If you visit Stockholm, you MUST take a boat tour. Even if you use a different company, make sure…read moreyou get out on the water because the views are absolutely mindblowing. Being from Minnesota, the area actually really really reminded us of our own national treasure, the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area. The landscape looks very similar and I'd guess (though I haven't looked at a map) that the two areas are similar latitude wise so that probably makes sense. The thing that was most surprising to us is that here at home, we have to drive six hours north almost into Canada to reach our favorite wilderness area, and here in Stockholm, you can be out on the water and enjoying nature in under half an hour from downtown (which is really urban and you can't even see the water). It's a really interesting mix of things and all in such a small geographic area.
OK so if you choose this boat tour, as others have said, it's about 2.5 hours and basically takes you out and makes a loop. The boat is a nice boat ... large, with both indoor and outdoor seating,. So really you should be more than comfortable on your journey, though I can imagine that in the summertime and the height of tourist season, these boats are probably pretty packed. We were there in March, so the boat was less than half full, which was great. If you plan to sit upstairs outside to get the best possible view, bundle up. Even if it's warm out, it will be cold up there.
The views are magnificent and the crew was super cool about letting you roam around the boat as you wished to take photos. The tour is also narrated, and our most impressive tour guide did the tour narration in English, German and Dutch after surveying the people on the boat to find out what languages they speak. I have no idea how many languages this gentleman speaks but he literally repeated everything in three different languages and fielded questions. Very impressive.
The boat takes you by a lot of cool stuff, particularly the waterside amusemement park that sits on the banks of the water. But other than that, quite a value for the money and a really really wonderful way to see Stockholm!