Red timber cottages on an island in the Stockholm archipelago

Gamla Stan, the archipelago, and the long line north

Gamla Stan to the Arctic Circle.

Which archipelago boat actually leaves the city behind. Where the aurora forecast is worth trusting. What a night on the Torne river costs. Every tour in Sweden, reviewed.

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800tours to book

7regions, Malmo to Abisko

19kinds of day out

Start here

Gamla Stan, the archipelago, the aurora belt.

A first Swedish trip comes down to a handful of days: the old town on foot, a boat out through the islands, one clear night in the north. These are the ones to hold a date for.

Best ofGamla StanThe old town, walked properly65 tours Best ofAurora NightsDark sky, and someone who reads it58 tours Best ofThe ArchipelagoThirty thousand islands, one boat50 tours Best ofThe VasaA warship raised from the harbour29 tours Best ofHusky SleddingDog teams on the winter trails25 tours Best ofFikaCoffee, cardamom buns, no hurry22 tours

Most booked

Stockholm boats, Kiruna nights: what goes first.

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More travellers take these than any other tour in Sweden — the archipelago cruises, the aurora chases, the walks through Gamla Stan.

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 10,798 reviews

City Archipelago Sightseeing Cruise with Guide

Cruise Stockholm’s archipelago by classic boat with a live English and Swedish guide, onboard café, WiFi, and flexible 1.5 to 3-hour options.

From · $41

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2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 3,427 reviews Skansen Open-Air Museum Admission Ticket from $27

3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 3,260 reviews Hop-On Hop-Off Bus or Boat Option from $24

4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,110 reviews Archipelago Boat Tour from $39

5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 3,031 reviews Paradox Museum Entry Ticket from $28

6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,845 reviews Highlights Boat Tour from $43

7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 2,685 reviews Ghost Walk and Historical Tour from $33

8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 2,131 reviews Vasa Museum and Vrak Museum of Wrecks Combo Entry from $35

Stockholm

Stockholm is a city you leave by boat.

All Stockholm tours

Fourteen islands in the centre, thousands more past the last bridge. Walk Gamla Stan before the coaches arrive, give the Vasa a full afternoon, and be out on the water by five.

1City Archipelago Sightseeing Cruise with Guidefrom $41
2Skansen Open-Air Museum Admission Ticketfrom $27
3Hop-On Hop-Off Bus or Boat Optionfrom $24

Best ofBoat Trips63 tours Best ofGuided Walks77 tours Best ofThe Vasa29 tours Best ofCity Sightseeing52 tours Best ofFood Tastings21 tours Best ofHistory Walks25 tours

All 441 Stockholm tours →

Swedish Lapland

The Arctic Circle runs straight through Swedish Lapland.

Kiruna, Abisko and the Torne valley sit under the aurora belt, and Abisko keeps a hole in the cloud that almost nowhere else can match. Dog teams and snowmobiles run from December; the light comes back in March.

All Kiruna tours

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 735 reviewsKiruna Northern Lights Tour with Photographer

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 462 reviewsAbisko National Park Northern Lights Tour

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 333 reviewsNorthern Lights Tour with Photos

Best ofAurora Nights58 tours Best ofHusky Sledding25 tours Best ofSnowmobiles43 tours Best ofSami Camps24 tours Best ofIce & Icehotel7 tours Best ofAbisko Nights10 tours

The archipelago

Thirty thousand islands start at the Grand Hotel steps.

The old steamers keep a summer timetable out to Vaxholm and Sandhamn, tied up at Stromkajen with the city behind them. Kayaks go quieter and further. Either way the noise is gone inside an hour.

Best ofBoat Escapes50 tours Best ofKayak Paddles50 tours

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★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 — Guided Archipelago Islands Tour

Stockholm Archipelago Cruise with Guide

Stockholm City Kayak Tour

Nowhere else

A raised warship, a rebuilt ice hotel, a reindeer herd.

Museums and boat trips exist everywhere. The Vasa, the ice suites at Jukkasjarvi and a working Sami camp in winter do not.

Raised in 1961

The Vasa

The Vasa sailed about 1,300 metres in 1628 before a gust laid her on the floor of Stockholm harbour. Brackish Baltic water keeps shipworm out, so when she came up in 1961 the hull was still almost entirely original oak. She stands indoors now, five storeys of carving, in a building put up around her.

1Vasa Museum and Vrak Museum of Wrecks Combo Entry★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 2,131 reviews
2Vasa Museum Tour with Entry Ticket & Guide★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 537 reviews
3Vasa Museum Guided Tour, Including Ticket & Guide★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 330 reviews

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Rebuilt every winter

The Icehotel

At Jukkasjarvi, ice cut from the Torne river is built back into a hotel each winter and runs off into the river again each spring. Artists carve the suites, the glasses in the bar are ice as well, and the rooms hold around minus five. Reindeer hides and a proper sleeping bag do the rest.

1Icehotel and Sami Camp Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 33 reviews
2Guided Tour to Icehotel and Jukkasjärvi★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 28 reviews
3Explore the Icehotel★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 16 reviews

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Sapmi

The Sami Camp

Reindeer herding in Sapmi is a living, not a display. A winter visit is a couple of hours in a lavvu with the herd outside, coffee boiled over the fire, and a straight account of how a herding year actually works. Dress for standing still — that is the part that gets cold.

1Sami-Inspired BBQ Dinner with Northern Lights Chase★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 160 reviews
2Full-Day Reindeer Tour with Pickup in Kiruna★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 85 reviews
3Sami Reindeer Experience★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 53 reviews

See all 24 →

What it costs

Sweden is expensive. These days are not.

Every tour here by price. Entry tickets and old-town walks at one end, private Arctic days at the other.

Under $50

184 tours

Museum entry, Gamla Stan walks, fika stops and the commuter boats out to the near islands.

1City Archipelago Sightseeing Cruise with Guidefrom $41
2Skansen Open-Air Museum Admission Ticketfrom $27
3Hop-On Hop-Off Bus or Boat Optionfrom $24

$50–150

261 tours

The standard day out: an archipelago cruise, a guided aurora chase, a husky ride, a food walk.

1Swedish Food Guided Walking Tourfrom $112
2Guided Bike Tourfrom $62
3Winter Kayaking, Swedish Fika, and Hot Saunafrom $138

$150 and up

343 tours

Private guides, full snowmobile days, the ice suites, and anything that runs a whole day in the Arctic.

1Kiruna Northern Lights Tour with Photographerfrom $223
2Old Town Private Walking Tourfrom $708
3The Ultimate Aurora Photo Adventurefrom $183

Plan backwards

Sweden runs on a calendar. These four go first.

Most of the country can be booked the night before from a hotel in Stockholm. These cannot. They run on snow, on darkness, and on a river that has to freeze first.

01Icehotel and Sami Camp Day TripCarved fresh each winter and gone by spring — the ice season runs roughly December to April.
02Kiruna Northern Lights Tour with PhotographerThe aurora needs a dark sky. Between late May and mid-July there is no night up there to see it in.
03Sit Down Husky Ride Dog Sled Tour in KirunaSled teams run on snow, so the good winter dates go long before the season starts.
04City Archipelago Sightseeing Cruise with GuideThe old steamers keep a summer timetable. Outside roughly May to September the islands drop to a skeleton service.

West and south

Gothenburg eats shellfish; Malmo commutes to Denmark.

Gothenburg keeps the canals, the fish market and the west-coast boats. Malmo sits half an hour from Copenhagen over the Oresund bridge and plans accordingly. Both cost less than the capital.