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Sweden is having a beautiful cold, clear winter at the moment, with some of the best lake ice for years and temperatures from just below zero down to -30 or more. Winter is a wonderful time of year for a holiday in Sweden, but while the dry air may mean that you feel the cold much less than with equivalent temperatures here in the UK, it’s nevertheless important to dress properly in order to make the most of your Sweden holiday in the snow.
Accommodation in Sweden is always very warm and cosy and you should have no problem staying warm inside, but when you are out and about enjoying your activities, whether you are dog sledding, ski touring or tobogganing with the kids, dressing appropriately is the key to enjoying your winter holiday.
In this article we outline some basic advice for dressing for the cold – it is not necessary to spend a fortune on specialist equipment to keep warm, though good quality outdoor clothing will almost always perform better and last longer than budget-priced gear. Nature Travels clients receive up to 25% on in-store and online purchases with Cotswold Outdoor, so why not treat yourself to some new kit before you set off?
The Layer Principle
The advantage of layering is that you can easily adjust your clothing to achieve a comfortable temperature depending on your level of activity and weather conditions.
Base layer:
A good-quality base layer is one of the most important parts of your outdoor wardrobe (“base layer” sounds much cooler than “thermal underwear”!). The base layer manages moisture, wicking sweat away from your body. One important thing to remember is not to have any cotton material next to your skin. Cotton absorbs sweat and chills you.
Good synthetic base layers are available, but merino wool is one of the most popular materials. There have been some animal welfare concerns connected to the practice of “mulesing”, cutting around a sheep’s rear end to prevent disease, so it is important to ensure that your merino wool comes from an ethical source. If in doubt, ask the manufacturer or supplier of your chosen base layer.
Your base layer should have long-sleeved top and long-johns. Merino underwear is also available.
Mid-layer:
The function of the mid-layer is to insulate you from the cold, trapping and heating air close to your body. A good winter fleece or woollen sweater is ideal as a mid-layer.
Shell layer:
An effective shell (or outer) layer should keep out the wind, rain and snow. Suitable shell layers include windproof fleeces, softshells, mountaineering jackets, etc. For winter conditions in Sweden, a good mountaineering or ski/snowboard jacket is often ideal.
Breathability and ventilation are important considerations – a shell layer with zips under the arms and/or on the sides can make it much easier to regulate your temperature, preventing sweat from building up, making you damp and chilling you.
On Your Legs
On top of your (non-cotton) underwear and base layer, you should have a good warm, windproof, snow/waterproof pair of trousers. Ski pants are ideal for many winter activities, including dog sledding and snowshoeing. Again, zips down the side allowing greater ventilation can be enormously helpful. It’s also good if the trousers are elasticated at the ankles or can be fastened by other means to keep out the snow. A pair of gaiters can also be useful for this purpose.
If you do not have or do not wish to buy dedicated winter/ski trousers for your trip, an effective “budget” alternative can be to use warm tracksuit trousers (over a suitable thermal base layer) with windproof and waterproof rain trousers over the top.
On Your Hands And Feet
Extremities such as fingertips and toes can feel the cold very easily. A good pair of windproof and snow/waterproof gloves is essential in cold weather. Cold hands and feet can not only ruin your experience of the winter wilderness but can also be potentially dangerous. Mittens are warmer than gloves with separate fingers. If you don’t wish to be restricted by mittens all the time, overgloves which convert standard gloves to mittens are an ideal solution and offer greater flexibility. If out on an extended tour such as one of our dog sledding holidays or snowshoeing expeditions, make sure you have a spare pair of gloves with you. Gloves are easily lost and the consequences may be very serious.
Socks should be thick and woollen or synthetic (non-cotton). One solution recommended by Torkel, an experienced expedition leader and guide for our Snowshoeing in Wolverine Country and ski touring tours, is to use a thin (non-cotton) sock next to the skin with a plastic bag over it and a warm woollen sock on the outside. The idea is that the plastic bag will contain any moisture and keep the outer sock and boot dry. Always carry spare pairs of socks if out for more than one day.
The 3-season hiking boots commonly used year-round in the UK are not really suitable for the sub-zero temperatures of a Swedish winter. Your boots should be waterproof/snowproof and properly insulated (with some room to trap and warm air between the boot and your feet) with a good grip to give you stability on ice and snow. This is one piece of equipment which many clients may not have as standard, and if you are not planning to do activities regularly in winter conditions, you may wish to hire suitable boots for your experience rather than buying. Boots and other winter equipment (such as snowscooter overalls, a very warm option for dog sledding) are either included or can be hired as optional extras on many of our winter experiences in Sweden.
On Your Head
A lot of heat can be lost through the head, and a thick woollen or fleece hat is important in regulating your overall temperature. Windproof hats can be even warmer, and it is useful if the hat can be adjusted to cover your ears.
A scarf or multi-purpose “Buff”-style headwear is a versatile piece of kit that can be used both to keep your neck warm and also to cover your face and nose.
Finally, ski glasses or goggles will not only keep the wind out of your eyes but also make it much easier to see where you’re going! If you wear glasses and are planning activities such as dog sledding, contact lenses can be a more convenient solution during your holiday – using goggles will be more comfortable and you will have fewer problems with fogging.
Down Jackets – ideal for breaktime
Down jackets are excellent for cold nights around the campfire and during rest breaks. However, they are likely to be too warm when active. As down is so light and compresses very well, down jackets are ideal for carrying in your pack for use in the evenings or when standing still for extended periods. As with merino wool, there are some ethical considerations regarding the sourcing of down for your chosen clothing. For more information, see clothing manufacturer Patagonia’s article on down at http://www.thecleanestline.com/2008/04/up-with-down.html. Synthetic alternatives such as Primaloft are also available.
There are many ways to enjoy the beauty of the Swedish winter landscape, whether you are looking for a traditional winter family holiday in the snow or the challenge and excitement of an extended dog sledding tour. Dress appropriately and you will be able to enjoy your Swedish winter holiday to the full!
Winter for many of us here in the UK is largely snow-free, but in Sweden it’s a very different story. In many areas of Sweden, the snow typically arrives in December and stays until the spring thaw around April. Throughout the winter months, Sweden’s vast areas of forest and mountains are covered in a thick blanket of snow and the lakes freeze over, with ice which may be several feet thick.
All of which make Sweden an ideal destination for a winter holiday, whether you would like to experience the challenge and adventure of dog sledding, combine Sami culture with the beauty of the Northern Lights on a reindeer sled safari, or take the children away for a traditional family-friendly snow adventure.
As an ecotourism company, Nature Travels does not offer downhill skiing or snowmobile safaris. But there is no shortage of excitement, as anyone who has commanded their own dogsled on an extended expedition into the mountain wilderness can tell you! We offer a wide range of dog sledding holidays and possibilities for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in Sweden throughout the winter season for independents, families and groups.
For the young, the romantic and the young at heart, here are a few more ideas for ways to make the most of the snow and enjoy the beauty of the Swedish winter landscape:
Take a horse and sleigh ride
Our popular Winter Wonderland on a Forest Farm experience is ideal for families. Your hosts Lasse and Åsa will delight in taking you on a horse and sleigh ride through the magical forested winter landscape of Hälsingland.
Go sledging
Sledging is a time-honoured way to enjoy the snow, with or without the kids! It is often said that the Inuit have many words for snow – in Swedish there many words for things to sit on when going through snow, including “pulka”, “kälke”, “toboggan”, “snowracer”, “släd”, “stjärtlapp” (which translates as “bum patch”) and “ackja” (a traditional sled used by the Sami people in Lapland) .
Sweden’s gentle slopes provide the perfect terrain for sledging. Just don’t forget to brake!
Toboggan
Snowracer
“Bum patch”
Try kicksledding
An unfamiliar piece of apparatus for UK guests, kicksleds are perfect for getting around in the winter on slippery surfaces such as ice or hard-packed snow, and have been used in Sweden for centuries for everything from ice fishing on the frozen lakes to transporting the weekly shopping! Some people even use the family dog for a home-made dog sledding experience!
Make snowlights
The combination of ice, snow and light always produces beautiful results. Snowlights are a simple but magical way to light up the Swedish winter evenings. Simply take a tealight, make some snowballs and build a pyramid around your candle. Then step back and enjoy the show! If you would like to try your hand at something more ambitious, visit the International Ice Sculpture Festival at our Country Manor Multi-activity Getaway experience between 9th and 21st February 2009.
Dive in and make a snow angel
One of the easiest ways for artists to express themselves in the snow, but their simplicity and beauty means that snow angels have a timeless appeal!
Build a snowman
There is nothing which reminds us more strongly of the traditional, Dickensian Christmases of our childhood (real or imagined) than building snowmen, and the activity is no less popular today. For a “classic” snowman, take three large balls of snow of decreasing size and stack them vertically. Complete the effect with a carrot or tennis ball nose and stones for the mouth and eyes. If there’s an old scarf and hat about, you can really bring your snowman (or snowwoman) to life!
Have a snowball fight
Sometimes the temptation is just too hard to resist, and an all-out snowball fight is a marvellous way to complete a day in the Swedish outdoors. As well as developing hand-eye coordination, reflexes and arm muscles, it’s also a great way to warm up when you’re getting chilly. Just remember to play fair, or the next snowball may be down YOUR neck!
A winter holiday in Sweden provides endless opportunities for fun in the snow, whatever your age. Let the games begin!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Sweden’s western archipelago is a marvellous area for sea kayaking – a sparse, other-wordly landscape of granite rock islands floating on a quiet blue sea. The final activity of this year’s academy was a 2-day sea kayaking tour, taking us between some of the larger rock formations and camping wild overnight on our very own uninhabited island.
We started by Land Rover, bouncing along the narrow coastal roads heading north to a shallow beach where we would launch off to begin our trip. After the kayaks had been laid out on the sand, our head guide Ulrika got us together for some instruction on efficient paddling technique, some safety considerations and, most importantly, advice on how to enter and exit our kayaks without falling in!
Photo: J. Hermanson
Then the food and camping supplies were distributed and magically stowed away in the bowels of our boats before we took to the water, beginners in double kayaks and the more experienced paddlers taking singles.
An hour or so’s paddling brought us to our lunch stop, a smooth and gently sloping slice of rock with a wonderful view over the surrounding coastline. Once again we’d expected to be served camping rations, and once again we were pleasantly surprised, as Ulrika opened a series of bags and boxes to reveal a delicious selection of fresh tortillas, smoked mackerel and “skagen röra”, a kind of Swedish prawn cocktail.
Photo: J. Hermanson
Sea kayaking is eminently suitable for novices, but that’s not to say it doesn’t take some technique. As the afternoon wore on and we progressed further up the coast, passing small picturesque fishing villages, gliding between narrow sounds between the rocks, and watching cormorants and herons go about their business, our paddling became more efficient and our steering more accurate, and gradually we came to concentrate less and less on the act of kayaking and more and more on the beauty and tranquility of our surroundings. Even the occasional common seal popped its head above the water to say hello.
As dusk approached we came to our camping spot for the night, a small island deserted apart from a small cemetery dating back to the First World War. We were surprised and interested to find that the island was the final resting place of a well-known German poet, Gorsch Fock, who died in May 1916 in a great sea battle out in the Skagerack Sea, a battle which claimed the lives of 10,000 soldiers. It may sound spooky, but far from it – the island had a wonderful atmosphere of calm.
Photo: J. Hermanson
After pitching our tents, anchoring the guy ropes securely to prepare for the windy night that had been forecast, we broke out the stoves and began to make dinner. Ulrika once more had everything planned to perfection – bottles of red wine appeared mysteriously from her kayak and were set upon gratefully, and we were divided up into cooking teams and given a recipe sheet from which to prepare the best fish soup I’ve ever had, a local recipe from Bohuslän incorporating fresh shrimps, vegetables and chunks of succulent salmon steak.
Camping doesn’t get any better than this, a thought that was expressed frequently and with enthusiasm later in the evening as we collected around a roaring campfire fuelled by driftwood to reflect on the day’s adventures.
Photo: J. Hermanson
The windy conditions which had been promised arrived with a vengeance in the early hours, our tent sides flapping crazily and noisily in the darkness, and we awoke a little bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived the following morning. It was just a short paddle to our pick-up point and the trip was soon to be over, just a short taster of the possibilities this area has to offer for paddlers. Our mini-expedition may have been short, but the memories of paddling and camping in this beautiful region will last a lifetime!
Best regards
Bob from The Nature Travels Team
The area in which we were paddling features in our Sea Kayaking in Fjällbacka Archipelago experience. Just to the north of this region, we also offer Sea Kayaking in Koster Archipelago, a region shortly to be designated Sweden’s first Marine National Park.
Nature Travels also offers sea kayaking holidays in the eastern archipelago as well as guided and self-guided canoeing holidays in Sweden.
Finally the last of the chanterelles were cooked and eaten, and it was time for bed. But once again a little surprise was in store. As we drifted back to camp in ones and twos, we were instructed to put on our headtorches and directed off up into the forest for a late night “reflector walk”, finding our way through the woods only by the reflective markers attached at intervals to branches.
It was a peaceful and meditative experience, best if done alone. The sense of quiet and thick darkness of the woods cleared the mind and I arrived back at camp relaxed and thoughtful.
Retiring to a warm sleeping bag with a tummy-full of freshly-cooked wild mushrooms on a crisp starry night is a wonderful feeling, and we slept soundly until morning. The only blight on an otherwise perfect day was waking with a crashing headache the next morning. I quickly found I was not alone in this as there were one or two other campers wondering zombie-like through the morning mist clutching their heads. The general concensus as we stood huddled in the morning chill discussing our woes was that we’d all underestimated how warm it had been the day before and, with the exertions of the orienteering exercise, hadn’t drunk nearly enough fluids. But half an hour, a dose of aspirin and a litre of water later and we were all feeling ready for action once more…
Photo: Tommy Sollén
Today was to be a break from outdoor activities, with a programme of workshops from the manufacturers whose equipment we had been testing for the last few days – Lundhags, Bergens, Helsport and Didriksons. Swedish and Norwegian outdoor clothing is not particularly well-known in the UK (with the possible exception of Haglöfs), but is consistently of very high quality, and as always I had been impressed with the comfort and functionality of the gear we’d been testing. Today was a chance to learn more about the products from the companies themselves. The morning passed in a relaxed series of informal workshops, mostly conducted sitting on the rocks gazing out across the lake as the mist lifted and a surprisingly hot September sun shone down on us.
The afternoon saw us heading for Nordens Ark, one of Sweden’s most unique wildlife sanctuaries and internationally renowned as a centre of excellence for the breeding of endangered species. I learned a great deal from our inspirational guide and was particularly interested to see that the Ark concentrates not only on breeding international “superstar” endangered species such as the Snow Leopard and Amur Tiger but also lesser-known species of woodpecker and owl that are locally endangered in Sweden.
Photo: Lory Poly
The highlight of the day for me was a chance to step inside the enclosure with the wolverines, my personal favourite Swedish animal and one which is much misunderstood. The day ended in the company of another of Sweden’s exotic yet little understood predators, the wolf, as we settled down to a marvellous dinner in the Ark’s restaurant with panoramic windows looking out into the wolf enclosure and adults and cubs padding back and forth just the other side of the glass as we ate.
All in all, a hugely enjoyable and very educational day. Tomorrow it would be back to the water to explore the western archipelago by sea kayak, but for now I was content to enjoy the comforts of good food, great company and some of the world’s most incredible animals.
(concludes next week)
Best regards
Bob from The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a range of holidays in Sweden for independents, families and small groups as well as tailor-made itineraries for larger private groups, Armed Forces adventurous training and corporate events in Sweden.
We offer a number of dedicated wildlife experiences, including moose watching, howling with wolves, beaver safaris and birdwatching in Sweden.
After a relaxing morning’s canoeing bathed in sunshine and soothed by soft breezes, the organisers had something very different for us in store for the afternoon.
We landed on a small beach at the other end of the lake, dragged the canoes onto shore and hoisted our packs. The afternoon’s adventure was to be an orienteering exercise in small teams. The distance to cover didn’t look far at all, but we hadn’t counted on the unforgiving terrain we would be traversing, and it wasn’t until many hours later, tired, sweaty and stiff (but rather proud of ourselves), that we would finally emerge from the deep woods to make camp for the night.
The exercise started easily enough. Maps and compasses in hand, we took turns within the group taking a bearing and walking on the compass, trusting that little needle to guide us unerringly to our next checkpoint. But we soon found ourselves a long way from any paths, wading through bogs, battling through dense stands of pine and struggling up steep slopes peppered with boulders just waiting to snag a misplaced foot or twist an unwary ankle.
Photo: Tommy Sollén
Our confidence was bolstered by successful hits on our first two checkpoints, but dashed on our way to the third. We walked further and further, convinced that by now we must have overshot the mark and be faced with a long detour. After a good while spent scrambling through the undergrowth with dwindling hopes, we finally came out onto a beautiful high plateau. The trees thinned out to reveal a stunning 360 degree panorama of a carpet of forest stretching to the horizon, broken only by the glimmer of sunlight on the rivers and lakes below. The low sun lit the whole scene in amber, picking out the autumn colours of the forests beautifully, and the view certainly served to lift our spirits, especially when we glimpsed the orange checkpoint marker peeping out at us from behind a lonesome pine – it seems we hadn’t gone so far wrong after all. Trust the compass!
From here it was, in the best sense, downhill all the way. The loose rocks and closely-packed trees made going slow and potentially treacherous, but an hour or so later we popped out of the woods to find ourselves in more open country. We pitched our tents, broke out the stoves, and headed off to a small peninsula looking out onto the lake to make a start on dinner. On the menu tonight was dried camping rations, which we were looking forward to only in the sense that when you’re hungry and in the outdoors almost anything tastes OK.
But the quality of dinner was to take an unexpected turn for the better when, walking a short distance off into the forest to examine a tree felled by a local beaver, I looked down to see the ground covered in a yellow carpet of wild chanterelle mushrooms.
Photo: Tommy Sollén
Finding chanterelles in Sweden is an instant way to make a whole army of enthusiastic lifelong friends, and it wasn’t long before almost everyone in the group was tucking in to this delicious delicacy – the “gold of the forest”. Camping rations are OK, but they can’t compete with fresh chanterelles fried in butter…
(continues next week)
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
Nature Travels offers a variety of hiking holidays in Sweden, including Sweden’s most famous long-distance path, the King’s Trail in Lapland, and the mighty wilderness of Sarek National Park. Many of our active accommodation and log cabin holidays in Sweden also offer excellent opportunities for self-guided hiking.
Canoeing, wild camping, sea kayaking, orienteering, endangered species and a lobster safari – we only had a few days, but somehow managed to find time for all these things on a recent visit to the glittering coastline and stunning autumn forests of Dalsland and Bohuslän in western Sweden, just a couple of hours from the beautiful city of Gothenburg.
The occasion was this year’s Outdoor Academy of Sweden, an annual event bringing together tour operators, equipment retailers and journalists from all over Europe to explore the endless possibilities of the Swedish outdoors and test some Scandinavian-made outdoor clothing and equipment along the way.
The adventure began on Tuesday with a coach transfer from Gothenburg’s Landvetter airport. Although Gothenburg is Sweden’s second city and Landvetter its main airport, it’s a surprisingly relaxing and pleasant place, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Heathrow we had left just two hours before.
By late September in western Sweden the forests are in the full glory of autumn, and we drove through a stunning landscape of reds and yellows up into the county of Dalsland. After the equipment handout, it was time to pitch camp for the night under a clear sky peppered with stars in the silence of the forest for our first night under canvas.
After breakfast around the camp fire next morning we took to the water in collapsible Ally canoes. It was the first time I had used a packable canoe and I was amazed and their lightness and flexibility. As we set off through the morning mist, negotiating low hanging branches and steering our way around fallen trees, the sun cast shafts of light through the thick forest and it felt more like a trip through the Amazon than western Europe.
A few hours later we emerged from a tunnel of trees and paddled out into a great wide lake, the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky and surrounded on all sides by shimmering clear water ringed by dense forests of birch and oak. Making our way through the twists and turns of the river, squeezing under bridges and drifting past huge patchworks of spider webs in the foliage had been terrific fun, and now the tranquility of paddling quietly across the lake bathed in autumn sunshine offered another kind of outdoor experience – a real tonic for the soul.
Some time later we reached our goal for the morning, a nature reserve on the opposite shore of the lake, where it was time to break out the camping stoves, hunt around for the ever-elusive penknife in the backpack, and get down to the serious business of making lunch!
(continues next week)
Best regards
Bob from the Nature Travels team
Nature Travels offers a wide range of self-guided canoe holidays in western Sweden from 4 to 14 days, suitable for friends, families and groups. Both wilderness canoe tours and rural canoe routes are available, and all experiences include wild camping. For details, please see www.naturetravels.co.uk/category-water.htm
We are constantly expanding our portfolio of holidays in Sweden, and Nature Travels now offers over 50 different experiences, ranging from self-guided wilderness canoeing to 7-day husky holidays.
With so many different experiences to choose from, how should you decide which one is best for you? One option is simply to give us a call or send us an email. We are very happy to answer any questions you may have and can make recommendations and suggestions to suit a wide range of interests, abilities, ages and budgets. Nature Travels offers such a varied choice for outdoor and adventure holidays in Sweden that we can almost guarantee you will find something to suit your tastes!
We also provide a range of resources and tools on our website to help you find the best experience for you, whether you are a family with young children looking for an affordable camping holiday or a large corporate group wishing to combine team-building with luxury accommodation:
Search by month
If you know when you would like to travel, but are not sure what activities might be possible or would like some inspiration, the best place to start is our month-by-month listings. Here you can see all the experiences available in a particular month. Don’t forget that many of our experiences are bookable on custom dates by arrangement for small groups and families, so please don’t hesitate to ask if there is a particular activity you cannot find during your chosen period.
Search by location
Perhaps you are travelling to Stockholm for a business trip and would like to add a few days to your trip for an activity. What can you do in the area? Our interactive map shows the approximate locations of all our Sweden holidays, helping you to narrow down your choices. We are happy to advise on the best public transport connections to your chosen experience, or to send detailed driving instructions if you have a vehicle.
The interactive map is also a very useful resource for planning your journey. Simply click on the airport icons to see flight connections to/from each city. Ferry routes are also displayed.
Find the perfect holiday in Sweden for you
Perhaps you know that you would like to go canoeing but are unsure which of our canoeing holidays in Sweden would suit you best. We have a series of articles to help you choose between the various tours on offer. The articles also cover suggestions for different times of year and for different types of traveller, such as winter family holidays in Sweden. Currently, we have articles on the following subjects (if you have ideas for a particular article you would like us to add, we would love to hear from you):
- Holidays in Sweden in different seasons
- Choosing a self-guided canoeing tour in Sweden
- Choosing a dog sledding holiday in Sweden
- Suggestions for family holidays in Sweden, including families with young children
- Ideas for a summer family holiday in Sweden
- Ideas for a winter family holiday in Sweden
- Choosing a log cabin in Sweden
- A personal account of our Sea Kayaking in Sörmlands Archipelago experience
Group travel to Sweden
Many of our experiences are ideal for groups travelling to Sweden. For example, our self-guided canoe tours have proven very popular with canoe clubs, school groups and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, while Timber Rafting on Klarälven is an excellent team-building activity for corporate clients. In wintertime, our range of dog sledding tours in Sweden have provided the perfect challenge for University Armed Forces groups and charity expeditions.
We have a special section of our website dedicated to group travel, with tailored suggestions whatever your group’s requirements and interests. Standard itineraries can easily be tailored to suit the particular needs of your group, with custom start dates, bespoke activities and extra additions such as hotel accommodation and coach transport. A group discount is also often available.
We currently have the following resources dedicated to groups. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding group bookings for any of our experiences:
- Group travel to Sweden
- Holidays in Sweden for clubs and associations
- Activities in Sweden for private groups and families
- Group trips to Sweden for scout and student groups
- Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions in Sweden
- Suggested adventure training in Sweden for University Armed Forces groups
- Bespoke experiences in Sweden for corporate clients
We do hope the range of resources outlined above will be helpful in choosing your next holiday in Sweden with Nature Travels. If you would like to discuss anything about our experiences, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
There are two main misconceptions about the climate in Sweden: that it is always dark, and that it is always cold!
While there are certainly times when it is both dark and cold, the weather in Sweden is as varied as its landscape, as varied as the possibilities it offers for outdoor activities at any time of year.
Overall, Sweden has a very temperate climate given its northerly location. The North Atlantic Current warms air which is brought up from the southwest by low pressure winds in the Atlantic. From the east, high pressure zones bring bright, warm summer days and clear, crisp and cold winters, while the high mountains of Norway and the plateaux along the western edge of Sweden provide shelter from the mild, wet winds blowing in from the west. Levels of precipitation in Sweden are relatively low – the wettest period is in late summer and early autumn, while across large tracts of the country much of the winter precipitation falls as snow.
Summer
From late in May until mid-July north of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets. About 15% of Sweden lies within the Arctic Circle – the Land of the Midnight Sun. Summer in the far north of Sweden is a magical time, with the long days making the possibilities for activities out of doors literally endless, plus the extra daylight means that somehow sleep feels almost unnecessary. You may be surprised to find that you are still fully energized for a hike in the mountains even in the early hours of the morning!
But you do not need to travel to the far north to experience many of the advantages of the long Swedish summer days. Even in Stockholm (only about 1/3 of the way up this vast country), there are only a few hours of semi-darkness during the summer months.
Summer in the north of Sweden is a short but beautiful period, and people make the most of the long days and milder temperatures. In the northeast, there are usually more days of sunshine and less cloud compared to the mountainous regions near to the Norwegian border in the west. In the far north, average temperatures in July are likely to be around 15 degrees C, though the long hours of daylight can lift temperatures surprisingly high. In the centre and south of the country, bright, warm summer days are common and the lakes and coastal waters offer the chance for idyllic bathing. In general, summers in the Stockholm area have similar temperatures to the south of England, but more days of sunshine. Out among the 24,000 islands of the Stockholm archipelago, it is commonly clear and sunny even when it may be cloudy just a few miles away in the heart of the capital.
Winter
Sweden is a very long country (around 2000km from north to south), and this, coupled with the higher altitudes of the mountainous regions to the north, makes for a great deal of variation in winter climate. Northern areas may experience snowfall for eight months a year, with temperatures that can drop to -40 degrees C and around 184 days a year with an average temperature of below zero, compared to 120 days in Stockholm and just 71 in the south.
In the depths of winter, the Stockholm area has only around five and a half daylight hours, while in the north of Lapland, the sun peeks above the horizon to give just 4 hours of twilight and almost 20 hours of complete darkness.
But the darkness is short-lived. Towards February/March the light returns, bringing with it an uplifting combination of the majesty of winter with the warm glow of early spring sunshine and longer hours of daylight. This “spring winter” is a wonderful time to be in the Swedish mountains. Even in deepest winter, the darkness is offset by the glow of the thick blanket of snow which covers the land throughout the winter months. Not only does this make the landscape brighter than one might expect, but it creates a cosy and welcoming atmosphere and a real feeling of winter. What’s more, the winter landscape in the far north is regularly illuminated with the spectacular displays of the Northern Lights (see our recent blog article here) in the night sky.
In the southern part of the country, winters are milder and less predictable. In southern Sweden, average temperatures in January may be just around freezing, and it is less common for the sea waters around the coast to freeze.
On the east coast of Sweden, the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, which contained between Sweden on its western edge and Finland to the east, regularly freeze. The sea ice, as well as the thousands of lakes dispersed throughout the interior of the country, offer excellent opportunities for ice skating. Ice skating on natural ice, or “trip skating”, is a hugely popular pastime for all ages in Sweden and offers a truly unique way to experience the winter landscape.
An outdoor paradise in any season
One of the great advantages of the country as a holiday destination is that travelling to Sweden is a totally different experience depending on the season you visit, with enormous variations in climate and landscape as the seasons change. The Sami, the indigenous people of the vast northern mountain plains of Lapland, divide the year into eight seasons, not four:
- spring winter, when the pregnant reindeer females cause the herd to leave the forests and head for the mountains
- spring, when the snow melts and the reindeer give birth to their calves in the foothills
- pre-summer, when Sami livestock graze on the fresh growth carpeting the mountains
- summer, with its endless daylight hours, the time to mark the new-born calves
- pre-autumn, when the autumn colours begin to spread through the landscape and the reindeer bulls are slaughtered
- autumn, a season for fishing for the Sami and mating for reindeer
- pre-winter, when the reindeer herds are brought down from the mountains to more sheltered grazing in the marshlands
- winter, when the herds are moved into the protection of the forests to ride out the harsh winter until spring-winter arrives once more
Whenever you choose to visit, Sweden has something to offer in all its seasonal guises, from the deep snows of winter, through the meadows carpeted with flowers in spring, to the long lazy days of summer, and finally into the blazing glory of autumn as the forests turn and prepare for winter once again. Browse our full range of outdoor holidays in Sweden at www.naturetravels.co.uk!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
If you find yourself in northern Sweden during the winter months, there is a very good chance you will step out on a cold, clear night and witness one of nature’s most spectacular and ethereal displays – the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights – a sight that many consider to be the most beautiful thing they have ever seen.
The term is a combination of Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Borealis, from the Greek word for North Wind. As the name suggests, the Aurora Borealis is only visible in the northern hemisphere – the southern hemisphere has its own version, the Aurora Australis.
What causes the Northern Lights?
It may look like magic, but there is some relatively simple science behind this unique phenomenon. Charged particles in the Earth’s magnetosphere called ions collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere. Energy from the collisions is emitted as light, which due to the dominance of atomic oxygen tends to be a greenish or dark-red colour. These colours persist for a relatively long period, while the blues and purples caused by molecular nitrogen vary much more quickly.
What does a display look like?
An instance of the aurora may look like a soft, diffuse glow in the nighttime sky or like multi-coloured “curtains” running east to west, each made up of parallel rays aligned with the lines of the Earth’s magnetic field. You may even see a kind of corona of diverging rays if a magnetic line runs directly overhead.
How often do the Northern Lights occur in Sweden?
Auroras occur more frequently near the poles, since the particles needed for the displays are attracted by the Earth’s magnetic field. Displays do in fact occur year-round, but it is in the deep darkness of the northern winter nights that they can be seen most easily and are at their most spectacular. Calm conditions are best, and the most intense part of a display will last between 10 and 30 minutes. In Sweden the most active auroras tend to occur before midnight, and during peak activity displays occur on average every other clear night, perhaps even more frequently.
When is the best time of year to see the Northern Lights in Sweden?
The darkest part of the year, between November and February, when the winter nights are long, offer some of the best chances to see a display, though the Northern Lights can be seen from as early as September until around the middle of April. Not only the time of year, but also the phases of the moon can have a significant impact – the light from a full moon may obscure an otherwise spectacular display. It is important to bear in mind that the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and, as such, sightings can never be guaranteed – Lapland is a vast, beautiful wilderness area, and the reasons to travel there during the winter season are many, even if the Aurora does not show itself during your visit. The thrill of reindeer sledding or driving your own dogsled, sleeping in a tipi or mountain cabin, meeting the local Sami and learning about their culture are all wonderful experiences in themselves!
What cultural significance does the Aurora Borealis have in Sweden?
The scientific explanation is of course not the only one, and certainly not the most colourful. Such an other-worldly display has clearly had a profound effect on the culture and folklore of Scandinavia. An old Swedish name for the lights, “sillblixt”, translates as “herring flash”, and it was thought that the display was created by the reflections of huge shoals of herring swimming in the oceans. The Finnish word, “revontulet”, means “fox fires”, and comes from the ancient belief that Lapland was home to fire foxes, whose fur emitted sparks and caused the aurora.
One tale from the Nordic region describes the aurora as light from the fires surrounding the Earth’s oceans reflected in the sky (when the Earth was believed flat and itself surrounded by water). Another says that the sun could throw its rays above the horizon even after sunset, while a third attributed the display to powerful light energy absorbed by glaciers.
The Sami people, the indigenous people of Lapland, believe that when “observed” by the lights, you should be quiet and respectful. In particular, to make jokes or sing about the lights is to invite disaster – the lights may descend from the sky and kill the mocker. Many elderly Sami still remember that, as children, misbehaving during the aurora was very serious indeed. The lights were thought to be inhabited by the spirits of those who had died an early or violent death. Other indigenous peoples of the north, such as the Inuit in Greenland, also believed that the lights were inhabited by the dead – but that the display was caused by the spirits playing football with the skull of a walrus across the nighttime sky.
Further down, in the southern parts of Sweden far from the wild plains of Lapland, the aurora still occurs, though less frequently and usually less intensely. Here the people believed that the lights were caused by the Sami people in the north searching in the mountains for their lost reindeer herds!
How can I see the Northern Lights in Sweden?
Whatever explanation you choose to believe, there is little doubt that for many the Northern Lights are near the top of their “things to see before you die” list, and Sweden is a magnificent area to experience this beautiful sight. Swedish Lapland is a wonderful place to observe the aurora, and though a display can never of course be guaranteed, chances are good during the winter months.
Photo: Nils Torbjorn Nutti
Our Reindeer Sled Safari takes you out into the Lapland mountain wilderness for 6 days in one of the best areas in Sweden to see the Northern Lights, while Experience Lapland gives you an opportunity to try dogsledding, reindeer sledding and snowshoeing in a 4-day multi-activity adventure.
Photo: Peter Grant
Take a moment tonight to stand beneath the stars and imagine yourself wrapped in the enveloping darkness and silence of a winter night in northern Sweden. Picture the cold clear air pricking at your skin, the ground shining from horizon to horizon with reflected light from the snowfields, and all around you the sky filled with a swirling mass of spectral colour.
The skies are darkening, and winter is just around the corner…
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
UPDATE JUNE 2009:
In addition to reindeer sledding, we have now added two new dog sledding tours in Lapland giving very good chances to see the Northern Lights as you mush your own team of Siberian Huskies through the Arctic wilderness:
Autumn is truly a beautiful season in Sweden. As the leaves begin to turn, Sweden’s vast expanses of forest take on a new life, as the trees, perhaps feeling a little dry and tired after the long summer days, explode with new vitality. Although winter may be just around the corner, September and early October in Sweden often bring clear, bright weather, and temperatures can still be surprisingly warm. One of the Nature Travels team was on a sea kayaking trip in the Stockholm archipelago during late September last year, and temperatures were still in the 20s with the archipelago waters perfect for a refreshing, if bracing, swim!
Many Swedes will tell you that autumn is their favourite season. While the nights are beginning to draw in, there is still plenty of daylight left for evening walks and foraging expeditions in the woods. At this time of year it is a common sight to see a Swedish family disappearing into the evening forest light carrying baskets or bags on the hunt for mushrooms and berries.
The Swedish forests are rich with bounty at this time of year. Mushroom picking is extremely popular, and Sweden is home to a wide variety of forest mushrooms including the elusive and prized Chanterelle – and there’s good news: 2007 looks set to be an excellent mushroom year! The Swedes are enthusiastic and creative cooks, and many people are very knowledgeable about edible mushrooms, which are taken back to kitchens throughout the country and incorporated into mouthwatering pies, quiches and sauces.
Also extremely popular is berry picking, especially lingonberries, blueberries and the exotic cloudberries. These are made into pies, jams and delicious cordials. Particularly popular are blueberry soup (“blåbärssopa”) and lingonberry jam (“lingonsylt”).
Of course, it is not only the two-legged visitors to the forest who love berries – brown bears and badgers especially thrive during good berry years! Berries provide an important dietary supplement for many animals keen to fatten up before the winter freeze.
If you are an elk or a deer, autumn is a time for caution, as it is also the traditional hunting season. Hunting in Sweden is tightly regulated with strict quotas allocated in particular areas, and at this time of year local restaurants will often feature wild game as part of their menu.
Autumn is an excellent time for fishing in Sweden. The lower temperatures in the lakes make this a good season for pike fishing, as the larger pikes are searching voraciously for food to prepare themselves for winter. It is also a good time of year to catch pike-perch and perch.
Visitors to Sweden should not overlook the wonderful opportunities offered for outdoor activities during the autumn season – while the endless summer evenings and the magic of a snowy winter are hard to beat, the peace and gentle beauty of autumn is a unique experience and not to be missed.
Nature Travels offers a number of outdoor holidays in Sweden during the autumn season. Why not join Lasse and Åsa on their remote forest farm in the depths of Hälsingland, or stay in a traditional log cabin and try your luck at fishing on the quiet lakes of Värmland? For the mushroom connoisseur, Nature Travels also offers a dedicated mushroom picking experience, including the chance to prepare meals from your pickings under the expert tutelage of a renowned local chef!
Whatever your interests, an Autumn holiday in Sweden will have something to offer…..a perfect opportunity to squeeze in another break before that winter holiday you were planning!
Best regards
The Nature Travels Team
