Our Wandering Chapter

The Stockholm archipelago offers an easy escape from the city, with thousands of islands stretching from sheltered waterways to the open Baltic Sea. Over time, buses and boats have taken us to different corners of the archipelago, where we have discovered colourful harbour towns, sandy beaches, pine forests and rocky shores along the way.

This is a collection of some of our favourite archipelago escapes so far.

Vaxholm: An Easy Taste of the Archipelago

Vaxholm is perhaps the easiest place to begin exploring the Stockholm archipelago. It can be reached by bus from Danderyds sjukhus, but when we have time, we prefer taking the boat from Strömkajen. The journey then becomes part of the experience as Stockholm gradually gives way to wooded islands, rocky shores and colourful houses by the water.

Arriving by boat also offers a lovely first glimpse of Vaxholm from the water. The waterfront and its colourful buildings slowly come into view before the boat pulls into the harbour.

From here, we like wandering through town and along the waterfront towards Batteriparken and the quieter side around Norrhamnen. Colourful wooden houses, gardens and little jetties line the way, while the water is rarely far from sight.

In the warmer months, one of our favourite stops is Vaxholms Hembygdsgårds Café. Its garden beside the water makes a lovely setting for an unhurried fika, although choosing from the generous display of cakes can take almost as long as finding a table by the water. The café is seasonal, opening around the end of April and running through the summer, so it is worth checking the current opening dates before visiting.

Vaxholm may be one of the most accessible introductions to the Stockholm archipelago, but that is also part of its appeal. A boat ride, a waterfront walk and fika by the water are sometimes all we need for a slice of island life beyond Stockholm.

Sandhamn: A Full Day Further into the Archipelago

Sandhamn takes a little more planning, but the journey further into the archipelago is part of what makes the day feel like a proper escape. We took the bus from Slussen to Stavsnäs and continued from there by Waxholmsbolaget boat to Sandhamn. With the bus and boat connections to coordinate, starting early gave us plenty of time to explore the island without having to rush back for the return journey. Sandhamn lies in the outer archipelago, so the increasing sense of distance from Stockholm is very much part of the experience.

From Sandhamns brygga, we wandered through the harbour before making our way towards the little chapel.

Beyond it, the surroundings gradually became quieter as we followed the road beneath tall pine trees towards Trouville on the other side of the island.

The forest eventually opened onto the sandy beach at Trouville, one of the loveliest parts of our walk.

We continued along the path beside the sea, leaving the busier stretch of beach behind until we reached the rocky shoreline. There, with the Baltic stretching out in front of us, we found a spot on the rocks for our picnic and stayed for a while enjoying the view.

On our way back towards the harbour, we stopped at Dansberget. There is no beach here, but the rocks overlooking the water make a lovely place to sit, with blue sea ahead and boats and yachts gliding through the surrounding channels.

Eventually, we returned to Sandhamns brygga, where the colourful houses, boats and lively harbour brought us back to the busier side of the island. Readers of Viveca Sten’s Sandhamn Murders novels may already know the island as the setting for the crime series. Our own summer day there was considerably more peaceful, filled instead with pine forests, sandy shores and long stretches beside the sea.

Nåttarö: The Island We Hadn’t Planned to Visit

Nåttarö was never part of our plan. We had set out hoping to visit Öja, but sometimes island-hopping does not quite work out as expected, and we were unable to catch the small boat that would take us there. Back in Nynäshamn, with part of the day still ahead of us, we stopped at the tourist information centre to see where else we could go.

The friendly staff suggested Utö and Nåttarö. With peak-summer traffic and the time we had left, Nåttarö seemed the more practical choice, so we set off again for an island we knew very little about.

That change of plan turned into one of those wonderfully simple archipelago days. Nåttarö is part of a large nature reserve and almost the entire island is covered in forest, with sandy beaches, rocky shores and quiet paths to explore. Regular Waxholmsbolaget boats connect the island with Nynäshamn.

From Nåttarö brygga, we walked across the island towards Storsand. The route took us along quiet paths through the forest, with a short detour to Drottninggrottan, a tiny cave signposted along the way. According to local tradition, the cave is associated with Queen Maria Eleonora, who is said to have sought refuge there while attempting to leave Sweden following the death of her husband, Gustav II Adolf. The cave lies between the cottage village and Storsand, making it an easy addition to the walk.

The forest eventually opened onto Storsand, one of the longest sandy beaches in the Stockholm archipelago, backed by dunes and pine forest. After the walk across the island, we were happy to find a spot on the sand and enjoy the remarkably peaceful surroundings.

We also wandered beyond the sand onto the rocky shoreline. Smooth grey rocks streaked with vivid orange lichen added unexpected bursts of colour against the deep blue water, while forest followed the coast behind us.

We spent the rest of our time by the sea, exploring the rocks and enjoying the quiet before walking back to Nåttarö brygga for the boat to Nynäshamn. In the end, the island we had not planned to visit became a memorable part of our explorations in the Stockholm archipelago. Sometimes it is worth letting the ferry timetable decide where the day takes you.