Photo: Helge Høifødt·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Oslo / Herbern
Group of islets southeast of Bygdøy in the inner Oslofjord, made up of Store Herbern and Lille Herbern. Store Herbern is a nature reserve with shore vegetation and several rare species; Lille Herbern is known for its summer restaurant.
Herbern is the pair of islets southeast of Bygdøy, lying close together in the inner Oslofjord. Store Herbern is the protected and empty one; Lille Herbern has the small summer restaurant and the passenger ferry from Bygdøy. Both are visible from the water: they share a name and are used for opposite things.
Store Herbern nature reserve. The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Private boat or kayak; Lille Herbern traditionally has a seasonal ferry from Bygdøy.
Boats do run here, but the quay is not in Entur’s system — usually a summer service or a private crossing that never enters the national journey planner. Check with the operator before you build a day around it.
The name covers two islets southeast of Bygdøy. Store Herbern is around 1.3 hectares (13 dekar) (1.3 hectares) and less than five metres high, separated from Bygdøy by a very shallow sound. It is protected as Store Herbern nature reserve, established to preserve an almost untouched area with varied shore vegetation and several rare species.
Lille Herbern next to it has a quite different history: a long-established summer restaurant that guests reach on a short passenger ferry from Herbernveien on Bygdøy, one of the shortest ferry crossings in the world, with room for eleven at a time.
Store Herbern lies untouched as a reserve. Lille Herbern is a restaurant through the summer, with tables out on the rock slabs and the ferry shuttling across the sound. The two islets look alike on the chart and are put to exactly opposite use.
Private boat or kayak to both. A seasonal ferry runs to Lille Herbern from Herbernveien quay in summer, with a maximum of eleven passengers per crossing. Store Herbern is a nature reserve: do not go ashore, and check Naturbase for the exact provisions. The shallow sound towards Bygdøy makes the approach to both islets demanding in any case.
The two islets share a name and have ended up at opposite extremes: the big one is protected and empty, the small one has grill smoke and guests.
The ferry crossing to Lille Herbern counts among the shortest in the world. The sound is so narrow that the trip barely gets started.
Store Herbern is less than five metres high. The bare, salt-exposed ground is exactly what gives the reserve the shore flora it exists to protect.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Herbern on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Herbern på norsk.