Anyone toured in Sweden?

pneumatic

Planning to go to Sweden in late August for 10 days or so, arriving Goteborg and wanting to get down to the South for a few days.

Budget is going to be an issue, so camping is likely. We usually do about 100km per day to allow time for tourism and general faffing about.

Never been there, completely ignorant of what to expect. All tips welcome.

JHcp

Yes we have toured there. Mainly on the West coast, there are several long distance cycle routes that thread up and down the west coast from Goteborg, the Ginstelden and the Skanesparet just to mention a few. It is a beautiful coast with loads of islands in the north and some of the cycle routes island hop from one to the other. Traffic is generally light on the minor roads but can be a bit busy on the main roads. As you go more south from Goteburg the scenery is less rugged and flatter terrain. There is some more information on Sweden on our web page here and some pics from one of our travelogues here.

Campsites are generally very good and most have cheaper pitches for touring cyclists. Going in August you will be at the tail end of their summer season, although most campsites will be open you may find such things as restaurants on the coast and some places of interest closed.

Getting out of Goteburg can be a little tricky, there are plenty of cycle paths but you need a good local map to know how they link up. There is a good one here.

pneumatic

Great stuff, thanks JH. that gives me more of an idea about what to expect, especially that "end of season" feel that I actually really like when touring. Riding down the West Coast form Goteborg looks like an interesting enough route.

I also browsed my way into your article about communications devices on the road. An intercom system could be very useful, but I fear that one of our number (a compulsive chatterer on the road as it is) might have to have his batteries sequestered!

I also did a quick search of the topic on here and discovered that bottled beer is safer than draught, midges may or may not be an issue, ants will be an issue and wild camping is possible.

psmiffy

Ive cycled Helsingbord to Stromstad (Hook to Stavanger) last year on west and Umea to Stockholm on East

Helsingborg, Halmstad, Varburg and Gothenburg very interesting “nice” cycling in between but in my opinion better north of Gothenburg. Can be a bit of a trial if you are following coast to stay away from the main road – very busy and not always very wide – old main road parallels here and there but in places has been excavated to be recycled. Getting out of Gothenburg south is easy - follow tram tracks –there is motorway sized cycle path running parrellal

Camping is good and frequent – good idea if you get Scandinavian camping card in advance – saves time on check in and most of time you don’t have to give up passport

Take good waterproofs – summer thunderstorms can be very heavy and prolonged and between towns there is not many places to shelter

marcussigfrid

as a so called swede, who also happens to be a cyclist living on the west coast, here is what I think:

'wild' camping is the way to go. water is rarely a problem, and there are woods and secluded areas everywhere. campsites are a nuisance.

i'd rather ride north of göteborg than south. inland is also good, depends on what you're looking for.

as has been said, keep to smaller roads. and yes, it will rain. midges and mosquitoes can be quite bad.
good luck!
/marcus

pneumatic

Thanks folks, very helpful. I fancy a spot of wild camping and, well, where I come from we are used to insect attacks!

Tourist Tony

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/3503
Part of the above has cycling in Sweden, in Bohuslan north of G'borg. May be some useful bits there.

jc4lab

An old CTC europe guide of mine says Gotland is a must do...Looked at this myself recently and I really fancy it...So much stuff on one tiny island

pneumatic

hmm looks interesting. I wonder if Mrs Pneumatic would miss me for the extra week it would take to build that into the tour?

My travelling companions are Henning Mankel fans (Inspector Wallender books) and want to visit the scene of the crimes. I gather that means going to the South.

Tourist Tony

Skane is a bit.....Danish, but I can still understand them.

nicklouse

pneumatic wrote:

I also did a quick search of the topic on here and discovered that bottled beer is safer than draught, midges may or may not be an issue, ants will be an issue and wild camping is possible.

Mygga is good for the mozzies.

most beer is strong. and costly.

have fun.

TheStone

Sweden's a great country. Did Olso to Stockholm a couple of years ago. Prices were similar to the UK at the time, but I think the pound has collapsed since.

Things to note:
- Plan your route before you get there. Towns are great for cycling, but getting between them was harder than expected.
- You can't take bikes on any trains or coaches
- Don't drink draft beer (bottle are fine, but cost a bit more)

prince_madog

TheStone wrote:

Sweden's a great country. Did Olso to Stockholm a couple of years ago. Prices were similar to the UK at the time, but I think the pound has collapsed since.

Things to note:
- Plan your route before you get there. Towns are great for cycling, but getting between them was harder than expected.
- You can't take bikes on any trains or coaches
- Don't drink draft beer (bottle are fine, but cost a bit more)

Pound was getting almost 14SEK about 18 months ago, now it's about 12.

The Good Princess and I put our bikes on the bus from Klimpfjäll to Vilhelmena a couple of years ago to miss a good August day of constant downpours. admitedly this is quite a bit further north than you're planning to go.

Beer up to 3.5% can be bought in supermarkets (and filling stations!) - they even have 3.5% versions of Guinness and Hobgoblin - anything stronger needs to be obtained fron System Bolaget stores where 5.3% lagers cost about 10-12 SEK per 500ml can and 1litre packs of Australian wine about 60 SEK.