Færder fyr stands on Tristein, a cluster of three small rocky islands at the very entrance to the Oslofjord. The cast-iron tower was completed in 1857 and rises 47 metres above sea level, making it one of the tallest cast-iron lighthouses in Norway. It replaced an older lighthouse on the nearby island of Store Færder, where a simple coal-fired beacon had burned since 1697: an open iron pot filled with coal and wood that had to be refuelled through the night, consuming around 540 barrels of coal per year. That original fire made Færder one of the very first lit navigation points on the Norwegian coast.
The lighthouse is only accessible by boat. In summer, organized RIB tours and the taxi boat Vassvegen run trips from Tønsberg and the surrounding area, or visitors can arrive by private boat. The island sits within Færder nasjonalpark, and the exposed setting on the open sea gives it a character quite different from the sheltered inner fjord. The lighthouse was listed as a protected cultural monument in 1997.
The lighthouse is only accessible by boat. In summer, organized RIB tours and the taxi boat Vassvegen run trips from Tønsberg and the surrounding area, or visitors can arrive by private boat. The island sits within Færder nasjonalpark, and the exposed setting on the open sea gives it a character quite different from the sheltered inner fjord. The lighthouse was listed as a protected cultural monument in 1997.