The Top Five Swedish Island Destinations in 2018
Sweden is one of those places that anyone who is a travel enthusiast should visit. While there are a lot of great places to visit and wonderful sceneries to enjoy, it can be overwhelming at times. Whether you plan to visit the hiking trails or its other major attractions such art museums, knowing which places to visits first can help you spend your time and resources wisely, so that you can get the most out of your visit. Overall, Sweden is full of special attractions such as traditional huts, cathedrals, stone fortresses, and colorful wooden buildings. In this article, we are going to look at some of the best Swedish Island destinations in 2018.
Oland
The Oland is made up of 300 km of coastline and more than 75 natural reserves. When visiting this magnificent island, expect to enjoy abundant sunlight, and long white sandy beaches. The island is a perfect summer destination for both lone travelers and families. It has a population of about 25,000, and its emergency number is 112. Most of its businesses open from Monday to Friday, and few such as food stores and shops may open on weekends.
If you love biking, then you can explore Oland’s the flat winding roads, and forest paths with a bike. You can enjoy the ride past windswept, along the ocean and through small villages. If you are into hiking, some of them include 50km Boda long-distance footpath that runs from Byerum Sandvik to Nabbelund on North Oland, and the 4km Halsans Stig trail in Borgholm on central Oland. Other notable attractions to this Island are its numerous parks that include Neptuni Akrar., Borgholms Kallbadhus, and Graborg. To get to this Island, you may take a plane or train to Kalmar, then a quick bus to the island.
Trosa
Trosa is the largest of all the 30 islands that make up the city of Karlskrona. It is an island in Blekinge Lan, southern Sweden. It has several attractions that may interest you such as the Stortrget, which is a medieval settlement. You can also visit the Admiralty Park and view the sight of the imposing bell tower, as well as twenty different tree species including walnut and chestnut. You may also visit Bjorkholmen, and take a stroll through the charming cottages and the narrow alleys.
That will give you a sense of what it was like living in the medieval times. The Island is also home to the Hoglands Park is full of tall trees, green space and many flowers. It also has a children’s playground and live music. Lastly, the island is home to Sweden’s longest wooden structure, spanning 300 meters. The structure is actaully a rope-walk from around 1692 in an old shipyard. To get to Trosso, use the main road Osterleden, which connects it to the mainland.
Gotland
Gotland is the number one summer destination for most Swedes. The Baltic surrounds this island. It has 800km of coastline where you can enjoy sunbathing in summer, relax, or even take long walks. The main reason to visit Gotland is to experience what the quaint Visby town has to offer. If you are a fun of Vikings, then you have to visit this Island and learn some Viking history, enjoy throwing some axes, shoot some arrows, and even bake some Viking bread.
The Island’s only town has numerous unique building and structures such as low-rise, red rose-covered cottages, turrets and spires, shady arches, olde-worlde shops, tall towers and cobblestone streets. You can also visit Sudret and Faro, where you will marvel at the giant Rauks, which are natural limestone pillars. You may also want to take a long walk along the 2km-long medieval town wall. You can get to Gotland by Air or Ferry.
Finnhamn
This island lies near the outer archipelago and you may tour it all year round. The island is wooded and is made up of small bays with rocks perfect for swimming and is a great place for hiking. Finnhamn is the ideal place to go if you want to experience the Stockholm Archipelago at its sleepy best. However, it’s a great place for unwinding and just taking it easy. You can enjoy long walks along the beach, and let the wide view of the blue ocean calm your nerves.
After the walks, you can sit down and enjoy some barbecue or have a drink as you chat with your partner. However, it has only one hotel, so you would want to make sure you book a place before you get there. It takes around 5 hours to get there by ferry from central Stockholm. Waxholmsbolaget operates the ferry.
Hasslo
The Swedish call it “Little Hawaii” because of its sunny weather and the alluring beach that’s surrounded by shallow waters. Hasslo is one of the islands that make up the Blekinge archipelago. As of 2010, it had 1628 inhabitants. The island is flat, most of its residents live near the coast, and the Hasslobridge connects it to the mainland.
On this island, you can enjoy a stunning playground, an 18-hole golf course at the Almo nature reserve, play at the volleyball court, and take walks along the sandy beaches. There are three ways to get to Hasslo from Karlskrona. You can go by bus, taxi or car. It will take you 46 minutes by bus, 25 minutes by taxi and 25 minutes by drive. A taxi costs $50-$65; a bus is $3 while a drive will cost you about $3-$6.
