Tour Grand Tour Of Sweden Between Stockholm & Goteborg

Accommodation

5 nights on board the M/S Diana in outside cabins of the booked category (see information about the ship)

Guide

German-speaking tour guide

Meals

5x breakfast, 6x lunch, 5x dinner Included services/excursions included, Round trip/reverse direction bookable, Savings/early booking discount, Meals/full board included

Others

Voyage as per itinerary 5 nights on board the M/S Diana in outside cabins of the booked category (see information about the ship) Excursions and entrance fees: Trollhättan Canal Museum, Läckö Castle, Sjötorp Canal Museum, Vadstena Monastery/Castle, Motala Motor Museum, Vreta Monastery, Stegeborg Castle Ruins, Trosa Travel guide

Not included:

Flights

Insurance

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Day 1 Day 1: Stockholm - Stegeborg
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Stockholm - Stegeborg

Individual arrival in Stockholm and embarkation. You will leave the port of Stockholm at 10 am. The cruise on the canal boat starts at Skeppsbrokajen 103 in the old town of Stockholm (Gamla Stan). The Hammarby Lock, inaugurated in 1930, is the first stop on the journey and takes you from Saltsjön to Lake Mälaren. Lake Mälaren is Sweden’s third largest lake and lies 0.3 m above sea level. In Viking times, Lake Mälaren was not yet a lake but part of the Baltic Sea. On the shores of Lake Mälaren are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Drottningholm Castle and the Viking town of Birka. Drottningholm Palace was built by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder based on French models and is today one of Sweden’s best-preserved royal palaces from the 17th century. Drottningholm has been the residence of the royal couple since 1981. The current lock in Södertälje was inaugurated in 1924 by King Gustav V and, at 135 m, is the largest lock in the Nordic countries. You then sail through Sörmland’s and St. Anna’s archipelago. You reach Trosa in the evening. Trosa was first mentioned in writing in the 14th century and was then a small fishing village. From the 1860s, when steamers regularly arrived with summer guests from Stockholm, the town took on a new look. You have the opportunity to take a walk through the old streets of the town (approx. 2.5 km). At night your ship reaches Stegeborg, where it stays overnight. 5 nights on board. (Lunch, dinner)
Day 2 Day 2: Stegeborg - Berg
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Stegeborg - Berg

The Stegeborg castle ruins are beautifully situated on a small island in the Baltic Sea bay of Slätbaken. The castle was built in the early Middle Ages and was the "castle and key" to Östergötland for centuries. Here you can take part in an interesting guided tour of the castle ruins and herb garden. The terrain is hilly. In the morning, the journey continues to Mem. The Göta Canal begins at Mem and was inaugurated here on September 26, 1832 in the presence of King Karl XIV Johan and his family. Söderköping awaits you at lunchtime. The idyllic town was founded at the beginning of the 13th century and was of great importance during the Hanseatic period. Söderköping also has a long and interesting history as a spa town. Today, the town is also known for its ice cream parlors. There is time here for your own wanderings and experiences. In the afternoon, you will pass eight locks over a distance of around two kilometers - a good opportunity to stretch your legs a little. In the evening you reach Norsholm lock The lock in Norsholm regulates the water level in Lake Roxen. This is where the canal crosses the Stockholm-Malmö railroad line. In Berg, your ship stays overnight at the Carl Johans Lock Staircase, the longest of the canal with its seven interconnected locks. The lock staircase lifts the ship 18.8 meters. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Day 3 Day 3: Mountain - Motala
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Mountain - Motala

Together with your tour guide, you will walk to the monastery ruins and the church (approx. 3 km). You also have the option of walking along the canal on your own or taking a dip in the waters of the Roxen. Vreta Monastery was the first nunnery in Sweden and was built around 1100. It lost its importance with the construction of the monastery of St. Birgitta in Vadstena. The church is one of the most interesting in Sweden and houses numerous medieval treasures. Today it is used as a parish church and is therefore not always open to visitors. You board the ship again in Heda after it has passed through a total of 15 locks in Berg’s lock system. At midday in Ljungsbro, you pass the first of the two aqueducts on our journey. This was built in 1970. The aqueduct at Kungs Norrby was built in 1993 and crosses highway 36. In the afternoon you arrive in Borensberg. There is a manually operated lock in this idyllic canal village. Directly in front of the lock, you pass a pleasure house that juts out into the canal in a bend that is also known as the helmsman’s terror. You glide slowly across Lake Boren, 73 meters above sea level. With five interconnected locks and a total height difference of 15.3 m, the lock staircase in Borenshult is the second largest staircase in the canal. In the evening you reach Motala, the anchorage for tonight. The town was designed by Baltzar von Platen and is also known as the "capital of the Göta Canal". In 1822 he established Motala Verkstad here, which is considered by many to be the cradle of Swedish industry. The headquarters of the company AB Göta Kanalbolag, which is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the canal, is located here. You will visit the Motala Motor Museum with its extensive collection of cars and motorcycles in typical period settings with radios, toys, curiosities, etc. You also have the opportunity to walk approx. 1 km along the left bank of the canal to Baltzar von Platen’s grave (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Day 4 Day 4: Motala - Hajstorp
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Motala - Hajstorp

You leave Motala in the morning and head out onto Lake Vättern. With a length of 135 km and a width of 31 km, Vättern is the second largest lake in Sweden. It is 89 meters above sea level, unusually deep and has very clear water. We continue to Vadstena, an idyllic small town. It grew into an important spiritual, cultural and economic center in the 14th century around the monastery of St. Birgitta. The monastery church was built according to St. Birgitta’s instructions and consecrated in 1430. Vadstena Castle was built by Gustav Vasa at the end of the 1540s. Local guides will pick you up at the boat and you will take the small sightseeing train to the monastery church and the castle. Here you also have the opportunity to go for a swim or see the city on your own. In the early afternoon, you will pass Karlsborg Fortress, which was built between 1819 and 1909. We can see the roof from the ship. We continue to Forsvik, an interesting testimony to industrial history. Here you will find the canal’s oldest lock and an imposing iron bridge, both dating from 1813. At the lock, you will sometimes be greeted by the religious Kindbom family with flowers and singing. You then navigate through two of the narrowest passages of the canal. They are lined with trees and surrounded by small lakes overgrown with pond lilies. Then you head out onto Lake Viken. The magical Lake Viken (91.8 meters above sea level) serves as a water reservoir for the western part of the Göta Canal. There is another manually operated lock at Tåtorp. From now on it’s all downhill! The mountain canal, partly blasted through bedrock, was created in 1931-33 to straighten a sharp bend. At Lanthöjden there is an obelisk at the highest point of the dug canal (91.5 m above sea level). In Töreboda, the canal crosses the Gothenburg-Stockholm railroad line. Also worth seeing here is Lina, Sweden’s smallest ferry. In the evening you reach Hajstorp, your overnight port for today. There are four locks in Hajstorp. The Västgöta section of the Göta Canal was inaugurated here in 1822. You can see the canal engineer’s villa and the old smithy (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Day 5 Day 5: Hajstorp - VÄNersborg
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Hajstorp - VÄNersborg

Early risers have the opportunity to take a wonderful morning walk from Hajstorp to Godhögen, approx. 1.5 km. At Sjötorp you pass eight locks and a well-preserved old shipyard. In the harbor magazine there is a store selling clothes and furnishings, a café and the Sjötorp Canal Museum, which you can visit. Here you can admire historical pictures of Sjötorp and the interiors of old canal boats and learn about the exciting history of the Göta Canal. You can also see where all the wrecks of Lake Vänern are buried. A walk along the locks is also recommended. The tour continues to Lake Vänern. This is 44 meters above sea level. It is Sweden’s largest lake and the third largest lake in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia. In the afternoon, you will pass Läckö Castle, which is situated on a small peninsula in Lake Vänern and was built as a bishop’s seat as early as 1298. However, it experienced its heyday in the 17th century, when Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie took over and redesigned it in the Baroque style. Stop for a guided tour of the castle and the exhibitions (with many stairs). Approx. 1 km walk. You will reach your overnight port of Vänersborg in the late evening (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Day 6 Day 6: VÄNersborg - Gothenburg
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: VÄNersborg - Gothenburg

Shortly after Vänersborg you pass the Brinkebergskulle lock. The oldest lock from 1752 can be seen next to the current lock from 1916. You will also visit the Trollhätte Canal Museum in a beautiful building dating from 1893. The exhibition and a clear film provide information about the history of the Trollhätte Canal and the old locks. Here you also have the opportunity to take a walk in the idyllic lock area with its locks dating back to the 19th century. The tour then continues to the impressive lock staircase at Trollhättan. It comprises four locks and has a drop height of 32 meters. There are three parallel lock basins here, of which only the largest (from 1916) is still in operation. At lunchtime you pass the Ströms lock at Lilla Edet. It was built in 1916 and is the last one on your trip. The original lock was inaugurated in 1607 and was the first lock ever built in Sweden. Arrival in Gothenburg at 4 p.m. in the harbor at Packhuskajen 10. Disembarkation and individual departure. (Breakfast, lunch)

6 days tour

Grand Tour Of Sweden Between Stockholm & Goteborg

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Itinerary of your trip Grand Tour Of Sweden Between Stockholm & Goteborg

Day 1: Stockholm - Stegeborg

Day 2: Stegeborg - Berg

Day 3: Mountain - Motala

Day 4: Motala - Hajstorp

Day 5: Hajstorp - V&Auml;Nersborg

Day 6: V&Auml;Nersborg - Gothenburg

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Day 5: Hajstorp - VÄNersborg

Day 6: VÄNersborg - Gothenburg