Merdø island

Merdø island outside of Arendal is hot spot number one for the locals during the summer season.

On Merdø, a car-free island just outside Arendal town in Southern Norway, there are old southern wooden houses and narrow paths that bring you from the museum to the sandy beaches to the boulder and rock beach on the southern side of the island.

Bring a picnic basket or buy your food at the summer open café, and enjoy a day in beautiful and quiet surroundings - just outside of Arendal town centre. 

History
Merdø was recorded in documents as early as the 1300s, due to its position as an outport in the days of sail. The ships passed and moored on Merdø until the end of the 1800s, when the shipping industry changed character and the area weakened their position somewhat in this trade. Many people lived on the island, and it had an inn, a customs office, shipyard, pilot station and shop.

Burial mounds from the iron age have been found on two locations on the island.

How to get here
Take one of the ferries or your own boat to Merdø. The ferries run every half hour during the day in the summer season. The ferries leave from Pollen harbour in the heart of Arendal.

NB! For a return ticket to be valid, make sure to embark on the same ferry on your way back.

Ferry Arendal-Merdø: Timetable for ferry MF Merdø , Timetable for ferry MF Trau.