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 adventure and a dose of off-grid nature 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.
From wild camping, to peaceful canoeing, this epic trip was the perfect getaway during the longest days of the year, the ideal balance between relaxation and recreation.
The journey starts outside Oslo airport, where we’re picked up by the Canoe Trip private shuttle.
Despite boarding in neighbouring Norway, it’s a smooth and a quick journey across 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 team instantly put my mind at ease.
Given our canoe, paddles, wheels and straps, we then enjoy a helpful tutorial that covers everything we need to know – from how to padel and which route to follow through to poop scoops and fire regs – a godsend for multi-day canoe novices like us!
We also collect our food for the trip at base camp (we’ve ordered 1x meat eater and 1x vegetarian), along with cooking equipment, fuel, rubbish sacks and dry bags – we’d bought some of our own, but the extras from Travelbase definitely came in handy, especially the large duffel dry bag, which we hastily stuffed 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 cap for the day and beanies for night, shorts for kayaking and merino layers for bed, down jackets for camp fires and swimming costumes for lake dips.
Turns out this was an excellent strategy as we used it all!
Indeed we quickly learnt that, out on the lakes, the weather, especially the wind, can change in an instant. Cross a lock from one lake to another and you can find yourself in a different weather world altogether!
We were actually blessed with amazing weather during our canoe trip – sun every day and no rain – but there’s really no guarantee you’ll be that lucky, so waterproofs are definitely required!
And even despite the lovely temperatures we got – peaking at around 23 degrees – it still got pretty nippy at night, so our 3 season sleeping bags and several base layers certainly came in handy.
And call me a wuss, but I never camp with a portable heat pad in northern Europe, so that definitely helped me too!
Another piece of tech gear I strongly advise you bring is a Water-To-Go bottle.
These genius items filter out 99.9% of microorganisms from any fresh water source, which means you can safely drink the lake water.
This is very helpful, because with just 3l of fresh water when you set off and only 1l of liquid fuel to go with your Trangia stove, boiling water constantly becomes a bit of a chore after a big canoe!
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 a tent from Travelbase.
With our own tent, sleeping bags, silk liners and good ground mats (we’ve got a great handy pair that can be attached 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 – as a black-out tent during midsummer in Sweden is key to getting any sleep!
The waterproof picnic rug come ground sheet we bought with us was also a godsend, and a tarp and camping chairs would have be a strong addition too!
Cutting out rental fees, such as those for camping gear, is 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, has got to be an absolute bargain.
Learn more about the 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 out 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 that takes 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, so a shorter stretch on day 1 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 too frantically!
Travelbase’s handy 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, where their brilliant offline map, is absolutely crucial in not getting too lost!
After all, one stretch of crystal blue water, with a stunning pine forest bank, looks much like another!
The in-app map also shows where the designated shelters are in the area.
On a rainy evening, these simple wooden structures, some with accompanying long-drop toilets, would be a godsend from camping and cooking under, but with our blessed blue skies, it was wild camping all the way for us!
Available everywhere at these lakes, well anyway you can find a flat, treeless spot, the Travelbase app was very helpful at finding potential camping spots where the cliffs didn’t ascend from the shore too steeply.
Usually this guaranteed, a good lakeside camp patch, with scattered sticks and stones often giving away clues of previous inhabitants.
Of course, it’s a ‘leave no trace’ policy here in Sweden – nature this pristine needs to be preserved – but 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 – 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 bathe before drying off on the hot stones.
The 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 confirm it was!
While there is signal connection in most places 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 at the end of the day, there’s nothing as relaxing for me as a trip that has a few lowkey 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.
SAVE THIS TO PINtEREST!
My trip was gifted by Travelbase but, as always, all views are my own.
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