One day in the Stockholm archipelago

Why visit the Stockholm archipelago?

Because it is the other half of Stockholm: tens of thousands of islands, often quoted as about 30,000, start minutes from the city centre, and many of them are reached on ordinary public boats.

The city itself sits on 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic. Sail east from Strömkajen and the stone quays give way to villas on wooded shores, then to small islands with red cottages and bathing rocks, and finally to the bare outer skerries. Visit Stockholm groups the islands in three rings: the inner archipelago within about an hour, with Fjäderholmarna, Vaxholm and Grinda; the islands a couple of hours away, such as Sandhamn, Möja and Utö; and the remote outer islands for kayaking, sailing and camping.

What makes a day out so easy is that the archipelago is a place where people live and commute. Waxholmsbolaget's boats call at piers all the way out to the edge of the sea, all year, and the Stockholm Archipelago Trail links 20 islands over about 270 km for walkers who want more than a day. In summer, the light helps too: there are about 18 hours of daylight in late June, so the last boat home often sails in a long, soft evening.

What is the best way to see the Stockholm archipelago?

To walk on the islands, take a Waxholmsbolaget boat from Strömkajen or book a tour that lands. To see them from the deck with a guide in two or three hours, take a sightseeing cruise, which sails out and turns back without landing.

The cruises are a good overview if your time is short. The live guided archipelago cruise (4.5 from 6,226 reviews) sails two hours from the Gustav III statue on Skeppsbron, out through the Djurgården canal past Fjäderholmarna, Stora Höggarn and Tegelön, and back. The classic ship cruise (4.3 from 11,973 reviews, the most reviewed) leaves Strandvägen with options of 1.5 to 3 hours; the longest goes as far as Vaxholm and back. The historic ship cruise with fika on the M/S Vindhem includes a coffee or tea with a pastry, and the archipelago cruise with lunch serves a cooked main course on the 1906 M/S Östanå I. None of them lands.

For a day on an island, the public boat is the simple answer, and two tours on this site go ashore with a guide. The Vaxholm day trip (4.7 from 49 reviews) takes a small group by archipelago boat from Nationalmuseum and spends the day in Vaxholm, with the fortress museum included. The RIB ride to Grinda (5.0 from 42 reviews) races out from Strandvägen and gives you about two hours ashore on a nature reserve island. Every tour gives a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours ahead.

Which is the best archipelago island near Stockholm?

Vaxholm for a first visit, because it is close, open all year and covered by the SL ticket. Grinda is best for nature and swimming, Sandhamn for a sailing village, Fjäderholmarna for a short summer outing, and Utö or Möja for a longer, quieter day.

The right island depends on how much of the day you want to spend on the boat. Vaxholm and Fjäderholmarna leave you most time ashore. Grinda adds forest trails and swimming rocks for half an hour more on the water. Sandhamn, Utö and Möja reward an early start. Remember that only the stretch from Strömkajen to the Vaxholm area is covered by the SL ticket; for Grinda, Sandhamn, Utö and Möja you buy a Waxholmsbolaget ticket, in the SL app or by tapping a bank card on board.

Utö is known for Sweden's oldest iron mines, with preserved miners' cottages, a mining museum, the inn Utö Värdshus and swimming at Rävstavik. Most of the year you reach it by commuter train to Västerhaninge and bus 846 to Årsta brygga, then 35 to 50 minutes by boat; boats from Strömkajen run only in summer. Möja is a middle-archipelago island reached by Waxholmsbolaget from Strömkajen, a long trip, or by bus to Sollenkroka on Värmdö and a shorter boat. Check every route in the SL app before you go, and see the ferry guide for how the tickets work.

What is Vaxholm known for?

For Vaxholm Fortress, founded by King Gustav Vasa in 1548 to guard the sea approach to Stockholm, and for its wooden harbour town, often called the capital of the archipelago. It is the easiest island town to reach from the city.

The fortress stands on its own islet in the narrow sound in front of the town, and a short ferry crosses to it from Vaxholm. Its museum is open in summer, roughly June to September, so check the dates before you plan around it. In town, walk the lanes of painted wooden houses and fishermen's cottages, browse the small shops and have lunch or fika by the harbour, then follow the shore to the little beach.

• By public boat: Waxholmsbolaget from Strömkajen, about an hour (55 to 80 minutes depending on stops), all year, covered by any SL ticket since 30 April 2025.
• By bus: bus 670 from Tekniska högskolan, 45 to 58 minutes, also on the SL ticket.
• With a guide: the small-group Vaxholm day trip meets at Nationalmuseum at 9:45, sails about an hour to Vaxholm, walks the town, stops at Vaxholm beach for a swim if you like and takes a taxi boat to the fortress, with museum entry included. Lunch is not included, and a picnic is welcome.
• By kayak: the archipelago kayak tour starts near Vaxholm and paddles past its cottages and the fortress.

Seven hours with a small group and a guide: about an hour by archipelago boat from Nationalmuseum, the wooden town, Vaxholm beach, and a taxi boat to the fortress with museum entry included. Rated 4.7 from 49 reviews.

★ 4.7 (49) · 7 hours · Full refund up to 24 h ahead

Explore the Vaxholm day trip →

What is Sandhamn like?

A sailing village on the edge of the open sea, with no cars on the island and sandy beaches. It is home to the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS) and the start and finish of the Gotland Runt race, and it is about 2.5 hours each way by boat.

Sandhamn is on the island of Sandön, in the ring of islands Visit Stockholm describes as a couple of hours from the city. The harbour fills with yachts in summer, and the village behind it grows quiet once the day boats leave. Walk out to the sandy beaches, eat by the harbour and watch the boats come and go.

Because the trip is long, plan Sandhamn as a whole day and check the last boat back before you set out. Waxholmsbolaget sails there, and in summer the Cinderella boats run from Strandvägen in about 2.5 hours. Strömma also runs a summer day trip through the narrow, winding Strömma canal. The Cinderella and Strömma boats are separate services with their own tickets: SL tickets are not valid on them.

Is Grinda worth a day trip?

Yes, especially for walking and swimming. Most of Grinda is owned and managed by the Archipelago Foundation (Skärgårdsstiftelsen) as a nature reserve, with trails, child-friendly beaches, an inn and a farm, about 1.5 hours from the city.

Grinda's landscape is typical of the middle archipelago: woods, open ground, smooth rocks and sheltered bays. A trail links the northern and southern piers, so you can land at one end, walk across, swim on the way and leave from the other. Grinda Wärdshus, the inn, serves meals, and the farm has grazing animals that children enjoy. Regular Waxholmsbolaget boats run from Stockholm and from Vaxholm all year, with several a day in summer, so Grinda pairs well with a morning in Vaxholm. You need a Waxholmsbolaget ticket for the trip beyond the Vaxholm area.

If you would rather go fast and with a guide, the RIB ride with two hours on Grinda (5.0 from 42 reviews) leaves Strandvägen berth 19 and takes about 4.5 hours in all. You wear warm overalls, life vests and goggles, and it is for ages 12 and up. More about the Archipelago Foundation's islands is on its website.

Can you swim and kayak in the Stockholm archipelago?

Yes. The archipelago is full of calm, sheltered bays and smooth rocks for a swim, and the Baltic is usually around 16 to 20 °C in July and August. Kayaking is one of the best ways to explore, alone with a rental or with a guide.

Good places to start are Grinda's sheltered bays and child-friendly beaches, Vaxholm's little beach, Sandhamn's sandy beaches and Rävstavik on Utö. Most swims begin from warm, smooth granite, with calm water in the sheltered bays. Allemansrätten, the right of public access, lets you land a kayak, walk on shores and islands away from houses, and camp for a night or two without asking. Keep out of sight of homes, take your litter with you and respect the bird islands that are closed to landing in the breeding season.

For your first time on the sea, the archipelago kayak tour with a picnic (4.9 from 287 reviews) starts at Skärgårdens Kanotcenter near Vaxholm and lasts 4 to 8 hours, with fika or a picnic lunch on an island. No experience is needed, and reviewers say it is easy to reach by public transport. Closer to the centre you can rent kayaks and canoes by the day; see the canal tour guide for where.

Can you visit the archipelago in autumn or winter?

Yes. Waxholmsbolaget runs all year, so Vaxholm and Grinda are reachable in every season, and from mid-September to the end of April an SL ticket valid for 30 days or longer covers the whole Waxholmsbolaget network.

Outside summer the archipelago is quieter and the light is lower, which many people love. There are fewer departures, and when ice forms the timetables can change at short notice, so check the SL app on the day. Some island cafés and restaurants keep shorter hours, and the Vaxholm Fortress museum opens only in summer, so bring a snack and plan the walk rather than the meal. In late December you have about 6 hours of daylight, so start early.

From the deck, several cruises keep sailing. The classic ship cruise from Strandvägen runs for most of the year, and from December to early April the winter archipelago tour (4.5 from 1,476 reviews) sails from Strömkajen on an ice-going boat towards Fjäderholmarna in 1 hour 15 minutes, with indoor seating and blankets. The summer services, such as the Cinderella boats and the Fjäderholmarna boats, return in spring: check the season before you go.

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