Sweden

[Graham O]

Sweden has been changing some of their currency in recent years and I had a lot of the old stuff which would be out of date by the time of my next visit. Took it to the bank and they wouldn't change it, only pay it into an account which was no use to me. In the end I changed it to Euros. So plastic and only a small amount of cash is viable even up north in the remoter parts. Offering cash in some places brought bemused stares.
Eating and drinking can be expensive, but if you look around you can get a decent meal for a reasonable amount. We found that beer and whisky (one to drink and one for presents) was more expensive than in the UK, but not unreasonably so in the Systembolaget. If you are self catering, shopping in supermarkets is again, more than the UK, but generally reasonable. We've paid higher prices in Italy.
Mosquitoes are a real pain up north but they vanish after the first cold weather, so August/September is good, although in the south they could have a longer season.
One day I want to cycle in northern Sweden in the summer, just to see what the lakes look like. I've only seen them with a metre of ice on them.

[lvabd]

Hi,

lived in Stockholm: food and drinks are expansive (75 sek for a cider if I remember correctly). Supermarket stuff is ok-ish in terms of price (but good quality mostly)
It's very easy to get around in cities by bike, not necessarily so in the countryside: not that many roads, although down south it is definitely more densely paved (more people too)
Around Stockholm, you can take the Pendeltag (commuter train) with your bike out of the commuting hours, and not to and from the center, but that's it. SJ (regular trains) is very picky with bikes, and in my experience there is absolutely no room for discussion.
Expect flaaaaaat country, and be careful with the ticks (check TBE vaccines, can be worth it)

[Onyourbike.wales]

Lots of conflicting information regarding trains.
I cycled from Umea to Gothenburg this year and took a ferry to Germany.
Between Umea and Stockholm no train would take my bike, boxed or not!
I had to use a bus from Stockholm to Karlstad which was fine.

[Slowroad]

Hi Landsurfer,
I'd be interested in this

Instead of ferries from the UK to Sweden try shipping agents ..
We sailed from Harwich to Gothenburg.
Then cycled to Stockholm via Linkoping.
We sailed on a bulk carrier in ballast for £35 each .. dined with the Captain .. 3 days ... £5 ea. / day for superb food ..
Our "bunk" was huge, en-suite and we had a great time with the crew .. who where mostly from HK ..
Officers where Cloggies and everyone spoke better English than us ....

The return was on a HGV bulk carrier... British crew and 2 days of great travel ...£50 each ...
It was an adventure in itself ......

How did you find out about it - I've had a bit of an internet search but didn't really get anywhere.
Trying to avoid flying!
Cheers.

[teamonster]

Expect flaaaaaat country, and be careful with the ticks (check TBE vaccines, can be worth it)

IMO TBE vaccine is a good idea if you are going to be camping/walking in any of the high risk areas, there's a bit of a hot spot around Stockholm and Uppsala counties. https://ecdc.europa.eu/sites/portal/files/media/en/healthtopics/emerging_and_vector-borne_diseases/tick_borne_diseases/tick_borne_encephalitis/country-profiles/PublishingImages/Sweden-TBE-incidence-high-res.jpg

Not a lot of people get TBE each year, but it can be very nasty. I follow the locals lead, all my friends in Uppsala and my in laws have the jab,

If you're not walking in grass/woods and camping its probably not such a big deal. Be aware though, you need at least two jabs before you go, with at least a month in between the jabs and a similar period before you leave. I think they are about £60-80 each in UK. I had mine done in Sweden where they were @£30, so not everything is more expensive there !