Visit the Stockholm archipelago like a local pro
Visit the Stockholm archipelago like a local pro
Eva-Lotta Jansson
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The Stockholm archipelago is made up of tens of thousands of beautiful islands to explore, but you've got to start somewhere, right? :-) So here's a starter guide to three popular ferry destinations in the Stockholm Archipelago: Vaxholm, Möja and Sandhamn.
At varying distances, each of these island destinations can be reached by a ferry from the heart of Stockholm. You can travel for the day, or make it a memorable overnight stay. Or, let it be the starting point for a whole island-hopping archipelago adventure!
You can use the the extensive public transportation ferry network, like most locals. And if you have found this guide :-), I figure that's the way you want to travel as it will likely be a more personal, and customizable experience. But you can also book with faster (more expensive) taxi boats and boat companies that provide more of a guided-tour experience. (Links below).
Either way, you'll experience unbounded natural beauty and moving seascapes travelling to all of these islands. The locations described here are all populated (although some sparsely), starting some 500 years ago, so you'll also find a rich and varied history.
I've summed up each island's flavor in a phrase:
1) The portal to the archipelago;
2) The painter's muse; and
3) Where sailors and yachters meet.
See what most suits your fancy? I've matched the epithets up with the island names below.
Save this guide so you can come back for more. It's already got a wealth of info., but I'll keeping adding places and details.
Enjoy and let me know if I can help you further!
If you'd like additional personalized recommendations, you can order them through my profile.
You'll also find lots of visual inspiration on my Instagram page @evalottafilms.
In fact, you'll also be able to solve an island-quiz post there like a pro, after reading this guide. I'm including a link to that reel below.
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The portal to the archipelago
VAXHOLM
Vaxholm
@Evalottafilms
Vaxholm is known as the gateway to the Stockholm archipelago, as it's a hub for travelling onwards to many other destinations in the archipelago. It's also where Kastellet, a fortress historically guarding the inlet to Stockholm, is located.
But whether you are continuing on, or not, Vaxholm is a fabulous outing, about an hour by ferry from Stockholm. Vaxholm is a well-developed municipality, also connected to the mainland by bridge. So although it has a small-town archipelago feel, you'll be sharing it with permanent residents and lots of summer tourists. :-)
(As Vaxholm is a favorite destination of mine, I'm also writing a more detailed neighborhood guide).
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Vaxholm Fortress
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Kastellet is the fortress on an islet built to guard the inlet to Stockholm. Swedish King Gustav Vasa had it built to defend the kingdom from shipborne attacks in the 1500s.
The fortress islet itself can be accessed by the Kastellet ferry, an electrically powered cable ferry across the channel from Vaxholm. Many of the larger ferries can also stop here, if you ask. However, because it’s an islet, there is no other public transportation here.
Great place to see gorgeous views, old canons and sneak into old, dark fortress corridors and stairwells up the roof.
During the summer months, the museum, shops and restaurant is also open.
You can actually stay over here, if you'd like. I've added a separate card in the list for the Kastellet B & B.
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Kastellet Bed & Breakfast
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If you ever wanted to stay in a fortress guarding the inlet to Stockholm, this would be it! The Swedish King Gustav Vasa had it built in the 1500s to defend the kingdom from shipborne attacks.
The fortress, and B&B, named Kastellet, is technically outside of Stockholm, on an isle on the middle of the inlet, located in the city of Vaxholm (about an hour+ from Stockholm by boat).
I’m still including it in my list of cool and scenic places to stay in Stockholm's inlet, this at the furthest point. That's because the city of Vaxholm is often looked upon as the portal to the rest of the wider Stockholm archipelago. You can make other, longer boat trips from here.
The fortress islet itself can be accessed by the Kastellet ferry, an electrically powered cable ferry across the channel from Vaxholm. Many of the larger ferries can also stop here, if you ask. However, because it’s an islet, there is no other public transportation here.
Great place to see gorgeous views, old canons and sneak into old, dark fortress corridors and stairwells up the roof.
Great place if you like a bit of quietude with the ocean and the fortress ruins after the other tourists have left the island for the day. But, beware, there’s probably no way to get “home,” after a late pub crawl in town, or off the island if you get scared of ghosts!
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Vaxholms Rådhus
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The picturesque townhall and square, complete with an old-fashioned phone booth. The visitor center is located here.
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Vaxholms Hembygdsgårds Café
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The café at Hembygdsgården (Homestead farm) has the best views from its seaside gardens. It serves lunch, including Swedish shrimp- and fried herring sandwiches, drinks, coffee and has a table full of cakes to google your eyes at, or die for, if that's your thing. :-)
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Norrhamnsbadet
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Great spot for a swim, in Vaxholms northern port on the south west-end of Battery Park. Small beach and cliffs.
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The painter's muse
MÖJA
Möja
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Möja is one of the larger islands in the archipelago and a popular holiday destination. It's a traditional, idyllic archipelago island lined with red wooden houses, in old fishing fishing villages and harbors. Like the signs on my picture attached, Möja has several villages with docks were you can travel from Strömkajen in Stockholm. If there for the day, perhaps start in Berg and then walk north, and leave from Långvik, or the other way around? I'm keen to visit in winter to see the sea landscape, through painter Roland Svensson's eyes, looking out from Ramsmora and Långvik,
Berg, however, is the most central village/port, and ferries dock here throughout the seasons.
Depending on the season, it takes about 3-4 hours to get to Möja by ferry from Stockholm. It's also possible to speed things up by taking buss 434 between Slussen (in Stockholm) Sollenkroka, and ferry the rest of the way.
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Roland Svensson museum
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A photographer myself, I loved visiting the Roland Svensson museum, which is a replica of the late painter's Möja studio. Svensson loved the archipelago, like I do, and channeled that love into beautiful paintings of both the shifting landscapes and fond portrayals of Möja residents and other people in the archipelago.
The museum has some of his artworks on display and for sale. His "painting studio" and gallery has a gorgeous view out toward the outer edges of the archipelago.
It's located by Ramsmora brygga where you can walk or take the ferry.
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Walk. run or rent a bike or a kayak to explore the island:
The longest trail is 12 kilometers between Hamn and Ramsmora, and the shortest is 3.5 kilometers between Möja Dansbana and the ostriches in Löka, according to Visitmöja. There are several places to rent bikes on Möja, including in Berg near Kyrkviken, where I also saw a rack of kayaks.
Sunset walk/point:
Trail to sunset lookout point
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Here’s a photo I took recently as the sun came out of the rainclouds that day. It’s a nice evening walk, or cycle, to this sunset spot along the dirt road from Berg village. Once you find the walking trail to the beech on your left, leave your bike and walk the rest of the way.
It would also be a nice place to go swimming during the day.
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Dining and drinks:
Möja Värdshus och Bageri
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Loved this place and the mussels I had for dinner. This restaurant with a garden has historic but modern Scandinavian feel, and a sophisticated wine list.
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Wikströms Fisk
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Wikströms Fisk is a family owned restaurant serving fish from the only commercial fisherman left on Möja, dad Rune.
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Accommodation:
For example, there is a hostel/B & B in Berg village, many private summer cottages for rent, a B & B on Södermöja
Möja Vandrarhem (STF)
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I’m suggesting this hostel B & B because it’s conveniently located in Berg, near the docks and the restaurants, bakery and grocery shop. It’s also a lovely wooden house, painted ”archipelago red,” and a natural hub as it was once the post office. As it's a hostel, you can bring your own sheets and cook your own food there, if you like. My particular room was, however, exposed to noise from the shared areas, with otherwise pleasant travelers.
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Pick up the groceries when you get there:
Coop
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Well, it’s ”just” a grocery store. But that’s kind of a luxury in the archipelago. It’s very convenient, if you don’t want to lug, but cook your own food. Just at the docks in Berg.
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Where sailors and yachters meet
SANDHAMN
Sandhamn
@Evalottafilms
Sandhamn (Sandy port) is the port on the island Sandön, which is, colloquially referred to as Sandhamn. The island is located in the outer parts of the archipelago, and about 50km east from Stockholm. The island has a long and rich history, involving being the strategic entrance to Stockholm, guarding it with a fortress next to a narrow passage called "Sandhamns håle."
At one point, Sandhamn was restricted to the Swedish Navy and one single boat pilot was settled on the island.
The Royal Swedish Yacht Club started organizing regattas in the 1890s in Sandhamn, and it has been the main hub for sailor's meetups in the Stockholm archipelago ever since.
There is a buzz of boats and people around the island’s port, with tens of thousands of visitors to this relatively small island during the summer months. There are restaurants, bars, hotels and shops.
But gorgeous archipelago nature is all around.
Once you leave the immediate harbor, there are cycle paths and walks to explore, among traditional housing areas, or in windy pine forests paths or cliffy shores.
During the summer months, you can take the boat directly from Strömkajen i Stockholm to Sandhamn. The rest of the year, you can take the buss from Slussen in Stockholm to Stavsnäs and boat from there.
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Sandy beech:
Trouville beach
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While sandy beeches are relatively rare in the Stockholm archipelago, here's a lovely, relatively large one that you can walk to once you've arrived in Sandhamn.
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Accommodation:
Missionshuset B & B
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If I stayed over in Sandhamn, I'd love to try this quaint stay on the island's first church building-turned B & B. The building from 1912 is located near what feels like the older and more traditional part of Sandhamn. There's also a large garden with lots of seating areas and it's close to nature trails and cycle routes. It seems a lovely place to call home for a few days. It's managed by Sandhamn's Värdshus, historic (1672) restaurant and pub with harbor views.
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Dining and drinks:
Sandhamns Värdshus
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Dykarbaren Sandhamn
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Sandhamn Seglarhotell
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Dining, accommodation and bar areas at the big red yacht hotel right at the docks.
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Café, bakeries:
Café Strindbergsgården
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Sandhamns Bageriet AB
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Boat companies:
Waxholmsbolaget operates the regular public transport boats with daily services to hundreds of destinations in the Stockholm archipelago.
More guides:
If you're a nature lover visiting the city of Stockholm, you can enjoy the best of both worlds by staying at a waterfront hotel, surrounded by nature. And you can even take the ferry there, if you know where to stay!
I love taking the ferry from the inner city -- home, and to the archipelago beyond. So I've made a guide with a few hotels along the inlet to Stockholm, if you also want to treat yourself.
I've chosen hotels and B & B/hostels with gorgeous water views -- easily accessible by ferry* -- along the inlet to Stockholm.
We start on a hostel ship in the very heart of Stockholm, across the pond from the Royal Castle, and end at a hotel on a small islet that's actually an old military fort.
Because I live near Stockholm's inlet, myself, I've not needed to stay at hotels, but I've chosen stays in naturally beautiful locations that I like to visit myself, and where I know the docks* well. If you find the guide helpful, and book through my links here, I may get a commission from the sale (at no extra cost to you).
*Ferry traffic and boat type may vary depending on season, and docks/jetties. So it's important to check boat availability and time tables (with the hotels, transport cos.) ahead of time.
If you'd like some more visual inspiration from on and off the water, come along for a virtual boat ride on my Instagram account!
I'd also be happy to create a custom guide with travel recommendations for you. You'll find the link in my bio.
Excited for your trip to Stockholm, where you can hail a... ferry! :-)
Nature • Boutique • Budget • Luxury
Free
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eva-Lotta Jansson
Available for hire
Start exploring the natural beauty of Stockholm with me, including the archipelago!
Stockholm and its medieval city center is, in fact, built on 14 islands and sits on the banks of the archipelago, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea.
The vast Stockholm archipelago, made up of about 24,000 islands, fans out 80km from the inlet, and has fabulous boat connections departing directly from city central, making the islands accessible to visitors.
With such an array of choice at varying distance, it will be important to pick your destinations ahead of time. If you’d like to experience the area with the enthusiastic eyes of a visitor, but the ease of the local, I can give you some suggestions.
After living abroad for many years, working as a photojournalist and filmmaker, I've been rediscovering Stockholm, my home, with the lens. And what’s been the most fascinating to me is nature and the sea, and how very fortunate we are to be able to access it all right here, in our equally beautiful city.
I’ll aim to provide you with some itineraries, maps and location guides to make it easier to choose among the gems. Feel free to make suggestions (as this page grows), or inquire about hiring me as a photographer and filmmaker or location scout.
You’ll find my Instagram handle and website below. See you in the travel guides!
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