Sydkoster – at its best when everyone else has gone home

Text and photo: Thomas Drakenfors

It's a place many people long for in the summer. Which is noticeable, when no part of the island is empty of people and you meet other hikers even on the more remote trails. But Sydkoster is a special experience, even a little off season.

The journey to Sweden's westernmost island

From Gothenburg it's a pretty long journey. Västtrafik's trains stop at every turn. But it's also a beautiful trip, passing towns like Munkedal and Dingle. Over bridges, past green, dreamy meadows and beautiful bays.

Once in Strömstad, there is only one way... for those who do not have any connections with the local boat owners community. Or want to pay for a taxi boat. In that case, Västtrafik is the one that applies here too. Large, often electric catamarans that run every couple of hours, and that easily take a couple of hundred passengers, almost as many as there are permanent residents on the two Koster Islands.

An island life shaped by the sea

Already 1,500 years Before Christ, people lived here, a people who over the years both fished and farmed. During the 17th and 18th centuries, a lot of lobster was caught and exported – alive – to countries such as Belgium.

In the 20th century, shrimp fishing dominated the deep Kosterfjord, around 250 meters deep in places. But shrimp fishing has declined over the years. Today, the industry is limited in various ways by nature conservation efforts; the fjord is a national park and is considered worthy of protection. So in recent years, tourism has become an increasingly important source of income for those who run businesses on the islands. On a single day in July, up to 8,000 people can spend the night on the Koster Islands.

South Coast outside the high season

Personally, I think it's best during the off-season. Which can be a powerful experience, for example when the storms are raging.

Like on one of my walks over the meadows and forest groves on the west side of Sydkoster, with a view of Nordkoster. Then the rain rolled in. I had my old, cheap rain gear in my backpack, stuff that works perfectly fine on bike rides in Gothenburg. But on a small, windswept island in the Skagerrak, it's not enough.

I got wet., all the way down to my underwear, and it happened before I even got to the ferry, which is run by Strömstad Municipality in the summer. During the off-season, it is run by trained island residents, and you simply have to wait until one of them shows up and goes.

On the north side I found an open restaurant that offered shelter from the thunder and the torrential rain, and that served warming seafood soup. There I could dry off for a while. Then I took the Västtrafik ferry back to Ekenäs, the desire to walk was over for that day. Afterwards, when I got home to Gothenburg, I went straight into town and bought a raincoat for experienced hikers. Expensive, but worth the money.

A walk from Ekenäs to Bergdalen

My trips here usually follow a pattern. At eleven o'clock on Fridays, I take the tram to Gothenburg Central and get on the Västtrafik train, in the quiet compartment. Then I take out my computer and work the two and a half hours to Strömstad.

Then a short walk down to the North Harbour and onto the ferry. There will be another hour of work before I arrive at Ekenäs and drop off my stuff in the room at the seaside hotel.

Then a walk south on Hamnevägen, the island's artery. There are bicycles to rent, they are parked in rows down in the harbor, but so far I have always chosen to walk when I have been here. Along Hamnevägen you pass both the Solkoster housing cooperative – well-organized with its own tennis court and more – and the ambitious restaurant and hotel complex Kläpphagen, where a new building seems to pop up every year.

After a kilometer and a half I turn left towards Bergdalen. A small village on the edge of the forest, somewhat magical but with a view of one of the bays. In Bergdalen there is Bokhandlarens pub, a restaurant crossed with a second-hand bookshop without sales. Leather sofas, old-fashioned patina and warm coziness in winter, generous outdoor seating in summer.

“We are two book nerds who like food,” says the waiter, who is also a co-owner.

The island's most important intersection – Kyrkosund and Långagärde

Bergdalen also goes can be reached from Ekenäs via a path along the cliffs by the water. The route starts after the jetties behind the Naturum information center. A slightly more demanding walk, but with nice views.

Further south on Hamnvägen is the island's Ica store. Open all year round, although the hours are more limited during the low season. But since 2025 it has been possible to come in and shop even when it is closed, thanks to the new system with Bank-ID and self-scanning.

The island's most important crossroads is also located at Ica. If you turn right, it leads to Långagärde and the ferry to Nordkoster, while the old fishing village of Kyrkosund is to the left, or southeast.

One of the island's two churches is located along the road to Långagärde. A fine wooden church, which will undergo extensive maintenance in 2026 and is framed in scaffolding. On the other side of the road from the church is the typical building that most rural churches have, the shed where they store the catafalque. Next to it, a simple wooden staircase leads up to the island's impressive lookout point. There you can see both Strömstad and parts of Norway.

One of the nearest islands, Ursholmen, is distinguished by two lighthouses that stand out like horns on the top of the cliff. You can go there on a so-called seal safari, which is offered on the notice board in Ekenäs harbour. On these trips you will notice that the social and easily trained seals, which seem quite fearless in the seal pond in Slottsskogen in Gothenburg, are considerably more timid in the wild.

When I went on a seal safari myself a couple of years ago, we couldn't get closer than about a hundred meters to the seals hanging in clusters. The boat barely had time to turn its bow towards them before they quickly disappeared into the water.

At Långagärde In the southwest there is both a café and a restaurant. In addition, a shop where some enthusiasts sell home-knitted wool sweaters in the sea bear pattern, at prices that can hardly be more than the cost of the yarn.

By a whim of nature, the Koster Islands are free of snakes. They are also car-free, apart from the occasional work vehicle. Instead, the permanent residents have opted for classic flatbed trucks and small electric vehicles such as golf carts. And it's easy to get lost on the gravel roads, and pedestrians are best off staying close to the edges of the ditches.

The picturesque fishing village of Brevik

The most picturesque thing on Sydkoster is the small fishing village of Brevik. A place where time seems to have stopped at the end of the 19th century. Brevik is like something out of a novel by Emelie Flygare Carlén. The fishing huts are lined up along the small harbor basin. The view is only disturbed – here as at all other additional locations around the Koster Islands – by medium-sized modern yachts, usually with the Norwegian flag.

Well into September it is usually nice to swim, for example on the beach at Kilesand on the east side. Or from one of the cliff sides. In many places around the island you can find well-placed bathing ladders. They lead straight into the water, which is crystal clear in a way that you rarely see further down the coast.

Sydkoster is small, the circumference is no more than a mile and a half. Walking around the coastline is a challenge, however, some parts are covered with difficult-to-climb boulders, others are rocky and full of thick bushes. But for those who stick to the beaten track and more well-trodden paths, it is possible to do quite a lot in a day.

Evenings at the harbor in Ekenäs

Then, with tired feet, it's a good ending to hang out at the harbor in Ekenäs, maybe a beer or a bite to eat at the Röken restaurant. Or at the Ekenäs sea hotel, which in addition to a nice old-fashioned dining room also has a huge veranda with serving. Later in the evenings, the back pocket of the sea hotel is the right place, with a generous bar, high spirits and robust island atmosphere.

Below the sea hotel is a marina, mostly populated by sailors who seem ready to set sail for Newfoundland at any moment. Down there on the piers you can also experience a fantastic sunset, with colors ranging from orange and pink to blue. Are you there in August or September? Then throw a stone into the water and see the sea fire. Mysterious.

Nordkoster – an excursion across the strait

This article focuses on Sydkoster, but for those staying a few days, Nordkoster is also a must. You can get there by cable car from Långagärde.

Västtrafik's catamarans that run from Strömstad also dock at the Västra bryggan ferry terminal on Nordkoster. The ferry is staffed all day during the summer, but during the off-season you have to wait until someone from the local population, trained to drive it, shows up. However, it usually doesn't take too long, and there is some – albeit sparse – traffic going on all the time.

At the western pier there are a few restaurants, such as the slightly larger Galejen with a large outdoor terrace, and Strandkanten which serves simple food and also sells clothes and souvenirs. Kosterhavets Ekobod is located a couple of hundred meters into the island. Here you can get both coffee and simple food.

At the ferry terminal at the top of the northeast coast of Nordkoster there is the Ventuno restaurant and the Kosterbaden hotel for those who want to both eat and sleep. For those who are less comfortable, Lyths cottages and camping are the right place, and especially the camping. It is well arranged with washing up and barbecue facilities, even a simple wood-burning stove down by the beach that is free to use. The cottages are fully equipped.

Call before you go.

The possibilities for accommodation and dining on the Koster Islands change greatly when the high season turns into the low season. From October to the end of April, hotel and restaurant staff usually have their holidays crossed with preparations for the next intensive summer season. Then many things are closed. However, it is possible to find restaurants that offer Christmas dinners. Call and check if it is open before you go. Or bring the cooking stove and cook outside.