Holmoarna

Holmoarna is a group of four main islands - Holmon, Angeson, Grossgrunden and Holmogadd - lying out in the Kvarken, the narrowest part of the Gulf of Bothnia. The ferry from the mainland is free, run as a public road service, and takes about an hour. The islands are low and wooded with fishing hamlets, a boat museum and a small permanent population, and the land here is rising something like eight millimetres a year, so shorelines shift within a lifetime and old harbours end up inland. The Finnish side of the Kvarken is a World Heritage site for the same reason. Birdlife on the outer skerries is good.

Highlights

• Four low islands in the Kvarken - the narrowest part of the gulf.
• A free public ferry - about an hour from the mainland.
• Fishing hamlets and a boat museum - the settlement history.
• Land rising visibly - old harbours left inland.

When to go

June to August. A full day or overnight.

Good to know

The ferry runs a limited timetable and is ice-bound in winter. Services on the islands are minimal and seasonal. Accommodation is scarce. Mosquitoes are heavy in summer.

Nearby

Umea is on the mainland; the Finnish Kvarken is east across the gulf.

Key facts