Kayaking, Culture & Culinary Treats: An Active Island-Hopping Break in West Sweden

The ferry to Kladesholmen via Dyron runs all year around and takes less than 30 minutes. When you arrive, make your way towards the start of the Dyroleden, a three-mile track which takes you along a scenic path, looking out over the sea and surrounding landscapes that are full of interesting flora and fauna.

After exploring Dyroleden, make your way back to Marstrand on the ferry. You'll have the rest of the day to explore this charming island that is well known as a sailing destination. Formerly a playground for the royals and once visited exclusively by the rich and famous, Marstrand is now a place that holidaymakers come to sail, relax and enjoy the island's stylish vibe - think the USA's Cape Cod with more beautiful people. The port buzzes with activity in the summer, with people spilling out from restaurants, bars and shops onto the pretty cobbled streets. The island is dotted with ornate wooden houses and there are fascinating sites to visit such as Strandverket Art Museum, Carlsten's Fortress and the Pater Noster lighthouse.

If you're travelling during July and August, you can catch a quick 30-minute ferry across then make the short walk to your hotel, but if you've got a hire car then it's an hour-long drive through the Swedish countryside.

We recommend arriving into Mosholmen in the late morning so that you have time for a delicious seafood lunch to refuel before hiring bikes or kayaks to explore your new surroundings. Pass by the picture-perfect red clapboard houses that dot the island and soak up the serene atmosphere and incredible views.

The residents on the island of Tjorn love art, culture and nature and have mixed them all together on the 'World's Sweatiest Art Tour'. You'll start by getting warm kayaking with your guide among the skerries from Bleket to Skarhamn, passing small bays and islands which can be only be reached by kayak. After about 90 minutes, you'll reach the Nordic Watercolour Museum where you can browse for a while and then break for lunch at nearby Pater Noster Krog & Cafe close to the museum prepared with local seasonal ingredients.

After a lovely lunch, continue by bicycle through pine forests and forest paths for around seven miles to Pilane - one of Sweden's most beautiful historic landscapes with traces of a settlement dating from the Iron Age. Here you will be able to explore interesting, exciting and thought-provoking art bearing the signatures of some of the world's leading artists, at the same time exploring the Iron Age stone circles on the site.

From Pilane, you will cycle back to the kayak centre over dirt roads and woodland which should take around 90 minutes, then transfer to your hotel either in a taxi or in your hire car. Settle in for your final night in Sweden and enjoy a delicious dinner after a day's hard work.

This culinary treat marks the end of your West Sweden island hopping adventure. With satisfied appetites, take your rental car or transfer back to the airport for flight home.