VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
Gotland by Campervan: The Baltic Island Three Hours by Ferry from Stockholm
The ferry from Nynäshamn, Visby's walls, the sea stacks of Fårö and the allemansrätten: the complete guide to exploring Gotland by campervan from Stockholm.
Three and a quarter hours by ferry from the mainland, Gotland is the Stockholmers' great escape — a limestone island in the middle of the Baltic, with an intact Hanseatic town, endless beaches and those strange stone pillars, the raukar, standing guard along the shores. By campervan, it is a one-week loop that is complete in itself.
The ferry: the trip's only real decision
Ferries leave from Nynäshamn, an hour south of Stockholm (with sailings also from Oskarshamn further south), and reach Visby in about 3 h 15. In summer, slots for vehicles over six metres go fast: book the ferry at the same time as the campervan, declaring the exact dimensions — pricing depends on length. The reflex is the same as for Corsica: the ferry gets planned, the rest gets improvised.
Visby: the Carcassonne of the Baltic
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Visby lines up 3.5 km of almost intact medieval walls, cobbled lanes and the ruins of Romanesque churches overrun with hollyhocks. In a campervan, park outside the walls and walk in. Two crowd peaks to know about: the Almedalen political week in early July and Medieval Week in early August, which fill the island — magical if that is your goal, best avoided if you seek quiet.
Around the island: raukar, beaches and Fårö
The coast unrolls in whichever direction you choose: the beaches of Tofta south of Visby, the cliffs of Högklint, and above all the north — a free cable ferry of a few minutes crosses to the island of Fårö, Ingmar Bergman's island, where the raukar fields of Langhammars and Digerhuvud compose Sweden's strangest landscape. In the south, Hoburgen and its stone "old man" close the loop. Distances are short: Gotland measures 170 km north to south — you drive little, and well.
The night: allemansrätten, but not for the van
A clarification that avoids misunderstandings: Sweden's famous allemansrätten — the right of public access — covers walking and tents, not motor vehicles, and the law forbids driving off-road. In practice, Gotland lives comfortably with its motorised visitors: plenty of coastal campsites and ställplatser (Scandinavian-style stopover aires) around the island. Swedish researchers Klas Sandell and Peter Fredman devoted a reference study to this right of access and its limits for nature tourism, published in 2010 in the Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism (Google Scholar page). Our guide to wild camping rules in Europe sums up the rules country by country.
Building the trip from Stockholm
The natural combination: two days in the Stockholm archipelago, the run down to Nynäshamn, then five to six days on Gotland — June and late August offer the long evenings without the crush. Coast lovers can continue towards Gothenburg and the west coast on the way back. Compare campervan offers in Stockholm on Van-Comparator: it is Sweden's best-stocked gateway, and the only one from which Gotland closes into a one-week loop.
Free checklist: your first campervan trip
Licence and vehicle size, pick-up inspection, stopovers or campsites, water and electricity, insurance, drop-off: everything to check before and during a first trip. Sign up — the link to the full checklist appears immediately.