The Outer Archipelago
The outer archipelago is a large area where the open sea is broken by sparsely scattered islands, skerries, and bare rocks. A clear difference between the inner/middle and outer archipelago is the height of the vegetation. Just like in the mountains, the tougher the climate, the more barren it becomes. The Stockholm archipelago is a beautiful paradox: from the lush, sheltered inner/middle archipelago to the exposed and still wild outer archipelago.
If you stay more than five days in Sweden, we recommend you take the boat to Möja or Sandhamn. If you want a charming, vivid island (high season) with beautiful sandy beaches, go to Sandhamn. On Möja you experience a very beautiful and genuine archipelago settlement and environment.
If you’re looking for great adventure and solitude, it's the outer archipelago beyond Sandhamn and Möja you're looking for. You need to rent a boat or a kayak to come here. Thanks to “the right of public access”, you can moor boats, tent, and camp on the islands and skerries. In the outer archipelago, you are exposed to the forces of nature; if there’s a storm, it’s difficult to find shelter or help. Do go with a guide if you’re not very experienced!
In the outer archipelago, we recommend the "Stora Nassa" and the islands to the east of "Inre och yttre Sillö" (the Inner and Outer Herring Island) not too far away from Möja and Sandhamn. Though, you can get a feeling of the outer archipelago on Östra Lagnö – and you can go by car or bus here.
Sandhamn
On Sandön (the Sand Island), you find the village Sandhamn. Here, you will feel the breathtaking seascape of the outer archipelago. There're some rocky beaches, but most of the them have white sand. The best is Trouville – it's like the Mediterranean.
The idyllic village – a historic pilot station – is the archipelago's major meeting place for all boat people. Here, you find everything a small town offers. Do book a table/room in advance. Seglarhotellet (the Sailing Hotel) is the island's hub. The hotel dates back to the 1900s, when the building was inaugurated by King Oscar II as the clubhouse of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (KSSS).
If it's activities you're looking for, Sandhamn offers pretty much everything. During the height of summer, the jetties are crowded by boats. Then, Seglarhotellet (the Sailing Hotel of Sandhamn) has "after-sailing" in the afternoon with live-bands and DJ:s. Later, the action moves indoors to its nightclub.
In the autumn and winter, the great tranquillity has settled in the archipelago. Sandhamn is still lovely to visit. There's Christmas Tables at both the Seglarhotellet and the old inn Sandhamns Värdshus (dating back to the 1800s). Summer-time, the latter has a "shed" – Pentabaren – by the sea with seafood plateaus.
Möja
Möja is one of the most popular islands in the archipelago for tourists and boaters. If you are looking to sunbathe and swim, there’s almost no place for this (nice here).
Möja is one of the largest islands in the Stockholm archipelago. From here, the outer archipelago starts. The islands around Möja used to belong to the villages on Möja. The names reveal which village they belonged to. Some of the islands are within a nature reserve.
People have lived on Möja since the Viking Age. In 1719, as on Sandhamn, all the buildings were burned down in the Russian ravages. Only the small chapel in the village of Berg survived. There's about 300 year-round residents. Today, they're self-employed people and craftsmen instead of fishermen and farmers as back in time.
In Kyrkviken (the Church Bay), there’s a bakery, a grocery store, and two inns (with ice cream). If you want a meal, do book a table in advance (high season) at either the restaurant Wikströms Fisk – with the only professional fisherman on the island – or the inn Jeppes Gästgiveri further up north. It’s nice to rent a bicycle to get quicker around (no car on the island). The ostriches might surprise you. You can rent rowing boats and kayak. For staying over night, the hostel or private landlords have simple rooms.