Sailing the Stockholm Archipelago: Route, Distances and Stops

The Stockholm archipelago is about fifty nautical miles north to south and thirty east to west, and it is all islands — thousands of them, low, wooded and made of smooth grey granite. You are never out of shelter, the water is flat, and there is somewhere worth stopping every few miles. It is the opposite of the Mediterranean in almost every respect, and it is the reason people who have sailed both keep going back to this one.

What follows is the route Michal Hrivnák has sailed in August, with the real distances and what each stop is actually like.

At a glance

The Stockholm archipelago at a glance

The archipelago: About 50 nm north to south, 30 nm east to west
This route: A round trip from Saltsjöbaden, about 107 nm
Stops: Nine, none of them more than 23 nm apart
Longest leg: 23 nm, Grinda back to Saltsjöbaden
Shortest leg: 3 nm, Smådalarö Gård to Dalarö Skans
Season: June to August
When we sailed it: August
The boat: Elan 410, three cabins, sport rig
Diesel used, whole week: 44 litres

Distances are measured along the track on the map above, so take them as orientation. A day spent beating adds miles that no chart shows, and the archipelago is dense enough that a different set of stops changes the total without changing the week much.

The route

Saltsjöbaden to Saltsjöbaden, stop by stop

Saltsjöbaden

The base, about eight miles from the middle of Stockholm and already in the archipelago rather than in the city. Everything after this is islands.

Smådalarö Gård — 11 nm

The first night, in a bay on the east side of Smådalarö. You leave Rosenön to starboard and turn straight in. Flat water, low sun and a red boathouse, which is the picture everyone has in their head about Sweden and which turns out to be accurate. There is also a sauna here, which is the other reason to stop.

Low morning sun over a small Swedish marina with the sun flaring through the masts — Five miles is not a sailing day. It is a morning.

Yachts moored along a wooden jetty at Smådalarö Gård

A red Swedish boathouse beside a jetty with moored boats

Dalarö Skans — 3 nm

Three miles from the night before: a small granite island with a round stone fort on it, built in 1652 to guard the southern approach to Stockholm. You can lie alongside below the walls, which is not something most anchorages offer.

A yacht lying alongside the quay below the stone fort at Dalarö Skans — Alongside under the fort.

Aerial view of the fortified island of Dalarö Skans — Built in 1652, and the only thing on the island.

Utö — 11 nm

One of the larger outer islands, with a proper guest harbour and a village behind it. A good place to take on water and remember what a shop looks like before heading back into the quiet.

The guest harbour at Utö in the Stockholm archipelago — The harbour at Utö.

Aerial view of a channel between wooded islands near Utö — The channels are narrow and the water is flat.

A yacht on the guest pontoon at Utö — Alongside for the night.

Mörtö Bunsö — 15 nm

Small, wooded and almost empty: a jetty, a few boats and not much else. This is the version of the archipelago people come for.

Yachts tied to a small wooden jetty among trees at Mörtö Bunsö — A jetty, some trees, nothing else.

Michal Hrivnák on the foredeck of a yacht in the Stockholm archipelago — Shorts weather, in Sweden, in August.

Sandhamn — 15 nm

The sailing capital of the archipelago and home of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club. A hundred people live here in winter and several thousand arrive in summer, most of them by boat. If you want one day with a harbour full of masts, somewhere to eat and a sauna, this is it.

Aerial view of Sandhamn island and its harbour in the Stockholm archipelago — Sandhamn from above.

The harbour at Sandhamn filled with visiting yachts — A harbour that is mostly sailing boats.

Yachts moored along the quay at Sandhamn beside the village buildings

A traditional gaff-rigged schooner under full sail in the Stockholm archipelago — Not everything out here is plastic.

Kålö — 13 nm

And then straight back out of the crowd. Kålö is an inlet in bare granite where boats lie nose-in to the rock with an anchor out astern — the standard way of stopping in Sweden, and much easier than it looks.

A yacht under sail among low wooded islands — Fourteen miles, all of it sheltered.

Yachts moored in a narrow rocky inlet at Kålö — Nose in to the rock, anchor out astern.

Aerial view of two yachts moored bow-to a slab of granite — This is a berth, and it costs nothing.

Träskö-Storö — 7 nm

More of the same and no apology for it. A nature reserve, smooth glaciated rock running straight into deep water, and enough room to be out of sight of the boat next door. There is a sauna here too, which is a strange and very good thing to find on a rock in the middle of nowhere.

A yacht moored against smooth granite with a person ashore

A sheltered rocky inlet with boats at Träskö-Storö — Deep water right up to the rock.

A yacht at a jetty in the low light of a Swedish summer evening — The light lasts a very long time in August.

Grinda — 9 nm

A nature-reserve island with a busy guest harbour, a short walk across to the other side, somewhere to eat and a sauna. A civilised last night before turning for home.

Aerial view of the jetty and guest harbour at Grinda — Grinda from the air.

Visiting yachts moored in the guest harbour at Grinda — Full, in August, and still calm.

Back to Saltsjöbaden — 23 nm

The longest leg of the week, back down the inner channels past Vaxholm Kastell, then in through Skurusundet under the old Skuru bridge and down past Skogsö, in water narrow enough to feel like a river. Forty-four litres of diesel for the whole week, which tells you how much of it was actually sailed.

Vaxholm fortress seen from a yacht in the inner Stockholm archipelago — Vaxholm, on the way home.

A narrow tree-lined channel in the inner Stockholm archipelago — The inner route narrows to something like a river.

Michal Hrivnák at the wheel back alongside in Saltsjöbaden at the end of the week — Back where it started, 107 miles later.

Orientation

Where the route goes

Orientation only. The track is drawn through the channels actually sailed, not a plotted GPS log.

What to expect

Why it does not sail like the Mediterranean

Naturhamn, not marina

Sweden has two kinds of stop. A gästhamn has showers, fresh water and usually somewhere to eat. A naturhamn is just a bay: bow to the granite, anchor out astern, lines to a ring set in the rock. No facilities, no fee, and usually nobody else.

Sauna, then the sea

Sauna is not a spa treatment here, it is what you do at the end of the day. On this route there were saunas at Smådalarö Gård, Sandhamn, Träskö-Storö and Grinda, and the routine never varies: as hot as you can stand, then straight off the rocks into the Baltic.

Flat water, short legs

You are inside the islands the whole time, so the water stays flat even when it blows. Legs run from three to twenty-three miles: no delivery day, and no reason to be at sea when you would rather be swimming.

Sail it with us

What a Stockholm week looks like with Tangreto

A skipper who has sailed it

Michal Hrivnák has been at sea since 2003, has held an international coastal licence (C) since 2007 and the offshore category (B) since 2012, and has sailed this exact route himself.

At anchor, not alongside

The point of Sweden is the rock, the trees and the empty bay. Harbours are for the day you want a shower and a restaurant.

Your pace, not a schedule

Nine stops in 107 miles means the route bends easily. If the wind is wrong or the bay is good, we stay.

Ask about a Stockholm charter

Ask about the Stockholm archipelago

Tell us when you want to go and how many of you there are, and we will come back with a boat and a route.

FAQ

Questions we get asked

When is the best time to sail the Stockholm archipelago?

June to August. The season is short and the summer light is long — in August it is still bright well into the evening, which gives you far more usable day than the same latitude suggests.

How far do you sail in a day?

On this route, between 3 and 23 nautical miles, and about 107 over the week. Legs are short because there is somewhere to stop every few miles, so a day is a passage and an afternoon, not a delivery.

How is it different from sailing in the Mediterranean?

Flat water and no swell, because you are never out of the islands. Short legs. Fresh water. And you moor bow-to bare granite with an anchor out astern rather than stern-to a quay, which is the part that surprises people and takes about two goes to learn.

Do you need sailing experience?

No. The boat is skippered and the archipelago is a forgiving place to learn — sheltered water, short distances and a lot of practice at coming alongside.

What boat was this?

An Elan 410 with three cabins and a sport rig. Forty-four litres of diesel covered the entire week, which says something about how much of it can be sailed.

Can you really tie up to the rocks?

Yes, and it is the normal way to spend a night. The granite is smooth, the water stays deep right up to it, and most of the good spots have a ring or a bolt already set into the rock. It costs nothing and there is rarely anybody else in the bay.

What is a naturhamn?

Sweden distinguishes a gästhamn — a guest harbour with showers, fresh water and usually a restaurant — from a naturhamn, which is simply a bay. In a naturhamn you put the bow to the rock, drop an anchor astern and run lines to a ring set in the granite. No facilities, no fee, and most nights nobody else. Several of the stops on this route are naturhamn, and they are the ones people remember.

Is there a sauna?

Yes, and it is not an extra — sauna is part of the archipelago. On this route we used the saunas at Smådalarö Gård, Sandhamn, Träskö-Storö and Grinda. The routine never varies: as hot as you can stand, then straight off the rocks into the Baltic. It is also the reason nobody minds how cold the water is.