Exploring Sweden’s West Coast In Our Campervan

We have just come back from a trip around the West Coast of Sweden. Aside from Gothenburg we have always travelled mostly around the eastern side of Lake Vattern and up towards Stockholm and I had a list of places on my West Sweden tick list, which my husband and I used to plot a route to explore.

So we packed up the campervan and off we set!

Our Itinerary

6 to 8 August – we headed to Granvik Campsite with our campervan (this cost SEK 700 for two nights).

We were in the Wild Camping area, which was private and peaceful and all pitches had electric. The site had loads of information for hikes, cycle routes and canoeing as well as an onsite honesty shop. The staff were lovely and super friendly and the surrounding area gorgeous with a small secluded beach on site.

I didn’t receive a booking confirmation by email so didn’t have some of the information needed when we arrived like the code to access the key for the electric and facilities but that was sorted very easily with a quick phone call. The shop was basic with no refrigerated items, which we did not need, but have done when camping before so would have been handy just in case. It was a shame there were no toilets by the wilderness camping but they were only a short walk away. However, there were only two toilets and two showers with curtains, which my husband and I used so could lock it but if you were alone I am not sure how great unisex facilities are with showers with just shower curtains.

There was also a pub but it was shut unfortunately. Apparently it is run by an event company and when we stayed is classes as out of season so is now done for the year.

I had seen a location called Djäknesundet, which is just north of this campsite. It is a small sandy beach with cliffs on the sides and in the surrounding area there are trails for hiking, cycling, riding and canoeing. The hike we did was lovely along the water for the most part and when we reached this location near the end you could tell it was a popular place with quite a few people in the most gorgeous green/blue clear water. I will definitely be going back here!

As we left Granvik we headed to Bohuslän, which is a province on the Western Coast known for its many small fishing villages, and rocky islands that you can walk.

8-10 August – following the stop at Bohuslän, we headed to Kungsham and stayed at Johannesvik Campsite (this cost SEK 1,060 for two nights). This was my favourite of all the places we stayed. Again super friendly staff, the most gorgeous location, great amenities including a shop, restaurant, ice cream kiosk, mini golf, kayak and paddle board hire, swimming areas and hiking routes. This campsite was more modern and facilities were very clean.

I am clutching at straws if I am honest to find any negatives. There was just one unusual thing we came across (and only unusual as we have never had this before) when on arrival we were asked if we wanted a card for hot water in the showers. Obviously we did (super cheap at SEK 60 (about £5) for 10 showers. Although I would say both of us struggled to get this working and I needed to wash my hair and one credit was not enough. But as I say inexpensive and not a big deal.

We hiked to the harbour one day and took a boat over to Smögen. The boat is every 30 minutes through the day and goes to every hour in the evening so pretty regular. It costs SEK 50 each (about £4). I loved this little island! It is very popular in the summer and we found there to be a lot of people but we explored around the island, found the famous colourful fishing huts that were on many of the pictures/magnet/postcards you can buy in the shops, and ate some amazing fish! Another place I would highly recommend.

10-12 August we stayed at Hav & Logi Campsite in Tjörn (this cost SEK 1,050 for two nights).

We made a stop at Eksjo on the way. It is a town famous for being one of Sweden’s best-preserved historical wooden towns. Super pretty and reminded me of Gamla Linkoping which is close to us.

When we arrived at the campsite we were allowed to view the available pitches first and then pick the one we wanted. We picked a pitch close to the service house which seemed to be what everyone used after 9pm, including the children playing so it was a noisy pitch. It was modern and super clean facilities, including washing machines and tumble dryers that came in handy as I needed to do some washing by this point.

We also walked into Skärhamn and back one day, via some of the rocky coastal routes to enjoy a drink and the views. Again when in the harbour we had more fish – makes sense in a fishing village and did not disappoint.

12-14 August we stayed at Movanta Camping (this cost SEK 660 for two nights) and we picked a lake view pitch so was right next to the lake, which was lovely. This site has an on site restaurant, little shop with locally made items, ice cream bar and you can hire boats, canoes and paddle boards. We hired a boat one day (very unlike me) but it was great.

The second night we were there the restaurant had an Irish night and I had some amazing Irish stew with a live band and some questionable songs (not sure when Like a Virgin became an Irish song).

It was a smaller campsite than some of the others but only had 3 toilets in the men’s and women’s, which meant we both had times where we had to wait. The worst thing was the toilet paper – not quite old school tracing paper but not far from it. It was also the first site we stayed that had no hiking trails clearly marked. We did go on a hike and ended up walking along an old disused railway line, which was different.

I found on the campsite website there was a deer park nearby and almost 3 years into living in Sweden we have spoken about visiting one but never been so we had to include a visit to Skullaryd Elk Park on the way back, which I loved!