Sweden

If nature is your nirvana then this is your spiritual home. Start and end out on the water with a kayak tour around Utö island for a snapshot of classic archipelagic scenery. Home to just over 200 full-time residents, this vehicle-free destination is a popular spot for kayaking, fishing, swimming and biking. Although a major city, Stockholm feels anything but, and a leisurely boat tour along its canal network takes you through areas of outstanding natural greenery in the Royal National City Park, and past key historical buildings as well as the Princess Estelle Sculpture Park.

Say skål to good times and great food prepared by your private yacht chef, in the Huvudskär chain of islands and islets, where a barbecue dinner framed by polished cliffs is a uniquely memorable experience. Alternatively, fish for your own supper with the seas between Gothenburg and the border with Norway a veritable pick and mix menu, from lobster to mackerel. Back on land, you can also visit the largest fish auction in Sweden to see the surprising variety of fish and seafood found off Sweden’s more than 3,000-kilometre-long coastline.

It would be remiss to not mention Sweden’s eclectic architectural landscape. Hop on the tender to disembark at Malmö, in the southwest of the country, where exquisitely rendered examples of the Dutch Renaissance style demarcate the market square and town hall while striking contemporary buildings are found in the former shipyard district of Västra Hamne. A veritable open-air museum of architecture, Malmö is also home to Scandinavia’s tallest building, the Turning Torso tower as well as the city’s smallest dwelling, the early 20th century Ebba’s House. A wood-fired sauna experience has to be in the top five Swedish attractions but keep it real with a nature-meets-nurture session on the northern tip of the Nämdö archipelago, where a spa day means time spent at one with mother nature, surrounded by all kinds of flora and fauna.