Why Honeymoon on the Bohuslän Coast
This coast offers something rare in Europe: wild-looking scenery that is also comfortable and easy to travel. Roads are good, towns are tidy and every village seems to have a decent restaurant on the quay. Yet a ten-minute paddle in a kayak gets you to a bare island where you can swim with no one else in sight.
The seafood is the other draw. Bohuslän is famous in Sweden for shrimp, mussels, flat oysters and lobster, much of it caught by small family boats. Several towns offer seafood safaris where a fisherman takes you out to haul traps and then cooks the catch. It suits couples who like the outdoors and good food more than nightlife or shopping.
When to Go
June through August is the main season, with long days, the warmest sea and every restaurant and ferry running. July is the Swedish holiday month and the most crowded; book rooms early. Water temperatures stay cool, so swims are bracing rather than balmy.
September is a strong choice for a honeymoon. The crowds leave, the light turns golden and the Swedish lobster season opens in late September, bringing festive lobster dinners and boat trips. Oyster season runs through the colder months. From November to March the coast is windy, gray and largely closed, though a cozy winter weekend in a spa hotel can still appeal. May is pretty but chilly.
Where to Stay
Spread your stay over two or three bases rather than one. In the south, Marstrand is an island town reached by a short ferry, with wooden villas, a yacht harbor and Marstrands Havshotell on the waterfront. Tjörn and Orust offer quieter fishing villages; on Klädesholmen, Salt & Sill runs a floating hotel and a well-known herring restaurant.
Further north, Smögen is lively in summer around its long harbor boardwalk. Fjällbacka is smaller and prettier, with the Stora Hotellet in the village center. Grebbestad is the base for oyster trips. Strömstad near the Norwegian border is the gateway to the Koster islands.
For something simpler, look for rental cottages or rooms in old sjöbodar, the fishermen's boathouses that line many harbors.
Romantic Things to Do
- Join an oyster or lobster safari from Grebbestad or another harbor, then eat the catch on board or at a shoreside table.
- Paddle a sea kayak among the skerries. Outfitters rent gear and run guided tours for beginners.
- Climb up to Carlsten Fortress on Marstrand for views across the islands at sunset.
- Hike the rock cleft of Kungsklyftan above Fjällbacka, then walk the ridge for a view of the archipelago.
- See the Bronze Age rock carvings at Tanum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with ships, animals and human figures cut into the granite.
- Take a boat to Kosterhavet, Sweden's first marine national park, for cycling and swimming on the car-free Koster islands.
Getting There and Around
Expect to change planes on the way to Gothenburg. Most couples connect through Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Frankfurt or another European hub to Gothenburg Landvetter. Copenhagen is also about three to four hours away by train if you want to combine cities.
A rental car is the most practical way to explore. Marstrand is under an hour from Gothenburg, Smögen and Fjällbacka are roughly 1.5 to 2 hours north and Strömstad a little further. Free road ferries link some islands. Buses and passenger boats do connect the coast, but timetables thin out outside summer.
Gothenburg deserves a night at the start or end. Walk its canals, eat lunch in the Feskekôrka fish hall and take the tram to Saltholmen, where small ferries run out to the car-free islands of the southern archipelago.
Food and Drink
Seafood rules. Start with räksmörgås, an open sandwich piled high with hand-peeled shrimp, egg and mayonnaise. Mussels from the fjords near Lysekil, herring prepared a dozen ways and smoked mackerel are everyday fare. Flat oysters from these waters are prized by Swedish chefs. Lobster season in autumn turns into a regional celebration.
Harbor restaurants range from simple fish shacks with paper plates to polished dining rooms with long wine lists. Many close outside the summer and early autumn. For a picnic, pick up smoked shrimp and fresh bread from a fish market, but remember that wine and stronger beer are sold only at state Systembolaget stores.
Honeymoon Tips
Book July rooms months ahead, since many hotels are small and Swedish families return year after year.
Pack a warm layer and a windproof jacket. Even on sunny days the breeze off the Skagerrak can be cool.
Right of public access lets you swim, hike and kayak almost anywhere, but stay well clear of private homes and docks.
Seafood safaris are weather dependent. Leave a flexible day in your plan in case a trip is canceled.
As in the rest of Sweden, cards and phone payments are used almost everywhere and some places no longer take cash.
