St Anna Archipelago and Soderkoping: Island Boats, Reserve Rules and the Canal Town

Reaching St Anna’s islands is a logistics question before it is a sightseeing one. There is no walk-on ferry network: you catch the summer boats, phone in a public boat the day before, or paddle. Here is how each works, and what the reserve allows.

When you need this

You are planning a day or a few nights on the Östergötland coast without your own boat, maybe as a detour from the E22 or the end of a Göta Canal trip. You want to know how to actually reach an island, whether to stay in Söderköping or out at the harbors, and what the nature reserve lets you do with a tent or a kayak. Or you watched the Inga Lindström films on ZDF and recognized the town.

Where St Anna is, and where it ends

Sankt Anna skärgård (St Anna archipelago) lies east of Söderköping and runs from Aspöja in the north to Södra Finnö in the south: thousands of islands and bays, many nature reserves, and sheltered water that suits paddlers. The outermost skerries form Sankt Anna naturreservat, 7,367 hectares, protected in 1968 and extended in 2018, and reachable only by boat or kayak.

Harstena is not strictly St Anna. The fishing village most guides put here lies at the far edge of the neighboring Gryts skärgård, in Valdemarsvik municipality, right on the border. The summer boats serve both archipelagos, so in practice it belongs on a St Anna trip.

Getting onto the islands without a boat

There are two systems, and mixing them up is the most common way a St Anna day goes wrong.

The summer boats are the easy option. In 2026, Skärgårdslinjen sailed daily from Arkösund, Tyrislöt and Fyrudden to Harstena, Ämtö, Gräsmarö and Kopparholmarna, with children under 12 at half price.

Östgötatrafiken’s boats are public transport built for islanders. They run to a fixed timetable, but only when someone has booked, and the route follows the bookings. The rules:

• Book by phone by 18:00 the day before, on 0771-71 10 20. Booking is open 06:00–23:00, up to two weeks ahead, and you are told your pickup time.
• Book the return at the same time. Seats are limited and only school pupils have a guaranteed seat.
• Mainland to island only. You cannot book a trip between two islands.
• Pay with the app or a bank card on board. You need a skärgårdsbiljett (archipelago ticket); cash is not accepted, and the ticket does not cover the bus. A 30- or 365-day Östgötatrafiken pass works if it covers Fyrudden, Lagnö vändplats or Arkösund.
• Weather can cancel a trip. Leave a spare day if a camping trip depends on the boat home.

The current timetable for lines 777 and 781 runs from 17 August 2026 to 13 June 2027, on weekdays and Sundays, with no Saturday departures. Line 781 also reaches Lammskär, inside the nature reserve, on some days. When ice forms, hovercraft replace the boats: seats shrink, islanders come first, and visitors may book only between 17:00 and 18:00 the day before, if seats are left.

For anything else, a taxi boat is the fallback.

Camping and paddling: the nature reserve rules

Outside protected areas, allemansrätten lets you pitch a tent for a night or two away from homes; our wild camping guide covers the detail. The municipality points paddlers to Mon, Tyrislöt and Stegeborg, where kayaks and guides can be hired; the sheltered inner archipelago works for beginners.

Inside Sankt Anna naturreservat, the reserve decision is law. The county board’s summary:

• Camp at most two consecutive days in one place, and moor a boat no longer than that either.
• Fires only at sites the county board has signed. No firewood collecting or breaking branches, dead or alive.
• Pets on a lead.
• Berries and edible mushrooms may be picked; mosses and lichens may not.
• Jet skis and towed water sports only in the public fairway, and always at least 100 m from bird protection areas and other shores.
• No sewage from boats, no idling engines or generators, no disturbing music.

Seasonal closures. Certain marked areas of the reserve are closed 1 April–31 July for breeding birds, and a seal protection area 1 February–15 August. The seal colony at the Sandsänkan lighthouse sits in a protected seal area with a 1 km radius: watch from a guided boat or from outside the zone. Boundaries are on Naturvårdsverket’s protected-nature map, linked from the county board’s reserve page. Our guides to landing rules on islands and skerries and seals in Sweden explain how these areas work. Before any flame, check what a fire ban forbids.

For a roof instead of a tent, the county board rents a small cabin on Melskär, east of Lammskär, for single nights and at most two people, with a fire site and a dry toilet.

Söderköping: the canal town

Söderköping is 17 km from Norrköping, where the nearest railway station and airport are. Regional buses run in from Norrköping and Valdemarsvik, and long-distance buses stop at the travel center; see our Linköping and Norrköping guide for Östgötatrafiken’s tickets. Card tap-as-ticket does not cover the archipelago boats.

• The Drothem quarters (Drothemskvarteren) keep the medieval scale: low wooden houses, narrow lanes, and Drothem church from the late 1200s. A Franciscan monastery stood here from 1235. Find Skvallertorget, the town’s smallest square.
• The Göta Canal runs straight through the center, so you can watch boats lock through. The canal is 190 km long with 58 locks, built 1810–1832, and ends at Mem on Slätbaken; the towpath to Mem is part of the national cycle route. Our Göta Canal guide covers boating, cycling and canoeing.
• Ramunderberget: 318 steps lead up from the lock to the viewpoint. The 9 km Borgbergsleden continues to Ramunderborgen, one of the largest ancient hillforts on the Swedish mainland.
• The town history museum, next to S:t Laurentii church in the oldest school building, is free. It has no lift; the upper floor is shown on a screen downstairs.
• Film locations: the Madicken films were shot here in the 1970s, and since 2003 the town, the canal, Stegeborg and the Drothem quarters have recurred in ZDF’s Inga Lindström films.

The road out: Stegeborg to Tyrislöt

Road 210 is the spine of a St Anna day by car.

1. Stegeborg, about 20 km out: the ruin of a castle on a small island in Slätbaken, one of Sweden’s key medieval strongholds and a royal castle until the 1600s. Stegeborgsleden (vägfärja, road ferry) is free: 250 m, about three minutes. See road ferries in Sweden.
2. Lagnö and Mon, about 20 km further: gateway villages and paddling starts.
3. Uvmarö, six km on: a harbor with an InfoPoint and a 3 km forest walk.
4. Tyrislöt, just over five km more: guest harbor, village shop, the boat hub and the St Anna archipelago museum, on fishing life and working boats (wheelchair accessible, free under 13). A nature and culture trail starts at the museum.

On Sundays from May to September, a church boat leaves Kungshällsudden in Bottna for Capella Ecumenica, an ecumenical chapel on Gårdsholmen. Further north, Aspöja is a year-round inhabited island of grazing meadows and folded ancient limestone, reached on line 781 from Arkösund; its restaurant and shops open only in summer. Motorhome travelers will find stellplatz sites by the canal, at Stegeborg and at Tyrislöt; see touring Sweden by motorhome.

When to go

Mistakes to avoid

• Turning up at Tyrislöt expecting a walk-on public boat.
• Trying to book an island-to-island hop with Östgötatrafiken.
• Bringing cash for the archipelago boat.
• Planning island hopping in September, after the summer boats stop.
• Assuming Harstena is in St Anna and in Söderköping municipality.
• Lighting a fire on bare rock in the reserve instead of at a signed site.
• Camping a third night in the same reserve spot.

Practical information

Fares change every season, so they are not repeated here: check Östgötatrafiken and the summer-boat timetable before you travel.

FAQ

How do I get to the St Anna archipelago without a boat?

In summer, take the passenger boats that island-hop daily from Tyrislöt, Arkösund and Fyrudden; in 2026 they ran 17 June to 23 August. All year, Östgötatrafiken’s boats link the mainland with inhabited islands, but every trip must be booked by phone by 18:00 the day before. Island-to-island trips cannot be booked. A taxi boat covers the rest.

Do I need to book Östgötatrafiken’s archipelago boat?

Yes, always. Call 0771-71 10 20 by 18:00 the day before; booking is open 06:00–23:00, up to two weeks ahead, and you are given a pickup time. The service is open to everyone but meant first for island residents, so seats can run out. Buy the archipelago ticket in the app or by bank card on board; cash is not accepted.

Can I camp in the St Anna archipelago?

Yes. Outside reserves, allemansrätten lets you pitch a tent for a night or two away from homes. Inside Sankt Anna naturreservat the rules are written into the reserve decision: at most two consecutive days in one place, fires only at signed fire sites, no firewood collecting, pets on a lead, and no landing in closed bird and seal areas during their seasons.

When are islands closed to visitors in St Anna?

Inside Sankt Anna naturreservat, certain marked areas are closed 1 April to 31 July to protect breeding birds, and a seal protection area is closed 1 February to 15 August. The protected seal colony at the Sandsänkan lighthouse has a 1 km radius. The exact boundaries are on Naturvårdsverket’s protected-nature map, linked from the county board’s reserve page.

Is Harstena in the St Anna archipelago?

Not strictly. Harstena is the small fishing community at the far edge of the Gryt archipelago, in Valdemarsvik municipality, right on the border with St Anna. The summer boats from Tyrislöt and Fyrudden serve both archipelagos, so it fits into a St Anna trip, and Östgötatrafiken’s year-round line 776 from Fyrudden also stops there.

What is there to do in Söderköping?

Walk the medieval Drothem quarters, watch boats lock through the Göta Canal in the town center, and climb the 318 steps up Ramunderberget for the view over town and canal. The town history museum is free. In late August the Gästabud medieval festival takes over the streets, and the canal towpath leads by bike to Mem and the Baltic.

Do the archipelago boats run in winter?

Yes, Östgötatrafiken’s service runs all year, but on a reduced timetable: the one valid until 13 June 2027 has no Saturday departures. When ice forms, hovercraft replace the boats and island residents get priority. Visitors may then book only between 17:00 and 18:00 the day before, and only if seats are left. The summer passenger boats do not run.

Related guides

• The Göta Canal by boat, bike or canoe: the canal that ends at Mem, just outside Söderköping.
• Linköping and Norrköping: the rail gateways, and how to pay on Östgötatrafiken.
• Landing rules for islands and skerries: how bird and seal protection areas work before you paddle out.
• Wild camping in Sweden: the allemansrätten rules that apply outside the reserve.
• Seals in Sweden: where to watch them and how close you may go.

Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Söderköpings kommun (Visit Söderköping), Östgötatrafiken, Trafikverket and Länsstyrelsen Östergötland — full register in this topic’s source file. Seasons and opening hours are 2026 figures. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.