Mrs Black dog has decided she fancies a trip to Sweden this summer to see some midnight sun. Any tips or advice where to go? We will be leaving from Glasgow but flying out of Edinburgh to Stockholm looks like the obvious option. Scandinavia has the reputation for being seriously expensive. Is it it justified? I expect we will probably be looking to go for about a week. I wouldn’t plan to take bikes but is there any point in taking riding kit with us?

Thanks

It is VERY expensive. Not been to Sweden but have been to Norway a few times (which is similarly-priced).

Last time I went was about eight years ago and a glass of coke and a small pizza from a takeaway was £25. Beer was about £6 a pint.

So it won’t be a cheap break then. I can only imagine prices have gone up in the meantime. I needed to go on a diet anyway.

norway is way more expensive than sweden. Sweden is just a bit more expensive than London IMO.

Wonderful country, and stockholm is a superb city. Have a dinner cruise on the SS stockholm.

Its a great cycling country too, well worth exploring the coast north east of stockholm.

Midges can be a pain so be prepared if sitting outside in the evbenings outside of the cities (cover ankles, cuffs etc) maybe try some Avon Skin so soft dry oil spray woodland fresh.

It is VERY expensive. Not been to Sweden but have been to Norway a few times (which is similarly-priced).

Erm, no its not. Norway is way more expensive than Sweden.
Some things in Sweden are a bit more expensive than the UK, but on the whole its not that much different to the UK.
The one factor that makes it a bit pricier at the moment is the very weak pound.
Its not midges you’ve got to watch out for, its the mossies. Not a problem if you’re city based, but an issue if you’re out in the sticks.

Okay I stand corrected – it was my understanding that it was similarly-priced.

Ah. is that what they were. Thought they were a bit big for midges 😉

Public transport is very cheap.. A 2 hour long bus ride from Stockholm airport to Bodo island was about 6 quid.
Went there last year to do a week’s sea kayaking. We took almost all out food and booze with us. The most expensive thing was 2 nights out in Stockholm when we’d finished..

The cost of drink isn’t that much more than you’d pay in any UK city centre. The problem, as already pointed out, is the rubbish exchange rate.
Best advice is to just go an have a nice time, but don’t think about how much things are costing you!
Careful when in summer you go. Midsummer is a big holiday in Sweden, which is great fun if you have family or friends over there, but if not, bear in mind lots of shops, pubs etc shut down over the holiday.

If you want true midnight sun you will have to go a fair bit north of Stockholm.

Thanks for all of the advice so far. I am pleased that its not horrifically expensive just fairly expensive.

Francisco, Mrs BD can only get time off work out of university term time which limits when we can go but I will keep an eye out for local holiday times and avoid them as much as I can.

Pigface, any tips for where to go once we get out of Stockholm, or is it just a case of head north?

cu sorry no real tips, the missus lives near Karlstad and the summer evenings are like it is in Scotland. Always gone South in Sweden on vacations, Karlskrona is lovely. Nip over to Helsinki on the ferry that is another fantastic city.

If I wanted midnite sun and spectacular scenery I would go to the Lofoten Islands, I was lucky when I visited as the weather was great, Tromso is a great place, both of these are in Norway. As above Norway is ruinously expensive.

North of Gavle is pretty quiet in Sweden,

Mrs S and I cycled from Turku in Finalnd across the Åland archipelago.
Then a ferry to Sweden, cycle through uppsala and then down to stockholm.
Was a beautiful holiday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85land_Islands

Stockholm was eye wateringly expensive. Two G&Ts and a vodka and coke came to almost £25 😯

The exchange rate for you guys sucks at the moment, thus making it seem even more expensive, Stockholm compares to the city for prices, whilst it gets cheaper the futher from it you travel.

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I’ll be taking a bottle of gin from duty free to keep me going.

Only country where the clouds are interesting.

Tell them you know the King of Sweden – they will be impressed. I know him and he is very impressive indeed!

TooTall,

It probably doesn’t sound so impressive if I say I post on a forum where somebody knows the King of Sweden. Do you think he could put me and the Mrs up for a night or two when we visit Stockholm? He probably has loads of space. What kind of bike does he ride?

what does the king of sweden ride? no-one? on this forum!?
sniggers and wanders off….

Eat here –
http://www.restaurangprinsen.com/eng/

Drink/eat/party here –
http://www.berns.se/

But, most of all…you will need some Black Iridium Oakleys. Not for the sunlight, but for the views. WOW!

Berns is an excellent hotel, I always try and stay there when in Stockholm on business.

When I went to Finland 3 years ago, it was way “cheaper” than the time before when I went 20 years ago.

20 years ago, a round was a tenner in english money, when the same round was £3 in an english pub.

Last time I went, bottles of wine from a shop was say 10% more than you’d pay in UK, and a bottle of Cider in a Helsinki bar less than £4, whe we pay £3+ for same in UK.

I;d consider Finland over Sweden and Norway for those reasons.

Their Steak Tartare was sublime when I was last there.

Eating out in Stockholm is hellish expensive. Save up plenty of money if you want that. Everywhere else the cuisine is not that varied, (lots of fish, fish and more fish). They know how to use prawns well though. its really nice to the south of Stockholm if you like the lakes and huge forests etc. Theres a place called Emmaboda that has a very small and very cheap campsite half way between Stockholm and the south cost that if you are around that area you should definitely stay at without a doubt.

North of Stockholm towards Norway it gets a bit more hilly but nothing really worth dragging the mountain bikes for. If you want to take a bike a folding one or a cheap city type bike is best with a cheap lock to save on tram and bus charges etc. (check out the ammount of Brooks saddles they have 80 )

Overall its definitely worth going to and theres loads in Stockholm to do, you can even see Sweden’s most successful ship the Vassa 😉 There’s palaces and cafes and waterfronts etc. It is quite pricey but its worth it

Gothenburg is quite nice, but echo the hellishly expensive part. It is actually cheaper, per pint, to buy the small cans on the Ryanair flight over and stash them in your hand luggage than to go into a bar.

Foggy + cold in winter IIRC.

You’ll need to head well north of Stockholm to get midnight sun. Luckily the internal flights in Sweden are regular and cost effective. Fly to Kiruna inside the artic circle and then you can watch the sun not set.

Gothenburg’s great, but its not Stockholm.

Stockholm is picture postcard pretty and a great place to visit with a family/loved one.

Yes booze is expensive, but what % of a days cost is it? Judging by most peoples comments it must be 50%

You could always fly into Trondheim in Norway and then head over to Åre. Åre’s a good mountain biking destination during the summer.

http://www.arebikepark.com/en/

Not quite far enough north to get proper midnight sun (ie sun above the horizon) but during June it definitely won’t get dark. It seems pretty cheap to me but then I do live in Norway.

Gothenburg is quite nice, but echo the hellishly expensive part. It is actually cheaper, per pint, to buy the small cans on the Ryanair flight over and stash them in your hand luggage than to go into a bar.

Really? I think you’ve been to the wrong bars! I live in Gothenburg and rarely pay much more for beers than if I was out drinking in any big UK city.