10 reasons to make quarantine-free Sweden your next holiday destination
It really is a strange and unsettling year when Sweden is not regarded as a paragon of fresh air, clean living and gentle beauty. But 2020 has been no one’s idea of normal, and even this vast piece of the Scandinavian jigsaw – a country that often seems to be sheltered from life’s concerns – has not been immune to Covid’s death grip. Anything but.
In fact, Sweden has spent much of the summer as a case study in high infection, cast out on its own as a viral hotspot. But as August progressed, so did the country’s health; to the extent that while much of Europe has been moving in the opposite direction, last week saw it removed from the UK’s tally of destinations where quarantine is required on return.
An example of perfect timing? Absolutely. Far from being the end of the holiday season, September is an ideal month to look north and consider going Nordic. There is still enough light in the sky for a road-trip or cycling tour – but if you would prefer to plan an autumn city break, or a winter trip in search of icy scenery and the aurora borealis, these too can be on the agenda, in a land that revels in lakes, forests, and eternal pine fragrance.
Stockholm syndrome
The capital
Sweden’s biggest city is one of Europe’s loveliest; a dream of a place that lies scattered across 14 islands – Gamla Stan, with its grandly labyrinthine old town and royal palace; Skeppsholmen, with its Moderna Museet (of art); Djurgarden, with its theme park Grona Lund. Long-weekend heaven. Kirker Holidays (020 7593 1899; Kirkerholidays.com) sells three-night breaks at the four-star First Hotel Reisen from £736 per person, including flights.
Seconds in
Gothenburg
Smaller, but no less attractive, Gothenburg also calls to visitors in its city museum (which houses the skeleton of the Viking longship Askekarrskeppet) and the swirling café culture of trendy Haga. A three-night stay at the four-star Scandic No. 25 hotel next to the central station, flying from Heathrow on Oct 1, starts at £208 per person via British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays).
Shore leave
The west coast
One of the joys of flying to Gothenburg is that the second city is an ideal launch pad for a road-trip along the west coast – a journey that can take you up to the Norwegian border through a realm of wind-ruffled inlets, red-barn farmsteads and pretty towns. Discover The World (01737 887132; discover-the-world.com) serves up this style of serenity in its seven-night Discover West Sweden self-drive – which calls on the likes of the forest-strewn area of Ljungskile and the picturesque town of Fjallbacka from £875 a head (including flights). The holiday can be taken in October.
Towers and bridges
Sodermanland
There is also still time – if you can manage to squeeze a few days off into September’s last embers – to take on the Land of Lakes & Castles break offered by Freedom Treks (01273 224066; freedomtreks.co.uk). This five-night cycle tour pedals the county that spreads out west of Stockholm – via the likes of Mariefred (where the 16th-century Gripsholm Castle, which belongs to the Swedish royal family, stands tall) and Trosa (where Tullgarn Palace, which was regularly visited by Queen Victoria, is similarly splendid). From £654 a head, with bikes; flights extra.
Lighter option
Swedish Lapland
As the days shorten, the holiday focus will shift to the time when the night sky is one of the prime reasons to visit Sweden. Aurora Zone (01670 613572; theaurorazone.com) offers The Ultimate Aurora Adventure – which settles itself into Swedish Lapland for nine days of ice-fishing, husky-sledding, Icehotel-slumbering, snowmobile-driving, photography tuition, and celestial luminosity. From £3,525 per person, including flights.
Aurora alone
Abisko National Park
Sparsely populated, but with space to spare, northern Sweden naturally lends itself to the concept of social distancing. But if you really want to bask in solitude, you could book the Private Aurora Escape dispensed by Lights Over Lapland (0046 980 330 892; lightsoverlapland.com) – a five-day package that slips into a three-bedroom house set amid the silence of Abisko National Park. From £1,261 per person – flights (to Kiruna) extra.
Are rating
Swedish skiing
Will there be a ski season this winter? Let’s hope so. While Sweden cannot control 2020’s seemingly interminable Covid-crisis, its latitude guarantees snow. A seven-night spring half-term break for a family of four – flying out on Feb 14; staying at the four-star Bear Lodge in Are – starts at £785 per person with Ski Safari (01273 224060; skisafari.com).
Father figure
Festive Lapland
If this year cannot end soon enough, but you would like to close it with a dose of fairy-tale fun, try the Christmas in Swedish Lapland break offered by Baltic Travel Company (0208 233 2875; baltictravelcompany.com). A four-night trip, it not only involves a meeting with Father Christmas – but, timed for December 23-27, it will spend the big day in the snow. From £1,355 per adult, £930 per child, with flights from Gatwick.
Paws for thought
Bergslagen
Responsible Travel (01273 823 700; responsibletravel.com) provides a different angle on Sweden’s epic landscape with Wolves, Moose and Beavers – a five-day group tour that, as its name states, searches for wild beasts amid the trees of the Bergslagen forests (100 miles north-west of Stockholm). From £1,247 per person, flights extra. Next departure July 5.
Track and fields
Sweden by train
It is a suggestion to be filed under “wishful thinking” until quarantine windows and border restrictions have eased, but there is much to recommend the London to Swedish Lapland by Train holiday sold by Original Travel (020 7978 7333; originaltravel.co.uk) – 14 days trundling to Boden and back via Hamburg and Stockholm. From £4,205 per person.
