Will You Feel Seasick on the Oslofjord?

Very probably not. The inner Oslofjord is enclosed water: a shallow sill at Drøbak holds it off the open sea, low islands break it up, and the sightseeing boats work a harbour rather than a crossing. People who are miserable on a North Sea ferry are usually fine here. If you know you are susceptible, the useful moves are ordinary ones — a seat low and central in the saloon, a window you can see the horizon through, and air.

Water typeEnclosed inner fjord

Open seaBeyond the Drøbak sill

Boat sizesLarge ships to wooden sailing boats

Best seatLow, central, by a window

Trip length50 minutes to 6 hours

Biggest boatsThe electric ships

Why the geography helps

Swell comes from fetch, and fetch needs distance. The inner fjord does not have it: the narrows at Drøbak are only about a kilometre wide with a sill about 19 m deep under them, and above that the water is broken by Hovedøya, Lindøya, Nakholmen, Gressholmen and Bleikøya. What you get is chop in a stiff wind, not ocean motion. The shape of the fjord.

If you are prone to it anyway

Take the larger ship. The ninety-minute scenic cruise from Langkaia is a big electric vessel with a panoramic saloon, 4.5 from about 6,690 reviews, and it moves less than a wooden boat.
Sit low and amidships, not up on the open deck at the stern.
Keep the horizon in view. A panoramic saloon makes that easy; a below-decks bar does not.
Choose a shorter trip. Fifty minutes on the wooden ship’s mini loop from Rådhusbrygge 3 is a taster rather than a fjord trip, and it is over before anything builds.

Insider tip

The one trip where motion is genuinely a factor is the traditional wooden sailing ship from Rådhusbrygge 3, which sits lighter on the water than the electric ships — and where boarding is open and no seat is guaranteed, so you cannot count on choosing a steady one.

The steadiest option

A large electric ship with a panoramic saloon, ninety minutes, audio guide in seven languages, 4.5 from about 6,690 reviews. It leaves from Langkaia by the Opera House rather than the City Hall quays.

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Frequently asked questions

Do people get seasick on Oslofjord cruises?

Rarely. The inner fjord is enclosed water behind the shallow sill at Drøbak and scattered with low islands, so the boats work sheltered harbour rather than open sea. Fjord weather.

Which Oslofjord boat is most stable?

The large electric ships. The ninety-minute scenic cruise from Langkaia has a panoramic saloon and carries a lot of people, 4.5 from about 6,690 reviews; the two-hour electric cruise from Rådhusbrygge 4 is the lowest-rated of the six at 4.4 from about 2,396 reviews but is heated, air-conditioned and the only boat here with a lift. The electric boats.

Should I sit inside or outside?

Inside if motion worries you: low, central, by a window with the horizon in it. Outside if it does not, because the deck is where the islands actually happen. What the trip is like.