Opening hours for the Göta Canal

Booking season: 4 May – 3 June 2012. Reservations required.

Peak season: 4 June – 23 August 2012. No reservations required.

Booking season: 24 August – 30 September 2012. Reservations required.

Trollhätte Canal, Lake Vänern-Gothenburg
The Trollhätte Canal is open all year, round the clock. 

4 May - 3 June and 24 August - 30 September 2012

Reservations required at least 3 working days before departure.

Book online!
You can book your canal trip and also buy your canal ticket on our website.
You can also choose to pay on arrival at the first lock, please note that you still have to book your journey 3 working days before departure. 

If you do not have Internet access, phone AB Göta kanalbolag,
+46 (0)141-20 20 50, office hours 9-16 Mon.-Fri.

During Booking season you have the following alternatives:

1. Entire Göta Canal in 5 days, or stretches of it
Entire Göta Canal Mem-Sjötorp, or vice versa,  in 5 days, or shorter stretches. Coordinated with other boats. We make joint stops along the canal. Departures from Mem and Sjötorp on Mondays and Fridays on 9 am, for boats that have made a prior reservation.

Reservations required three working days in advanced on phone + 46 (0)141-20 20 50, AB Göta kanalbolag, or book online here.

You can also schedule stops along the way and continue on a few days later according to a set itinerary. Contact us to help plan your trip!

2. Göta Canal Express
Entire Göta Canal Mem-Sjötorp in three days. Double fee. Open everyday during Booking season. Reservations required 3 working days in advance on phone + 46 (0)141-20 20 50, AB Göta kanalbolag or book online here.

Request a quotation for a custom canal journey

We can also offer a custom canal journey during the whole season. 

Please contact the Göta Canal Company, info@gotakanal.se,
or phone +46 (0)141-20 20 50.

4 June - 23 August 2012

The canal is open 9 am - 6 pm daily.
No reservations required.

In July the Canal stays extra open at the following points:
- The Norsholm Lock opens at 8 am 
- The Carl Johan flight of locks at Berg opens at 8 am and closes at 7 pm.
- The Oscar Lock at Berg opens at 8 am

A Göta Canal trip between Mem and Sjötorp normally takes 6 to 7 days in peak season. But don't make a detailed schedule! Allow plenty of extra time to enjoy all the experiences you encounter.

Your canal fee entitles you to 5 nights per marina belonging to the Göta Canal Company.

Visit Lake Vättern's marinas
Plan for a couple of extra days on Lake Vättern. Discover all that Sweden's second-largets lake has to offer in the way of pleasant marinas and the lovely inland archipelago in the north. The nautical chart for recreational boating on the Göta Canal includes Lake Vättern. It also includes information on all marinas in Vättern with service and sights (in Swedish).

Vänern - Sweden's largest lake
Vänern is Sweden's largest, and Europe's third largest lake. An ocean atmosphere and peaceful archipelago bays.

Mariestad, Läckö Castle and the Spiken fishing village are just some of the pleasant marinas you can stop in.

Many pleasure boats travelling the Göta Canal continue to travel across Sweden to the opposite coast. This takes them through another canal, the Trollhätte Canal, between Lake Vänern and Göteborg.

Opening times and canal fee for the Trollhätte Canal

The Trollhätte Canal is open all hours and around the year.

The cost for passing the Trollhätte Canal with a leisure boat is 860 SEK. Payment is due in lock 3 at the Central in Trollhättan. Credit cards are accepted.

For more information 

Trollhätte Kanal, Sjöfartsverket, Tel. +46 771 63 50 50.
Open weekdays 8.00 am - 4 .00 pm.

1. Road bridges with special opening hours

The most heavily used road bridges open at specific times:

The road bridges in Töreboda and Karlsborg open on the hour and half hour, during the canal's peak season, except noon, 1pm and 4pm on weekdays.
The last bredge opening is at 6pm.

The E22 bridge in Söderköping opens on the hour and half hour during the canal's peak season. The last bridge opening is at 6 pm.

On Fridays and Sundays the bridge only opens at wholw hours between 3 and 6 pm. This also applies on the Thursday before Midsummer (26th June, 2012).

2. Remote-controlled bridges
Some bridges over the Göta Canal are remote controlled. For safety reasons, bridge masters can only open one remote controlled bridge at a time. If several bridges are controlled from the same place, there may be a certain wait.

 

3. Railway bridges
Rail traffic has priority, which means you may have to wait at the railway bridges in Norsholm, Motala, Töreboda and Lyrestad. Be prepared to pass quickly at the opening of a railway bridge, as the Swedish Rail Administration only allows short interruptions for bridge openings.

4. Passing bridges
In all bridge passages, it is important to position yourself right at the bridge to show that you want to pass. If you stay by the dock or pier, it is hard for the bridge keeper to see if you want to pass or not.