Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [1]
Travel in winter is somewhat restricted and requires some planning as well as serious winter clothing, but there are good opportunities for activities like skiing, dogsledding and snowmobiling. The big cities are in full swing all year, but the smaller towns almost go into hibernation when the temperatures begin to drop. The notable exceptions are the popular ski resort towns like Åre and Jukkasjärvi (home to the Ice Hotel).
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HOW MUCH?
0.7L bottle of Swedish brännvin (vodka) Skr225
Coffee and saffron pancake Skr45
Souvenir Dalahäst (wooden horse) Skr70-3000
Cinema ticket Skr90
Nightclub admission Skr150
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COSTS & MONEY
Sweden has a very good standard of living, which means the travel experience is generally high quality but doesn’t come cheap. Careful planning can help reduce costs.
During the low-price summer period (June to August), if you stay in a midrange hotel (which usually includes a huge buffet breakfast), eat a daily special for lunch and have an evening meal at a moderately priced restaurant, you can expect to spend Skr1000 per person per day if you’re doubling up, and Skr1500 if you’re travelling alone. Staying in hostels, making your own breakfast, eating the daily special for lunch, and picking up supermarket items for dinner will probably cost you Skr450 per day. The cheapest way to visit Sweden is to camp in the woods for free, eat supermarket food, hitchhike or cycle to get around, and visit only the attractions that have free admission – this will cost less than Skr200 per day, depending on your supermarket choices. If you stay in commercial camping grounds and prepare your own meals you can squeak by on around Skr300 per person per day. If there are a few of you, sharing car rental for a weekend in order to see some out-of-the-way places is worth considering (some petrol stations offer small cars for as little as Skr300 per day). Self-service pumps that take banknotes or credit cards are slightly cheaper, though many won’t accept foreign credit cards without a PIN code.
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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…
Your ID, passport and visa (if applicable)
Industrial-strength mosquito repellent in summer
Good walking shoes
Layers of warm clothing, just in case
A swimsuit – again, just in case
Sunglasses – when the sun does shine, it’s bright
A map of Stockholm’s tunnelbana (metro)
A taste for pickled fish
A fast-acting liver for snaps (Swedish liquor)
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TRAVELLING RESPONSIBLY
Sweden makes it easy to be a responsible traveller: recycling, for example, is practically effortless, as bins and sorting instructions are everywhere, from inside hotel rooms to near highway rest stops. There’s a high level of general environmental consciousness in the country. Two organisations that set standards for labelling products as ecologically sound are the food-focused KRAV (www.krav.se), a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, and Swan (www.svanen.nu), which has a wider scope and certifies entire hotels and hostels.
Aside from environmental concerns, one of Sweden’s biggest challenges is protecting the cultural heritage of the Sami people. The two issues are closely linked: the harnessing of rivers for hydroelectric power can have massive (negative) impact on what has historically been Sami territory, whether by flooding reindeer feeding grounds or by diverting water and drying up river valleys.
In general, the mining, forestry and space industries have wreaked havoc on Sami homelands. Travellers interested in learning more and experiencing Sami culture are encouraged to look for the ‘Naturens Bäst’ logo, which indicates