Oland: Sweden's Sunshine Island

Öland is a long, flat limestone island off Kalmar, with a World Heritage farming landscape, a castle ruin, the royal family’s summer home and one of Sweden’s best bird sites at its southern tip. Here is how to get there, what is open when, and the rules on the ground.

When you need this

You are planning a day trip or a few days on Öland, usually from Kalmar. You want to know how to cross without a car, whether the castle and Solliden are open on your dates, and what you may do with a dog or a camera in the nature reserves. Or you are coming for the harvest festival in late September.

The island at a glance

SMHI calls Öland Sweden’s smallest province (landskap). Nowhere on it is more than 10 km from the sea, and its highest point is just over 50 m above sea level. The island is split between two municipalities in Kalmar County: Borgholm in the north, with 10,626 residents at the end of 2025, and Mörbylånga in the south, with 16,306.

Is it really the sunniest?

“Sunshine Island” is a nickname, not a measurement. The harvest festival’s own history notes that islanders have traditionally marketed Öland for sun and bathing. SMHI does not name Öland Sweden’s sunniest place, and neither do we.

What SMHI does say is still useful for planning:

• Sweden is, on average, sunniest along its coasts, and least sunny in the mountains and inland Götaland.
• At Ölands södra udde, the southern tip, the sky is on average less than 40% cloud-covered on summer afternoons and evenings, and more than 70% from November to February.
• With about 500 mm of precipitation a year, locally only 400 mm on the coast, Öland is Sweden’s driest province.
• Mean temperatures run from 0 to +1 °C in February to 17–18 °C in July (1991–2020).

Getting there and around

The Öland Bridge, about 6 km long, carries the road from Kalmar to the island. There is no toll. You may not walk or cycle on it: the county administrative board banned foot and bike traffic in December 2009, and Transportstyrelsen upheld the ban.

Bridge works run from August 2026 to 31 March 2027. Trafikverket closes a lane in each direction and lowers the speed, 09:00–15:00 and 21:00–05:00, so allow extra time. More work follows April–November in 2027–2030, with little traffic impact expected.

Buses are run by Kalmar länstrafik, the county’s public transport. On board you pay by bank card with a surcharge; the app takes Swish or a card; cash works only at customer centers and resellers. A summer ticket covers the whole county, Öland included, from 15 June to 15 August. The mainland side, trains and the airport are in our Kalmar travel guide.

South Öland and Stora alvaret

In 2000 UNESCO inscribed Södra Ölands odlingslandskap, the agricultural landscape of southern Öland, as a living cultural landscape. It is one of Sweden’s 15 World Heritage sites. Islanders still till fields farmed for generations and graze land grazed for a couple of thousand years.

Look for the radbyar, row villages where farms stand side by side along the village street; about 200 of Öland’s 300-plus villages are built this way. In the eastern shore meadows (sjömarker), Iron Age settlements with houses and cattle tracks show in the short grass.

Stora alvaret covers 260 km² of thin soil on limestone, crossed by an estimated 380 km of old sunken tracks (hålvägar). Some of its plants grow nowhere else in the world, such as ölandssolvända. Grazing keeps it open. Stora Alvarleden is a trail marked with stone cairns; you can cycle it, but not all year, because Tranekärr floods in winter.

Much of the alvar is nature reserve, and there the right of public access (allemansrätten) does not fully apply. In the Karlevi reserves, for example, you may not drive a motor vehicle, camp more than one night in the same place, have a dog off the leash, collect loose stones or break off bedrock. Each reserve has its own regulations; the general rules are in our allemansrätten guide.

Across the island you will pass windmills. Most surviving ones are post mills (stubbkvarnar) from the late 1700s or early 1800s. About 2,000 stood around 1850 and 437 in 1954; a recent inventory by Ölands Kvarnförening, reported by the county museum, found 351.

Ottenby and Långe Jan

At the southern tip, Ottenby nature reserve covers 995 hectares. The land belongs to Statens fastighetsverk and the county board manages it. The board calls the tip one of Sweden’s best bird sites. Sveriges Ornitologiska förening runs a bird station there that rings thousands of birds a year. Långe Jan, built in the 1780s, is 42 m tall, Sweden’s tallest lighthouse.

The reserve has rules with dates attached:

The lighthouse-road ban rests on the Species Protection Ordinance, because endangered birds breed there. The county board also asks dog owners to keep out of the pastures in early spring, when cows with calves see dogs as a threat.

For access, the naturum visitor center at the tip has an accessible toilet. Skogsuddeslingan, the most accessible trail, is gravelled and works with a walker, a pushchair or a wheelchair with a companion. A bird hide, two shelters and a warming hut open all year stand at the tip. Spring and autumn bring the migrating birds.

Borgholm Castle and Solliden

Borgholms slottsruin stands on a plateau over the Kalmarsund, about 40 km north of the bridge. It belongs to the state through Statens fastighetsverk and is run on site by a tenant. Rebuilt as a Renaissance castle in 1572–92 and as a Baroque palace from the 1650s, it was never finished; building stopped in 1709, and a fire on 14 October 1806 left the ruin. The castle is cash-free, drones are not permitted, and dogs on a leash are welcome, even in the exhibitions.

Sollidens slott, outside Borgholm, is the royal family’s summer residence and the King’s private property, according to the royal court. It was built in 1906 for Crown Princess Victoria, who found Öland’s drier climate eased her poor health; Gustaf V later opened the park to the public. Your ticket covers the park and exhibitions, not the house, and is bought on site.

The harvest festival

Ölands Skördefest is held across the island in late September, week 39. In 2026 it opened on 23 September and ran to 27 September, with more than 900 activities. It is owned by the non-profit association Skördefestens Vänner and run by its company, Ölands Skördefest (svb) AB. The 2027 edition, its 30th, is set for 29 September–3 October. Book early for that week.

When to go

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying to cycle or walk across the Öland Bridge.
• Counting on the bike ferry in May or September.
• Bringing cash to Borgholm Castle.
• Walking off the trails at Ottenby between April and August.
• Flying a drone over Ottenby or the castle; see our drone rules guide.
• Reading “Sunshine Island” as an SMHI ranking.
• Expecting to tour inside Solliden.

Practical information

FAQ

How do you get to Öland?

From Kalmar over the Öland Bridge, about 6 km long, by car or regional bus; there is no toll. Walking and cycling on the bridge are banned. Cyclists take a regional bus, which carries two bikes, or in summer the bike ferry from Kalmar to Färjestaden, which in 2026 ran from 15 June to 16 August.

Is Öland really the sunniest place in Sweden?

Not by any official ranking we can source. “Sunshine Island” is a marketing nickname. SMHI says Sweden is sunniest on average along its coasts, and at Öland’s southern tip the sky is on average less than 40 percent cloudy on summer afternoons. SMHI also calls Öland Sweden’s driest province, with about 500 mm of precipitation a year.

What is the World Heritage site on Öland?

Södra Ölands odlingslandskap, the agricultural landscape of southern Öland, inscribed by UNESCO in 2000 as a living cultural landscape. Farmers still till the same fields and graze the same land as for a couple of thousand years. It includes Stora alvaret, a 260 km² limestone plain, and row villages where farms stand side by side along the street.

When is Borgholm Castle open?

In 2026 the ruin opened daily from 28 March to 1 November: 10:00–16:00 in April, 10:00–18:00 from May to August, 10:00–17:00 in September and 10:00–16:00 in October. It closes for some events, such as 13–14 July. Adults paid 140 kronor in autumn 2026, by card only; dogs on a leash are welcome.

Can you visit Solliden?

Yes, the park and exhibitions, not the house. Solliden is the royal family’s summer residence and the King’s private property. In 2026 the park opened daily from 7 May to 27 September, and adults paid 150 kronor, bought on site. The 2027 season is not yet published; the King and Queen spend much of the summer there.

Can I bring my dog to Ottenby?

Yes, on a leash. The county board asks you to keep dogs out of the pastures in early spring, when cows with calves are protective. From 1 April parts of the reserve are closed and you must stay on marked trails; along the lighthouse road you may not leave the road or Kyrkhamnsleden until 15 July. Camping and overnight parking are banned.

When is Öland’s harvest festival?

Ölands Skördefest is held in late September, week 39, across the whole island. In 2026 it opened on 23 September and ran to 27 September, with more than 900 activities. The 2027 edition, its 30th anniversary, is set for 29 September to 3 October. It is owned by the non-profit association Skördefestens Vänner.

Related guides

• Kalmar travel guide — the mainland side: trains, buses, the bike ferry quay.
• Southern Sweden road trip — Öland as a day on a ten-day loop.
• Kalmar Castle — the castle across the strait, with its own seasons.
• Swedish beaches — water quality and swimming before a beach day.
• The Koster Islands and the Stockholm archipelago — Sweden’s other island trips.

Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: SCB, SMHI, Länsstyrelsen i Kalmar län, Statens fastighetsverk, Kungl. Hovstaterna, Transportstyrelsen, Trafikverket, Kalmar länstrafik, Kalmar läns museum, Borgholm Castle, Sollidens slott and Ölands Skördefest — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.