Where’s cool in Sweden?

I might fancy Stockholm, but generally I like wilderness, mountains, scenery etc. But I’ve got a family so nothing too extreme.

I’d probably drive, so places closer to the south would be more accessible, Lapland is possibly too far.

We went to Stockholm last year – stayed with friends so the destination was set.

However we saw plenty of scenery just out side the city without having to travel far (maybe not wilderness – but certainly a lot nicer that any other capital city I have been in).

If you are into kayaking at all, and if your kids are old enough, then rent a canadian canoe (I think you have youngish children?) and have a couple of days wildcamping on the islands that make up part of Stockholm. We intend to go back and do that some time. The water is very sheltered and you can have an island to yourself just a few km off shore from the city, or use one of the many B&Bs or bunk barns that are set up for visiting paddlers.

And leave room for all the money you will need to take.

No mountains in the south, although lots of canoeing/kayaking which is cool with the family. Hire them from a centre, paddle downstream, camp, (get eaten by midges), repeat until bored then ring the centre up to collect you.

By car then look at Dalarna, they promote themselves as a very outdoors county, good biking trails:
http://www.visitdalarna.se/en/Biking-Dalarna-Start/

Or come to Göteborg and the west coast and I’ll show you round.

Swedish Tourist site is good for booking mountain huts and the like:
http://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/en/

Plan to eat at lunchtime in Stockholm – it’s much cheaper. Lovely country – I lived in various parts of Stockholm in the late 90s and really miss it.

Expect to spend loads if you want to drink heavily. If not, cost of living is fairly comparable to SE England.

Stayed in some cabin type place on one of the lakes enroute from Gothenberg to Stockholm. Plenty of lakes to swim in (have roped off bathing areas and beaches), forests to cycle in (basically on XC ski tracks- all signed), castles to see, lakes to canoe or fish in….

Also stayed in Stockholm, but that was in uni accommodation. Nice city, and things to do.

Ii take it your financial situation has radically improved, Molgrips. 😉

If you want to stay in the south then Karlskrona is lovely with a fab museum, lots of little Islands to explore and places to swim.

Canoeing would fit with the Mrs I think, and the kids would like it even though they can’t swim so it’d have to be still water.

The water around Helsinki has loads of those tiny islands which seemed incredibly interesting 🙂 I skiied out to one of them (in winter), it was about 10x15m or so, hilly with a sort of sheltered central valley and a tiny beach on one side – like a volcanic tropical island in minature. The central valley had the remains of someone’s camp in it!

Neither of us drink enough to cost anything significant, the car does though, esp if we take a caravan.

The reason I am thinking about it is that the cost of the ferry to Esbjerg was a lot less than I thought it’d be in summer.

I might fancy Stockholm, but generally I like wilderness, mountains, scenery etc.

Norway.

But if you’re set on Sweden, then I would say that driving (from the UK?) will take ages, Swedish roads are pretty dull and slow with limits strictly enforced, and distances are massive compared with more populated parts of Europe. With kids of any age it isn’t likely to be massively fun to try and cover too big an area. Trains are decent though, as are buses.

Cities wise, Stockholm is an obvious tourist destination, and a very likeable place to visit. Goteborg is less obviously attractive, but pretty interesting. Malmo, arguably less so than either, but it depends what you’re into. Small town Sweden is pretty hit and miss.

Wilderness and mountains wise, you aren’t going to find anything in the south. Travelling to the north from the deep south will take you ages. Esbjerg- Stockholm is about 1000km, and Stockholm is north in Sweden just as much as Birmingham is in the UK. If you imagine a map of Scandinavia, Norway is basically mountains straight from the sea (with few exceptions). As soon as the border to the East/ South is crossed, the land quickly flattens into big rivers and large expanses of forest. Large parts of the south of the country is basically like East Anglia or Holland, arable farming, forestry, some lakes, no hills visible for miles.

Having said that, one thing that is great in the south (south west espeially IMO) is the coast. Check out the Bohuslan – its basically thousands of low rocky islands, monolithic granite and rooty pine forests spread to the north and south of Goteborg. Some of the islands are just big (and high) enough to have a Stuga (shed) on, others several kilometres and have settlements, many uninhabited. Clear shallow water, loads of sea creatures, generally pretty safe to swim, kayak, sail ((?) I don’t sail but plenty do). Hilly(ish) for the south (i.e. not totally flat). Some old (in Nordic terms) history in the area too. The “archipelago” around Stockholm is similar, but less special IMO, the Hoga Kusten (several hundred km north of Stockholm) is similar in some ways but less accessible from the UK. Gotland (the big island in the Baltic) is pretty interesting for history, flora, fauna, and beaches and doable from Stockholm.

Edit, reading the above… Dalarna is a decent suggestion for a hilly area, but you might be disappointed if expecting “wilderness”. Its about 4-5 hours drive from Stockholm, but that’s without a caravan.

I’d leave the caravan at home. Reasons are 1) you can camp anywhere for free. 2) there are plenty of campsites/ stugas/ hostels etc. you can use that will surely be nicer to stay in and way less hassle than a caravan for similar overall cost.

I plan to visit north Sweden if I have time this summer to avoid zombies … errmm … I mean people.

To add to what Flowerpower said, I found it an amazing place but the greatest curiosity was the business’ that “shut for the summer” like restaurants, cafes and shops! Would love to go back soon. Weather is very predictable, warm enough 23-25degC but not scorchio.

the cost of the ferry to Esbjerg was a lot less than I thought it’d be in summer.

How much then? when I looked last year it was about a grand in July. It was £29 eachway Dover to Dunkirk, then the ferry Germany to Denmark was £70 and Helsingor Helsinborg was about £38 so still loads cheaper to drive. I like driving in Europe so all good. Ferries seem to cost same as the bridges.

Caravans are generally less hassle than hostels and B&Bs etc cos you just stop and get in, no unpacking, you can bring all the kids toys and games etc and it’s much easier. The downside is the cost of fuel.

Camping anywhere is ok when you’re a couple backpacking (done it before) but a different proposition when you’re a family – having said that, there’s sure to be enough lakesides and forest to support it. Could add an adventure dimension.. but I wouldn’t want to leave all my camping stuff out in the woods all day whilst we go out and about every day for a week.

Distances seem to be comparable to the Alps or southern France.

However, just had another look at the ferry and the cost of a cabin is extortionate and not included in the original price I looked for… bah. Not spending 16 odd hours in a lounge.

How much then?

Well it said £280 return originally – I thought I’d selected caravan but it wouldn’t let me select it the second time.. maybe they don’t take them on all sailings or something.. but the cabin was over £500 extra 🙁

You have to have a cabin as well they insist 🙁

It’s a bit shite then that they give you a price which doens’t include mandatory things that triple the cost. Easyjet would be dead jealous of that.