First time tour of Sweden

[Brian Anderson]

Dear All

I took my lad (9yrs old) on a small tour to Wales last year and we had a great time; this year he wants to go to Sweden!!
I am therefore in the early stages of planning and wondered if any of you experienced travellers out there could give his old Dad some tips, do's and don'ts, ferries, POIs etc etc?
We would probably like a trip of around 7-10 days, don't mind camping, B+B, reasonably priced Hotels???

Any advice gratefully received.

Best regards

Brian

 

[bladerunner]

I rode to Stockholm for a conference last July. Here are some thoughts:

I'm sure Liv will post that Norway is much more beautiful and the roads more interesting!

Denmark and South Sweden are very flat - shame as this means the views are not as dramatic. Central Denmark is argricultural and nowt special, around the coast line was pretty. Sweden was like a flat Canada - plenty of forrests, lakes and rocks but no mountains (in South).

The country felt very clean, very safe with a strong sense of citizen pride.

Booze is expensive, food slightly more than UK.
I took the Harwich Esbjerg overnight ferry and with a good cabin it was very pleasant. The premier cabins have a private lounge with a fare amount of free food (fruit, breakfast etc) and a free bar & internet.

I had no trouble with language - even far from cities, everyone spoke perfect english.

The speed limit in sweden is 110 kph and they will stop you (DAMHIK! ).

I have a number of Garmin routes if you are interested. Lake Vattern was a nice find.

I would certainly go again, but if not restricted to city of destination, would head North of Oslo where the scenery is more dramatic.


Simon

 

[Brian Anderson]

Thanks

Thanks Simon.

Sounds pretty good to me and I am sure will like it and probably want to check out Norway in the not too distant future.
Scott. I would be interested in the Garmin routes if possible, I have an older BMW Nav 1 which is not the fastest thing in the world but then neither am I, so we are well suited.

Brian

 

[Deleted Account 180923001]

...one thing I'd take if I was riding in Sweden would be a
blunt butter knife for the occasion when those long, boring
roads and monotonous views of trees justs gets too much........

Stay in Norway..............


Gordo'

 

[sparkplug]

I'd echo what's been said about going North from Oslo for scenery. The best food in Sweden is in the South (the region called Skane) food and booze are expensive (as is everything really) and I'd agree that you can make yourself understood pretty much everywhere in English. A good first Swedish word is 'tak' (pronounced as you would imagine - like the English 'tack') which means 'thank you'.

If you are planning on camping then it's worth bearing in mind the law of 'all man's right' which allows you to camp anywhere you like so long as you only stay one night and essentially don't leave any trace that you've been there (no picking wild flowers, no open fires, no litter etc). If you've never done it, then treat yourself to a night camping in proper woodland.

The other thing it may be worth looking out for are the Stuga (or Stugor in the plural I think) which are wooden cabins which usually sleep 3-4 people and normally have a fridge, a double electric ring and some pots, pans, cutlery and crockery and some bedding. These vary enormously in quality and price but most large campsites have them and you may even be lucky and find a private holiday home for hire (fireplace and en-suite!)

The speed limits are low, the fines for breaking them are high and there is a zero tolerance approach to speeding and drink driving (one mile an hour over the limit is over the limit, and zero alcohol is what you are allowed). That said, speed cameras almost all face forward and in 6000 miles in Scandinavia I saw three police vehicles.

You don't need a permit to fish in the sea, but you do for lakes. Day permits are often available and every petrol station has hooks and lures.

It's a great place to take your lad - I'm sure you'll both love it!



(p.s. Norway's fantastic too, but you really want to be going up to the Lofoten and Vestaralen islands and in the western fjords - start with Sweden for just a week's hols and go to Norway next time)

 

[boxer]

...one thing I'd take if I was riding in Sweden would be a
blunt butter knife for the occasion when those long, boring
roads and monotonous views of trees justs gets too much........

Stay in Norway..............


Gordo'

Wise words.

 

[NeilF]

Hi Brian

I'd agree with Gordo - strongly recommend Norway. Do a search on here for "Norway" and enjoy the results.

We went from Newcastle to Bergen, North for 5 days, and eventually left from Stavanger. http://neilf.smugmug.com

If you decide you're going to Norway, PM me and I'll send you an Excel itinerary.


Cheers,

Neil.

 

[LivNorway]

Aahhh... I'm so proud of you guys!
I'm off for some days and you are telling newbees all the right things!

Jepp; Sweden are no fun if you love hairpin roads, fjords, mountains and things like that.
-So why go to Sweden? Hmmm.... Volvo? Saab? OK. But the nature are too boring for my liking.

If you love mountains but are afraid of steep roads, then get good maps, scale 1:300 000, and pick the main roads in the popular areas like Sognefjorden.
There is no need to buy neew pants after a week or two in Norway if you are prepared! My old aunt was afraid of high & steep roads but she still loved to travel with my uncle in a car - yes, in the area with the highest mountains and steepest roads, like Sognefjellet, Flåm, Lom, Geiranger, and Voss.

The best way to find out where to ride, no matter if you love or do not love to look down, throw a stone and wait for the sound when it hits the ground, is to buy a good topograpic map, and keep in mind those numbers showing high mountains are in metres.
The road from Bergen to Voss are safe, so why not stay at Nøring Pensjont for a night or two, bring your map out on the street and ask natives where to ride - I'm sure they are like me; happy to tell you where the good parts are!

I payed attention when the Tossers here posted ride reports from Wales, so when Knut and I was there I picked some fun roads for us. He was not sure he wanted to ride my route because the road looked so tiny on the map.
But we went for a ride from Dolgellau, passing Dinas Mawdwy, Llanymawdwy, and stopped at Bwlch Y Groes and enjoyed the view before we rode to Llyn Efyrnwy.
We had a really good time on fun roads because we had a good map, 1:250 000, and I did what the natives does!

...and this Scandinavian viking are going to Flåm/Aurland in July.
Write ''norway'' in the search box in the travel section and see why.

No, I do not get money for this! It's not my job.

Have fun!
Liv.

The picture:
Storm at Hammerfest. ..but I prefer the fjord area, and the mountains in the south part...

 

[Brian Anderson]

Thanks All

Dear All

Many thanks for all the good advice. It would appear that Norway is by far way the choice of the majority of you. I have consulted with No. 1 son and despite my relaying to him the many plaudits for Norway, he still wants to head for Sweden. Methinks it has something to do with Sweden being a certain Mr Henrik Larsson's homeland. So Sweden this year and Norway next it would seem.

Anyway thanks again and best wishes to you all.

Brian

 

[LivNorway]

Dear All

Many thanks for all the good advice. It would appear that Norway is by far way the choice of the majority of you. I have consulted with No. 1 son and despite my relaying to him the many plaudits for Norway, he still wants to head for Sweden. Methinks it has something to do with Sweden being a certain Mr Henrik Larsson's homeland. So Sweden this year and Norway next it would seem.

Anyway thanks again and best wishes to you all.

Brian

-Who are Henrik Larsson?
If your son need heroes tell him Helge Pedersen and Pål (Paal) Anders Ullevaalseter are two of my Norwegian heroeson two wheels!
And Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen went for a walk in the arctic/antarctic snow!
And we had Kontiki & Ra; Thor Heyerdahl.
Remember A-ha; ''Take on me''?
And we have a sea monster; Selma in the lake Seljordsvatnet!
Fast cars; Petter Solberg and his brother Henning Solberg.

Sweden? Volvo & Saab and kjøttbullar, and that is about all.

Honest:
I have been ridden the most bendy and fun road in Sweden, and that is boring compare to most of the narrow roads in Norway. No kidding!
Find Bengtsfors and road number 172 and 164 between Halden in Norway and Karlstad in Sweden, go south direction Mellerud on the the narrow road (not 172 but a narrower road!) that are crossing the railway many times. The south end of the funny road are Håverud (Haaverud) and and aquedukt. A wery nice place; good pizza, a hostel and a campsite!
But the road? Not that funny if you are from Norway...

If you want to ride in a boring landscape and find reindeers, then do this:
Go north in Sweden, ride E45 to Jokkmokk or a simular place out in the mddle of nowhere in the forest, stop and lighten the fuse for some fireworks that give a big band, and ta-daaaa many confused reindeers on the road!


Have fun!
Liv.

 

[Brian Anderson]

Ferries?

Dear All

So it is decided Sweden this year and how could we not go to Norway next year after the picture that Liv paints!
One other thing, Ferry advice please. What would your recommendations be for travelling over. Ferry direct to Sweden or to Holland perhaps and then ride to Denmark and over? Also any tips on which ferry companies are best value or running any promotional deals?

Thanks again
Brian

 

[spot]

Hi brian, Im no expert but do know that the boat to gothenburg from Newcastle has stopped. You will have to go via bergen in norway probably . The part of Sweden north of gothenburg is realy nice with many biker freindly campsites .I only spent a few hours in norway and was put off by the horror stories about prices. You could come back via denmark or holland but thats quite a long ride for the lad.

 

[greencat]

I'd also be interested in any Garmin routes and especially camping spots in Sweden (thanks to whoever posted the Norway camping Waypoint file by the way...would give a name check if I'd thought to make a note of it ).

My basic itinery is a dash across Denmark, up through Sweden and down through Norway. Norway is great but I've never been to Sweden so thought this would be a good opportunity. My route...
From         to
Harwich         Esbjerg
Esbjerg         Tarup Stand
Tarup Stand         Kristianstad
Kristianstad         Norrkoping
Norrkoping         Gävle
Gävle         Ornskoldsvik
Ornskoldsvik         Storuman
Storuman         Mo I Rana
Mo I Rana         Grong
Grong         Oppdal
Oppdal         Hafslo
Hafslo         Bergen
Bergen         Newcastle

Time permitting I may go slightly further north in Sweden and head up to the northern tip of Norway.
Any thought / must see sights?

 

[JasonT]

No campsites but ...

.. a few suggestions ...

Storuman Mo I Rana - haven't taken that route but the the next crossing north - think it's the 95 - is quite nice - and either come down to Mo I Rana or stay at Bodo.
Mo I Rana Grong - don't forget to take the ferries, ignore the E6.

... and for your next trip - take the Stockholm - Helsinki ferry and head right to the top and down through Norway making sure you visit the Lofotens.

J

 

[GreatDane]

"Henke" back to helsingborg IF

Hi Brian,

Since Henrik "Henke" Larsson is back in Helsingborg, why dont you take the route through denmark and onto Helsingborg, and try to catch Henke on a training day at Forsby IP in Klippan. That will do it for your son, and from there you can easily go to Norway, only 400kms on nice roads. Then you will also have seen the best of scandinavia, Denmark - South Sweden - Norway..

 

[Gav]

"So Sweden this year and Norway next it would seem."

This seems a good plan, Brian. Take your trip to Sweden and then plan a proper Norway trip. Norway is worth a couple of weeks alone. Your best bet might be to go via Denmark if you're after a route to Sweden. You can cross the Malmo Bridge and it should be straightforward to get to Stokholm which is worth seeing. You didn't really say which part of Sweden you wanted to visit. If going by Norway, Stavanger would probably be a better bet than Bergen. From there, it's still about a day and a half's ride to Oslo. Norway is slow going but spectacular. As I said, allow plenty of time to see Norway. Liv will probably agree that the most spectacular scenery is in the west which doesn't really fit in with idea of a 7 to 10 day trip to Sweden.

Cheers

Gav

 

[Wapping]

I travel to Sweden eight or nine times a year on business and have been from top to bottom.

My tuppence worth:

(1) Many do not realise how big the country is. If you flip the country over lengthways, leaving Malmo (at the bottom) unchanged the top will end up near enough in Rome.

(2) Only eight million people so, outside of the major cities, plenty of space.

(3) Speeding controls in towns and villages are strict. Outside these places the country is too large to police, particularly if you head up the non-motorway roads.

(4) In the summer the mosquitoes can get to the size of B52s, particularly if you camp. Take some decent repellent. Lots of links to advice on this site.

(5) Stay at the well run camp sites or simply sling your tents up where you fancy. Don’t leave rubbish when you leave.

(6) The ‘youth hostels’ and ‘tourist hostels’ (the words and concept do not translate exactly) are excellent and cheap. Go to the website http://www.visitsweden.com/VSTemplates/Page____9689.aspx and give them a call, they speak good English. You can get a very good guide (free) and an annual card (quite cheap) to get a discount.

(7) Booze is expensive and near enough only available through bars or the State off-licence ‘Systembolaget’. There is a zero tolerance ‘drink-drive’ limit.

(8) Food is about the same price, maybe a bit more than the UK, mostly helped by a comparatively weak Krown.

(9) Outside of the towns you can crack along. However, it’s no joke; do look out for moose or elk. especially at dusk. The Swedes line their motorways at great expense with high moose fences for a reason. If you hit one there is a good chance it will hurt. If you see one of the beasts there is a another will not be far away. The other thing to remember is that they generally do not walk backwards, so try to get behind the brute in an emergency.

(10) Other than that, have fun. It’s a great place simply to enjoy unspoilt nature. Depending on when you are going (and how far up you travel) it will stay light well after 10pm and get light well before 4am.

 

[turnipbmw]

I am planning the same trip myself in June.
Having checked ferry prices I have decided to go via Dover-Calais.
(last year I went Orkney-Shetland-Bergen-Newcastle for £200 interesting but slow, am coming up woth £500-700 for Newcastle Bergen this year !)

Plan is, as I say Dover - Calais (£45) then Puttgarden-Rodbyhavn(£50) and on to the Oresund bridge (£12) to Malmo.