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Itinerary

West Coast Cruise – highlights of the Swedish West Coast

Gothenburg -> Grebbestad

highlights

Docking for the night

Gothenburg – Grebbestad:
Day 1 Marstrand
Day 2 Smögen

See the itinerary for the opposite direction

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  1. 1

    Gothenburg

    Our cruise starts or ends at Packhuskajen 10, near the spectacular Opera House and the Maritime Centre in Gothenburg.

  2. 2

    New Älvsborg fortress

    New Älvsborg fortress is a well maintained fortress from the middle of the 17th century, strategically situated in the mouth of Gothenburg’s harbour. The fortress had its biggest test in the year 1719 when the Danish fleet attacked for several days. To this day, there are cannon balls stuck in the walls of the tower from this battle. Besides defense, parts of the fortress have been used for other purposes, among other things, it has been a prison. You can experience the exciting history of the fortress via a guided tour.

  3. 3

    Styrsö with Snobbrännan

    Styrsö is the most populous and the greenest island in Gothenburg's southern archipelago. And its nature is simply fantastic. The sound north of Styrsö is called the 'Snob Channel' – this was once the place where people showed off their superb sailboats.

  4. 4

    Vinga

    Ten nautical miles to sea in Gothenburg's outer archipelago lies Vinga Island. The last outpost towards the Kattegat to the west, Vinga is one of the best-known lighthouse stations and has served sea transport since the Middle Ages. The first permanent structure was a wooden seamark or daymark built in 1606. The red pyramid shaped daymark that stands today was built in 1857. The first Vinga lighthouse was built in 1840 and today's in 1890. Troubadour, author and artist Evert Taube (1890-1976) grew up on Vinga, and the lighthouse is named in several of Taube's well-known songs. This is a great opportunity to discover Vinga on your own and to take a refreshing dip while you're at it. Docking at Vinga Island depends on weather conditions.

  5. 5

    Kalvsund

    The old Valen daymark crowns the highest peak of Kalvsund Island. The Bremer villa is also found here and is famous as the home for Sweden's largest smuggler in the early 1900s.

  6. 6

    Marstrand

    Docking in beautiful Marstrand (night harbour). The city of Marstrand was founded in the early 1200s by the Norwegian King Håkon Håkansson. Marstrand did not become Swedish until 1658 as part of the Treaty of Roskilde. The same year ground was broken on the highest point of the island for the Carlsten Fortress. It took two hundred years to complete it in 1860. Marstrand became one of Sweden's most popular bathing resorts during the 1800s, gaining special status through the annual summer visits of King Oscar II. Today the city is Sweden's sailing centre hosting several large events each summer. We will give a guided walk through the narrow streets reveals the handsome, well-preserved houses and the favourite sites of the bathing society from royal period. The tour is spiked with exciting stories of past and present.

  1. 1

    Marstrand, departure

    Before the boat casts off in the morning, take a morning walk on the 5-km path rounding the whole islands. It takes around an hour, though shorter walks are also possible.

  2. 2

    Åstol

    A small, barren rock island with almost all of its white houses located on an east-west axis. The setting is listed nationally as an important cultural setting.

  3. 3

    Kalvesund (RÖnnäng)

    Kalvesund is the narrow water between Rönnäng on Tjörn Island and the small island of Tjörnekalv. There are several handsome houses to inspect from the boat.

  4. 4

    Skärhamn

    Skärhamn is a central town on Tjörn, one of Sweden's largest islands. Since the 1700s, Skärhamn's growth has derived from the sea. As long as the herring ran in the waters, the fish was boiled and salted locally. There were several large shipping companies as well with Skärhamn as home harbour. Here we will visit the Nordic Watercolour Museum. Since it opened in the summer of 2000 it has offered world-class art. Don't miss the opportunity to visit the inspiring museum shop.

  5. 5

    Kyrkesund

    One of Bohuslän's best-known seamarks stands on the mountain behind the old fishing hamlet Kyrkesund. Called Sankt Olof's Whales, it is made up of four immense stone cairns.

  6. 6

    Mollösund

    Mollösund is one the oldest fishing hamlets in Sweden and was Bohuslän's centre for preparation of ling for many years. There are lots of charming cottages and boathouses along its narrow alleyways.

  7. 7

    Gullholmen

    One of the oldest fishing hamlets in Bohuslän, Gullholmen is also the most densely populated island in Sweden. Even so, the unique, genuine island retains many of its old characteristics. Many older houses have been preserved showing clearly the difference between the small, modest fisherman's cottages and the large, showy captain's residences. During the immense herring periods in the 18th and 19th centuries the island community grew, adding a canning factory, a salting-house and a sail maker. We will visit the Skepparhuset Museum built in 1893. Today it offers not only an authentic captain's residence, but also a ship and fishing museum, as well as an intact sail-maker's workshop. At Gullholmen we'll meet two oyster and mussel farmers and hear from them about these ocean delicacies. There will also be time to enjoy lovely Gullholmen Island on your own.

  8. 8

    Nordströmmarna

    Our boat glides at an easy pace through a verdant landscape celebrated in verse and music by our national troubadour Evert Taube.

  9. 9

    Bassholmen

    Bassholmen is where the Allmogebåtar Association uses some older shipyard buildings as a museum for showing traditional Nordic boats.

  10. 10

    Lysekil

    The city of Lysekil is located on the Gullmarsfjord. As with other towns on the Bohuslän coast, herring periods, quarries and shipping have been important development factors. During the 1800s Lysekil became a seaside resort based on the public baths developed on commission by Carl Curman. An open-air bathing facility was also built in the 1860s and is still in constant use. Lysekil received its city charter in 1903.

  11. 11

    Smögen

    Its unique setting makes Smögen Bohuslän's largest tourist site. It was discovered in the early 1900s by bathing guests from Stockholm. Today the nearly one kilometre long Smögen wooden pier offers a large selection of shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants with outdoor service. The Smögen Fish Auction was founded in 1919. Today it's one of the most modern in Scandinavia delivering Smögen shrimp, other shellfish and fish to the whole country. We will visit the auction to see both how fish and shellfish are handled today and how it was done earlier. On the West Coast Cruise from Gothenburg, the ship docks here for the night.

  1. 1

    SOte Canal, Smögen

    The 5-km long Sote Canal runs from Kungshamn to Hunnebostrand. It was built 1930-35 by unemployed stonemasons to bypass the difficult passage outside the Soteskär island where many sailors have lost their lives.

  2. 2

    Hamburgsund

    Hamburgsund lies both on the mainland and on the naturally lovely Hamburgö Island. We pass between the two through the 130 m wide Hamburgsund Channel.

  3. 3

    Fjällbacka

    The small, idyllic fishing hamlet Fjällbacka is located in a Skagerack cove surrounded by tall cliffs. The name is derived from its location – on the slope below the 'fjäll', the high, steep Vetteberget that dominates the town. Sweden's perhaps best-known actress, Ingrid Bergman, had her summer paradise on Dannholmen Island in the Fjällbacka archipelago. In her memory a statue was raised on the town square named for her. The Swedish writer of detective stories, Camilla Läckberg, grew up here and the hamlet is used as the scene for her books. A cosy guided walk through the Fjällbacka hamlet lends not only an opportunity to visit some of the Läckberg sites, but also to see the hamlet through Ingrid Bergman's eyes.

  4. 4

    Grebbestad

    Grebbestad is one of the most popular bathing resorts in Bohuslän. Earlier fishing and shipping were the important industries here and even today there are some trawlers that sail from its port. But when the open-air swimming craze swept the nation in the 1840s, Grebbestad became a summer resort offering clay packs, seaweed baths and invigorating dips in the sea. Today Grebbestad is known as Sweden's oyster capital. The delicacies are thought to maintain an especially high quality and are served at the country's top restaurants, as well as in other countries. Our West Coast Cruise ends or starts here in Grebbestad.

  5. 5

    Clarion Hotel Post, Gothenburg

    If you have prebooked a bus transfer between Gothenburg and Grebbestad with your West Coast Cruise this is where the bus departs. It is also the end station for the bus transfer back from Grebbestad if you embarked with the cruise in Gothenburg. The hotel is situated at Drottningtorget.

Detailed day schedule (Pdf)

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