Choosing the best Stockholm boat tour

Which Stockholm boat tour should you book?

For most first-time visitors, the two-hour guided archipelago cruise from Skeppsbron. Pick City Highlights to see the city and the lock, the RIB for speed, and the Vaxholm or Grinda trips if you want to walk on an island.

Stockholm sits where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic, so almost every tour shows you water, bridges and palaces. The difference lies in where the boat goes. The archipelago cruises head east through the Djurgården canal to the first islands and back. City Highlights loops round Södermalm, under the bridges and through Hammarby lock onto Lake Mälaren. The short tours of 50 minutes to an hour circle Djurgården. Only three trips on this site put you ashore: Vaxholm, Grinda and Birka.

The table compares every tour on the homepage. Ratings are GetYourGuide scores with the number of reviews, checked on 2 October 2026. For the canal and bridge tours in more detail, see the canal tour guide.

Is the archipelago cruise worth it?

Yes, if you want an easy two-hour taste of the islands with a guide. No, if you want to swim, walk or eat on an island: the cruises sail past the islands and turn back.

The Live Guided Archipelago Cruise (4.5 from 6,226 reviews) leaves from the Gustav III statue on Skeppsbron. It passes Fotografiska and Blockhusudden, slips through the Djurgården canal and heads out past Fjäderholmarna, Stora Höggarn and Tegelön towards Vaxholm before turning back. There are indoor and outdoor decks, a restroom, blankets and a café where you can buy fika. Reviewers praise guides who take questions and share stories along the way.

Three other cruises cover similar water. The Archipelago Cruise on a Classic Ship is the most reviewed boat tour in Stockholm (4.3 from 11,973 reviews), with sailings of 1.5, 2.5 or 3 hours from Strandvägen; only the longest goes as far as Vaxholm and back. The historic ship cruise with Swedish fika (4.6 from 1,826) sails the M/S Vindhem from Skeppsbron 101, with a coffee or tea and a pastry included. The classic wooden boat tour (4.7 from 851) is smaller and open to the air, 1 hour 45 minutes from Skeppsbron 2. The islands are the same, so choose by ship, length and how close to the water you want to sit. For the islands themselves, read the archipelago guide.

Can you get off the boat on an archipelago cruise?

No. The two-hour cruises have no stop ashore. To walk on an island, book the guided Vaxholm day trip or the RIB ride with two hours on Grinda, or take a public Waxholmsbolaget boat from Strömkajen.

• Vaxholm with a guide: the Vaxholm day trip (4.7 from 49 reviews) meets at Nationalmuseum at 9:45 and takes a small group about an hour by archipelago boat to Vaxholm. You walk the old town, stop for lunch or fika (not included; a picnic is welcome), visit Vaxholm beach for a swim if you like, and cross by taxi boat to Vaxholm Fortress, where museum entry is included. The day lasts 7 hours.
• Grinda by RIB: the RIB ride with two hours on Grinda (5.0 from 42 reviews) leaves Strandvägen, berth 19, and spends about two hours ashore on Grinda, a nature reserve island owned by the Archipelago Foundation. It takes 4.5 hours, for ages 12 and up.
• On your own: Waxholmsbolaget's public boats leave Strömkajen all year, and any SL ticket covers the stretch between Strömkajen and the Vaxholm area. Further out, you buy a Waxholmsbolaget ticket.
• West instead of east: the Birka boat trip lands on Björkö in Lake Mälaren for a guided walk round the Viking town, in summer.

The rules for the public boats are in ferries and tickets.

A small-group day on Vaxholm with a guide: about an hour by archipelago boat, the old town, the beach, and a taxi boat to Vaxholm Fortress with museum entry included. Rated 4.7 from 49 reviews.

★ 4.7 (49) · 7 hours · Full refund up to 24 h ahead

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RIB or big ship: which is better?

The RIB if you want speed, warm overalls and more islands in two hours. A big ship if you want a café, a restroom, an indoor seat and a gentle ride, or if you travel with children under 12.

The RIB speed boat tour (4.9 from 504 reviews) leaves Strandvägen, berth 19, with a guide who is also your captain. In two hours it passes Gamla Stan, the Södermalm and Nacka shores and inhabited islands, runs out towards Vaxholm fortress and comes back through the Djurgården canal. You get warm overalls, wind jackets and beanies, and reviewers say they stayed dry and warm; one was shown the house of Benny from ABBA. It is not for children under 12, pregnant women or people with back problems.

The big ships are calmer and more social: indoor saloons, outdoor decks, blankets, a café or bar and a toilet. They suit families with younger children and anyone who prefers a smooth ride. The RIB covers more water, while the big ships give you more time to look. If you like the RIB and want to land, the Grinda RIB trip adds two hours on an island.

Which boat tour is best for an evening or with food?

The pizza cruise for a relaxed evening, the archipelago cruise with lunch for a proper meal, and the historic ship cruise if fika is enough. The flagship archipelago cruise also has evening sailings.

• Pizza in the evening: the evening city cruise with fresh pizza (4.4 from 784 reviews) sails for 2 hours from Skeppsbron past Skeppsholmen and Djurgården towards the archipelago, with a pizza baked on board and a quiz. Drinks are extra and there is no guide, so it is a night out more than a tour.
• Lunch on a 1906 ship: the archipelago cruise with lunch (4.5 from 311) spends 2.5 hours in the inner archipelago on the M/S Östanå I from Strandvägen, berth 15, with a cooked main course (meat, fish or vegetarian) and a live guide in English and Swedish.
• Lunch on Lake Mälaren: the Drottningholm lunch cruise (4.5 from 47) goes from Klara Mälarstrand to Drottningholm Palace and back in 2 hours with a warm lunch. You pass the palace but do not go ashore. Drottningholm boats run roughly from mid-May to late October.
• Coffee and a pastry: the historic ship cruise includes fika; on the other ships you buy it at the café.
• Evening light: the flagship archipelago cruise also sails in the evening, and one reviewer took the 6 pm sailing in September. In late June there are about 18 hours of daylight, so a late cruise still comes back in the light.

Which tours suit families with children?

Short ones: the amphibious bus, the open electric boat and the one-hour canal loops round Djurgården. The RIB tours are for ages 12 and up.

The amphibious Ocean Bus (4.7 from 6,245 reviews) is a favourite with families: an hour from Strömgatan 3 by the Opera, along Birger Jarlsgatan and past the 1912 Olympic stadium, then a splash into the water off Djurgården. You may get splashed. It does not go into Gamla Stan. The open electric boat (4.8 from 728) is quiet and takes 50 minutes from Skeppsbron 2 past the Royal Palace, the Vasa Museum and ABBA The Museum. The Royal Djurgården canal tour from Strömkajen also takes about an hour.

With older children, the two-hour cruises work well because you can move between the deck and the saloon, and City Highlights holds their attention as the boat passes through Hammarby lock. Children of 12 and up can join the RIB tour. One family with children aged 10 and 12 enjoyed the pizza cruise, but noted that it has no commentary. For a full family day, Gröna Lund and Skansen are a short ride away on the Djurgården ferry; see Stockholm in three days.

What are some good boat trips in Sweden?

From Stockholm, the best are the archipelago, by public boat or on a tour, Drottningholm Palace on Lake Mälaren, Birka the Viking town and the overnight ferries to Helsinki and Tallinn.

Sweden has long coasts and many lakes, but Stockholm is the easiest place to start, because the boats leave from the city centre. To the east, the archipelago reaches about 60 km out to sea, with tens of thousands of islands, often quoted as about 30,000. Boats from the city reach Vaxholm in about an hour, Grinda in about 1.5 hours and Sandhamn in about 2.5 hours. To the west, Lake Mälaren lies about 70 cm higher than the sea. Boats from Klara Mälarstrand reach Drottningholm in about an hour and Birka in about 2 hours each way, in the warmer months.

The Birka Viking town trip (4.3 from 274 reviews) is a full 7-hour day: about two hours across Lake Mälaren to Björkö, a guided walk round the Viking town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993, and museum entry. Further afield, Viking Line and Tallink Silja sail overnight to Helsinki via Mariehamn on Åland, about 17 to 18 hours, and Tallink sails overnight to Tallinn in about 16 hours. All of this is in day trips by boat, and the islands are compared in the archipelago guide.

A full day on Lake Mälaren: about two hours by ship to Björkö, a guided walk round the Viking town of Birka and entry to its museum. Summer season. Rated 4.3 from 274 reviews.

★ 4.3 (274) · 7 hours · Full refund up to 24 h ahead

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What should you bring on a boat tour?

A warm layer, even on a sunny day, because it is breezy on deck. Add sunglasses, a strap for your phone or camera, and your booking on your phone.

• A layer: the wind on the water feels cooler than the streets. Most big boats lend blankets, and the RIB tours hand out overalls.
• Time to spare: arrive early. The City Highlights boat can be full, and the best outdoor seats go first.
• Headphones: on tours with commentary in several languages, reviewers recommend bringing your own.
• Swimwear: only for the trips that land, such as Vaxholm, where you can swim from Vaxholm beach. The Baltic is usually around 16 to 20 °C in July and August.
• The season in mind: the city tours and the classic ship cruises run for most of the year, while the summer-only boats stop in autumn. From December to early April, the winter archipelago tour (4.5 from 1,476 reviews) sails from Strömkajen on an ice-going boat towards Fjäderholmarna.

Plans change, and every tour on this site gives a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours ahead. The homepage has the practical basics for planning your visit.

Frequently asked questions