Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
175km²
Area
259km
Coastline
341m
Highest point
26,211
People
16°C
Warmest sea
August
4km
To the mainland
When to go to Sotra
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (16 °C) and coolest in March (5 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Vestland, Norway
Sotra is an island in Norway. It covers 175 km², with 259 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 341 m. About 26,211 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 4 km away.
Getting there
- Bergen Airport, Flesland (BGO)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 7 km in a straight lineCar hire at BGO airport (Bergen)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLerøy - Klokkarvik, Hufthammar - Flesland
- 4 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Sotra.
- 3beaches
- 17viewpointsStoraskjenet, Brotavarden, Nipasåto and 14 more
- 2ferry terminalsAustefjorden, Klokkarvik
- 7marinasLiaskjeret båthamn, Bildøy Marina, Fjell Båtlag and 4 more
- 39named peaksLiatårnet, Høgafjellet, Veten and 36 more
- 1castles and fortsFjell fortress
- 11ruins and archaeological sites
- 3waymarked walking routes
- 8campsitesSkogtun Camping, Tælavåg Camping, Kleppe Båtlag and 5 more
- 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 3restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Sotra in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Sotra, each with its own numbers.
26beaches and covesCoastya
3lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
2.8km²
Kørelen
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
18.7°C
Ulvesetvatnet
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
15.9°C
Forlandsvågen
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
26 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Olsevikicove15.9°C
- Nordre Eidesvågencove15.9°C
- Søre Eidesvågencove15.9°C
- Austrevågencove15.9°C
- Skjervikicove15.9°C
- Kåsacove15.9°C
- Uglepollencove15.9°C
- Breidvikicove15.9°C
18 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
3 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Kørelen2.8km²
- Ulvesetvatnet0.36km²
- Vorlandsvatnet0.20km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 58 m above the sea. 97 % of it is below 200 m.
- 60 %0–50 m
- 37 %50–200 m
- 3 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Ågotnes3,821 people
- Knappskog1,640 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Night low (°C) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Sea (°C) | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 256 | 190 | 181 | 132 | 116 | 124 | 144 | 179 | 233 | 246 | 257 | 274 |
| Wet days | 23 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 6.5 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +2.2 | +0.9 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +2.2 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | −0.5 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.8 | +1.3 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.2 | −0.4 | −0.6 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +1.4 | +1.2 |
| 2023 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.6 | +0.6 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.9 | −0.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +2.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.8 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.7 | +0.8 | −0.2 | +1.9 | −0.7 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Nøtterøy
Norway44 km²102 m322 km away
Unst
United Kingdom119 km²284 m331 km away
MainlandUnited Kingdom948 km²450 m352 km away
FetlarUnited Kingdom40 km²158 m328 km away
YellUnited Kingdom210 km²205 m341 km away
WhalsayUnited Kingdom19 km²119 m333 km away
BressayUnited Kingdom27 km²226 m341 km away
Muckle RoeUnited Kingdom17 km²172 m358 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1636366) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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