What is Sweden like in the summer?
Discussion
We had some nice sunny fun on the beach in Oz over Christmas, so this summer we're thinking of something a bit different.
The kids are getting older now (8 and 6) and I'm thinking of some sort of adventure holiday with camping and 'experiences'.
Sweden is on my list of places to go, but I've never been. Scandinavia is a natural choice for the winter sports, so wondering what it would be like in the summer.
Would take the car / tents / bikes with us (overnight ferry to Denmark)
What's it like in that part of the world then?
The kids are getting older now (8 and 6) and I'm thinking of some sort of adventure holiday with camping and 'experiences'.
Sweden is on my list of places to go, but I've never been. Scandinavia is a natural choice for the winter sports, so wondering what it would be like in the summer.
Would take the car / tents / bikes with us (overnight ferry to Denmark)
What's it like in that part of the world then?
Edited by Matt due to some really bad schpellings
Edited by Matt UK on Friday 4th February 14:36
Lovely 
A few years back I went over to Sweden in early August for a Hot Rod weekender, so an outdoor camping type event....
It was up near Uddevalla in woods near a lake.... really nice.
Sweden is very child friendly and I'm an activity type holiday over there in the summer would be excellent. And at that time of year though, it never gets really dark during the night.
A few years back I went over to Sweden in early August for a Hot Rod weekender, so an outdoor camping type event....
It was up near Uddevalla in woods near a lake.... really nice.
Sweden is very child friendly and I'm an activity type holiday over there in the summer would be excellent. And at that time of year though, it never gets really dark during the night.
A lot of people say it's a boring place and nothing to do, but they are the sort of holidaymaker who has to be doing something, as in tourist attraction type thing, every day.
If you are into outdoors then come and just chill. Child friendly in the extreme, and don't forget the issue of Allemansrätten
The mygg (mosquitoes) takes no prisoners.
Of course there are some normal type attractions, and kid friendly theme parks, and in the summer months some totally cracking classic and American car shows especially in July.
This year there is this http://www.fiva-world-rally.se/Map.html
If you are into outdoors then come and just chill. Child friendly in the extreme, and don't forget the issue of Allemansrätten
The mygg (mosquitoes) takes no prisoners.
Of course there are some normal type attractions, and kid friendly theme parks, and in the summer months some totally cracking classic and American car shows especially in July.
This year there is this http://www.fiva-world-rally.se/Map.html
We went to Sweden in Summer 2008 for a wedding and had a great time.
I'd recommend Orsa bear park - they should have their polar bears installed now.
Stockholm's a lovely place to do a guided boat tour of too.
Oh, if you're a drinker, it's shockingly expensive. I took a load of wine & beer with us in the car!
I'd recommend Orsa bear park - they should have their polar bears installed now.
Stockholm's a lovely place to do a guided boat tour of too.
Oh, if you're a drinker, it's shockingly expensive. I took a load of wine & beer with us in the car!
Yep - lovely place.
Camping is big over there and very good sites abound.
Parts of the West Coast are stunning. Gothenburg - decent theme park in the middle and Universum is well worth a look round. Try to get to Trollhatten too - about an hour north of Gothenburg. Lots to do there and make sure you are around when they open the sluice gates - quite dramatic - and even the Saab museum's worth a visit.
Summer weather not too different to here.
Just remember when looking at the "sites", it's rude to gawp!! ;-)
Camping is big over there and very good sites abound.
Parts of the West Coast are stunning. Gothenburg - decent theme park in the middle and Universum is well worth a look round. Try to get to Trollhatten too - about an hour north of Gothenburg. Lots to do there and make sure you are around when they open the sluice gates - quite dramatic - and even the Saab museum's worth a visit.
Summer weather not too different to here.
Just remember when looking at the "sites", it's rude to gawp!! ;-)
expensive!
we went out for a wedding in Visby last summer and it was absolutely beautiful when the sun was out. very interesting history, plenty of ruins and excellent wildflower meadows- if you like that sort of thing!
Gotland is apparently a favourite destination for bikers and we shared our hotel with the smartest looking hell's angels you'll ever see. the Goldwing club of stockholm were also there that week so we got to see some interesting bikes.
we flew from Arlanda to Visby in the way out and got the ferry back to Nynashamn. the Baltic was like glass and it felt more like being on a travelator than a ferry- no sea legs afterwards. the flight out, on a Fokker 50, wasn't quite so smooth!
The island is a popular choice for campers and cyclists too. our friends were staying on to spend their honeymoon on the east coast of the island which has white sandy beaches and lots of forest to get completely lost in.
if you go, make sure you try the Steak with mashed potato and bearnaise at some point. loads of good places to eat and nearly all have al fresco dining. it wasn't exactly warm when we were there but every seat in Visby had a blanket on it!
there's this too, which i can't tell you anything about as it hadn't opened yet.
http://www.gotlandring.com/
On the way home we spent a couple of days in Stockholm and The Djurgarden is the place to go if you have kids (zoo, aquarium, theme park, trams etc) i'd thoroughly recommend the Vasa museum (awesome building and exhibition) and it's restaurant... best sausages i've ever eaten.
boat trips to the Archipelago are supposed to be nice but it was very windy the day we went and it would probably be quite boring for young kids.
we're definitely going back.
we went out for a wedding in Visby last summer and it was absolutely beautiful when the sun was out. very interesting history, plenty of ruins and excellent wildflower meadows- if you like that sort of thing!
Gotland is apparently a favourite destination for bikers and we shared our hotel with the smartest looking hell's angels you'll ever see. the Goldwing club of stockholm were also there that week so we got to see some interesting bikes.
we flew from Arlanda to Visby in the way out and got the ferry back to Nynashamn. the Baltic was like glass and it felt more like being on a travelator than a ferry- no sea legs afterwards. the flight out, on a Fokker 50, wasn't quite so smooth!
The island is a popular choice for campers and cyclists too. our friends were staying on to spend their honeymoon on the east coast of the island which has white sandy beaches and lots of forest to get completely lost in.
if you go, make sure you try the Steak with mashed potato and bearnaise at some point. loads of good places to eat and nearly all have al fresco dining. it wasn't exactly warm when we were there but every seat in Visby had a blanket on it!
there's this too, which i can't tell you anything about as it hadn't opened yet.
http://www.gotlandring.com/
On the way home we spent a couple of days in Stockholm and The Djurgarden is the place to go if you have kids (zoo, aquarium, theme park, trams etc) i'd thoroughly recommend the Vasa museum (awesome building and exhibition) and it's restaurant... best sausages i've ever eaten.
boat trips to the Archipelago are supposed to be nice but it was very windy the day we went and it would probably be quite boring for young kids.
we're definitely going back.
It can be hotter over in Sweden than here, in my experience. I guess that's partly down to the longer days (depending on how far north you go).
Stockholm, Gothenburg and other parts of the south are amazing, but there's also fantastic scenery further north: I've a fair bit of experience of Dalarna (3 hours drive) in particular, which is a stunning part of the world; lakes, rivers, mountains, particularly if you head up to the Norwegian end where the reindeer live. The areas around lake Siljan are amazing too: Rättvik and Leksand are the larger towns. There's often huge convoys of 50s & 60s American cars over the summer months. They tend to converge somewhere nice like Rättvik.
The mosquitos are a pain, mostly so at night, so don't be outside away from a fire in wooded areas near or after dark. Personally, the ticks are more annoying. If you are out in the wilder areas (again, mostly north), there are bears, beavers, wolverines, lynx and possibly wolves if you are very lucky. I've never seen any of these in the wild, though I have see what damage both beavers and bears can do, (beavers win by miles) and lynx tracks. Oh, and älg/Moose; don't drive too fast through wooded areas, in most cars you will be lucky not to die if you hit an adult älg at speed.
If you are going to drive, keep your headlights on at all times.
Stockholm, Gothenburg and other parts of the south are amazing, but there's also fantastic scenery further north: I've a fair bit of experience of Dalarna (3 hours drive) in particular, which is a stunning part of the world; lakes, rivers, mountains, particularly if you head up to the Norwegian end where the reindeer live. The areas around lake Siljan are amazing too: Rättvik and Leksand are the larger towns. There's often huge convoys of 50s & 60s American cars over the summer months. They tend to converge somewhere nice like Rättvik.
The mosquitos are a pain, mostly so at night, so don't be outside away from a fire in wooded areas near or after dark. Personally, the ticks are more annoying. If you are out in the wilder areas (again, mostly north), there are bears, beavers, wolverines, lynx and possibly wolves if you are very lucky. I've never seen any of these in the wild, though I have see what damage both beavers and bears can do, (beavers win by miles) and lynx tracks. Oh, and älg/Moose; don't drive too fast through wooded areas, in most cars you will be lucky not to die if you hit an adult älg at speed.
If you are going to drive, keep your headlights on at all times.
Well, I would be biased here, being half Swedish, but it's lovely.
I would say that when there is good summer weather, it's warmer and drier than here.
Lovely around midsummer, when even around Stockholm it doesn't get properly dark. Probably a bit warmer later.
Lots of things to do. Probably more expensive then some places, but depends what you do.
As mentioned, if you are sensitive to mosquitoes, pick your destination carefully, though if there is a dry summer, they are far less of a problem. My cousin hired a cottage in the forest for about a year, in a boggy area of forest, and you could stand around for a few minutes before what sounded like a million mosquitoes would appear simultaneously, though that was an extreme example!
Really nice swimming in lakes. From the bigger ones like Vättern which are cooler and crystal clear to smaller warmer ones all over the place. If you like kayaking you can travel hundreds of miles on lakes and rivers, fishing as you go...
Food is generally very good, but a little more expensive then here. If eating out drinks with meals are much more expensive, as well as in pubs (pint £5 is normal). However there are plenty of very drinkable lower alcohol beers that are considerably cheaper. Great for pizzas - better than here, and probably cheaper!
On a PH note, great if you are into American classic cars, there are lots about, and hundreds of shows. If you hire a car, driving is pretty nice - unless you are in Stockholm, it's very relaxed and not congested.
Also brilliant because, the quality of English is better than here! The classic is asking someone if they speak English, and they reply "a little", followed by fluent English.
I could go on, but depends on what you like doing, I could answer something a bit more specific.
I would say that when there is good summer weather, it's warmer and drier than here.
Lovely around midsummer, when even around Stockholm it doesn't get properly dark. Probably a bit warmer later.
Lots of things to do. Probably more expensive then some places, but depends what you do.
As mentioned, if you are sensitive to mosquitoes, pick your destination carefully, though if there is a dry summer, they are far less of a problem. My cousin hired a cottage in the forest for about a year, in a boggy area of forest, and you could stand around for a few minutes before what sounded like a million mosquitoes would appear simultaneously, though that was an extreme example!
Really nice swimming in lakes. From the bigger ones like Vättern which are cooler and crystal clear to smaller warmer ones all over the place. If you like kayaking you can travel hundreds of miles on lakes and rivers, fishing as you go...
Food is generally very good, but a little more expensive then here. If eating out drinks with meals are much more expensive, as well as in pubs (pint £5 is normal). However there are plenty of very drinkable lower alcohol beers that are considerably cheaper. Great for pizzas - better than here, and probably cheaper!
On a PH note, great if you are into American classic cars, there are lots about, and hundreds of shows. If you hire a car, driving is pretty nice - unless you are in Stockholm, it's very relaxed and not congested.
Also brilliant because, the quality of English is better than here! The classic is asking someone if they speak English, and they reply "a little", followed by fluent English.
I could go on, but depends on what you like doing, I could answer something a bit more specific.
I went there round about the same age as your kids are now, bit of a while ago so memories are hazy, but just seemed great for a family holiday.
Quiet roads for cycling on, nice beaches and great weather.
Would imagine it's quite pricey these days, but a couple of weeks living on pickled herrings won't do the nippers any harm.
Quiet roads for cycling on, nice beaches and great weather.
Would imagine it's quite pricey these days, but a couple of weeks living on pickled herrings won't do the nippers any harm.
Went in June last year for a wedding, was very expensive and coming from Dubai that means a lot, hotel was faulty towers lol, supposedly we went to a couple of very good restaurants very bland tbh. Weather was great thow and all the local people are really friendly and they do like tyre cars.
Thinking about going to Sweden in mid summer for the weekend with some mates for my 40th!
Is the nightlife any good? Want to visit the cafe bars and clubs etc and meet the locals!
I've heard the Swedes have some sort of mid summer festival type holiday on the weekend following mid summers day?
Any tips?!
Is the nightlife any good? Want to visit the cafe bars and clubs etc and meet the locals!
I've heard the Swedes have some sort of mid summer festival type holiday on the weekend following mid summers day?
Any tips?!
chillo said:
Is the nightlife any good? Want to visit the cafe bars and clubs etc and meet the locals!
Any tips?!
Yep - very (though there's plenty of places that aren't)Any tips?!
In my experience, in all but the uber-trendy bars and clubs, the vibe is a lot more relaxed than here, few do the "brand" thing with fashion and are on the whole, quite pleasant people.
Check out Trollhatten.
One thing to watch that can take new visitors by surprise is that Swedes have no sense of personal space and will think nothing of barging their way to the bar. It's not aggressive, just the way they are.
StevieBee said:
One thing to watch that can take new visitors by surprise is that Swedes have no sense of personal space and will think nothing of barging their way to the bar. It's not aggressive, just the way they are.
The same thing happens in Norway, It must be a Nordic thing. Lovely, lovely people who love the English but wont ever hold a door open and will quite happily barge through a crowd. Totally different country i know but i loved Norway and Bergen and long to go back.
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