Gothenburg Archipelago with Kids: A Local's Guide to the Car Free Islands
- minna
- Jul 3
- 7 min read
If you are visiting Gothenburg with young children and want a safe, quiet escape from the busy city streets, you absolutely need to take the tram out to the southern archipelago. These stunning islands are completely car free, incredibly easy to reach using standard public transport, and are beautiful to visit and magical to stay on.
I grew up on the island of Styrsö, and I have been swimming, crab fishing, and celebrating Midsummer on these islands for my whole life. After travelling to 45 different countries, I can honestly say this remains one of the most beautiful places in the world. Here is exactly how to navigate the ferries with a pram, which islands have the best sandy beaches for toddlers, and the absolute best places to stay for a peaceful island retreat.
Getting to the Archipelago
The southern islands are part of the Västtrafik public transport network, which means a single travel ticket perfectly covers your tram ride to the ferry terminal and the actual ferry crossing itself meaning the whole journey from the city centre costs exactly the same as any standard tram trip!
Simply take tram 11 from central Gothenburg to the final stop at Saltholmen. From Saltholmen, passenger ferries run to all the southern islands constantly throughout the day. The tram journey takes about 25 to 30 minutes. The ferry journey to the closest islands takes anywhere between 10 and 40 minutes depending entirely on which island you choose to visit.
A 90 minute Västtrafik ticket easily covers the tram and ferry combination and costs just 35 SEK. A full day pass for Zone 1 costs 115 SEK, which covers unlimited travel including absolutely all the southern island ferries for the full day. Children aged 0 to 6 travel completely free with a paying adult, and children aged 7 to 15 receive a generous 50 percent discount.
When to go: Between June and August, the sea temperature reaches a lovely 20°C thanks to the Gulf Stream, the ferries run highly frequently, and all the lovely local cafes and restaurants are fully open. Late August and early September is actually my personal favourite time to visit. It is still beautifully warm, noticeably quieter than peak summer, and the late evening light on the water is extraordinary.
Which Islands to Visit?
Styrsö
Styrsö is where I grew up and where I go back to see family all year round, it is the largest of the southern car free islands, featuring a proper village, a large ICA supermarket, several great cafes, and enough stunning coastline to spend a full day exploring without ever seeing the same bit twice.
The smooth granite rocks are a beautiful defining feature of the whole south archipelago, and Styrsö has them in absolute abundance. The rock is beautifully warm in the sun and very gentle to walk on, which is useful when you have a toddler who desperately wants to be barefoot. Uttervik on the north side of the island is the absolute best swimming spot for families. It is a wonderfully sheltered beach featuring a shallow entry and incredibly calm water. My daughter went in the sea for the very first time at Uttervik, and we go back every single summer.
Brännö
Brännö is the island I always recommend to anyone who wants the quintessential west coast Swedish summer experience. It boasts fantastic beaches, lovely hiking trails through the pine forest, and the incredibly famous Dans på Brännö Brygga. This is a wonderful local tradition of Thursday evening pier dances with a live band, held throughout the summer from late June to mid August. For young children, the beautiful beach at Kalvik on the south of the island is the absolute best spot. It is sandy, perfectly sheltered, and calm enough meaning it's perfect for toddlers.
Donsö
Donsö is cleverly connected to Styrsö by a pedestrian and cycle bridge, which means you can easily visit both islands on the exact same day just by walking between them. Donsö features its own lovely village, a great cafe with sweeping harbour views, and some of the absolute best sandy beaches in the south archipelago at Torholmen and Korset. The coastal walk around the south of Donsö is excellent with a toddler, offering a mostly flat path and stunning views that you can easily manage in under an hour.
Vrångö
Vrångö is the southernmost island in the archipelago and takes the longest to reach, taking about 40 to 55 minutes from Saltholmen. However, it is the most nature rich and easily the least visited. A massive nature reserve covers most of the island. There are two brilliant circular walking trails, a hidden beach in the forest, and a great shop and restaurant near the ferry landing. On a heavily busy August day in the city, Vrångö is the one island that still feels completely quiet and peaceful.
Best Things to Do on the Islands with Kids
Toddler Swimming The sea temperature between June and August sits around 18 to 21°C, which is genuinely warm enough for extended swimming. The incredibly calm water of the sheltered bays makes it highly safe for young children. The smooth granite rocks, public jetties and sand beaches mean there are entry points absolutely everywhere. Bring some water shoes for the rockier entry points, though the sandy beaches on Brännö and Donsö need nothing more than bare feet.
Note: the islands do tend to get jellyfish blooms and most are completely harmless (the moon jellyfish), however you do get the odd brown stinging jellyfish around in the deeper waters so make sure you keep an eye out
Traditional Crab Fishing
Local children fish for crabs from the wooden jetties using just a string and a tiny bit of bait. You can buy proper crab fishing gear at the supermarket on Styrsö, or easily assemble a basic version with some string, a wooden clothes peg, and a piece of bread. The crabs come up, the children excitedly examine them, and then they safely go right back in the water. This kept me entertained for hours as a kid!
Experiencing Swedish Midsummer
If you happen to be in Gothenburg during the third weekend of June, the archipelago is where Midsummer happens properly. On Styrsö alone there are two completely separate local celebrations, which gives you a great sense of exactly how seriously the island takes it. There is a huge maypole, a live band, traditional songs, beautiful flower crowns, and a massive amount of seafood and aquavit. It is the absolute most Swedish thing you can possibly do in Sweden, and the islands are undoubtedly the best place to do it. Read this here if you want to know more about it: Swedish Midsummer - What Is It and How Is It Celebrated?
Spotting Magical Bioluminescence In late summer and early autumn, the water around the Gothenburg archipelago can produce incredible bioluminescence on calm, dark nights. This is a stunning natural phenomenon caused by single celled algae that emit bright light when physically disturbed. Swimming in it is something genuinely remarkable. It does not happen every single night and is highly weather dependent, but if you are staying on the islands overnight in August or September, it is absolutely worth going down to the water after dark just in case.
Where to Stay on the Archipelago
Staying overnight on the islands is the experience that most visitors miss. Whenever I go back and sleep on the islands it's a different type of sleep. The mix of salty air, complete silence and no light pollution always knock me out so if you can manage a night or two out here, it is a really special place to visit as part of your Gothenburg trip.
1. Kusthotellet Styrsö (prices from around £160 per night)
Best for: Families who want a highly polished island hotel with sea views, a brilliant restaurant, and the best Styrsö beaches right on the doorstep.
Kusthotellet is easily the most complete and beautiful hotel on the southern islands. Positioned perfectly on Styrsö with sweeping views across the Kattegatt, it features a brilliant restaurant focused entirely on local west coast produce, a gorgeous sauna, and lovely bright rooms that face the sea. For a family wanting the true archipelago experience with proper luxury hotel facilities and absolutely none of the logistics of self catering, this is exactly where to book. A cot is available on request at this hotel.
2. Styrsö Bed and Breakfast (prices from around £110 per night)
Best for: Families who want an incredibly warm, family run guesthouse with a delicious home cooked breakfast and genuinely helpful local hosts.
This is a beautifully small, highly reviewed bed and breakfast on Styrsö run by fantastic local hosts who know the island inside out. The breakfast is the wonderful kind that comes with local homemade jam, fresh warm bread, and a host who can tell you exactly which hidden cove is best for swimming at what specific time of day. For families who want to feel like they are staying somewhere special rather than just sleeping somewhere, this is the absolute right choice. A cot is available on request at this property.
3. Archipelago Cottage Rentals (prices from around £80 per night)
Best for: Families who want a private self catering cottage with a full kitchen, their own garden, and the total freedom to structure the day around a toddler.
Several beautiful private cottages on Styrsö and Brännö are readily available for short summer lets, ranging from simple one room traditional stugas to much larger family properties with sprawling gardens. Having a full kitchen is genuinely incredibly useful with a toddler for early breakfasts and packing lunches. The cottage rental market on the islands fills up massively in July, so absolutely book well in advance!
Why You Have to Visit
I know it's home but for me it is easily one of the most beautiful places I've been to. It is calm, car free, and packed with swimming spots. The fact that you can easily get there from the city centre by public transport in under an hour, at the exact cost of a standard tram ticket is a sign you have to visit, but if you want to make your stay in Gothenburg memorable then book a few nights on the islands.
For absolutely everything else to do in the city with young children, read our Top 10 Things to Do in Gothenburg with Kids: A Local Guide. For exactly where to base your family in the city, read our Where to Stay in Gothenburg with Kids guide.