The Nordic Nomad

The Nordics

Where to stay in the Nordics if you want an island all to yourself

The Nordics • Stay • Where to stay in the Nordics if you want an island all to yourself

What happens when the Nordics do private islands? This.

Some islands are for postcards. Others, for people who need to disappear for a while. Across the Nordics, far from the ferry queues and fridge magnets, a new kind of island stay is emerging – minimalist, yes, but rich in story, flavour and stillness. These are places where the rooms are few, the design intentional and the silence part of the service. You might arrive by kayak, boat taxi or blind faith in Google Maps, but once you’re there, time stretches. Think seaweed suppers in Norway, cliffside beds in Sweden or Lappish soul food on a snow-covered island no one warned you about. Here’s where to go when you want the mainland to let you go.

Top photography courtesy of Pater Noster

Overview: The Nordic’s top island stays

01 Pater Noster

02 Lilløy Lindenberg

03 Aino Private Island Lodge

04 The Barö

05 Manshausen

06 Idöborg

Pater Noster

There are few places in Sweden as wild, poetic and weather-beaten as Pater Noster – a tiny islet off the Bohuslän coast where the wind never sleeps. Once home to lighthouse keepers, the 19th-century compound was transformed by design studio Stylt Trampoli into an award-winning guesthouse with just nine pared-back rooms and views stretching across Kattegat and Skagerrak. The seafood-focused kitchen leans into its coastal larder, with seaweed, mussels and oysters pulled from the surrounding waters. For those seeking drama, a luxury king-size bed can be made up on the cliffs – sleeping beneath the stars, waves crashing nearby. A place for solitude, storms and slow dinners that stretch into the night.

Pater Noster
Hamneskär
Sweden

Photography courtesy of Pater Noster

Lilløy Lindenberg

Just off Norway’s Vestland coast, Lilløy Lindenberg is a remote island stay reimagined for 2025 by the Lindenberg hotel group and award-winning Bergen design duo Vera & Kyte. Surrounded by the North Sea, the retreat hosts just 10 guests in four artfully composed rooms spread across a main house and annex. Interiors pair antique Nordic design with seaweed-stuffed bedding, handcrafted ceramics and a library-bar stocked with local botanicals. Food is plant-based and fiercely regional – often built around freshly harvested seaweed from the on-site kelp farm. Guests can join communal dinners via the Kelp Club or cook for themselves in the outdoor kitchen. Sauna sessions, sea swims and kayak trips round out the experience.

Lilløy Lindenberg
Midtoyni
Norway

Photography courtesy of Lilløy Lindenberg

Aino Private Island Lodge

On a low-slung island just beyond Rovaniemi, Aino Private Island Hotel offers something rare in the Arctic: genuine quiet. This adults-only retreat strips away the usual Lapland clichés in favour of restrained Nordic design and a focus on space – physical, visual, emotional. There are 12 rooms in total, including a three-bedroom villa, all built with natural materials and views of the Kemijoki River. The on-site Kota restaurant leans into traditional Lappish cooking, built around local ingredients and open fire. Between meals, guests cycle through sauna rituals, browse the small library, or join private excursions into the forest. Nothing here is showy – everything is considered.

Aino Private Island Lodge
Kuusamontie 900
Rovaniemi
Finland

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Photography courtesy of Aino Private Island Lodge

The Barö

You don’t stumble across The Barö – you drive through forest, cross water, and eventually find it folded into the Finnish archipelago like it’s always been there. An hour from Helsinki but nowhere in particular, this low-slung timber hotel gets the mood exactly right: hushed, remote, but not austere. Rooms come with panoramic windows, saunas or fireplaces – sometimes all three. The restaurant, The Berg, leans hard into its Nordic roots: stewed pike, forest berries, game, foraged things you can’t name but still remember. Breakfast is quiet, dinner is long, and time slips sideways the way it does when everything is working. A retreat, but without the usual clichés.

The Barö
Barösundintie 679
Inkoo
Finland

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Photography courtesy of The Barö

Manshausen

Manshausen Island in the Steigen archipelago, blends culinary expertise with modern architecture. Chef Ondrej Taldik, known for his minimalistic yet flavourful dishes, emphasises local ingredients like fresh seafood and homegrown produce. The retreat‘s sea cabins, designed by Snorre Stinessen, boast panoramic views and minimalist luxury, encouraging guests to connect with nature. Activities range from kayaking and hiking to relaxation in hot tubs and a salt-water pool. Manshausen stands out as a sanctuary where nature‘s tranquillity and culinary finesse unite, offering a unique blend of adventure, serenity and gastronomic delight.

Manshausen
Manshausen 3
Leinesfjord
Norway

Photography courtesy of Manshausen

Idöborg

Just off the coast of Nämdö in Stockholm’s southern archipelago, Idöborg is a privately owned island that blends easygoing charm with a thoughtful sense of place. Guests come for day trips, yoga retreats, summer concerts or overnight stays in villas and glamping cabins – and stay for the sauna, sea swims and the unexpectedly strong kitchen. The restaurant serves up local favourites like the Idöburger and the island’s signature Kreuger Mule, a silvery concoction of ginger, mint, dark rum and Nordic fruit. Easily reached by ferry from Stavsnäs or Saltsjöbaden – two mainland hubs an hour from Stockholm – Idöborg is where the archipelago slows down, but doesn’t sleep.