2-week cycling adventure through Sweden

Stockholm > Trosa (81 km / 50 miles)

Getting out of Stockholm takes a while. The first part of the day will therefore involve more navigating and less pretty views than the other days. I took a 10-minute ferry at Skanssundet to avoid having to cycle through more cities. The ferry doesn’t need to be booked in advance.

This first day includes some minor hills throughout, but nothing too steep. I always recommend starting off easy, so the first day we cycled less than the average of 93,5 kilometres a day. Still, we were tired at the end of the day, so the evening we simply spent cooking, eating and chilling.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555199154712926768 (part 1)

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555186472247628150 (part 2)

Trosa > Öbolandet > Nyköping (57 km / 35 miles)

In the morning, we decided to do a loop around the island south of Trosa. It was fun to cycle across the road that connects Öbolandet to Trosa, but the island itself is pretty but didn't leave too much of an impression. It feels a bit like a holiday park. We then did a quick lap through the centre and harbour of Trosa, which looked nice.

Cycling out of town past the church, I suddenly felt like I was in a fairytale. The style of the buildings looked really cute and picturesque. The rest of the day makes for very easy cycling that can be done in 2 hours.

In the evening, we went into Nyköping. The area around the harbour has a nice atmosphere, and I recommend a walk around the castle (though I don't think it deserves to be called a castle).

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555186472253663606

Nyköping > Norrköping > Linköping (111 km / 69 miles)

From Nyköping to the ferry at Skenås, the route went through a wooded area. We cycled in a straight line down from Nyköping (crossing through Bränn-Ekeby) to get the nicest scenery. From Nävekvam, you ride parallel to the water until you reach the ferry.

Norrköping is about halfway through the route, so it’s a perfect lunch stop. From there until Linköping, we mostly followed a car road. The views here aren’t as spectacular as during some of the other days, but it’s a pleasant ride that goes slightly uphill on the second half.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555188761474535080 (part 1)

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555194896653133360 (part 2)

Linköping > Gränna (94 km / 58 miles)

In the morning we took some time to explore the open air museum in Linköping. The buildings are preserved well, and live actors add to the illusion of having gone back in time. The museum showcases everyday life 100 years ago.

The cycle ride was lovely. It again goes slightly uphill with a few noticeable climbs, though the first 20km are practically flat. After Mjölby, the route gets increasingly beautiful. Especially when following the lake down to Gränna from Ödeshög, you get to see a stunning panorama. Through the trees, you can already catch a glimpse of the lake every now and then as you climb the last hills before the trees open up to an amazing downhill road into Gränna.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555232827418514806

A day in Gränna

We stayed in a lovely little studio on a hill. From the hammock on the porch, we could watch boats going up and down to the island in the Vättern lake. We initially planned to go to the island ourselves, but we were quite tired after four consecutive days of cycling.

Instead, we hiked to nearby castle ruins. The views from here were beautiful. The town of Gränna was a bit touristy (judging by it having 7 identical sweets’ shops in a single street). Still, it wasn’t overly crowded on a summer day. Especially because of the gorgeous views, Gränna would be on my list of favourite places I’ve travelled to. It is also where I got seriously addicted to chokladbollar!

Gränna > Jönköping > Ulricehamn (102 km / 63 miles)

Hitting the road again! Upon leaving Gränna, I noticed some traffic signs indicating a roadblock because of a cycling event. We kept on going until we reached the volunteers along the route who were able to direct us around the race. For most of the way to Jönköping, we were able to cycle next to the race. We later found out is was part of an Iron Man! It was very cool to cycle along and cheer for the triathletes.

Overall, this lake-to-lake route has the most elevation of all the cycling days. Not a bad idea to take some rest before (as we did) or after today. Jönköping is a perfect place to stop for lunch. If you’re bringing your own food, you can have a picnic at the small beach next to the Liljeholmen neighbourhood.

After Jönköping, you can follow a motorway straight to Ulricehamn to avoid more hills, but I suggest going south past the Komosse swamps, which takes you through the forest for most of the second half of this day. We arrived at our pod on a campsite right in time for dinner.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555231243369316008

Ulricehamn > Borås (44 km / 27 miles)

I started the day with a dip in the lake. Despit it being summer, the water felt freezing cold! We had breakfast on one of the picnic benches on the beach, before getting ready to hop on our bikes.

A short route to recover was more than welcome after the elevation of yesterday. There’s a very nice cycle path around the south end of the Ulricehamn lake. After that, you’ll face a bit of a hill on a cycle path next to a car road, which for the last 10 km bends down into Borås.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555231243368838824

Borås > Göteborg (68 km / 42 miles)

It’s once again an easy ride into Göteborg, except for one climb at about 25 km into the route. You’ll pass by another bright blue lake, cycling on a car road. As you approach Göteborg, the surroundings will become more urbanised and you’ll have to follow a motorway into the city.

The last bit getting into Göteborg required a lot of navigation. The cycle lane crosses the motorway several times using bridges and underpasses. In Göteborg, we stayed for 2 nights at a hostel with a cute courtyard.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555230003418535038

A day in Göteborg

I expected to love Göteborg, but ended up finding it a bit underwhelming. The Haga neighbourhood is lovely, but it felt like the city doesn't have a proper centre or old town. We did enjoy the parks and the old fort, from where you get a good view.

Do keep in mind parts of Göteborg are quite hilly! We got a good amount of steps in, even though it was supposed to be a day of rest in between the cycling. I probably wouldn't go back to Göteborg unless I knew someone who lived there and could show me the good places where locals go.

Göteborg > Varbeg > Falkenberg (118 km / 73 miles)

In the last few days after Göteborg, we started covering lots of kilometres each day. This was easily doable due to following the EuroVelo 7 and 12 routes, which made for easy navigation. We basically had to keep going south in as straight a line as possible.

This day couldn’t be any more relaxed in terms of and hills (or rather, the lack thereof). Being close to the coast gave us a very nice tailwind. At the end of the day, I felt as if I could do the same distance again.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555232827420454262

Falkenberg > Halmstad > Ängelholm (109 km / 68 miles)

Another fairly easy ride interrupted by a big hill at approximately 76 km into the route. As the cycle path twirls around the motorway for the first part, you don’t have a lot of flexibility to adapt the route, which meant we had to cycle on gravel roads sometimes. This did allow us to enjoy being surrounded by trees again, as the coastal area doesn’t have as many forests as the rest of Sweden.

Speeding downhill towards Ängelholm was a lot of fun. We then rewarded ourselves with pizza before cycling the final stretch to our accommodation for the night.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555230003417449598

Ängelholm > Malmö > Trelleborg (131 km / 81 miles)

The final day was again full of pretty sights. You can choose to cycle either via Malmö or Lund for a lunch stop. I really like Malmö, and Lund seemed a bit more of a detour. Plus, we were able to Denmark by cycling along the coast after Malmö, which was cool.

We did accidentally take a route that crossed grassy farmlands, resulting in 2 flat tires. It’s therefore better to try and go more inland as plotted on the route linked below. Nevertheless, it’s worth taking approaching Trelleborg from the west, along the sea.

From Trelleborg, we took an overnight ferry to Germany and made our way back home by train from there. The ferry arrived late and wasn't very clean, unfortunately. There also wasn't proper parking for bikes on board. Aside from the ferry, the last day was beautiful, and we loved cycling across southern Sweden.

Find the route on Strava:

https://www.strava.com/routes/3555229826247268486