On the WaterMay – Sep

Island Hopping

The white boats run all summer

You can do this entirely on public ferries, and a surprising number of Swedes do — a network of white boats runs from the city out through the islands all summer, and the timetable is the itinerary.

What that gets you is the islands with people on them: a hotel, a bakery, a jetty with somebody meeting the boat. Vaxholm, Grinda, Utö, Sandhamn, Fjäderholmarna. Every one is worth a day and none is remote.

What it does not get you is the outer skerries, which have no ferry because they have nobody living on them. That is a private boat, and it is the single decision that changes this trip most.

Ferries in, a skipper further out

The combination usually works best: ferries for the middle archipelago and a skipper for a day or two further out.

May to September, and the shoulders are underrated. In May the trees are new and the water is too cold to swim and everything is empty. In September the water is at its warmest of the year, which surprises everybody, and half the summer places are shutting.

Luggage is the practical constraint. Ferries mean jetties, gangways and steps, so one soft bag each rather than a case, and anything larger stays in the city.

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