Northern exposure: a trip to Sweden's Gothenburg Archipelago

Sunrise from the deck of Tom's Swedish escape

We Irish may love to migrate south, but there’s something about those sparse, gilded sky, northern climes that always gets my wanderlust fluttering. 

So when I was recently planning a spring Nordic getaway and my friends in Copenhagen were considering an Easter break, we decided to join road-trip forces and head north on an escape from the Danish capital. And so after feeding the Airbnb filter with our various wish-list criteria, a dream island off the Swedish coast became our unexpected common denominator and we found ourselves road-tripping to the stunning — if unexpected setting — of the Gothenburg Archipelago.

I started in Copenhagen, a super popular city break destination in its own right, but also a great gateway to Sweden, which lies within viewing distance from Denmark from across the Øresund strait. The iconic Øresund Bridge, Europe’s longest, links the Danish capital to Malmo by both road and rail. However, my friends and I opted to border hop by driving up the Zealand coast and crossing from Helsingør (Denmark) to Helsingborg (Sweden), one of the world’s busiest car ferry crossings. Once in Sweden, just 20 minutes later, it was a straight 200km shot north to Gothenburg via the E6 motorway which meanders all the way to Kirkenes in the Norwegian Arctic Circle. 

Accomodation on the island of Knarrholmen

The Swedish landscape in these parts was rustic and low-lying, where flat-packed farmland with postcard-red barns almost yields an air of the American Midwest. After two hours, a sushi stop, and a grocery haul later, we were parked up in the fishing village of Saltholmen and ready to set off for one of Sweden’s most popular island escapes.

Leaving the mainland for Knarrholmen

The Gothenburg Archipelago, a long-time Swedish summer playground, is made up of about 20 rugged islands and one of its smallest, Knarrholmen, is an exclusive home to about 50 summer residences. We arrived at its pier via a zippy passenger ferry service and being Easter Saturday, we were joined by a gentle pulse of fellow weekenders. Knarrholmen is car-free and after a short wander, overlooking the archipelago and its bolder blotted skerries, we arrived at our dream base to the soundtrack of geese, eider ducks, and gulls. 

The quintessentially Scandi modern home features a light open-plan design, where floor-to-ceiling sliding doors wrap round a gourmet’s dream kitchen, living room, and lounge nook along with four bedrooms, two of them loft-style. Outside, there are two decks, one with a west-facing BBQ area, the other with a mood-lit jacuzzi which would give the Northern Lights a run for its money.

The home features four bedrooms and a stylish open design

The real beauty of Swedish island life however was its refreshing agenda-free pace. We whiled away our time hiking, birding, Eurovision binging, board game playing, and dipping in and out of the sea and sauna. The island even featured a destination fine-dining Restaurang Knarrholmen (prompting more than one reference to the recent thriller movie, The Menu). 

Dinner at Knarrholmen Restaurant offered surprisingly good value

We feasted there on a delicious three-course meal of fresh prawn toast, cod with asparagus, and herb potatoes followed by a chocolate terrine for a great value €52, while on Easter Sunday, we rustled up a roast lamb dinner by the hot tub under a starry sky offering a pretty epic crescendo to our trip. It may have just been a two-night stay in Sweden — with four ferries and 600kms of the road in the mix— but with every minute feeling so time rich, maybe consider an island getaway as the new city break.

A hot-tub under a starry sky

• Book in: our luxury Airbnb cost a zingy €400 per night, however, it sleeps up to ten and our party of four diluted the costs nicely. 
• Fares to and from Knarrholmen island are €10pp while the ferry from Denmark to Sweden cost €118 per car return. 
• We hired a car from the car share app Go More for €80 per day. 
• Given its excellent infrastructure, the Gothenburg Archipelago is also very accessible via train and tram (you’d just have to schlepp groceries with you). 
• Ryanair, SAS and Norwegian all fly from Dublin to Copenhagen from €150 return while Ryanair also offer a service from Dublin direct to Gothenburg.

Tip of the week

If you’re planning on a park & fly trip from Dublin Airport in the coming months, be sure to reserve your parking spot pronto. 

Dublin Airport’s various short and long-term parking lots have never been busier and while some of the surrounding hotels also make great options (I often use the Holiday Inn and Clayton which also offer a handy shuttle service), many of them are already booked up too. 

For my Sweden trip, I’d no option but to leave my car in Cork and catch the train to Dublin due to zero availability with a few days’ notice — so don’t make the same mistake as me and book extra early!

• dublinairport.com
• airpark.ie

News of the week

Good news for Dungarvan this week with the announcement that the town’s Park Hotel was awarded four-star accreditation from Fáilte Ireland. A series of refurbs and investments have led to the upgrading and the hotel has a staycation package to celebrate.

Two nights B&B with afternoon tea, four-course evening meal plus a welcome gift of local produce starts from €145pps.

• parkhoteldungarvan.com

Food Festival at Fungarvan

This weekend also sees the West Waterford Festival of Food taking place in Dungarvan which culminates with tomorrow’s Gigantic Food Market in the town.

• westwaterfordfestivaloffood.com

Route of the week: Hopp Schweiz!

This month sees the new route from Cork to Zurich taking off with the service running twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. 

Switzerland’s largest city makes a glorious destination at this time of year from its charming old town streets to its glistening lake however if its notoriously expensive hotel rates are beyond your budget, do consider the route as an excellent gateway to the stunning (and much cheaper) Lake Constance region on the Swiss-German border. 

It lies just a one hour train trip north from the airport.

• swiss.com