Touring in Sweden

[psmiffy]

Threaded cartridges I've found to be most common in shops in Scandinavia - outdoor shops obviously - but gun/fishing shops are a good bet

[albal1]

Departing Nordkapp Jun 22. Heading through Sweden. looks like wild camping is the answer there. Any gas available from Nordkapp? anyone?

[Sweep]

In 2013 I found Sweden to be the second most expensive country in mainland Europe (after Norway). Despite wild-camping nearly the whole time, I still spent £20 per day on food, and that was only the most basic supermarket grub (no meals or takeaways and no alcohol). If your budget can stretch to alcohol then supermarkets only sell lager up to 3.5%. If you want something worth drinking then you have to go to a special shop (sometimes attached to the supermarket) but they close at 6pm.

If you decide you want a shower and head to a campsite, they were all around £20 for one man/one tent and many of them insisted that you bought a £10 membership card to gain permission to pay to sleep in their fields (when the surrounding forests are free). The card gives you no other benefits by the way.

Sweden was one of the few countries (along with Finland, Norway and, to some extent, Switzerland) in which I found that the expense of being there negatively impacted my ride.

But, whatever, have a great trip!

Ah, sweden and alcohol.

Last time i was in sweden was about 96 and i don't think uk prices have yet caught up with what they were charging then.

Good luck with your uber spartan trip.

But knowing your proclivities i tend to think you might be yearning for a beer cycling trip afterwards. I'm sure with your writing credentials it wouldn't fall into the twin traps of either being wine writer poncy or uber laddish.

[Vorpal]

Departing Nordkapp Jun 22. Heading through Sweden. looks like wild camping is the answer there. Any gas available from Nordkapp? anyone?

There is a G-sport in Honningsvåg https://www.gsport.no/butikker If you contact them in advance, you should be able to order and collect in store, to ensure that you can get what you need.

Otherwise, you could try contacting tourist information http://www.nordkapp.no/en/services/serv ... nformasjon

[khain]

Make sure you bring a headnet and plenty of repellent to keep off the mosquitoes. They really are very bad in northern Scandinavia during summer. I'm not sure about further south. They won't be so bad near the coast and higher up in the mountains.

Food (and pretty much everything else) costs roughly double what it does in the UK, possibly a bit more in remote areas, though I think the exchange rate might be quite favourable at the moment.

[andrew549]

I'm flying into Gothenberg so if anyone knows any shops near the airport that sell gas canisters it would be greatly appreciated.

Albal1 I think I'm planning to be heading through that sort of area around that date so may well end up seeing you on the road.

[Vorpal]

There's not much out by Gothenburg airport that I can recall, though it has been a few years since I was there.

If you are going in to Gothenburg, there are a couple of XXL shops there that should have camping gas
http://www.xxl.se/store-finder/XXL%20ST ... isj%C3%B6n is closest to the airport (15 km?) , but on the south side of the city
XXL also has a shop going north out of Gothenburg http://www.xxl.se/store-finder/XXL%20ST ... 3%A4ckebol

I'm not sure about other places, and would ask someone there.

[syklist]

There is both more variety of food available in Sweden than Norway, and better prices. Sweden is part of the EU, so most things that are available elsewhere are generally available in Sweden. Differences in prices are mainly down to transport costs. Local is obviously cheaper. The Norwegian market, though is heavily controlled by the government.

Lots of Swedish cafes and restaurants have lunch specials. A couple of years ago we were paying 65-70 SEK for decent sized lunches. We noticed a big difference in prices between different supermarkets, I don't remember which ones were the cheaper ones. For us here in Norway, Sweden is noticeably cheaper for pretty much everything

[syklist]

I'm flying into Gothenberg so if anyone knows any shops near the airport that sell gas canisters it would be greatly appreciated.

Neither of the airports are near the centre. You could try petrol stations along the way I remember seeing gas canisters in PREEM petrol stations. The other place to try is BILTEMA stores, there is one in Goteborg.

PREEM service stations also sell good fuel alcohol so it might be worth your while taking a small Vargo stove

[honesty]

I have family who live in Uppsala and we went over there for a few weeks last year. They also had a stuga on Siljan lake so we went up there for a few days as well.

Price was about 1/5 higher than what you would pay for the equivalent in the UK in the supermarkets.

Alcohol is controlled by the state. Anything over 3.5% is sold in state controlled off licences. Weak beer can be bought in supermarkets. this actually means the offies have a really good range of wine (far better than off licences in the UK) and it was not that expensive.

Uppsala and Stockholm are very nice cities and the scenery around them is lovely, and hugely samey. I enjoyed it, but if you dont like woods, fields and lakes you're a bit stuffed.

Siljan lake was beautiful and I would recommend, even if it is just a continuation of the theme of woods and lakes, just this time with hills added around it! Naturum Dalana is definitely recommended for a quick drop in. Lots of biting insects around the lake though.

[andrew549]

Thanks for the advice it looks like the petrol station just outside of where I'm flying into stocks camping gas. I might look into getting a little alcohol stove as a back up but would rather save the weight and hassle.

Also good to know that Sweden might not be as expensive as I had feared but Norway could be expensive as I had expected.

I'll be uploading photos and some of my experiences to here if anyone is interested http://andrewwaterfield.blogspot.co.uk

[albal1]

Andrew , Yes may well see you. Thanks for the info Have emailed the store in Honningsvag, awaiting reply. Pretty much kitted out except for the mozzie net. Like Andrew I'll skip on the back up fuel stove. Getting ever closer to departure, exited.

[jam_har]

Hiya, I'm currently pedalling from Nordkapp to Tarifa. Flew to Honningsvag with my bike, stayed at a good hostel there (Vandrerhjem), pedalled up to Nordkapp and now going South. Tonight I'm at a campsite in Kautokeino. Stunning scenery, if a little chilly but fine if you have the right kit, will be warmer in June. Cross into Finland tomorrow, then down into Sweden. Intend to wild camp a bit to save some cash (Scandinavia is expensive), however did rent cabin in Karasjok last night which was toasty. Using a Whisperlite stove - can get fuel at petrol stations. I'm blogging my trip here: www.selfpropelled.life

As usual watch out for the headwinds, can be pretty harsh up here. Cheers, James

[andrew549]

I'm currently near Ludvika and had been planning on riding up through the middle of Sweden although now thinking of heading over to the coast and following the eurovelo 7 route in reverse though Sweden and was wandering if anyone happened to have a GPS trace of the route heading north as I can't seem to find one very easily at the moment.

Thanks for any help

Andy

[Vorpal]

I'm currently near Ludvika and had been planning on riding up through the middle of Sweden although now thinking of heading over to the coast and following the eurovelo 7 route in reverse though Sweden and was wandering if anyone happened to have a GPS trace of the route heading north as I can't seem to find one very easily at the moment.

Thanks for any help

Andy

This any good?
http://www.bikemap.net/en/official/1773 ... den-north/