Sailing the Stockholm Archipelago
A round trip from Saltsjöbaden: Dalarö, Utö, Sandhamn, Kålö and Grinda. 107 nautical miles, nine stops and forty-four litres of diesel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where the route goes
Orientation only. The track is drawn through the channels actually sailed, not a plotted GPS log.
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.
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 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.
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.