Holidays to Central Sweden

The Mio Gullo Spa offers a range of facials and massages in a relaxing environment in what the New York Times has listed as one of the most interesting places to visit in 2009. Once a retreat for the Swedish Royal Family this 1700acre area is now a wise choice for those looking for space, relaxation, clear clean skies and above all an escape from the big city environment.

Book your winter holiday / break to Fjällnäs with Simply Sweden.

17 Dec 2009
A beautiful layer of white snow now covers almost the whole of Sweden, stretching from Kalmar in the south, past Stockholm, covering our log cabins in Orsa and Fulufjällsbyn, our winter hotels (Fryksås Hotel) and all the way north to Lapland. Don't delay in booking your last minute winter holiday to Sweden and Lapland. Book now!

Visitors to Sweden and native Swedes have a 'Right of Public Access' and this is deeply entrenched within the Swedish culture and is the basis for outdoor recreation from Lapland in the north and the mountains in the west to the archipelagoes of eastern & southern Sweden. Here is our take on the 'Right of Public Access':
"You may walk, cycle, horse ride, ski, and stay temporarily in country areas providing you do not damage crops, forestation areas or other sensitive areas of land. You must respect the privacy of the home by not passing through or staying on private plots of land. Do not disturb and do not destroy, is the main principle of the Swedish Right of Public Access. You are allowed to camp for one night on land not used for agriculture that is located away from the dwelling-house. Ask the landowner for permission if you want to camp as a group. You may light a fire providing it is safe to do so, however, never on bare rocks as this might cause permanent damage due to cracking. When the lighting of fires is prohibited, this applies to all open fires, and is often the case in National parks and conservation areas. You may pick flowers, berries and mushrooms in the countryside, but certain plants, such as all orchids, are protected species and special regulations prescribed by law may apply to what you are allowed to pick in the countryside. Be sure not to leave any litter. Leave no trace."

You can visit National Parks in Sweden during your holiday in Sweden. The holiday log cabins at Fulufjällsbyn are located in the Fulufjället National Park (recognised in 2002 with Sweden's largest waterfall, bare mountains covered with 'reindeer moss', ancient forests and steep rocky canyons), in the Swedish mountains close to the Norwegian border. The Marine Reserve surrounding the Syd Koster Islands in West Sweden will be inaugurated in September 2009 (noted for their bio-diversity on land and in the sea), and there are also a huge variety of nature reserves across West Sweden. Stay in Stockholm with easy access to Tyresta National Park (from 1993 famed for 300 year old giant pine tress and deep ravines with rocky outcrops abraded by ice) and Ängsö National Park in the Stockholm Archipelago (one of the original 9 national parks from 1909 with fragile fauna and abundance of bird life).

The 2 polar bears that have been introduced to this state of the art breeding centre in the hope of building a strong platform for reintroductions and regeneration (should it become necessary) are Ewa and Wilbär. Ewa was born in 2006 and weighs 180kg. She has come from Rotterdam zoo. Wilbär has come from Stuttgart and was born in 2007. He weighs just 60kg but is growing quickly! With roots in Scandinavia (his mother was born in Copenhagen) he is almost coming home! Both are coming to a more natural environment than their previous locations with a much longer winter period and plenty of natural snow.

Simply Sweden hopes to have some excellent winter log cabin holidays available in Orsa (walking distance to the bear park) very shortly. As Polar Bears do not hibernate this will be an excellent opportunity to see these magnificent animals enjoying winter.

17 March 2009
If you are looking for an excellent day out during your winter holiday to Stockholm, or the surrounding area, then you can do a lot worse than travel to the Romme Alpin Ski area / resort north of Stockholm. Chris Carrington explains all!

The day’s excursion began early Saturday morning. The coach to the Ski resort leaves at 06:30am from T-Centralen, the main station in Stockholm for coaches, underground and rail network.

Finding the correct departure area was no problem at all, everything was sign posted, if you had any doubt, there was the option to follow the other frequent skiers who were easy to spot as they had their own equipment.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t looking forward to being on the coach for two and half hours, but the seats were comfy and they had a movie on to keep the Children entertained, myself included. Ski passes were handed out within 30mins of departure and as this was such an early start, I thought I would catch up on some sleep.

There is no better feeling than waking up just before arriving, looking out the window and viewing all the scenery, it was in fact the first time I had seen mountains in Sweden, you wouldn’t be mistaken in thinking you were heading to the Alps Skiing. A short movie on the resort was played with brief advice on where to store your bags and where to pick up your equipment if you had organised hire, we were also informed that the coach doors open at 15:45pm and they were leaving at 16:15pm.

I would highly recommend catching the early coach, as when we got there, the que’s were small and because we prearranged hiring our ski equipment we went through the express section. The equipment was in very good condition and service was very efficient. Outside was a table with free hot lingonberry juice and biscuits, I thought this was a nice touch and indeed refreshing after such a long journey.

Putting the boots on and ski’s was mixed with excitement and anxiety as I hadn’t skied for over 10 years. The equipment gave me some confidence, so off we went to the first set of lifts. Going up the lifts was an excellent way of taking in the view, the sound of your ski’s over the snow was reminiscent of our Trip to Lapland with the Huskies. It was peaceful, the only sounds you could hear were other fellow skiers and the clicking of the lift as it went further up the hill.

The views from the top of the piste were incredible, we took in some of the views before setting off down the slope. Just a quick run through of the basics and off we went. We started off on one of the green runs, and I was surprised how it all comes back to you. The resort has 29 runs of various grades and 8 lifts to take you there. I personally managed as far as the red grades apart from one incorrect diversion to one of the black runs. I believe the resort has a lot to offer to all levels of experienced skiers, there is even a section to practice various tricks and jumps.

We took our own lunch and if you were working within a budget I would highly recommend this, a flask of Hot Chocolate and various sandwiches was more than enough to re charge our batteries before heading out to the slopes again. There was the odd occasional diversion to the free Hot Lingonberry stand.

Overall, this was a trip I would highly recommend, I just wish I had discovered this sooner in the winter season as I would have made a few more trips before spring arrives.

Travel to Sweden with Simply Sweden for a great winter holiday.

10 March 2009
The British & Swedish press report that a male chimpanzee at a zoo north of Stockholm and Uppsala planned several stone throwing attacks on visitors, as he displayed his dominance to visitors. The first collection of hidden stones were found in 1997. Since this time the stones have been regularly removed to protect the public, but this behaviour has become a major research program for scientists. The zoo is called Furuvik and is under 2hrs from Stockholm or approx 1hr15 from Uppsala and just 10km from Gävle. It is easy to travel to Furuvik by public transport as the zoo has its own train station. Furuvik is located on the coast and offers a great day out when staying in Stockholm, Uppsala or a log cabin nearby. Some of the 60 species include native reindeer and more exotic kangaroos, snakes, orangutans, chimpanzees, lemur and much more. There is a 'touch & feel' area where young children can stroke and mingle with native sheep & goats. You will also find a small amusement park and adventure pool, along with stunning coastline to keep you busy for the whole day. Furuvik is open daily between 30th May & 16th August.

You can visit Furuvik from Stockholm or a nearby log cabin during your holiday in Sweden.

23 February 2009
Only 1 hour north of Stockholm, and just outside Sweden's fourth largest city (Uppsala) lies the nature & recreational area of Fjällnora, managed and maintained by Uppsala Kommun (Council). This is the perfect location for all ages to enjoy a traditional Swedish atmosphere by a lake. In the winter the lake is frozen and is currently several centimetres thick. You would struggle to break through the ice with an axe! The ice is so thick that a tractor has ploughed several ice skating tracks into the ice, up to 12km long. You will also find approx. 6km of prepared cross country skiing tracks through the forest. Don't have your own ice skates or cross country skis? Don't worry, these are available to rent from the lakeside cafe, or you can simply enjoy the nature on several marked walking tracks. During the winter you can reach Fjällnora by bus (809 from Uppsala centre) and it is approx. 2km walk from the nearest bus stop (Fjällnora Vägskäl). You will also find several lakeside camp fire locations. The perfect opportunity to eat hot dogs by an open fire in the snow covered forest, next to a beautiful frozen lake. Fire wood is provided and you will need to bring the rest - sausages, bread, ketchup, matches and paper to start the fire!

19 February 2009
Vasaloppet - The world famous Vasaloppet week starts tomorrow (20 February 2009) with activities and attractions for the whole family. The Vasaloppet week is open to all with various different races to suit all abilities. There are junior races, half distance races, short races, a women's race, open tracks (with no competition!) and this all culminates in the oldest, longest & largest cross country ski race in the world on 1 March 2009. The main race takes place between Sälen and Mora (Central Sweden) and is 90km long. Vasaloppet takes place on the first Sunday in March annually with around 14,000 eager competitors. The course record is 3:38:57 and has stood since 1998. You can enjoy a holiday in Dalarna and Mora with Simply Sweden. We have some excellent self catering log cabin holidays at Fulufjällsbyn and the highly recommended Fryksås Hotel just outside Mora.