At 5 a.m. on Arkösund Bay, it’s as bright as midday. I slip out of the charming wooden Arkösunds Hotell, which opened in 1895, as a small boat chugs into the Baltic Sea, the sun sparkling on its calm waters. A wooden boardwalk invites me onto a string of tiny islands, while geese fly overhead in a V-formation and a mother swan guides her fluffy cygnets into a nook under a bridge.
I’m on Sweden’s east coast to explore the Östergötland archipelago, a spread of about 9,000 islands scattered across the Baltic Sea, a few hours south of Stockholm. Quieter and less crowded than the better-known islands off Stockholm or Gothenburg, it covers several stretches of coastline and smaller archipelagos: Arkösund, Sankt Anna, Gryt, and Tjust. The larger islands are dotted with traditional red timber summer houses and are home to seals, seabirds, and dense, green forests of alder, cedar, oak, and pine.
I arrived in a fittingly slow way. My journey to Arkösund—a 45-minute drive from Norrköping station along a road locals call the End of the World—started 24 hours earlier, with an early morning Eurostar from London to Brussels, then on to Hamburg via Cologne, where I boarded the SJ EuroNight Train to Norrköping. I slept as we crossed the Danish border in the early hours and went over the Öresund Bridge into Sweden. Dawn unfolded in pink, dusky waves as we rumbled out of Malmö toward Östergötland.
View image in fullscreen: Östergötland is a maze of small islands, fishing harbors, and tiny villages. Photograph: Berndt-Joel Gunnarsson/Alamy
Visitors explore the region’s islands by sailboat, small motorboat, or kayak, spending long summer days swimming, fishing, and hiking. From the Arkösund jetty, I head out on the water with Åsa, a local guide, in a motorboat owned by Kauko Lindstedt, a Finn who has lived on the island of Aspöja for 40 years, a four-mile crossing away. There’s an unspoken rule, Åsa says: if you spot a moored kayak or boat, move on. In the Swedish spirit of allemansrätten—the national right to roam and sleep freely in nature—there are enough islands for everyone.
“There is an unspoken rule that if you spot a moored kayak or boat, move on. There are enough islands for everyone.”
Aspöja is one of the few inhabited islands, and Lindstedt, like many islanders I meet, is hardworking: building, hunting, smoking fish, running boat tours, and eager to share his home, where only 25 people live year-round. We land at his jetty and walk across grassy meadows dotted with granite boulders and full of butterflies. There are no cars, though the jetty has a shared wheelbarrow for groceries and mail. We meet Helen, who farms sheep and cattle, knits, tans sheepskins, keeps bees, grows vegetables, and runs the only restaurant, Forsmans på Aspöja, with her daughter. Lunch is smoked fish and boiled potatoes piled with fresh dill, along with a glass of Baltic seawater, filtered through the island’s small desalination plant.
View image in fullscreen: The island of Aspöja, home to just 25 year-round residents.
On the trip back to the mainland, we pass an island stacked with fishing nets, buoys, and wooden crates. A pair of rugged-faced men wave—brothers in their 70s, the last remnants of a once-thriving fishing industry, Åsa tells me. They are the last two fishers legally allowed to catch eels; the license can only be passed down through family, and with no one to inherit it, it ends with them.
The next day, Åsa and I drive further along the coast to the Sankt Anna archipelago, stopping for lunch at Mauritzberg Castle, a 400-year-old manor house rebuilt in pastel rococo splendor after the Russians burned it down in 1719. At the bay of Sankt Anna, I meet a German tourist packing his kayak for a 10-day solo trip. He tells me he paddles for days from island to island without seeing a single person and loves it—this is his third visit here.
Island-hopping in Sweden: an enchanted maze of tiny isles.Just a bus ride from Gothenburg.
From the shore, I climb into a kayak next to Andreas, my guide. He’s another Finn who works for the outfitter Kajakparadiset. Together, we paddle into the calm, watery landscape. We stop for fika—hot coffee and something sweet—on a small island, stretching out on sun-warmed granite as a sea eagle soars above.
I meet a German tourist packing his kayak for a ten-day solo trip. He tells me he paddles from island to island for days without seeing anyone, and he loves it.
That night, I sleep at Skärgårdsbyn Mon, a hotel on the mainland shore. I had dinner on the wooden balcony of the Boathouse restaurant—buttered sea bream and potatoes—overlooking the marina, with the islands stretching out behind. I wonder, a little enviously, which one the German kayaker chose to sleep on under the nearly bright sky.
I wake up to rain. But with temperatures around 23°C on average, summer here is pleasant. Driving south with Åsa, I learn that about 70% of the country is forested, and it’s crisscrossed with hiking and biking trails.
In Fyrudden, a small village at the southeastern tip of a narrow peninsula in the Gryt archipelago, boat captain Magnus Lindkvist is waiting in his grandfather’s wooden boat. He takes us across eight miles of open water to the island of Harstena. That’s where his grandparents once lived, where he spent every summer as a child, and where he still goes today with his family.
A cluster of 18th-century cabins still stands. The old schoolhouse is now a museum, telling the story of these wild islands, where herring, eel fishing, seabird eggs, and seal blubber once helped the islanders survive. A census from 1641 lists two households, and a family tree traces local names back to those two families—including Magnus, and now his son.
Back on the mainland, we drive north and inland to spend the night in Söderköping. In 1281, King Magnus Ladulås’ wife, Helvig, was crowned in its medieval church. This tiny town is full of history, sitting at the eastern end of the Göta Canal. The Swedes started building it in 1810 to avoid Danish taxes, connecting Gothenburg to the Baltic Sea. The next morning, I cycle along the canal, stopping for ice cream at the Smultronstället cafe and handmade chocolates at Jolla.
By evening, I’m back in Norrköping, an industrial city that once thrived on textile and paper mills powered by water. Today, the mills have been turned into a stylish area with bars, apartments, and offices. The streets are lively at night as students celebrate the end of term and locals get ready for a weekend of national festivities.
The next day, as I head back to the UK by train, I watch the fields and forests unfold from the window. Norrköping station slips away behind me, and the summer light filters through the trees, shining on red wooden farmhouses. A flock of geese flies overhead in a V shape. I imagine the kayaker searching for his perfect island to camp on tonight, and Magnus teaching his son to fish for herring from his great-grandfather’s boat—the delicate balance of nature and visitors continuing in harmony.
This trip was provided by Visit Sweden. The writer traveled by rail from London to Brussels on Eurostar (from £39 one-way), then to Cologne (from £16.50 one-way), and on to Hamburg (from £16.50 one-way). The SJ EuroNight train from Hamburg to Norrköping costs from £40 one-way. Elite Grand Hotel Norrköping has doubles from £80 B&B; Söderköpings Brunn from £93 B&B; Skärgårdsbyn Mon from £100; and Arkösunds Hotell from £170 B&B.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about spending a slow Swedish summer on the peaceful islands of stergtland
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Where exactly are the stergtland islands
Theyre in the Baltic Sea off the east coast of Sweden south of Stockholm The main archipelago includes islands like Arksund St Anna and Gryt
2 What does a slow summer mean there
It means relaxing not rushing Days are spent swimming kayaking reading on a dock picking berries and enjoying long light evenings without a packed schedule
3 Do I need a car to get around
A car helps but you can also take a ferry or rent a kayak Many islands are carfree so you walk or bike A bike is a great idea
4 Whats the best way to get there from Stockholm
Drive south for about 2 hours or take a train to Norrkping or Linkping then a bus or taxi to the ferry terminals
5 Is it expensive
It can be especially for accommodation and eating out But you can save money by camping cooking your own food and using public ferries
BeginnerLevel Questions
6 Do people speak English
Yes almost everyone speaks excellent English especially younger people and those in tourism
7 Whats the weather like in summer
Mild and pleasant usually 1825C It can rain so pack layers The sun sets very late and rises early
8 Can I swim in the sea
Yes The water is clean and often surprisingly warm in shallow bays Look for rocky beaches or wooden bathing platforms
9 Do I need to book ferries in advance
For small passenger ferries no For car ferries to bigger islands its wise to book a spot during peak weeks
10 What should I pack
Swimwear a windproof jacket sturdy walking shoes a book insect repellent and a reusable water bottle
AdvancedLevel Questions
11 How do I find the most secluded quiet spots
Go midweek TuesdayThursday
