Camper Van Trip To Sweden

Sweden is a country that my husband and I love. The people are lovely, as is the way of life with it being mainly centred around family and being outside, from our experience, and this is mainly why we are planning to move there at some point in the future.

When we got our camper van we had planned to do a long trip heading over to Sweden in it to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday. But this was in the early months of Covid, postponed until the following year and then again until this year. Because of the unknown we had got a little lazy with the planning but once we knew it was going to happen we were straight on the case!

Booking three weeks off work was approved, bank holidays were announced and as they are later than usual meant we had even more time off and so planning began.

What Route To Sweden

There are a few options but we chose the following both out and back:

• Ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland (6.5 hours) with Stena Line
• Hook of Holland drive to Rostock, Germany (7 hours)
• Ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg, Sweden (5.5 hours) with TT Line

We had cabins on both ferry trips and unfortunately suffered theft of components of my husbands bike (on a bike rack, locked with multiple locks, whilst in the hold) whilst on the TT Line. Their customer service was quite honestly non-existent and over 3 weeks on we are still awaiting responses. The experience with Stena Line was the polar opposite and for this reason we would not travel with TT Line again nor recommend them to others.

What Do You Need For Travel?

When travelling through multiple countries you need to check both entry requirements and rules that need to be followed in each as they can differ. We had to do the following:

• Passports
• Download our Covid Passports
• UK sticker for our campervan
• Headlamp convertors (stickers for headlights)
• Carry a red warning triangle in case of emergency
• Reflective jackets
• First aid kit
• Breathalyser
• Spare bulbs
• Insurance certificate
• V5 registration document

You can purchase a European Driving Kit, which contains most of the above, that we did.

What To See

When planning a road trip and researching, asking friends and trying to draw up some semblance of an itinerary it is difficult to narrow it down as there is always so much to see and do. So on the list was:

• Tiveden National Park – we wild camped at Sorangs Bergsjo fishing lake. It was a beautiful spot with a little jetty, fire pit, firewood, shelter and picnic table. We hiked the Trehorningsrundan trail, which was a 9.5km loop around the lake and stunning.
• Ekopark Omberg – we wild camped at Bokskogens, which was a small area for 5 campervans that overlooked Lake Vattern. It was stunning with a short stairway to access the lake for swimming, fire pits, firewood, shelter and several picnic tables. We have cycled up Omberg on the Tjejvattern and Halvvattern events so had seen the stunning views from the top and the hiking and off road bike trails. We hiked from where we camped on the trails to Omberg Touristhotell, that we cycled past on the previously mentioned bike rides. We then hiked back into the park to the viewing station at the highest point of the park, Hjassan.
• Kvarntorpshogen stairs – 427 steps up one of Europe’s longest wooden staircase. At the top there is a sculpture park to look around.
• Vatternrundan bike week.
• Tisarstrand campsite – we decided to stay on this campsite by Lake Tisaren for a night. We hiked from here around the local trails and woodland and once again found many rest stops with picnic areas, fire wood and shelters. This campsite was great and right on the water, with all facilities you would need and many BBQ areas.
• Linkoping – we stayed on a campsite by Lake Roxen for two nights called Sandvik’s. It was right on the lake with all facilities, however, you did have to pay for hot water but it was only 5 SEK for 5 minutes. We hiked from here around the local trails and my husband used the paddle board on the lake also. We then spent a day in the town exploring.
• Motala – our friends live in Motala and this is where the Vatternrundan events start and finish. We spent weekends with them and love this little town. There may also have been some house hunting whilst we were there to see what we would be looking to buy when we eventually move there.
• Amsterdam – my husband has been but I have not and was excited for this! We stayed at Camp Zeeburg, which was fab! Excellent facilities, on site restaurant, shop, bakery and goats! This is situated on the canal and the staff were great too! I would note that this is situated in an environmental zone and so if you have a vehicle that runs on diesel you need to check the emission class here and apply for a temporary exemption. The reality was that it is beautiful city in parts and some areas (as expected) not so much!

Swedish Wild Camping Rules

One of the main things we love about Sweden is the outdoor lifestyle, which is even better with Allemansratten (the freedom to roam) that is enshrined in Swedish law.

You are also permitted to stay overnight in a campervan providing you are off the road/parked safely.

Of course you should always leave no trace, no litter and not disturb the land/wildlife around.

Cannot wait to return!