My partner and I (mid-50s) are taking our first (and maybe only) trip to Sweden this July. I had thought about doing a circuit around the country, starting and ending in Stockholm. Tentative route: Kalmar, Malmo, Copenhagen, Halmstad, Gothenburg, Sunne, Lake Siljan area (Mora, Styggforsen), Fallun. I realize this is probably too much for 14 nights! Help me narrow it down. I also keep reading about how lovely Visby is, so now I want to fit that in, too. We are planning on renting a car, so any tips about that would be helpful. Also, one of us is a vegetarian, which may present difficulties outside of larger cities, but we plan to bring some snacks.
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Bay Area SF & Uppsala Sweden 🇸🇪
1652 posts
Hi there, yes this is too much if you want to stop a few nights along the way. Packing & unpacking versus hanging out is not very rewarding. What exactly are your interests? I would allocate 4-5 nights just to Stockholm. Had you considered flying into CPH & out of Stockholm or vice versa so you don't have to backtrack? Once you determine your route, I'd look into trains and buses first. And learn what the sign is for a speed camera and slow down to the legal speed! Ha. Also get some help reading the parking signs - They're complicated. If there's no sign, it means you CAN'T park, not that you can! Be sure your rental car has one of those quirky little signs where you move the dials to the time you've parked, that way they know how long you've been there.
I would be very surprised if you don't find vegetarian dishes in all but the smallest towns. And would cut back on a few places & absolutely add Visby!! (You can fly there or take a ferry from the mainland.) It's lovely, different, many large church ruins in town & one of the complete walled mediaeval cities in Europe. Now I'm going to ADD another - a quick train trip from Stockholm, or 20 minutes by train from ARN, a day here in Uppsala, gorgeous university town with a 450+ year cathedral, THE best fika (another subject entirely), Gustaviarum, 1600's science institute made into a small museum, castle with great view on the hill, & Gamla Uppsala, about a 15-minute drive outside of town with 900's Viking graves, a small interesting museum about the era, and ancient church.
Carlos has written a lot about his adventures in Sweden, if you use his name to search his posts, here's a fun start - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/my-expat-experience-in-sweden-so-far. Good luck with your planning!