early-morning flight.
Is It Worth It?
This is not a cheap crossing. Foot passenger fares typically start somewhere around €300 and can run well above €500 depending on the season.
Compare that to a budget flight, and it’s clearly not the cheaper option. But the purely financial comparison misses something. When you board a flight, you’re in transit. You’re enduring something to get somewhere. When you board this ferry, your holiday has already started. You have dinner, you explore the ship, you have a drink at the bar, and you wake up on the other side feeling rested.
Factor in that you’ve also effectively covered a night’s accommodation, and the gap between ferry and flight narrows considerably. If your destination is in northern or central Europe, you can reach it by train or car from Kiel, and the overall cost makes much more sense.
For me, it worked well, and I’d take it again. But I probably stick to the considerably more affordable Fjordline ferries when I can.
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