Boat taxi or the ferry?
Most travel in the Stockholm archipelago happens on the public boats run by Waxholmsbolaget, plus Cinderella and Strömma in summer. They are cheap, comfortable and genuinely good — and they are the right choice for a lot of trips. They are also built around a timetable, and the archipelago is much bigger than that timetable.
Side by side
| Scheduled ferry | Wyber boat taxi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Per person, low | Per boat, set by the skipper bidding on your trip and split across everyone travelling |
| Departure | Fixed timetable, sparse off-season | When you ask, including evenings and winter |
| Jetties | Public jetties on the route | Any jetty you can reach, including private ones |
| Journey time | Often several stops on the way | Direct |
| Luggage, bikes, dogs | Allowed, sometimes with a fee or limits | Stated in the request, matched to a suitable boat |
Take the ferry when
- You are travelling alone or as a couple in high season on a well-served route.
- The timetable already fits your day and you are going to a main jetty.
- The trip itself is part of the experience — the long sailings out to Sandhamn or Möja are lovely.
Take a boat taxi when
- You arrive late — a delayed flight into Arlanda usually means the last boat has gone.
- You are four or more, so the per-boat price splits well.
- You need a specific jetty, often a private one, rather than the village landing.
- You are travelling off-season, when many islands have only a handful of departures a week.
- You want to island-hop between two islands that no single scheduled route connects.
Use both
The most practical approach for visitors is usually to take the scheduled boat out during the day and a boat taxi for the awkward leg — the late return, the early morning start, or the hop to an island the ferry does not serve. You can post the trip in advance and let skippers bid while you are still on your way.