If Midsummer on Sweden isn’t on your bucket list… it should be!
But forget the maypoles and floral crowns, for those of us who prefer their solstice with a ray of activity and a dose of off-grid adventure that won’t cost the earth, I’ve discovered the perfect Scandinavia summer experience.
The Canoe Trip by Travelbase is an epic 7 day adventure that takes you into the heart of Sweden’s southern lakes for a deep nature immersion in one of Europe’s most unspoilt regions.
From wild waterside camping, to peaceful canoeing through crystal-clear waters, this epic trip was the perfect getaway during the longest days of the year; the ideal balance between relaxation and recreation.
The journey starts right outside Oslo airport, where we’re picked up by the Canoe Trip private shuttle.
After boarding in neighbouring Norway, it’s a smooth and a quick journey across the border to Sweden, where we’re dropped off at the Canoe Trip base camp – an idyllic lake-side spot with tea on tap, hot showers, a cosy chill out area and large grassy lawns.
I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect here, but the friendly on-hand, english-speaking team instantly put my mind at ease.
They really do take care of all the logistics!
After being promptly given our 2-person canoe, paddles, life jackets, canoe wheels and straps, we then enjoy a helpful tutorial that covers everything we need to know – from how to paddle (essential!) and which route to follow, through to poop scoop requirements and local fire regulations – a godsend for multi-day canoe novices like us!
We then collect our food for the trip. We’ve ordered 1x meat eater and 1x vegetarian package, along with cooking equipment, fuel, rubbish sacks and also crucially, dry bags – we’d bought some of our own, but the extras from Travelbase definitely come in handy, especially the large duffel dry bag, which we hastily stuff our clothes into.
It’s hard to know what to pack for a Swedish canoe trip in June, so our thinking was to go for layers and a bit of everything!
This meant caps for the day and beanies for night, shorts for kayaking and merino layers for bed, swimming costumes for lake dips and down jackets for camp fires.
And it turns out, this was an excellent strategy – we used it all!
Less important are clean clothes. After days of lake bathing only, clean clothes become a little redundant, so opting for variety over quantity was definitely a prudent apparel approach!
Even more so when we learn that, out on the lakes, the weather (especially the wind), can change in a paddle stroke! Cross a lock from one lake to another and you can find yourself in a different weather system altogether!
Actually, we were blessed with amazing weather during our canoe trip – sun every day and no rain whatsoever – but there’s obviously no guarantee of such luck, so waterproofs are definitely required!
Despite us not using these for wet weather, even with the lovely temperatures we got – peaking at around 23 degrees – it still got pretty nippy at night, so our 3 season sleeping bags, several base layers and our waterproof / windproof jackets certainly came in handy in the evening.
And call me a wuss, but in northern Europe, I never camp with a portable heat pad, so that definitely helped me stay ambient too!
Another piece of tech gear I strongly advise you bring for your Swedish Canoe Trip is a Water-To-Go bottle.
The genius in-built filter in this bottle cleverly removes 99.9% of microorganisms from any fresh water source, which means you can safely drink the lake water.
With just 3l of fresh water onboard when you set off from base camp, and only 1l of liquid fuel to go with your Trangia stove available, boiling water becomes a bit of a chore after a big canoe day!
Which means avoiding this, safe in the knowledge you won’t get sick by skipping it, makes a Water-to-go bottle a must – simply dip in the lake and drink!
The other top items you should not attempt this canoe trip without, are aqua shoes.
Sexy they are not, but practically-speaking they are undeniably genius!
You can also choose to bring your own camping gear, or rent it from Travelbase.
With our own Quechua tent, sleeping bags, silk liners and sleeping mats (we’ve got a great foot-pump inflating pair that can be clipped together to make a double bed), we thought we’d skip the rental fee and bring our own.
And we’re definitely glad we did – a black-out tent during midsummer in Sweden is the key for getting any sleep!
The waterproof picnic rug come ground sheet we also bought with us was a godsend too, and with more room a tarp and camping chairs would have be a strong addition as well!
Cutting out rental fees, such as those for camping gear, is also a wonderfully simple way to keep costs down on this canoe trip.
In fact, I imagine it’s harder to enjoy Sweden for less!
Not known for its cheap price tag, a trip in the beautiful Swedish nature that starts from only 150€ per person for a 3 day trip excluding transport, has got to be an absolute bargain.
Learn more about the Canoe Trip trips costs here.
So back to base camp, we’re now got our canoe, had our tutorial, stored our food, packed our gear and decided our route.
The only thing left to do, is store the wheelie suitcase we’ve bought from Oslo (not canoe-chic!), change into our active wear, put our phones into waterproof cases… and we were off!
For most international folk flying into Oslo and then shuttling to the Canoe Trip’s base camp, the trip is 7 days long.
This gives you enough time to explore an amazingly large lake area, with 3 suggested circular routes ranging from 85 to 130km – the longest taking you as far as the Norwegian border!
With just 3 days at our disposal however, we opted for a shorter and more relaxed pootle, and set off for our first suggested wild camping spot just an hour away.
It was almost 6pm by the time we paddled off from base camp (we faffed a lot with the gear!), so a shorter stretch on day 1 also seemed like a wise option!
Plus we were far too enamoured with the stunning late day light and the colours it cast across the forest-backed lakes to canoe anywhere frantically!
Travelbase’s handy smartphone app, which contains all the info you need before your trip, like packing lists, shuttle details and basecamp map, is also the ideal tool to have during your trip, as their brilliant offline map proved crucial in helping us not getting too lost!
In our defense, one stretch of crystal blue water with a stunning pine forest bank, looks much like another!
The in-app map also handily displays where the designated shelters are in the nearby area and has on it both your lock pass and nature conservation permit, which are all required for navigating the area self-sufficiently.
On a rainy evening, these simple wooden structures, some with accompanying long-drop toilets, would be a godsend from camping and cooking under the clouds, but with our blessed blue skies, it was wild camping all the way!
Available everywhere at these lakes, well anywhere you can find a flat, treeless spot, the Travelbase app was also very helpful in helping us locate potential wild camping spots, ones where the lakeside cliffs didn’t ascend from the shore too steeply.
Usually this guaranteed a pretty good pitch, with the tell-tale signs of previous inhabitants sealing the deal!
Of course, it’s a ‘leave no trace’ policy here in Sweden – nature this pristine needs to be preserved – so camping away from everybody, with just the birdsong and lapping lake for a soundtrack, is what this type of trip is really all about.
And throughout the trip we found 3 amazing wild camps, one per night and each more isolated than the last.
Our island wild camp was probably the best.
Here we had a private landing beach, where we hauled the canoe up and laid out in the sun; an elevated forest camping spot, with 180 degree lake views; and then a rock terrace, just below our tent, from where we could slide effortlessly into the water for our morning dip before drying off on the hot stones.
Then it was cook breakfast, enjoy a chill and a read, pack up the tent, load the gear into the canoe and paddle off to the next spot.
If this sounds pretty idyllic to you for a daily itinerary, I can happily confirm it was!
While there is signal connection in most places in the area if you want it, honestly I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to engage airplane mode and unplug!
Deep lungful’s of fresh forest air, refreshing swims in clear lake water, gently kayaking through picturesque landscapes and a sense of discovering a new country with hardly anyone else around, was just too freaking dreamy!
And the fact we got to celebrate the longest day of the year here only sealed the deal!
It’s the different sort of conversations you have when there’s few distractions, the long peaceful silences and the deep sleeps that leave you wonderfully refreshed.
From navigating the locks, to planning your route, camp logistics, to gently unwinding with a book, there’s nothing as relaxing for me as a trip that has a few low-key tasks scattered across the day.
And the fact you get to do this all amidst stunning, Swedish scenery and a midsummer sky was just the icing on the cake, or should I say the crown on the lake?
For more info about this amazing Swedish Canoe trip, check out the Travelbase website.
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My trip was gifted by Travelbase but, as always, all views are my own.
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