The magic of Sweden is not a legend whispered in corners, but a truth sung from mountaintops
_____ Astrid Lindgren
I’m not sure why it took me so long to put Sweden on my travel map, but don’t do my same mistake. Try to visit as soon as possible because Sweden is a surprising underestimated destination. Not just because you can see where Ikea is born and take your love for Swedish meatballs to an upper level, but because this country has SO MUCH to offer and, as a bonus, is also incredibly family friendly. In this section you will find all the information to plan your Sweden trip and all the Sweden travel guides I wrote following my trip.
Sweden the land of forest, fika and happiness
Whether you decide to travel to Sweden in the summer or off season (like we did), this country will blast you away with its incredible landscapes, yummy food and relaxed way of living. As we were travelling off season but coincidentally with Swedish school holidays we had the privilege to met many local families enjoying their time out with their kids. From the chat I had with a lovely lady in Smogen, one of the traditions they had in her family during the school holidays is to take all the kids to a spa/sauna then jump into the cold water and have a good meal all together. Indeed, I met her in the hotel spa while she was having a day out with her kids. It’s a simple way of life that will help you to enjoy all the little things.
We tried to embrace this concept as much as possible while visiting this beautiful country. So our days revolved mostly around outdoor activities, hot baths and fika. It was one of our happiest trips.
Planning a trip to Sweden
Visiting Sweden from anywhere in Europe is pretty easy. Indeed, the country has several major airport with good connections pretty much everywhere. Nevertheless reaching Sweden and visiting Sweden are two different topics. Indeed, while reaching Sweden is easy, visiting some of the country’s 267,570 islands can be a pretty daunting job. Indeed, Sweden is not only huge but has the largest number of islands in the entire world. My recommendation is to pick a portion of it and focus on that area. We decided to focus our trip on West Sweden, with a particularly heavy coastal itinerary and Gothenburg as starting/ending point. It was a great decision.
However, you can also opt for the opposite side and choose Stockholm as a starting point etc. Don’t forget also about the beautiful Swedish Lapland that is a complete separate itinerary!
Sweden Travel Information
Stockholm is Sweden’s capital and biggest city. The city spreads out across 14 islands which are located on the southeast coast of Sweden. Not many know that Stockolm is actually one of the oldest medieval cities in Europe. Indeed it was mentioned already in documents dating 1252. Today is home to more than 1 million people and one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
Swedish (Svenka) is the official language of Sweden, spoken by almost 10 million people. English is also widely spoken and understood and we didn’t have any issue with communication when visiting.
Sweden uses the standard European plugs type C and type F. If you are traveling from the United Kingdom, or any other nation outside Europe, it’s worth to invest into an universal adapter. So that you don’t need to buy one for every destination I visit.
Booking your hotel in advance is more than essential. I always get the best rates on Booking.com and I booked here all my stays in Sweden.
The currency of Sweden is the Swedish Krona. We mostly paid cashless but you can eventually use a local ATM to withdraw some local currency if needed.
Safety in Sweden
Maybe because we travelled in small cities along the coast but Sweden felt very, very safe. The only big city we visited was Gothenburg and also here we felt very safe. I imagine that big suburbs have similar issues as the rest of Europe. So just keep a normal level of caution.
Seasonality in Sweden
If you are wondering when is the best period to visit Sweden, I’ll say all year around. This because the country is really stunning and you can get a great holiday during every season. However, you’ll need to considered how seasonality will affect your trip:
- Winter tend to be very cold and despite the landscape turns white and beautiful, days are short and you might not have long hours to explore. So big cities probably are the best options during this period of the year
- Spring and Autumn are the best off season period to visit. Temperatures are still on the colder side but with much more opportunities for outdoor escapes and exploration
- Summer is the top, high season to visit but this means also much more crowd and higher prices.
Where I have been in Sweden
Sweden travel guides
