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Experience the beautiful west coast of Sweden with its many islands and summer resorts!

Itinerary

At 10.00am departure with the M/S Wilhelm Tham from Gothenburg,

11.10am Styrsö withSnobbrännan

Styrsö is the most populous and the greenest island in Gothenburg’s southern archipelago. And its nature is simply fantastic. The sound north of Styrsö is called the ‘Snob Channel’ – this was once the place where people showed off their superb sailboats.

11.40am– 12.50pm Känsö

Känsö Island is part of Sweden’s national heritage and one of the most curious, protected environments on the west coast. Most of the buildings were built between 1816 and 1818, a period when a quarantine station was established here. All of the original station

buildings have been preserved, including the plague and convalescence hospitals, the commander’s residence, visitor facility, observation tower, guardhouse and pub. In 1935 Känsö Island became a navy base assigned as a training site for the coast artillery. Today the island is still a military facility and a special permit is needed to land here. You can experience the island’s exciting history via a guided tour.

3.10pm – 4.20pm Vinga Ten nautical miles to sea in Gothenburg’s outer archipelago lies Vinga Island. The last outpost towards the Kattegat to the west, Vinga is one of the best-known lighthouse

stations and has served sea transport since the Middle Ages. The first permanent structure was a wooden seamark or daymark built in 1606. The red pyramid shaped daymark that stands today was built in 1857. The first Vinga lighthouse was built in 1840 and today’s in 1890. Troubadour, author and artist Evert Taube (1890-1976) grew up on Vinga, and the lighthouse is named in several of Taube’s well-known songs. This is a great opportunity to discover Vinga on your own and to take a refreshing dip while you’re at it. Docking at Vinga Island depends on weather conditions.

5.20pm Kalvsund

The old Valen daymark crowns the highest peak of Kalvsund Island. The Bremer villa is also found here and is famous as the home for Sweden’s largest smuggler in the early 1900s.

7.10pm Arrival Marstrand.

Docking in beautiful Marstrand (night harbor). The city of Marstrand was founded in the early 1200s by the Norwegian King Håkon Håkansson. Marstrand did not become Swedish until 1658 as part of the Treaty of Roskilde. The same year ground was broken on the highest point of the island for the Carlsten Fortress. It took two hundred years to complete it in 1860. Marstrand became one of Sweden’s most popular bathing resorts during the 1800s, gaining special status through the annual summer visits of King Oscar II. Today the city is Sweden’s sailing centre hosting several large events each summer. A guided walk through the narrow streets reveals the handsome, well-preserved house and the favourite sites of the bathing society from royal period. The tour is spiked with

exciting stories of past and present.

8.50am Departure Marstrand

Before the boat casts off in the morning, take a morning walk on the 5-km path rounding the whole islands. It takes around an hour, though shorter walks are also possible.

9.20am Åstol

A small, barren rock island with almost all of its white houses located on an east-west axis. The setting is listed nationally as an important cultural setting.

9.30am Kalvesund (Rönnäng)

Kalvesund is the narrow water between Rönnäng on Tjörn Island and the small island of Tjörnekalv. There are several handsome houses to inspect from the boat.

10.40am – 11.50am Skärhamn

Skärhamn is a central town on Tjörn, one of Sweden’s largest islands. Since the 1700s, Skärhamn’s growth has derived from the sea. As long as the herring ran in the waters, the fish was boiled and salted locally. There were several large shipping companies as

well with Skärhamn as home harbour. Here we will visit the Nordic Watercolor Museum. Since it opened in the summer of 2000 it has offered world-class art. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the inspiring museum shop.

12.15pm Kyrkesund

One of Bohuslän’s best-known seamarks stands on the mountain behind the old fishing hamlet Kyrkesund. Called Sankt Olof’s Whales, it is made up of four immense stone cairns.

1.20pm Mollösund

Mollösund is one the oldest fishing hamlets in Sweden and was Bohuslän’s centre for

preparation of ling for many years. There are lots of charming cottages and boathouses along its narrow alleyways.

2.40pm – 4.50pm Gullholmen

One of the oldest fishing hamlets in Bohuslän, Gullholmen is also the most densely populated island in Sweden. Even so, the unique, genuine island retains many of its old characteristics. Many older houses have been preserved showing clearly the difference

between the small, modest fisherman’s cottages and the large, showy captain’s residences. During the immense herring periods in the 18th and 19th centuries the island community grew, adding a canning factory, a salting-house and a sail maker. We will visit the Skepparhuset Museum built in 1893. Today it offers not only an authentic captain’s residence, but also a ship and fishing museum, as well as an intact sail-maker’s workshop. At Gullholmen we’ll meet two oyster and mussel farmers and hear from them about these ocean delicacies. There will also be time to enjoy lovely Gullholmen Islandon your own.

5.30pm – 6.30pm Nordströmmarna

Our boat glides at an easy pace through a verdant landscape.

6.15pm Bassholmen

Bassholmen is where the Allmogebåtar Association uses some older shipyard buildings as a museum for showing traditional Nordic boats.

6.50pm Lysekil

The city of Lysekil is located on the Gullmarsfjord. As with other towns on the Bohuslän coast, herring periods, quarries and shipping have been important development factors. During the 1800s Lysekil became a seaside resort based on the public baths developed on

commission by Carl Curman. An open-air bathing facility was also built in the 1860s and is still in constant use. Lysekil received its city charter in 1903.

8.30am Arrival Smögen The M/S Tham docks in Smögen for the night. Its unique setting makes Smögen Bohuslän’s largest tourist site. It was discovered in the early 1900s by bathing guests

from Stockholm. Today the nearly one kilometre long Smögen boardwalk offers a large selection of shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants with outdoor service. The Smögen Fish Auction was founded in 1919. Today it’s one of the most modern in Scandinavia

delivering Smögen shrimp, other shellfish and fish to the whole country. We will visit the auction to see both how fish and shellfish are handled today and how it was done

earlier.

7.20am Departure Smögen

8.00am – 8.30am Sotenkanalen Channel

The 5-km long Sotenkanal runs from Kungshamn to Hunnebostrand. It was built 1930- 35 by unemployed stonemasons to bypass the difficult passage outside the Soteskär island where many sailors have lost their lives.

9.45am Hamburgsund

Hamburgsund lies both on the mainland and on the naturally lovely Hamburgö Island. We pass between the two through the 130 m wide Hamburgsund Channel.

10.30am – 11.25am Fjällbacka

The small, idyllic fishing hamlet Fjällbacka is located in a Skagerack cove surrounded by tall cliffs. The name is derived from its location – on the slope below the ‘fjäll’, the high, steep Vetteberget that dominates the town. Sweden’s perhaps best-known actress,Ingrid Bergman, had her summer paradise on Dannholmen Island in the Fjällbacka archipelago. In her memory a statue was raised on the town square named for her. The Swedish writer of detective stories, Camilla Läckberg, grew up here and the hamlet is used as the scene for her books. A cosy guided walk through the Fjällbacka hamlet lends not only an opportunity to visit some of the Läckberg sites, but also to see the hamlet through Ingrid Bergman’s eyes.

1.30pm Arrival Grebbestad

Grebbestad is one of the most popular bathing resorts in Bohuslän. Earlier fishing and shipping were the important industries here and even today there are some trawlers that

sail from its port. But when the open-air swimming craze swept the nation in the 1840s, Grebbestad became a summer resort offering clay packs, seaweed baths and invigorating dips in the sea. Today Grebbestad is known as Sweden’s oyster capital. The delicacies

are thought to maintain an especially high quality and are served at the country’s top restaurants, as well as in other countries. Our cruise ends here in Grebbestad.

2.00pm Departure by bus (optional)

Please note that the bus transfer from Grebbestad to Gothenburg must be booked in advance.

4.00pm Arrival by bus in Gothenburg (Clarion Hotel Post, Drottningtorget)

Notes