If you wanted to visit the country with the most islands on Earth, where would you actually have to book a flight?

Sweden’s island country begins with a flight to the mainland

The answer is Sweden. But its extraordinary island count does not mean the country is dotted with hundreds of thousands of ready-made beach getaways. Many counted islands are small, uninhabited pieces of rock or land in lakes and along the coast. The number depends partly on what qualifies as an island, so the total describes geography more than a list of places to stay.

From Stockholm, the sea takes over

For a practical first taste, fly to Stockholm. The city sits beside an archipelago—a sprawling group of islands and skerries, the low, rocky islets left by glaciers and the sea. Ferries connect the capital with many inhabited islands, while smaller boats serve some routes. The journey itself is part of the visit: urban waterfront gives way to open water, pine-covered shores, and scattered rock outcrops.

There is no single airport that delivers travelers to “the islands.” The right route depends on which island you want, and some destinations require a ferry after the flight. Sweden’s island abundance is therefore best understood as a network of coastlines and waterways, not one enormous resort zone. Even a short trip from Stockholm can reveal the contrast: a country with a busy capital, yet a seascape where the next stop may be a small island reached only by boat.