Tjärö

About This Anchorage

Tjärö is one of the jewels of the Blekinge archipelago — a forested island nature reserve managed by the county with an STF (Swedish Tourist Association) hostel in converted 19th-century farm buildings. The island is free of permanent residents and cars. The Blekinge inner archipelago surrounding Tjärö is a labyrinth of wooded skerries with shallow channels — one of the most beautiful and least visited cruising grounds in Sweden. The island's mud bottom gives superb holding and the surrounding islands provide good shelter from most directions. Walking trails cross the island through old meadows maintained as part of the nature reserve management. Seals are commonly seen in the surrounding skerries.

Hazards

• !Inner archipelago approach channels require careful navigation — 2.5m minimum draught in places
• !Seal colonies on outer skerries — maintain 100m distance and reduce speed
• !Nature reserve rules strictly enforced
• !SW and W exposure in west bay — can be uncomfortable in afternoon seabreeze
• !No fuel — plan fuel stops at Karlskrona or Ronneby before arrival

Skipper's Tips

• →Book STF hostel accommodation in advance for July — very popular island destination
• →Seal watching from the dinghy: harbour seals (knubbsäl) on the outer skerries are curious and approachable
• →The inner archipelago approach from Ronneby is spectacular — wooded islands and mirror-calm channels
• →Tjärö's old meadows bloom with orchids in June — remarkable flora in the nature reserve
• →Bring kayak or inflate the dinghy — the inner skerry channels are best explored at low speed
• →Evening fishing from the rocks for perch and pike — freshwater fish enter the brackish archipelago

Nearby Anchorages