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I feel like saying:

"The old ship swung to and fro, because of the billowing waves."

is almost synonymous to:

"The old ship swung from side to side, because of the billowing waves."

Of course the difference being "swung to and fro" can mean "back and forth" or "from side to side", but aside being a little more general, it can be "synonymous" in certain context? Am I wrong to say this? What are the other differences I haven't picked up?

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They're synonymous in your example but "To and Fro" allows for more variety of movement.

Jason points out in the comment that "to and fro" means movement an (any) opposite directions, not just side to side. It also relates to moving between two locations.

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    They're only possibly synonymous in this sentence—and only if we are told that the ship only moved side to side. From Merriam-Webster: : movement in opposite directions // the busy to-and-fro of the holiday shoppers : forward and backward : from one place to another. Generally, they don't mean the same thing.
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Jan 28, 2019 at 20:28

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