Sweden

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Introduction

To Sweden with the family

Red wooden houses, a lake with a jetty and a canoe on the shore: that’s my picture of Sweden. For our boys it’s above all the land of Pippi and Emil, so Vimmerby is firmly on the list.

Many families call Sweden the ideal first camping trip to the north: quiet roads, swimming lakes everywhere and lots of freedom thanks to allemansrätten.

Researched by Arjan from Zuidlaren, so you don’t have to · Sources: Naturvårdsverket: allemansrätten, Transportstyrelsen · updated 24 October 2026 · About this page

• Language: Swedish; English widely spoken
• Currency: Swedish krona (SEK); cash often not needed
• Driving: Drive on the right, dipped headlights compulsory during the day too
• Wild camping: Allowed under allemansrätten (the right of public access)

Internet on the road: Sweden is part of the EEA, so “Roam like at home” usually applies. Note: on ferries and at sea, maritime networks apply, and they are not included. For tolls in Norway and Sweden, you can set up a free account with EPASS24 in advance.

Days out

The 4 best days out around Gothenburg

Around Gothenburg you’ll find archipelago islands, a bog with boardwalks, Sweden’s largest amusement park and moose. We’ve done the research for you: prices come from the providers themselves, and we calculated distances from Utrecht.

🎯 By boat to Gothenburg’s southern archipelago

📍 Location: Gothenburg (Saltholmen)🏷️ Type: Boat trip · archipelago

💶 Cost: Västtrafik single ticket adults (1 zone): SEK 38 (± € 3.42) · ungdom (youth fare, 1 zone): SEK 29 (± € 2.61) (source)

From Saltholmen, the regular Västtrafik boats sail to the car-free islands of the southern archipelago, such as Styrsö and Vrångö. You travel on a normal public transport ticket. On the islands you can walk, cycle and swim.

Find out more

Distance: ± 1,214 km from Utrecht (± 13.1 hrs drive, one way, no breaks); ± 12 km from Gothenburg (± 0.3 hrs) (OSRM, 21 Oct 2026)

Prices according to vasttrafik.se, vasttrafik.se, checked on 21 Oct 2026 · Euro amounts converted approximately at the Norges Bank rate of the same day.

👉 See the official website & info

Location on the map

🎯 Store Mosse National Park

📍 Location: Gnosjö/Värnamo (Småland)🏷️ Type: Hiking · nature

💶 Cost: Admission: free (national park; no price given) (source)

Store Mosse is the largest raised bog in southern Sweden. You walk across the bog on boardwalks; at the main entrance there’s the Naturum visitor centre and a 12-metre-high bird tower. For kids there’s Skogstrollens stig, a 500-metre fairy-tale trail.

Find out more

Distance: ± 1,179 km from Utrecht (± 12.5 hrs drive, one way, no breaks); ± 155 km from Gothenburg (± 2.1 hrs) (OSRM, 21 Oct 2026)

Prices according to sverigesnationalparker.se, checked on 21 Oct 2026.

👉 See the location on the map

Also via official website

🎯 Liseberg (Gothenburg)

📍 Location: Gothenburg🏷️ Type: Theme park

💶 Cost: Entré + Åkpass (all rides), summer 2026 online: SEK 365 – 625 (± € 32.89 – € 56.32) · Entré + Åkpass Kanin (Kaninlandet), summer 2026: SEK 275 – 400 (± € 24.78 – € 36.04) (source)

Liseberg is right in the middle of Gothenburg and is Sweden’s largest amusement park. Besides big roller coasters there’s Kaninlandet, a separate area for small children which, according to Liseberg, is open all year. Prices vary by day (seven price levels).

Find out more

All prices: Entré + Åkpass (all rides), summer 2026 online: SEK 365 – 625 (± € 32.89 – € 56.32); Entré + Åkpass Kanin (Kaninlandet), summer 2026: SEK 275 – 400 (± € 24.78 – € 36.04); Entré + Åkpass for children under 110 cm: SEK 195 – 295 (± € 17.57 – € 26.58)

Distance: ± 1,207 km from Utrecht (± 12.9 hrs drive, one way, no breaks); ± 5 km from Gothenburg (± 0.1 hrs) (OSRM, 21 Oct 2026)

Prices according to liseberg.se, checked on 21 Oct 2026 · Euro amounts converted approximately at the Norges Bank rate of the same day.

👉 See the official website & info

Location on the map

🎯 Smålandet Markaryds Älgsafari (moose)

📍 Location: Markaryd🏷️ Type: Safari · animals

💶 Cost: Car safari adults 13+: SEK 200 (± € 18) · Car safari child 3–12: SEK 120 (± € 11) (source)

At Smålandet in Markaryd you can see moose and bison in a large enclosure. You drive through in your own car or take the safari train, where the driver tells you about it in Swedish and English (about an hour).

Find out more

All prices: Car safari adults 13+: SEK 200 (± € 18); Car safari child 3–12: SEK 120 (± € 11); Train safari adults 13+: SEK 250 (± € 23); Train safari child 3–12: SEK 150 (± € 14); 0–2 years: free

Distance: ± 1,077 km from Utrecht (± 11.6 hrs drive, one way, no breaks); ± 199 km from Gothenburg (± 2.7 hrs) (OSRM, 21 Oct 2026)

Prices according to smalandet.se, checked on 21 Oct 2026 · Euro amounts converted approximately at the Norges Bank rate of the same day.

👉 See the official website & info

Location on the map

Some buttons take you to a partner such as GetYourGuide or Tiqets. If you book through them, we receive a small commission; you pay nothing extra. If there’s no suitable product, we simply link to the official site.

More highlights with kids

• Astrid Lindgren’s World in Vimmerby
• Liseberg in Gothenburg
• Skansen in Stockholm
• Canoeing in Värmland or Dalsland
• Tiveden National Park

Camping

⛺ Campsites in Sweden: a first selection

A first selection to go with the regions and days out on this page. The details come from the campsite’s official website or from Booking.com.

We only fill in “Who for” and “Setting” when the source says so; otherwise you’ll see –.

We haven’t (yet) found a campsite for this group where a source says so. Choose “All” to see the whole list.

Amounts in Swedish kronor (SEK), as the providers give them. As a guide: on 21 Oct 2026, 1 euro was about 11.10 SEK (derived from Norges Bank mid-rates). Prices read on the official websites on 22 Oct 2026 (days out: 21 Oct 2026).

Checked on 22 Oct 2026. The button goes to Booking.com (affiliate link); the campsite’s own website is listed below it. We haven’t (yet) stayed there ourselves.

Rules for wild and free camping are on Camping in Sweden and in the right to roam guide. An overview by country: camping in Scandinavia.

Tolls & bridges

🛣️ Tolls, bridges and tunnels

There are hardly any barriers: cameras read your number plate. Handy, but good to know what to expect along the way. Overland to Sweden you pay for the Øresund Bridge and, depending on your route, the Great Belt Bridge; with a ferry from Kiel, Travemünde or Rostock you skip them.

Amounts checked on 21 Oct 2026 (bridges, Transportstyrelsen, AutoPASS) and on 22 Oct 2026 (veggjald.is and the Øresundsbron, AutoPASS and EPASS24 websites).

Everything about AutoPASS, EPASS24 and the Swedish charges is in the guide Tolls and AutoPASS/EPASS24; we compare bridges and ferries in Ferry or bridges?

On site

💡 Prices & good to know on site

How expensive is Sweden in the supermarket or a restaurant, and do people still pay cash? We looked it up at Eurostat, the central banks and the official bodies. More figures in the cost guide.

Supermarket

Price level 109.9 (EU = 100). For comparison: the Netherlands 99.4.

Source: Eurostat prc_ppp_ind_1, 2025

Photo: Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo credits

🍽️

Restaurants and accommodation

Price level 123.4 (EU = 100). For comparison: the Netherlands 119.9.

Source: Eurostat prc_ppp_ind_1, 2025

🍷

Alcohol (price level)

Price level 149.8 (EU = 100). For comparison: the Netherlands 99.5.

Source: Eurostat prc_ppp_ind_1, 2025

Buying alcohol

You buy wine and spirits at Systembolaget, which has the retail monopoly. You may shop there from the age of 20.

Source: Systembolaget

Photo: Dmitry G · Public domain · Photo credits

💳

Card or cash?

According to the Riksbank, in 2025 only 5 % of people in Sweden paid for their last purchase in a shop in cash; more than 9 in 10 paid by card (physical or on their phone).

Source: Sveriges Riksbank

Northern lights & midnight sun

Midnight sun: Abisko 25 May – 18 July, Kiruna 28 May – 14 July (Visit Sweden, based on SMHI).

Source: Visit Sweden

Photo: Jojoo64 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo credits

Right to roam

Wild camping is allowed if you’re considerate. How long, how far from houses and when a campfire is allowed is explained in our guide.

Go to the right to roam guide →

Photo: Robbie Morrison (RobbieIanMorrison) · CC BY 4.0 · Photo credits

Do you notice while planning that Sweden is blowing your budget? On our sister site Oost-Europa Reizen you’ll find cheaper destinations with wild nature and mountains, in the guide Nature & mountains on a budget.

Food & drink

🍽️ Food and drink in Sweden

Meatballs with mashed potato, a cinnamon bun with your coffee and a chocolate ball for the kids: in Sweden, food is about cosiness, and that includes a proper break. These are the dishes the official tourist board itself recommends.

🛒 Shopping

The big names in Swedish grocery retail are Ica (including Ica Nära, Supermarket, Kvantum and Maxi), Axfood (including Willys and Hemköp), Coop, City Gross and Lidl.

Source: Konkurrensverket, Analys i korthet 2024:4, checked 22 Oct 2026.

What a holiday costs is in our guide What does a family week in Scandinavia cost?, with our own measurements and the price levels for groceries and petrol

Good to know

🧭 Plan further

Our guides are available in English. The day-out guides and some practical pages are so far only available in Dutch; the prices, maps and links in them are still easy to follow.

🧖 Bastu near Stockholm? Hellasgården with children’s prices: see Sauna & wellness.

More ideas

🧭 Routes and travel ideas

• 🗓️ Travel ideas by season
• 🚗 A 3-week Scandinavia road trip
• 🌊 The High Coast and Dalarna
• 🏰 Copenhagen and southern Sweden
• 📚 Camping guides
• 🥾 Hiking
• 🚗 Car hire
• 🚆 By train

References

📚 Sources

Every figure and every rule on this page has a source. Here they all are at a glance, checked on 21 and 22 October 2026.