Vaxholm vs Sandhamn: which Stockholm island should you visit

The main harbor at Sandhamn in the summer, with boats tied to the pier and the hotel in the background.

The Stockholm archipelago is vast with more than 30,000 islands, but few define its character quite like Vaxholm and Sandhamn. While both are quintessential staples of a Stockholm summer, they offer experiences that couldn’t be further apart: one is a living, breathing historic town that acts as the gateway to the sea, and the other … Read more

Utö Travel Guide: Hiking, Cycling, and History in the Stockholm Archipelago

Utö with views of the Stockholm archipelago on a sunny summer day.

Utö is one of the more versatile islands you can visit in the Stockholm archipelago. There are forests and rocky coastlines to hike through, long gravel roads that make the island particularly good for cycling, several places to swim, and enough restaurants, cafés, and accommodation that you don’t have to plan your trip around what … Read more

Midsummer in Stockholm

People in traditional Swedish folk costumes gather around a maypole for Midsummer at Skansen

For many Swedes, Midsummer is the most important holiday of the year. It’s a celebration that, for families, rivals even Christmas in significance. It marks the unofficial start of summer,. This is a time when nature is at its peak and the nights are nearly non-existent.   But if you are visiting Stockholm, you will notice … Read more

Möja in the Stockholm archipelago: what to know before you go

Boats moored by red wooden boathouses in a harbor on Möja island in the Stockholm archipelago

Möja is the kind of island that makes you realize you’ve truly left Stockholm behind and have finally arrived in the archipelago for real. Why Möja? Part of a massive maritime landscape of 30,000 islands, Möja is located in the outer part of the central Stockholm archipelago. It is not the place for nightlife or … Read more

Two-day Stockholm archipelago itinerary: Svartsö and Finnhamn

Gravel path through the forest leading to the red wooden buildings of Bistro Sågen on Svartsö

Two days in Stockholm’s archipelago is enough time to feel like you’ve genuinely left the city behind. This itinerary takes you through two islands in the central archipelago, Svartsö and Finnhamn, and the reason to pick these two specifically comes down to contrast. They sit close enough together to connect in a single trip, but … Read more

The best Stockholm archipelago day trips

Stockholm sits at the edge of one of the world’s largest archipelagos, over 30,000 islands, islets and rocks stretching east into the Baltic. Most visitors see it from the city side: the water glimpsed between buildings, with the archipelago waiting just beyond the quays at Strömkajen and Nybrokajen. It’s worth actually getting on one of … Read more

Three-day Stockholm archipelago itinerary: Vaxholm and Sandhamn

Ferry Silvero docked at Vaxholm harbor, with the town's colorful waterfront buildings behind

Three days in Stockholm’s archipelago is enough time to see how different the islands can feel. This itinerary pairs two of the most useful places for a first overnight trip: Vaxholm, a proper small town with nearly 500 years of fortress history, and Sandhamn, an outer-archipelago classic shaped by sailing, beaches, pine forest, and busy … Read more