Käringön is a car-free island whose history has been shaped by fishing, its role as a harbor and its culture as a seaside resort. These themes belong to different periods and offer different starting points for choosing your destination: you can combine maritime local history with a contemporary connection to bathing. Your journey should also factor into your accommodation plans, as the connection to Tuvesvik is by passenger ferry.

Ferry connections and finding accommodation

Västtrafik operates the passenger ferry between Käringön and Tuvesvik. Since the island is car-free, this connection is one of the practical considerations for your stay. If you are looking for a hotel or other accommodation on Käringön, factor the ferry into your travel plans early. Check the current connections for your travel dates with Västtrafik. This way, you can plan your journey around the things that interest you about Käringön.

Fishing and older buildings

Käringön has been inhabited since at least the 1590s and has been a center of fishing since the 18th century. From the island, people fished for ling and cod on the North Sea banks on a large scale. These dates bring together two distinct aspects: the island’s settlement and its importance to fishing. Ling, cod and the North Sea banks give the fishing history a distinctive character.

The oldest part of the settlement grew up near Isackes sund, once an important harbor site. Several of the boathouses there date back a long way, are small and are partly made of wood. The buildings and boathouses make the historic harbor connection tangible through specific architectural details, adding a perspective on the place itself to the history of fishing.

The pilot lookout also tells of a change in the island’s maritime history: in the mid-19th century, it was moved from Rösseberget to its present location in the west. Alongside fishing and the harbor’s role, this allows a specific change of location to be placed in time.

Seaside resort history and experiences today

Varmbadhuset offers a particularly tangible glimpse into Käringön’s history as a seaside resort. The historic building dates from the period when Käringön was a seaside resort around 1900, and was built in 1900. Seaweed baths and other treatments, part of the bathing culture of the time, were offered there. Today, Varmbadhuset is used for sauna sessions and sea bathing, and offers views over the outermost coastal area of Bohuslän. The historic treatments and today’s sauna sessions are thus two different periods of use in the same building.

Another connection to bathing and enjoyment can be found at Karingo, where guests can enjoy fresh oysters with a glass of champagne in the Jacuzzi. Unlike Varmbadhuset, which connects seaside resort history with present-day use, Karingo focuses on this specific combination. This makes it possible to see a historically rooted connection to the seaside resort and a culinary experience as distinct highlights of a stay.

Discover more destinations: Stillingsön, Svanesund, Henån, Ellös, Mollösund, Gullholmen, Svanvik, Varekil

For the overview of the wider destination: Orust.