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Stockholm is a great city to visit.  But sometimes it is nice to get out of a busy city for a few hours and experience some peace, quiet and beautiful scenery.  And this is so easy to do in Stockholm, because just offshore is a magical archipelago of literally thousands of islands.

The islands vary enormously.  Some have well developed resorts, some have just a few summer cabins, and some are no more than isolated lumps of rock covered in pine trees.  You could spend months exploring, but most tourists only have a few days available at most.

Two islands that are very close to Stockholm, and particularly easy to reach, are Fjäderholmarna and Vaxholm (see more about these later).  But if you have a few hours or more to spare, we suggest visiting islands further out.  This way you get to see not only the island you are visiting, but also the multitude of other islands, islets and rocks you will pass on the way.

Add to this the lovely properties on the islands, boats from tiny craft to huge ferries, and the numerous swans and cormorants that live amongst the islands, and the journey could well be the best part of your trip.  It allows you to appreciate the full scale and beauty of the Archipelago.

On a recent short stay we visited two very different islands, both of which we highly recommend for a visit.  We also saw hundreds more on boat trips and ferry journeys through the Archipelago (see Exploring the Baltic Sea by Ferry)  Here are our observations and suggestions based on the islands we visited and saw on our journeys.

Grinda

We absolutely loved Grinda.  This quiet little island is a world apart from busy Stockholm, and a perfect place to relax for a couple of hours in beautiful countryside.

The boat drops you off at a tiny landing stage, and when the boat departs you feel as though you have been abandoned in the middle of nowhere.  There is an information board about the island, which is a nature reserve, and a single track leading inland.

There is no need to worry, though.  You soon come to the excellent hotel Grinda  Wärdshus, which has a lovely terrace where you can enjoy a very good lunch.  The view from the terrace over the guest harbour to the Baltic is beautiful.

There is another restaurant at the pier, as well as a shop and cafe.

There are easy trails through lovely woodland and meadows to enjoy, with information about the fauna and flora on the island.  There is also a farm with various animals, and the rocky coast has secluded bays and places to bathe.

If you fancy staying a night or two, and enjoying even more solitude when the day-trippers have left, Grinda Wärdhuss has simple double and twin rooms as well as great food – see this page at booking.com.

There are regular daily trips to Grinda in the summer.  Our boat departed from Strandvägen in Stockholm (see Cinderella Boats for timetables and further details).  The journey time was 1 hour and 50 minutes, and we had over three hours on the island.

Sandhamn

Sandhamn is actually the name of the attractive small town on Sandon Island.  About 90 people live here permanently, and the island is a popular sailing centre.  It therefore has a choice of restaurants and shops, making it an ideal destination for a day trip (or perhaps longer).

As well as exploring the town and having a relaxing lunch, you can stroll along the rocky coastline.  There are lovely views over the Baltic Sea to neighbouring islands.

Behind the town there is some attractive woodland with scattered cabins and gardens, where we had a pleasant walk.

The highly scenic boat trip to Sandhamn takes around 2.25 hours.  There are daily trips in the summer from Strandvägen in Stockholm (see Cinderella Boats for timetables and further details).  Our trip allowed us over 3 hours on the island, so there was plenty of time for lunch and a bit of exploring.

Other Islands to Visit

Vaxholm

Vaxholm is only 50 minutes from Stockholm, and is easily be reached by boat or bus (it is linked by bridges).  We didn’t actually visit Vaxholm, but sailed past it several times during our stay.

The proximity and ease of access mean that it is less secluded than Grinda and Sandhamn, and has less of an ‘island’ feel.  But the harbour and waterside properties look very attractive.

We think it would be great to stay a few nights in the Waxholms Hotell shown in the photo above, and use this as a base to visit other islands.  You could then enjoy Vaxholm in the evenings when the crowds have left.

Vaxholm also has a fortress on a separate little island, visited by a tiny ferry.

Fjäderholmarna

Fjäderholmarna is a true island that is very close to Stockholm.  It is often considered the first island of the Archipelago, and the boat trip takes about 30 minutes.  Because of its proximity to the city it tends to get busy, and of course you don’t get to see much more of the Archipelago on your journey.  But if time is limited the island has a lovely coastline, good restaurants, and would be well worth a visit.

There are regular boats run by Stromma.com – just follow this link to see the timetable.

Other islands that can easily be visited on day trips include Finnhamn, Möja, Svartsö and Gällnö, as well as many more.  Follow this link to Stromma.com to see timetables for independent trips and also their range of organised excursions.

Waxholmsbolaget run many ferry services to and within the Archipelago – follow the link to see their timetables, which can be downloaded as PDFs.

For many more organised tours in and from Stockholm (including some in the Archipelago) try Viator.  With Viator you can choose from a wide variety of tours and excursions and book online in advance.  If you change your plans most excursions can be cancelled with a full refund up to 24 hours before the start of the tour.

Accommodation in Stockholm

For a wide choice of accommodation in Stockholm, and options in the Archipelago, see this page at booking.com.

A Few Final Tips

Not all ferries and excursions run all year (the Archipelago may freeze in winter).  Check carefully with the companies who run the services before making any firm plans.

Study the timetables carefully – they can be a little confusing (some journeys involve links with bus services and more than one boat).

Some islands that have regular boat services cannot really be visited in a day trip – the journey takes so long that you would have to return immediately (if it is even possible to return the same day).  Of course you can always arrange to stay a night or two….

The boats we went on were very comfortable with indoor and outdoor seating areas.  Refreshments and toilets were available.  Again check with the companies running the trips to see exactly what is included.

Make sure you take a camera and, if possible, binoculars.  There is a lot to see!

If you have a Kindle (or free Kindle App), a useful guide is Stockholm & the Swedish Archipelago.

A great way to explore Stockholm city is with a hop-on hop-off City Sightseeing Bus Tour – follow the link for more details, timetables and online tickets.

(Please remember that this site is based purely on our own holiday experiences – therefore kindly note the Disclaimer.)

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