GuideStockholm, SwedenJun 28, 20259 min read

Island-Hopping the Stockholm Archipelago

Thirty thousand islands and the white boats that link them

A red wooden summer house and boathouse on a rocky island shore — A summer house in the Stockholm archipelago. Photo: Christof46

From the steps of the Grand Hôtel, the archipelago boats will take you to bathing rocks, cinnamon buns and red summer houses within the hour.

A city that looks out to sea

The Stockholm archipelago, the skärgård, runs for eighty kilometres from the city centre to the open Baltic and contains around thirty thousand islands, islets and skerries. Some have villages, bakeries and schools; many have a single summer house; most have nothing but smooth granite and pine trees.

You do not need a boat of your own. The public Waxholmsbolaget ferries, many of them century-old steamers painted white, leave from Strömkajen in the city centre and stop at jetties all over the inner and middle archipelago. Fares are cheap, timetables are generous in summer and the boats carry bikes. Pack a swimsuit: the water reaches twenty degrees in July and every island has a rock to jump from.

The inner archipelago, closest to the city, is green and wooded with villa gardens running down to the water. Further out the islands shrink, the trees thin and the outer skerries are bare red granite smoothed by ice, with only lighthouses and seabirds for company.

Islands we send people to

Vaxholm: an hour from town, a fortress, wooden villas and a good fish smokehouse
Grinda: forest trails, bathing rocks and an old inn, perfect for one night
Sandhamn: the sailing capital, with sandy beaches on the far side of the island
Utö: further out, with bike paths, an old iron mine and a famous bakery

Island-hopping pass

Staying a night

Day trips are easy, but the archipelago is at its best in the evening, when the day visitors leave and the light turns gold for hours. Book a hostel room, a cabin or a simple inn on Grinda or Utö, eat smoked fish on the jetty, and take the first boat back in the morning.

In June, around Midsummer, the evenings barely end, and the islands host their own celebrations with maypoles, herring and strawberry cake. Many inns open only from May to September, so check before you book in the shoulder season. If you are happy with simple comforts, Sweden's allemansrätten, the right of public access, also lets you pitch a tent for a night on most uninhabited islands, provided you stay away from houses and leave no trace.