30,000 Islands & Counting

Trip date: June 2017

I was up early to catch the Cinderella ferry to the farthest of the islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. I arrived about 30 minutes before the departure time and got a window seat, a cup of coffee, and a cardamon bun. It was a gorgeous day for a boat ride!

When researching my trip to Stockholm I became absolutely obsessed with visiting the islands. They say there are about 30,000, some barely a rock, others quite large, and many are connected to the mainland by bridge (what's the fun in that?). Only 200 of the islands are actually inhabited and on those they are mainly made up of summer homes.

Originally I wanted to rent a cabin and overnight on one of them. Unfortunately as it was Midsummer holiday everything was already booked up. Then I thought I'd do a full day tour of a few of the islands, jumping on and off ferries, transferring to different ships. But then that sounded exhausting.

So I finally decided to take one ferry to Sandön, the farthest island east, while enjoying the view of a bunch of adorable islands during the 2-hour ferry trip. I was very happy with my decision!

I arrived in the harbor town of Sandhamn just in time for lunch and made my way from the dock to Sandhamns Vardshus- a guesthouse, restaurant, and pub. I had such a delicious lunch in the pub; 3 different preparations of herring, local cheeses, and buttery new potatoes all with a view of the harbor.

After lunch I spent the afternoon wandering around. The town is very small with just a few roads and some footpaths. The summer cottages, mainly red and white wood buildings, were absolutely charming.

I looped back down to the waterfront and did a bit of shopping. A really small bit as there are only a handful of shops even! Then I walked to the marina and explored around the Sandhamn Hotel and docks. If it would have been a tad warmer I would have headed to the south end of the island, where I heard there is a nice little beach.

As I was walking around, the sky darkened so I ducked into Dykarbaren cafe for a glass of rosé and waited out the short rain shower.

And then the sun came back out and it was time to go catch my ferry to the mainland. I sat on the opposite side for my return trip to make sure I saw as many islands as possible!

What an absolutely fantastic day! Relaxing and beautiful! I'd love to go back to the Archipelago and do a multi-island, overnight trip next time!

All Sandhamn photos here. 

Other posts from this trip:
The Longest Day
My Midsummer Dream
Iceland Stopover