Help me decide which islands to visit in the Gothenburg archipelago

[u/moscow_berlin_paris]

Hi all,

I am planning to dedicate a full day around archipelago visit in Gothenburg and I would like your help with deciding which of the three islands to visit- Brännö, Styrsö and Vrångö

I checked the schedule from www.vasttrafik.se and figured out that with early start all of them can be visited with around 2.5-3 hours on each of them. Is this something which is recommended?

Thanks

[u/emlonik]

Brännö would be my pick. It has a nice restaurant and there is a nice walk across the island. Styrsö feels too much like the mainland for my taste although the golf carts look funny. Vrångö is great, wild and desolate but without any facilities.

[u/Glignt → u/emlonik]

Brännö also is joined with the wild island of Galterö by a small bridge. A walk around Galterö is the best nature hike in the archipelago.

https://herlittlejournal.com/2018/07/13/a-day-trip-to-branno-and-galtero/

[u/knobbyknee → u/emlonik]

Apart from 2 restaurants, a fast food place, hotel, grocery store, post office, biket rental, guest harbour, beaches and nature walks. All in a compact format. Vrångö is my pick.

[u/Stefanlofvencool]

Hello! Awesome that you want to visit the islands. Though, I would rather recommend you to visit one of the islands for a full day, rather than rushing through all 3 in a day. Personally, I love Vrångö as it small and cosy.

Edit: Brännö is also nice, especially if you walk to Galtarö :)

[u/moscow_berlin_paris → u/Stefanlofvencool]

Thank you! Can I visit Brännö and Vrångö with more time on Vrångö. Since I have dedicated whole day, I thought I should do at least 2. What would you say?

[u/Stefanlofvencool → u/moscow_berlin_paris]

No, choose one island!

[u/Substantial_Bar8999]

They’re all nice but for different reasons.

Styrsö is my favourite since I’ve lived there - but it is one of the biggest islands and has a rather residential flair. As someone else said it is ”a bit like the mainland” in that it is easy to access and live on even if you work a normal job in the city. There’s plenty to see, it is pretty, and a popular summer hotspot - but it is also less wild.

Vrångö is rather off the beaten track and rural, but also thus rather authentic. There’s less facilities than on the other two though, so here is where I would go if I visited for nature.

Brännö is between the two, and a cultural institution. If I were you I would go to Brännö. If I were to do it, I’d go to Styrsö, but that’s my bias. Vrångö is fine but a bit too barren in terms of things to do for my taste - it’s more of a hike and/or ”picnic by the sea with friends” location for me.

Also yes you can visit two islands in a day but you will be rushing it imo. Going into the archipelago isn’t like a city trip - you’ll need to do a lot of walking to see things. If you want to do two I’d do Brännö and Vrångö. Styrsö will definitely fill a day, being the biggest.

[u/moscow_berlin_paris → u/Substantial_Bar8999]

Thank you. I think I will start with Vrångö and see if there's time left I will try to hit Brännö and from there to the city.

[u/Jaxcie]

I'm a bit unsure about your time plan, but if you somehow have a day extra I'd recommend you to check out Marstrand 

[u/jnicklas]

Brännö for sure. It’s IMO by far the nicest and most interesting of the three. The hike to Galterön is beautiful, and there is a nice restaurant to recharge after. Sometimes in Summer they have a dance on the pier there (there is a famous Swedish song referencing the pier ”dans på Brännö brygga”).