Sandstad: Aquaculture, Culture and Getting There

Sandstad combines travel information with topics related to aquaculture and local culture. The terminal building has several useful points of reference for planning your trip: the museum, Hitra Turistservice and paintings by artist Astri Reppe. There is also a guided tour of a fish farm at sea, Sandstad Church and a hike to Terningsvatnet. When choosing where to stay, you can weigh up whether transport connections, cultural attractions or time outdoors are especially important to your travel plans.

Getting There and Finding Your Way

On weekdays, express boats run three times a day from Sandstad to both Trondheim and Kristiansund. Bus route 320 from Trondheim to Hitra runs once on weekdays and stops outside the terminal building in Sandstad. The express boat and the bus are separate transport services: Trondheim and Kristiansund are listed as destinations for the express boats, while Trondheim is the starting point and Hitra the destination for the bus route. Check current timetables and connections before departure.

Hitra Turistservice is also located in the terminal building. Kafé Sjøsprøyt is at the express boat terminal in Sandstad; its operations and opening hours may change. So check in advance whether the café will be open during your visit.

Aquaculture, Art and History

The museum in Sandstad’s terminal building presents the history of modern Norwegian aquaculture from local, national and global perspectives. A guided tour of a fish farm at sea also departs from Sandstad and offers practical insights into aquaculture. The museum and the tour offer different ways to explore this subject: the exhibition places its history in context at several scales, while the tour provides insights at a fish farm.

Paintings by local artist Astri Reppe are on display at Sandstad Terminal. They depict the Norse sea god Ægir, his wife and his daughters. The “Fortellinger i farta” experience also departs from the express boat terminal in Sandstad. Check current tour booking options in advance.

Sandstad Church, built in 1888, is also in Sandstad. Its precise construction date makes it a historical point of reference alongside the aquaculture topics in the terminal. Sandstad therefore brings together different cultural themes: the history of a modern industry, mythological motifs in local art and a 19th-century church.

Hike to Terningsvatnet

For the “RETT UT HITRA – Terningsvatnet” hike, you can park at the Idrettshuset in Sandstad or at the entrance to the bathing area. A good gravel path leads to the bathing area, where you’ll find opportunities for swimming and barbecuing, as well as a picnic area. This gives you specific options for where to start and where to take a break at your destination. Depending on what you’d like to do there, you can plan to swim, barbecue or take a rest.

Hitra in a Broader Context

Across the wider destination of Hitra, the landscape ranges from coastal scenery and mountains to thousands of fishing lakes; its geography also includes an archipelago of islands and skerries. Hitra’s Feskarbonde tradition also brings together farming and fishing. The “Ringer i vannet” exhibition at the Hitra express boat terminal explores the effects of Norwegian aquaculture on nature, society and public administration. Hitra thus provides a broader regional context for aquaculture and landscape, while the locations mentioned in Sandstad offer a local perspective.

Discover more destinations: Knarrlagsund, Melandsjøen, Hitra, Korshamn, Hamarvik, Dolmøy, Kjerringvåg, Hestvika

Go to the main travel overview: Hitra.