A Guide to the Swedish island of Fårö

EuropeNordicScandinaviaGotlandSweden
Written By Christopher Kane

Helgumannen Fishing Village, Fårö, Sweden (ISO 400, 28 mm, f/9, 1/400 s)

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The Swedish island of Fårö sits just off the coast of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Outside of the largest city of Visby on Gotland, it is the most popular place to visit within Gotland county.

It has some spectacular natural rock formations, which I will discuss in this blog post, as well as old fishing villages and plentiful beaches to swim in the usually cold water.

A long day is all it took to really see what this small island has on offer, but I would recommend two slightly-more-relaxed days to be able to enjoy it more.

Getting to Fårö requires first, getting to Gotland, which is achieved in two ways:

  • Flight into Visby Airport from most places in Sweden

  • Ferry from Nynäshamn (1.5 hour train ride from Stockholm) or Öland

Once you’ve arrived into Visby with one of the two methods above, it is easiest to rent a car and drive to the Northeast of Gotland to catch the 10 minute ferry to Fårö. There are buses that go as well but renting a car is recommended for full flexibility.

Check out my drone video of Sweden below!

Once you have reached Fårö by ferry, you can either drive through the island clockwise or counterclockwise…we opted for the former. There is no right and wrong way but I think we wanted to hit the more popular places earlier in the morning.

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Digerhuvud, Fårö, Sweden (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/4, 1/4000 s)

We started off by driving towards Digerhuvud. This is a nature reserve that is protected as a natural monument, since 1930. It is composed of a 3.5 km stretch of beach containing a few rauks that Gotland is known for. Rauks are made up of stone and are column-like features that are found in Scandinavia. You can find them along the rocky coastline of Fårö. They can often be as tall as 8 meters. Climbers beware, it’s best to not climb on them due to how old they are and the cultural significance they have.

Just north of Digerhuvud is the remnants of an old fishing village, which are common in this part of Sweden. Helgumannen’s Fishing Village was used to fish herring back in the day. It sits amidst the most barren of beach landscapes but is still well intact, though abandoned. Here you can take a picnic admiring the houses that were built according to old traditions, all 15 of them. The preservation of these homes and the boating and mechanical equipment is impressive. This is a great place to stop at to explore.

As I mentioned before, Rauks are common sights in this part of Fårö with the most popular of sites being at Langhammarsgubben (unofficial name). There are about 50 rauks total in Langhammar’s nature reserve (official name). If you have seen postcards showing these features before, I can promise you they come from this place. The beach is expansive these rauks sit on, and some of them are fairly easy and safe to climb upon, without risk of damaging the formations. Swimmers beware though, the water may look enticing but there are several points along the coastline where the water levels drops many meters, so they advise against it.

Fårö Lighthouse, Gotland, Sweden (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/1250 s)

I will never shy away from seeing a lighthouse wherever I am at. I like what they represented back in the day, their history, and how each one can be so visually different despite the same overall shape. Fårö Lighthouse is located on the easternmost tip of the island, built after complaints that Gotland had too few lighthouses in the 19th century. Over the decades, its light source has been changed from oil to paraffin to electric.

Fårö, Gotland, Sweden (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/800 s)

Fika is a swedish way of life. The time to take for yourself and others to engage in polite and casual conversation while enjoying coffee/tea and pastries. The best place to experience this on Fårö has to be at Sylvis Daughters, bakery & cafe. They have cakes, bread, and sandwiches here with a relaxed vibe and a lot of outdoor seating. It’s the perfect spot for a rest.

Fårö, Gotland, Sweden (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/800 s)

Being on an island, of course you can have your pick of beaches to see. We went to a few of them but two really stood out to us. The first is Sudersand Beach, one of the longest on Gotland and considered to be the most beautiful (your opinion may vary). There is a large camping site here along with kiosks and restaurants, bars, and cafe. What I remember the most was just how soft the sand was, not to mention how the beach was positioned with respect to the sun. You get sunlight ALL day.

Another long sandy beach is Norsta Aurer. Although not as accessible as other beaches, it is worth the rather long walk. You have to park along the side of the road, of which you will find other cars already parked, then a hike through the woods will get you there. It all feels like a bit of an adventure to get to, which makes the experience that much more worth it as well. But in this case, you will find more solitude here as some people are turned off by the effort it takes just to get there.

Some people spend days in Fårö, others just a few hours. It is worth seeing regardless of the time you can devote to it. If you have more time in Gotland, be sure to check out Visby, one of the best kept medieval walled cities in existence.

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Christopher Kane http://www.ecksplorer.com
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