Travel Tips

We are both fundamentally city-dwellers/city-lovers, but in recent years we seem to have made a habit of travelling to (mostly) remote island communities. I think that it started in 1999 when we decided to stop off for a few days in the Åland islands on our way from St Petersburg to Stockholm by train and ferry. We have returned to Åland again since then, and visited a fair number of other islands, which are listed below.

You can read some more of our thoughts on the appeal of island communities in our April 2007 blog entry Islands in the stream of consciousness, or see all of our blogs on islands.

In the list below we have included only "real" islands that can only be reached by boat, air, or a significant fixed link (eg a tunnel, long bridge or bridge built in modern times). We have only included islands which we have actually set foot upon. Large islands (for example the main islands of Denmark) have been excluded.

Bornholm

Ertholmene:
- Christiansø
- Frederiksø

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Stremoy
Vágar
Eysturoy
Borðoy

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Suomenlinna:
- Iso Mustasaari
- Susisaari/Kustaanmiekka
- Pikku Mustasaari
- Länsi-Mustasaari

Helsinki harbour:
- Luoto (Klippan restaurant)
- Uunisaaret
- Harakka
- Vanha Rantty
- Särkä
(these last four are true islands, but we reached them on foot as the sea was frozen)

Åland:
- Fasta Åland
- Eckerö

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Hinnøya (Norway's largest island)

Lofoten:
- Moskenesøya
- Flakstadøya
- Vestvågsøya
- Gimsøya
- Austvågsøya

Vesterålen:
- Hadseløya

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Stockholm archipelago:
- Fjäderholmarna

Lake Mälaren:
- Björkö (Birka)

Öresund:
Ven (Hven)

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Orkney:
- Mainland
- South Ronaldsay

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Shetland:
- Mainland
- Yell
- Unst
- Muckle Roe

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A few notable islands we have visited that don't quite qualify for the list above.

Some of these are actual islands, but are too large or too well connected to mainland by causeways or bridges. Others are just called islands but are not true islands at all. This is particularly common in the UK, which has a number tombolos (islands connected to the mainland by a sand bar) and other false islands.

Canada:
- Vancouver Island

Denmark:
- Lolland
- Falster
- Zealand (Sjælland)
- Amager

Finland:
- Seurasaari, Helsinki

Norway:
- Bygdoy, Oslo
- Tromsø

Sweden:
Stockholm archipelago:
- Vaxholm
- Lidingö

United Kingdom:
- Isle of Purbeck, Dorset
- The Island, St Ives, Cornwall
- St Ninian's Isle, Shetland

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