Top tips for exploring the beautiful country of Sweden on a budget
Sweden and cheap do not go together, and travelling Sweden on a budget can seem quite difficult when you first start researching. Living in Sweden and knowing a bit more about travel here, this is something you don’t tend to notice. Travelling around the last few months I have begun to wonder why more places are not on the top of everyones travel lists. Sweden have some amazing cities with great food culture. It is also home to some incredible nature and experiences you could not find anywhere else.
After discussing this with a few other travel bloggers, we came to the conclusion that it is because Sweden is expensive. It is hard to travel around without hiring a car and researching you only ever find expensive accomodation. Although I think this definitely is true, there are so many tips that I have learnt over these past few months that have made travelling here very affordable. I hope this guide helps your planning!
All About Sweden
The Language
The local language here is Swedish, however English is a very common second language. It is very unlikely that you will find someone here who is unable to communicate with you in English. This is especially true in the places you will be visiting when travelling around.
The Money
Swedish Krona (SEK). The cost of living and travelling is quite high in Sweden, with groceries and eating out costing above the norm. Accomodation is usually moderate too expensive depending on the standard you are looking at. Long term accomodation is generally better value, so if you’re staying for a while that is worth looking into.
The Major Cities
Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö are the three major cities. There are many smaller cities and towns around the country that offer just as much of an experience. Umeå and Kiruna are two northern cities which are great stops for travellers looking for more arctic conditions.
Travel Sweden on a budget top tips
How To Save Money On Accomodation
When planning your travels, accomodation often takes up a big part of the budget, and this can definitely be true in Sweden. Of course this does depends on your destination and standards. Although a night in most hotels will cost you more than the average. Luckily, there are a few other great options that are worth exploring.
Hostels
Hostels, or vandrahem in Swedish, are not exactly as you would imagine here. Most of the time they are incredibly clean and well maintained accomodations with the options for private rooms as well as bigger shared spaces. The best vandrahem can be found through Svenska Turist Föreningen (STF) which is the local tourism agency that converts a lot of old buildings in to hostels, as well as maintaining the hiking and ski cabins in the mountains.
Camping
This is by far the cheapest way to travel, especially if you are looking to do a road trip in the countryside rather than a city hopping adventure. The Swedish right of public access – “Allemansrätten” – means you can legally roam the land, passing between forests and farmland as you wish, and camping where you wish. This does obviously exclude houses and public gardens, but other than that, you are free to forage wherever you wish! This makes camping free most of the time, all you have to do is bring the equipment.
I know this can be difficult if you are travelling from overseas, but there are options to rent out camping equipment from sites such as Kajak Paradiset, which although does cost, it still saves you money in the long run!
I am not an expert on these rules so if you are intending on camping I would double check this website to make sure you know exactly what you can and can’t do!
Eating out in Sweden on a budget
If you’re anything like me then eating out is one of the most important aspects of travelling! I could never go somewhere and not try the local cuisine or taste the fresh made street food from the markets! As I mentioned before, eating out in Sweden can be incredibly expensive, especially if you are visiting the tourist hot spots. Luckily there are some ways around that!
Dagens Lunch
Something I have come to love both in my every day life, and on our travels, is Dagens Lunch. Translating in to “the days lunch”, it is common for restaurants to open at lunch time with a limited menu. This is usually a meat, a fish and a vegetarian dish accompanied by some cake and coffee for around 100kr, or $15. This is a great savings tip if you are wanting to eat out, or save some money during the day. We usually eat lunch out at a restaurant and fill up on the salad bar, and then have a small grocery store bought dinner!
Karma – the budget food app that everyone who travels in Sweden should have
Another great saver is the app Karma. This is a company that works local restaurants, cafes and grocery stores, to sell off their left over food to customers via the app – limiting wastage as well as providing a cheaper food option. Most of the time these deals are for pastries or drinks, but it is worth checking the app around 2pm every day to see what lunch options have been posted.
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