Private Boat Hire on the Oslofjord
What actually exists, and what does not
What does not exist here: a private version of any of the six. Not the scenic fjord cruise from Langkaia by the Opera House. Not the silent boat from Rådhusbrygge 2, the only live-guided city cruise here. Not the two wooden ships from Rådhusbrygge 3, where the two-hour one does not guarantee you a seat even on a shared departure, since boarding is open, and the fifty-minute mini cruise is a taster rather than a fjord trip. Not the electric cruise from Rådhusbrygge 4, the lowest-rated listing here at 4.4 from about 2,396 reviews and the only one with a lift. And not the six-hour five-islands trip, which is not wheelchair accessible, involves walking and climbing, and requires under-15s to be accompanied. Not one of the six publishes a charter option, a group cap or a private departure, and this site does not print numbers that listings do not carry.
What does exist: charter on the Oslofjord is its own trade, mostly small vessels working out of the marinas and the city quays, sold direct rather than through a sightseeing catalogue. If that is what you are after, the search widget further down this page is a better instrument than any comparison table I could build, because its inventory changes weekly and a static page would be wrong within a month.
And there is a third option people overlook. On a fjord where the public boats go where the tour boats go, hiring nothing at all and taking Ruter’s island ferry with your own group is a perfectly good private-ish afternoon: you choose the island, the hours and the company, and nobody is talking. Public ferry or sightseeing boat has the honest version.
What private would and would not buy you here
On some destinations, private means access — a door, a slot before the crowd. Very little of that applies on this water. The inner Oslofjord is open, the landmarks are seen from outside, and Akershus on its headland looks the same from a chartered hull as from a shared deck. Nobody is selling you a door.
What it would buy is the clock and the route. A shared cruise turns when the timetable says so; a chartered one can sit off Lindøya while somebody finishes a sentence, or go further south than any of these six goes. That last one is the real argument: the six cruises on this site all work the inner harbour, and Oscarsborg and Drøbak are far to the south and are not on a city cruise — only the six-hour trip goes properly out among the islands at all. If your reason for wanting a private boat is the narrows where the Blücher went down, read Oscarsborg and Drøbak first; Ruter’s B21 and B22 reach Drøbak at weekends in spring and autumn and daily in summer.
The closest things in this catalogue
Two listings come nearest to what people usually mean when they ask about a private trip, and neither of them is private.
Lands on five islandsOslo: The Five Pearls of the Oslofjord Boat Tour
The only live guideOslo: Guided Sightseeing Fjord Cruise on Premium Silent Boat
The five-islands trip, Rådhusbrygge 4 area, six hours, live guide in English, 4.5 from about 158 reviews. It is the closest thing here to a day arranged around you rather than around a timetable, because the guide is walking with the group rather than reading to it, and the reviews describe exactly that kind of flexibility — Michael from the United Kingdom recalled a difficult climb being dropped in favour of walking back. But the stated limits are firm: it is not wheelchair accessible, it involves walking and climbing on the islands, and under-15s must be accompanied. And about 158 reviews is a small sample for a six-hour commitment.
The silent boat, Rådhusbrygge 2, two hours, 4.7 from about 2,079 reviews. The only live-guided city cruise in this catalogue, in English only, on a hybrid-electric hull with three open decks and two heated saloons. It is a shared departure, but a live guide you can actually ask something is the part of a private trip most people are really after, and this is the only boat here that offers it at all. Cruises with a live guide covers both.
What works
- Charter genuinely exists on this fjord, and the live search finds it faster than a table
- The six-hour island trip is the most flexible day in this catalogue
- The silent boat gives you the one thing people mostly want from private: a person to ask
- Taking the public island ferry with your own group needs no booking at all
Worth knowing
- None of the six cruises here publishes a private or charter option
- No listing here publishes a group cap, so nobody can promise you a small boat
- Private buys pace and route on this water, not access — the landmarks are all outside
- Oscarsborg and Drøbak are not reachable on any of these city cruises
- The five-islands trip is not wheelchair accessible and requires under-15s to be accompanied
If you are chartering for an occasion rather than for the fjord, settle the weather question first. Nothing on this water is reliably comfortable on an open deck outside high summer, and the three boats in this catalogue with heated interiors leave from Rådhusbrygge 2, Rådhusbrygge 4 and Langkaia respectively.
Can’t make these dates?
Browse more available Oslofjord cruises and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.
Frequently asked questions
Can you book a private Oslofjord cruise?
Not from the six cruises compared on this site — none of them publishes a private or charter option. They are scheduled departures on shared boats from Rådhusbrygge 2, 3 and 4 and from Langkaia. Private hire does exist on the Oslofjord as a separate trade; the live search on this page is a better way to find it than a static list.
What is the smallest group on an Oslofjord cruise?
No listing here publishes a group cap, so there is no honest number to give. The nearest thing to a small-group day is the six-hour five-islands trip from the Rådhusbrygge 4 area, 4.5 from about 158 reviews — which is not wheelchair accessible, involves climbing, and requires under-15s to be accompanied. See the comparison table.
Is a private boat worth it on the Oslofjord?
It buys the clock and the route, not access: everything these cruises show you is seen from open water anyway. The strongest argument for chartering is going further south than the city cruises go, since Oscarsborg and Drøbak are not on any of them. Is it worth it and Drøbak cover the alternatives.
Can I hire a boat to Oscarsborg or Drøbak from Oslo?
Not on any of the six cruises here — all of them work the inner harbour and turn back. Ruter's lines B21 and B22 reach Drøbak, at weekends in spring and autumn and daily in summer, on an ordinary Ruter ticket. Oscarsborg and the Blücher explain what is down there.