West Coast Island Hopping: Ferries Around Tjorn, Orust and Beyond

You don’t need a ferry to reach Tjörn or Orust, but you do need one for the islands everyone photographs. Here’s which pier serves which island, what ticket actually works, and the bike rule that catches people at Tuvesvik.

When you need this

You’re staying on Tjörn or Orust and want a day on a car-free island. Or you’re planning to reach Åstol, Dyrön or Käringön from Gothenburg without a car. Or you’re standing on Rönnäng pier with your phone held against a card reader that keeps saying no.

It also helps if you’re deciding between the bridges and the Svanesund ferry from Stenungsund, bringing a bike or dog, or travelling outside summer and wondering what still runs.

Getting onto Tjörn and Orust

Tjörn and Orust are big islands with roads, villages and buses. You get there by road. Road 160 leaves the E6 at Stenungsund and crosses to Tjörn over three bridges: Stenungsöbron, Källösundsbron and Tjörnbron. It then continues to Orust over Skåpesundsbron and leaves Orust in the north over Nötesundsbron towards Uddevalla.

None of these bridges charges a toll. Sweden levies state bridge fees on just three bridges, at Motala, Sundsvall and Skurubron, none of them on the west coast.

Orust has no direct bridge to Stenungsund, though a fixed link has been debated for decades. The short cut is Svanesundsleden, a yellow road ferry between Kolhättan and Svanesund: 830 metres, five minutes, free, no ticket. A good loop is out over the Tjörn bridges and back via Svanesund. How the road ferries work, from signals to lanes, is in our guide to Sweden’s free yellow road ferries.

Without a car, take the train to Stenungsund and continue by Västtrafik bus; buses reach almost everywhere in southern Bohuslän.

The car-free islands and their boats

The real island hopping starts where the roads stop. The small outer islands are car-free fishing communities served by Västtrafik, the region’s public transport, with passenger boats that run every day of the year. You park at the pier, or arrive by bus, and walk on.

Arrive early at Tuvesvik and Kyrkesund. Visitor parking is a walk from the pier, about ten minutes at Kyrkesund, and the Härön boat holds only 12 people, so a summer crowd may not all fit. Parking at Tuvesvik takes card or SMS only, with no cash.

Islands to walk, not drive: Käringön bans cycling outright, and Dyrön has a trail of about six kilometres. In summer a private boat also runs from Almön to Lilla Brattön in the Hakefjord; it is outside Västtrafik and its tickets.

Tickets: why tapping fails

This is the mistake almost every visitor makes. In Gothenburg you can tap a contactless bank card on the reader and ride. That tap-to-pay only sells an adult zone A ticket, and zone A is Gothenburg, Mölndal, Partille and Öckerö.

Västtrafik’s whole county has just three zones, A, B and C. Tjörn is in zone B. Orust and Lysekil are in zone C. A tapped ticket does not cover them, and you’d be travelling without a valid ticket.

What works instead:

1. Install the Västtrafik To Go app and buy a ticket covering every zone you travel through: B for Tjörn, C for Orust, more if you start in Gothenburg. App tickets must be bought before you board.
2. No app? Pay the crew by bank card as you step on, which works on most boats. There is also a ticket machine at Rönnäng pier.
3. Hopping all day? A 1- or 3-day ticket (dygnsbiljett) for the zones you need can pay off, and most boats sell a zone ABC day ticket on board.

A single is valid 90 minutes in one zone, or 180 minutes across several. Families should know the Res 4, betala för 1 offer: an adult with a 1- or 3-day or period ticket in the app can add three travellers under 20 free.

Ignore the fares on tourist pages. They lag behind Västtrafik’s tariff, which changed on 9 June 2026; the current figures are in the table below, and the journey planner shows the exact price for your trip.

Bikes, e-bikes and dogs

An ordinary bike or e-bike up to 190 × 70 cm goes on deck free on most Västtrafik boats, space permitting. The crew have the final say, and full means the next departure. Older tourist pages still quote a 30 kr bike fee; Västtrafik no longer charges it, except on the Koster boats.

The big exception is line 381 from Tuvesvik. E-bikes count as dangerous goods there and are refused. It barely matters for Käringön, where cycling is banned anyway, but you may ride an ordinary bike on Gullholmen. Electric vehicles can’t be charged on any boat.

Dogs travel free on a lead or in a cage or bag. On boats they belong on the starboard side, the right-hand side in the direction of travel, so passengers with allergies can sit apart. Guide and assistance dogs may sit anywhere.

Winter and booked trips

Lines 326, 361, 362, 381 and 847 run every day of the year, with fewer departures in winter. Line 326 is the one to watch: from October to March its trips run only if booked in advance.

Booked trips (anropsstyrda turer) are marked in the timetable with a phone number; the booking deadline depends on the line. If nobody books, the boat doesn’t sail.

Whatever the season, check the last boat back before you leave the pier. A car-free island has no road out.

Beyond Tjörn and Orust

Around Orust, three more short road ferries reach small car-accessible islands, all free: Malöleden (Fröjdendal–Malö, an electric cable ferry), Ängöleden (Fruvik–Ängön) and Lyrleden (Lyresten–Lyr). Further north, Gullmarsleden crosses the Gullmarsfjord between Finnsbo near Lysekil and Skår in ten minutes and is due to run fully electric from early 2027. Bohus-Malmönleden reaches Malmön in six minutes, and Hamburgsundsleden is free too. Use the Trafikinfo Färjerederiet app for their times and disruptions.

The other island trips on this coast have their own guides: Marstrand and its ferry, the Koster Islands from Strömstad, which join zone C from January 2027, and Gothenburg’s southern archipelago, which sits in zone A where tapping does work.

Practical information

FAQ

How do I get to Tjörn and Orust?

By road. Road 160 crosses from Stenungsund to Tjörn over three bridges, continues to Orust over Skåpesundsbron and leaves Orust in the north towards Uddevalla. None of the bridges charges a toll. From Stenungsund the free Svanesund road ferry is a five-minute short cut to Orust. Without a car, take the train to Stenungsund and a Västtrafik bus.

Can I pay with my bank card on the island boats?

Yes, but not by tapping. Contactless tap-to-pay only sells a zone A ticket, and Tjörn and Orust lie in zones B and C. Buy a ticket for every zone you travel through in the Västtrafik To Go app before boarding, or pay the crew by bank card as you step on, which works on most boats.

Which islands near Tjörn and Orust have no cars?

Åstol, Dyrön and Tjörnekalv are reached on line 361 from Rönnäng, Härön on line 362 from Kyrkesund, and Gullholmen and Käringön on line 381 from Tuvesvik on Orust. All run every day of the year. Park at the pier, since cars stay on the mainland side. Käringön also bans cycling, so plan to walk.

Can I take my bike or e-bike on the ferry?

An ordinary bike or e-bike up to 190 by 70 cm travels free on deck on most Västtrafik boats, space permitting, and the crew have the final say. Line 381 to Gullholmen and Käringön is the exception: e-bikes count as dangerous goods and are refused. Cycling is banned on Käringön but allowed on Gullholmen. Koster boats charge for bikes.

Do the island boats run in winter?

Yes. Lines 326, 361, 362, 381 and 847 run every day of the year, though with fewer departures than in summer. On line 326 to Dyrön södra and the Brattön islands, trips must be booked in advance from October to March. The private summer boat to Lilla Brattön does not run in winter. Check departures in Västtrafik’s planner.

Is the Svanesund ferry free?

Yes. Svanesundsleden between Kolhättan and Svanesund on Orust is one of Trafikverket’s yellow road ferries, which count as part of the road, so you drive or walk on without a ticket. The crossing is 830 metres and takes five minutes. The other road ferries around Orust and Lysekil, to Malö, Ängön, Lyr and over the Gullmarsfjord, are free too.

Can I bring my dog on the boats?

Yes, for free. Västtrafik asks that pets travel on a lead or in a cage or bag, and on boats they belong on the starboard side, the right-hand side in the direction of travel, to help passengers with allergies. Guide and assistance dogs may sit anywhere. Pets cost nothing extra on any Västtrafik boat.

Related guides

• Sweden’s free yellow road ferries — signals, lanes and call-on-demand sailings on the Svanesund and Gullmarsfjord crossings.
• West coast road trip — the drive that crosses Tjörn and Orust on its way north.
• Bohuslän and the west coast — the region these islands belong to.
• Gothenburg public transport — how Västtrafik tickets and zones work in the city.
• Gothenburg’s archipelago — car-free islands by tram and ferry, all in zone A.

Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Västtrafik, Trafikverket, Sveriges riksdag, Västsverige (Västra Götalandsregionen’s tourism board) — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.