Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cycling
a number of independently run hostels, usually
charging similar prices; we've mentioned the most
useful in the text, and tourist o
ces will have
details of any other local independent hostels.
Some parts of the country were made for
cycling
:
Stockholm, the southern provinces and Gotland in
particular are ideal for a leisurely bike ride. Many
towns are best explored by bike, and tourist o
ces,
campsites and youth hostels often rent them out
from around 150kr a day. There are a lot of cycle paths
in towns, which are often shared with pedestrians.
Fell stations and cabins
Fell stations
(
(fjällstationer)
) provide top-notch,
hostel-like accommodation along mountain hiking
routes; prices vary and are given in the guide. They're
usually better equipped than the average youth
hostel: rooms are private rather than dorms, and
each fell station has a sauna, a shop and a kitchen.
Mountain cabins
(
(fjällstugor),
), of which there are
around ninety, are often no more than simple huts
out in the wilds and are wonderful for getting away
from it all. Run by the STF, they generally are often
located at convenient intervals along popular
walking routes. Both fell stations and mountain
cabins allow you to use a sleeping bag without a
sheet underneath.
Accommodation
Finding somewhere cheap to stay in
Sweden isn't difficult. There's an extensive
network of youth hostels (of an excep-
tionally high standard) and campsites,
while hotels and guesthouses are
common in towns and cities. Self-catering
accommodation is generally restricted to
youth hostels and campsites, where
cabins are often equipped with kitchens.
Accommodation
prices in Sweden vary
according to the day of the week or the season.
Pricing falls into two main categories: the higher
price is charged for stays from Sunday to Thursday
outside of the summer peak (generally mid-June to
mid-Aug); the lower rate is charged on Fridays and
Saturdays. This lower rate is also applied every day
during the summer peak. Remember though that
this rule does not apply across the board and there
are some places that actually charge higher prices
in summer in line with most other countries; this is
usually the case with hotels on the west coast.
When we give two prices in the guide, these reflect
the difference in price according to season or day,
with the high-season and weekend rate generally
given first. Single rooms, where available, usually
cost between sixty and eighty percent of the price.
Hotels and guesthouses
Hotels
and
guesthouses
(usually family-run bed
and breakfast establishments) needn't be
expensive, and although there's little chance of
finding any kind of room for under 550kr a night,
you can often find good-value hotel rooms in
summer, especially between mid-June and
mid-August, when business people who would
otherwise fill the hotels during the week are on
holiday. The only parts of the country where
summer discounts don't apply are in some of the
popular holiday destinations in southern Sweden
such as Gotland, where prices can actually go up in
summer. Nearly all hotels include a huge self-
service buffet breakfast in the price, which will keep
you going for much of the day.
Youth hostels
Campsites, cabins and
self-catering
Practically every town or village has at least one
campsite
, and they are generally of a high standard.
To pitch a tent at any of them you'll need the
Camping Card Scandinavia, which costs 140kr and is
issued at the first site you visit; contact the Swedish
Camping Site Owners' Association (
W
camping.se). It
costs 140-200kr for two people to pitch a tent at an
o
cial campsite and most sites are open from June
to August. For details on camping rough, see p.33.
Many campsites also boast
cabins
, each of which
is usually equipped with bunk beds, a kitchen and
Youth hostels
in Sweden (
vandrarhem
)
turn up in the
unlikeliest of places. There are over three hundred of
them dotted across the country, in converted light-
houses, old castles and prisons, historic country
manors, schoolrooms and even on boats. Quite
simply, they offer some of the best accommodation
in the country. Forget any preconceptions about
youth hostelling: in Sweden, large dormitories are
few, and rooms usually sleep four to six people.
The majority of hostels are run by STF (
Svenska
Turistföreningen
;
T
08 463 22 70,
W
svenskaturist
foreningen.se). Apart from the STF
hostels there are
