AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Tyssøy—officially Tyssøyna—is a small, low island sitting in the northern mouth of the Raunefjorden in Øygarden municipality, just west of Bergen. Roughly 0.9 km² with a highest point called Varden at around 80 metres, it is named after the Norse god Týr and today works as one of the coast's most loved day-trip and boat-outing spots: a place of granite svaberg shorelines, a sheltered harbour where boats crowd in on fine days, and a gentle circular walk that takes in beaches, headlands and old saga-touched rock.↗
Despite a permanent population of only around 70, the island punches well above its size for visitors. It is reachable by car via a short bridge from the neighbouring island of Bjorøy (itself joined to the mainland by the subsea Bjorøy Tunnel), so you can simply drive over, park and walk. Boaters have their own arrival story: anchoring in the pretty harbour of Smivågen at the south end, stepping straight onto rock slabs made for sunbathing and paddling.↗↗
An island of rock shores and a busy little harbour
The heart of the visitor experience is Smivågen on the south side. On good days the boats lie thick in its water, and the shallow, flat seabed around the bay makes it a safe, enticing playground for children wading out among the rock. Benches and bonfire spots are set among the outcrops, and the broad, gently sloping svaberg—smooth granite shelves polished by the sea—run along both the bay and a pleasant bathing cove on the island's western flank. It is a working recreation area rather than a manicured park: there is a well and hand pump for water, and the calm of the inlet is exactly what draws islanders and Bergen families down for the afternoon.
