NationalGeographicTravellerUKMayJune2020

East of the city is a vast

archipelago with thousands

of islands and islets fanning

out towards the Baltic Sea.

The largest islands are

easily reached from the city,

with public transport boat

services departing from the

Strömkajen ferry terminal on the

Norrmalm waterfront, run by

Waxholmsbolaget. Single fares

range from £5 to £15, depending

on how far you’re travelling.

Departures are year-round, with

a greater choice over summer.

Some islands, among them the

popular Vaxholm, can also be

reached by bus.

So where to go? Vaxholm

is home to an atmospheric

harbour town and the classy

Vaxholms B&B, although its

proximity to the city means

the island can get busy. Heavily

wooded Grinda is another good

choice, while neighbouring

Viggsö is notable for being

where ABBA wrote several

hits. Then there’s Svartsö, a

large island that’s perfect for

cycling and also has glamping

at Svartsö Logi. Further afi eld,

Finnhamn and Utö are both

great. waxholmsbolaget.se

vaxholmsbedandbreakfast.se

svartsologi.se BEN LERWILL

Seeing wildlife in its natural

habitat is one of life’s most

exhilarating experiences. Of

course, there’s no guarantee the

animals will turn up, but there are

loads of operators running trips

that aim to give participants the

chance to see everything from

whales to polar bears. Decide

what kind of wildlife really

excites you, and join a small

group with at least one good

tutor. You’ll need a decent long

lens too, so it might be worth

renting one for your fi rst trip

before splashing out.

Close to home, Shetland

Nature off ers a variety of wildlife

photography holidays and

day tours, focusing on otters,

gannets and puffi ns. Owned and

operated by native Shetlander

Brydon Thomason, the tutors

really understand the seasonal

behaviour of local fauna, so

know the best places to see

wildlife. A UK-based trip is a less

expensive way to learn the basics

of photography too.

Exodus Travels runs

photography tours to Antarctica,

the Arctic and Africa. Its

skilled photography guides are

passionate about getting out into

the fi eld, and its Maasai Mara

Kenya Photographic Safari gives

participants the chance to snap a

variety of exotic wildlife.

Further afi eld, Steppes

Travel is known for its range

of luxury wildlife tours. From

photographing orangutans

in Borneo to grizzly bears in

Canada, alongside big-name

tutors, the company also

supports a number of worldwide

conservation projects.

Sustainability and animal

welfare is as important to them

as you getting fabulous snaps.

shetlandnature.net exodus.co.uk

steppestravel.com NORI JEMIL

Q // I’d like to

explore the

islands of the

Stockholm

archipelago.

What’s the best

way to do it?

Q // I’d like to

get into wildlife

photography

and am

considering

going on a trip

to learn the

basics. Where

would you

recommend for

a beginner?

Q // How do I know if

a visa site is genuine?

The most common giveaway

is misspellings. Your average

scammer doesn’t always have a

thorough grasp of written English,

so if you see a website with poor

spelling or grammar, it’s likely

you’re looking at a scam. Pay

attention to the URL as well

— scam visa websites can

sometimes appear high up in

search engine results.

Most, although not all, offi cial

government websites for visa

applications include .gov in their

URLs. If in doubt, use the Foreign

& Commonwealth Offi ce, which

has links to the visa application

sites of individual countries. And

don’t use social media; the US

state department recently warned

that criminals were posting links

to scam websites on offi cial US

embassy Facebook pages.

Some websites aren’t

outright scams, but instead rip

people off by charging an extra

‘administration’ fee for a visa

application. These are most

common for Australia, Canada and

USA electronic visa applications,

and the EHIC card. We found one

website listed on the fi rst page of

Google search results charging $74

(£58) for a US Electronic System

for Travel Authorisation (ESTA)

application. The actual cost is $14

(£11). Always head for the offi cial

website using the advice above.

gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

RORY BOLAND

JULIA BUCKLEY //

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BEN LERWILL //

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

RORY BOLAND //

EDITOR, WHICH? TRAVEL

NORI JEMIL // AWARD

WINNING TRAVEL

PHOTOGRAPHER

THE EXPERTS

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