Sweden
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
36.6km²
Area
25km
Coastline
46m
Highest point
0
People
18°C
Warmest sea
August
91km
To the mainland
When to go to Gotska Sandön
Best to visit from April to May and from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (18 °C) and coolest in March (2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Swedish Baltic Sea island
Gotska Sandön is an island in Sweden. It covers 36.6 km², with 25 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 46 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 91 km away.
Getting there
- Visby Airport (VBY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 94 km in a straight lineCar hire at VBY airport (Visby)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesGotska Sandön
- 91 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From April to May and from July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Gotska Sandön.
- 2beachesLas Palmas
- 4viewpoints
- 4lighthousesGotska Sandön and 3 more
- 2ruins and archaeological sites
- 7waymarked walking routesBredsandsslingan, Höga Åsenslingan, Kapellslingan and 4 more
- 3campsitesGotska Sandön Lägerplats
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 22 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Night low (°C) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Sea (°C) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 50 | 41 | 36 | 32 | 34 | 48 | 55 | 62 | 50 | 58 | 64 | 58 |
| Wet days | 13 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 8.0 | 10.2 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 8.4 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 31 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.2 | +2.0 | +2.8 | +2.3 | +0.8 | +1.1 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +2.0 | +2.1 |
| 2021 | +2.1 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +3.7 | +4.1 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +0.7 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +0.4 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +1.4 | +2.6 | +0.1 | −0.9 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +0.8 | −0.3 |
| 2024 | −0.5 | +0.2 | +0.5 | −0.2 | +0.5 | +1.5 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +0.8 | +0.4 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.2 | −0.2 | −0.8 | +0.4 | −0.8 | +1.2 | +2.0 | +2.7 | +1.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Estonia
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q387843) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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