Sweden travel advice

[Anonymous]

We are thinking of traveling to Sweden in August (me, husband, 15 year old daughter). Does anyone have recommendations for Stockholm and other destinations within Sweden? We’re interested in spending time in Stockholm, then maybe traveling to Gothenburg and along the coast. But we are open to other designations outside Stockholm. The family likes historic buildings, museums, and pretty scenery (though my daughter isn’t into strenuous hiking). I’m also looking for recommendations on how many days to stay—we typically spend to 8-10 days on a trip when we travel overseas. That seems too long for just Stockholm.

[Anonymous]

My DD just spent a semester in Stockholm. We visited her for a week in March, and that was plenty. We did a day trip to Upsalla and found it charming.

Highlights for us:

Vasa Museum

Skansen (which is probably even more enjoyable in warmer weather)

ABBA Museum (cheesy but fun)

Gamla Stan (a little touristy, but the old homes and twisty streets are charming)

National Museum (art museum that's just the right size to enjoy fully in a couple of hours)

[Anonymous]

Have you been to Iceland? You could stop there first then on to Sweden. Stockholm is great but can’t imagine 8 days

[Anonymous]

Rent a cabin.

Or tack on Oslo or Helsinki.

[Anonymous]

Go to the baths at Yasuragi. I recommend getting a spa package and spending at least a night.

[Anonymous]

2 days in Gothenburg should be enough.

[Anonymous]

Aland Islands

[Anonymous]

First trip we spent just over two weeks. We started in Stockholm. Spent 3 days and saw most of the sights. We drove to Tiveden National Park via Orebro (nice old downtown) which is a lovely national forest. Drove to Karlsborg - very small town nice castle, beautiful lake and if weather is good you can kayak and hike (very flat). Ended up in Gothenburg and flew home.

On a separate trip we flew to Stockholm, took a train to Vaxjo and rented a car to explore the region - its the glass blowing district visited Kalmar and the castle. Took a train from Vaxjo to Copenhagen spent a few days in Copenhagen and flew home.

[Anonymous]

Book a plane to Gotland from Bromma airport. Check out Visby and the beautiful scenery all around the island.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the Vasa Museum, and Gamla Stan. We enjoyed a kayak tour (through ViaTour) Skärgårdens Kanotcenter Kayaks & Outdoor, and we took a train and a bus to get there, was super simple, and totally worth it

[Anonymous]

May I ask why Sweden and not Norway?

[Anonymous]

The archipelago is gorgeous - you could look for a cute cabin rental there for some nights if you wanted some chill time in beautiful scenery.

There are overnight ferries (like mini cruises) that take you from Stockholm across the Baltic Sea, which can be a fun way to get to some other countries. Last summer we took an overnight ferry to Tallinn - we stayed over there and flew back to Copenhagen from Estonia, but you can book these ferries round trip. Helsinki is only a two hour ferry ride from Tallinn, too. I would not do these over a weekend though as they have a reputation of becoming big floating parties - we found midweek was perfectly family friendly.

Stockholm is an extremely beautiful city but 8-10 is definitely too much. I'd look to add on additional destinations for sure.

Adding Milles Garden as a wonderful site in Stockholm though. VASA is the top choice. Try and hit the ABBA museum at the end of the day - we went for the last hour it was open and definitely appreciated it not being too crowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May I ask why Sweden and not Norway?

You visit Norway for the fjords and natural scenery. I'm looking for a mix. My husband and I plan to visit Norway once we send her off to college.

[Anonymous]

OP: Thanks for all the feedback so far!

Another question: Can you recommend a neighborhood for an AirBnB?

[Anonymous]

Our day trips were amazing. Completely unplanned but perfect. We were in Stockholm for 8 days so we covered a lot of Stockholm and these were out day trips.

Sigtuna - beautiful town, incredibly historic, but the most powerful town history museum. It was a town that was slotted to receive concentration camp survivors. The museum is very honest about the town’s initial reaction and walks through the journey of the impact these mostly teen/young women had on them. It was incredibly moving.

We did an island hop on/hop off tour and wandered around vaxholm. It was Sunday, we wanted a cafe to rest and landed here simply because it was open.
Vaxholms Hembygdsgårds Café. Google the pics of their pastries/cakes. Beautiful location I’d say it’s a must see.

Finally, Sandholm. I’d say it’s a very tiny Nantucket. We wanted a quieter day with a great hike, good food and a little shopping. This place delivered. https://www.stromma.com/en-se/stockholm/blog/sandhamn-guide/