Southern Norway - Norway - page 198

No.9 is the work of Espen Larsen, a local jazz musician who sells a range of (mostly jazz)
CDs and plays them while you sip your coffee or snack on a pastry.

Information

Tourist Office TOURIST INFORMATION
( 37 00 55 44; www.arendal.com ; Sam Eydes plass; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat Jul-mid-

Aug, 10am-3pm Mon-Fri mid-Aug-Jun)
Note that outside the high season, hours can be erratic. Even if the office is shut, someone
will be on hand to answer phone calls.

Getting There & Away
M/S Merdø ( www.skilsoferga.no ; adult/child one way Nkr35/25) sails from Arendal (Pollen) to
Merdø twice hourly from early July to mid-August. It leaves hourly between 11am and
4pm on weekends year-round from Merdø and returns on the half hour.
There are also ferries to Hisøy (adult/child Nkr35/20).
Nor-Way Bussekspress buses to Kristiansand (Nkr220, 1½ hours, up to nine daily) and
Nessbuss services to Oslo (Nkr350, four hours) call in at the Arendal Rutebilstasjon, a
block west of Pollen harbour. Local Timekspressen buses connect Arendal with Grimstad
(Nkr76, 30 minutes, half-hourly) and Risør (Nkr127, 1¼ hours, hourly).

Around Arendal

The 260-hectare island of Merdø , just off Arendal, has been inhabited since the 16th cen-
tury. One nice maritime peculiarity is that the island bears the remnants of vegetable spe-
cies introduced in the ballast of early sailing vessels.
The favoured bathing sites are on Tromøy , Spornes , Hisøy and Hove . For Spornes,
take the bus marked 'Tromøy Vest/Øst'; it's a 15-minute walk from the stop. Alternatively,
take a bike on the M/S Skilsø ferry (adult/child Nkr25/18, 10 minutes), which sails fre-
quently between Arendal and the western end of Tromøy. Tromøy also has some enjoyable
and easy-to-follow walking trails . The Arendal tourist office can give route suggestions.