Family Holidays: Sweden family holidays and breaks

Take the Family holiday rating 4½ stars out of 5

Why

The largest of the Scandinavian countries, Sweden is essentially one vast coniferous forest, punctuated every now and then with a crystal clear lake, or a small town. There are only 9 million people living in this vast land and for people from our over-crowded island, a sense of space must be its most immediate attraction. This however can be overpowering, it’s much better to concentrate on one or two places which you can explore thoroughly and thereby allow the remote beauty of this country to sink in. We recommend the sunny Baltic beaches, or a hike through a national park in Swedish Lapland. The Swedes are very friendly once you break through the initial (British like) reserve and most speak excellent English.

The Oresund bridge, connecting Malmo and Copenhagen

Snow taxi outside the Ice Hotel® at Jakkas Jarvi

Top left: The Oresund bridge, connecting Malmo and Copenhagen
Top middle: One of many lakes in summer
Top right: Dog Sledding in Swedish Lapland

Bottom left: Kalmar Castle
Bottom right: Snow taxi outside the Ice Hotel® at Jakkas Jarvi

How

There are 3 main airports in Sweden, the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport, 25km east of Gothenburg, Stockholm Arlanda Airport, 43km north of Stockholm and Malmo. From Gothenburg airport taxis and a public bus service are available. Stockholm Arlanda airport has three railway stations: one (under SkyCity) for long-distance destinations including Trondheim and Göteborg, and two (one under Terminal 5 and one with exits to Terminals 2, 3 and 4) for frequent express trains to Stockholm. Arlanda Express trains reach the city centre in only 20 minutes. There are frequent flights from tons of major and regional UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Luton, East Midlands, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Glasgow Prestwick. Airlines with routes from the UK include, British Airways, BMI, Finnair and Ryanair. Fares with low cost airlines can be as low as £5.50 one way. Check flight deals with Expedia.

Do

Take the Inlandsbanan, the great railway that links Sweden with Lapland. These days it mainly operates in the summer as a tourist venture but it is still a perfect, if slow, route to the North through spectacular scenery.

Once up in Lapland, visit Jakkas Jarvi for a night in one of the most spectacular hotels in the world - the Ice Hotel® . Make your children very happy indeed by taking them to the spot where James Bond crashed his Maserati (or whichever car it was) into the lobby. Sleep on Reindeer skin covered ice beds and eat breakfast off an ice table, it’s an extraordinary experience, quite magical.

Visit the very pretty region of Skane in the South. It’s an ancient region with some fascinating history, lovely beaches, quaint villages and fields full of flowers, very different from the usual image of Sweden.

Visit the 13th Century castle of Kalmar Slott. It’s picture perfect and full of ghosts and great Swedish myths.

Eat

Be careful, eating out is expensive in Sweden, be judicious though and you will find the food delicious and good value. If you like the meat and two veg variety of cuisine, then you will be in heaven, bear in mind though that the meat is often reindeer and the veg sometimes juniper berry. Herring of course plays a large role in Swedish cuisine, maybe an acquired taste and much better when washed down with one of their very good beers.