Varlamore and Fossil Island are two major locations that you can visit relatively early in Old School RuneScape (OSRS).
There are Members-only areas that you can unlock through progressing in the game. That said, it can be hard to figure out which quests you need to do to reach each one!
In this guide, we’ll help you reach both of these areas as easily and quickly as possible.
How to Get to Varlamore and Fossil Island | OSRS
Varlamore
To get access to Varlamore, you’ll first need to complete the Children of the Sun quest. This is a very simple quest that you can start by talking to Noah or Alina at Varrock Square, shown above.
When talking to them, simply choose “When will the delegation arrive?” to start a cutscene. Once the cutscene ends, you’ll be forced to tail a suspicious guard carrying a strange sack.
After the tailing mission, you’ll need to speak to Sergeant Tobyn at Varrock Square to report what you’ve found… there are bandits pretending to be guards nearby!
Tobyn will then ask you to find the 4 disguised bandits and mark them. They can all be found wandering around Varrock Square, just look for the following telltale signs:
- A guard sleeping outside of Aris’ tent.
- A female guard without a helmet wandering around Benny’s news stand.
- An unarmed guard leaning against one of the walls of Lowe’s Archery Emporium.
- A mace-wielding guard to the east of Varrock Square.
Once you’ve marked them all, return to Sergeant Tobyn and watch the events unfold. Then talk to Sergeant Tobyn one last time in the cell after the interrogation cutscene. Quest completed!
At this point, all that’s left is for you to go south of the eastern gate out of Varrock. You’ll find Regulus Cento, a quetzal keeper, there. Just talk to him and he’ll offer to take you to Varlamore using his quetzal. That’s all there is to it!
Fossil Island
Like with Varlamore, you’ll need to complete a quest to unlock access to Fossil Island. In this case, you’ll need to complete the Bone Voyage quest. Start it by talking to Curator Haig Halen at the Varrock Museum about interesting news.
This quest is fairly simple, but it can take a while to complete as it does require you to move around a lot and talk with a lot of NPCs. So, let us give you a quick step-by-step on how to complete it.
First, talk to the Barge Foreman at the Canal Barge north of the Digsite in Varrock.
Go northwest from the barge to reach the Sawmill. Talk to the Sawmill Operator there and tell him you’re here on behalf of the museum archeological team to get the Sawmill Proposal.
Then, visit the Woodcutting Guild in Hosidius. Talk to Berry by the eastern gate if you can’t enter the guild proper. Otherwise, enter the guild and show the Sawmill Proposal to the Sawmill Operator.
Return to the Varrock Sawmill Operator and deliver the Sawmill Agreement to him.
Go to the Barge Foreman again. This time, he’ll ask you to enter the barge itself. Do so whenever you’re ready.
On the barge, talk to the Lead Navigator and confirm you’re here to help with the voyage.
Next, go to the Rusty Anchor Inn at Port Sarim. Talk to Jack Seagull there and ask if he’s ever made any cursed voyages. You’ll get a pair of options, but your character is undecided.
Return to the barge at the Digsite in Varrock again. Enter the barge and talk with the Lead Navigator, where you’ll agree to get both options Jack Seagull mentioned.
Uncursing the Cursed Voyage
Now, visit the Limestone Mine north of the Digsite. Talk to the Odd Old Man there and tell him about the cursed voyage to get the Bone Charm.
Then, go southwest of Varrock Square and talk to the Apothecary there. Select “talk about something else” and then “talk about Bone Voyage.”
Bring 1 Marrentill Potion (unf) and 2 Bottles of Vodka to the Apothecary and he’ll give you the Potion of Sealegs.
Return to the barge at the Digsite and deliver both the charm and potion to the Lead Operator. Select “I’m ready” to depart for Fossil Island whenever you’re ready.
Sadly, the potion made some of the crew pass out. It’s now your duty to steer the ship in their stead to go to Fossil Island. Use the controls on the bottom right to ensure that the yellow arrow is always pointing upwards, to the north.
Manage to complete this minigame successfully and you’ll reach Fossil Island safely, completing the Bone Voyage quest and unlocking access to the island permanently!
From now on, you can go to Fossil Island again by going to the Digsite in Barrock and using the barge. Don’t worry, there won’t be any more questing or minigames at this point!
Nonetheless, there you have it. That’s all you need to do to get to Varlamore and Fossil Island in OSRS as of 2025.
