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  • Our favourite route

6 days - Coastal driving along Sweden's west coast

The coastal route between Oslo to Gothenburg is a delight for nature lovers and foodies. Stay in boutique accommodation, some with sea views and others with 360° forest views from a tree house. Visit beautiful villages nestled along the coast, follow rocky shorelines, walk in deep forests and kayak on tranquil lakes.

The seafood in this region has often been ranked as the best in the world, and you can experience it either on oyster safaris, mussel harvesting and fishing or in the evening, you can enjoy a seafood dinner on the water's edge.

Visit historic world heritage sites such as the Tanum bronze age rock carving & Vitlycke museum, Fredrikstad's old town, Gamlebyen, the Volvo museum and historic Åsle Tå museum.

Finish in Gothenburg, no other Swedish city gives such easy access to nature. Right on the doorstep are wide open spaces and magical islands. From Gothenburg, travelling a little further down to Copenhagen is easily done or join a Gota Canal cruise to Stockholm.

Highlights include

  • Drive along tranquil coastal scenery
  • Enjoy one of the world's best seafood on oyster safaris, mussel harvesting, fishing and seafood dinners
  • World heritage sites such as the Tanum bronze age rock carving & Vitlycke museum, Fredrikstad's old town, Gamlebyen, the Volvo museum and historic Åsle Tå museum.
Day 1
Depart Oslo and drive to Fredrikstad
Day 2
Explore Fredrikstad, a small historic town by the sea
Day 3
Coastal drive - stop for seafood safaris and visit the 3,000-year-old Tanum rock carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Day 4
Day to explore Ingrid Bergman summer house town - boat trips, island hopping or explore Camilla Läckberg's novel locations
Day 5
Stay at a floating pontoon hotel in a sleepy fishing isle, Klädesholmen
Day 6
Drive to Gothenburg
Start Place
Oslo, Norway
End Place
Gothenburg, Sweden
Destinations Visited
Norway
Sweden
Duration
6 Days
Start Date
Flexible
Travel Style
Independent
Suitability
Easy independent holiday suitable for singles, couples & families
Code
50DN0745

Please note that all our itineraries, inclusions, dates and prices displayed on this website may change at any time. If you book an itinerary today and have this confirmed it will be the itinerary that is delivered to you. However, the online itinerary on our website may change in the meantime.

As a Certified B Corporation, 50 Degrees North has designed this tour using handpicked local hoteliers and suppliers who share our ethos of delivering services and activities of high social and environmental standards.

The CO2-e per person per day of all tours is carefully measured following each season. We fully offset all emissions of our tours on your behalf, and we constantly look at ways to reduce emissions where possible.

Details

Transportation

By car - self drive.

Included
  • Accommodation in local coastal hotels with private facilities
  • Daily breakfast (6B)
  • Car hire 6 days; Economy,Manual,(Group B) ECMR
    Toyota Yaris or similar incl. free mileage, CDW and one way fee
  • 24-hour emergency service
  • Taxes and service fees
  • Other meals where specified
Not Included
  • Flights
  • Road tolls
  • Ferry crossings
  • Items of personal nature.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Oslo and drive to Fredrikstad

Head out of Oslo on the freeway to Fredrikstad. You will pass Norway's premier amusement park, 20 minutes down the road, TusenFryd. Fredrikstad's old town, Gamlebyen is one of Northern Europe’s best preserved fortified towns and was founded in 1567 by King Fredrik II. Fredrikstad is thriving with history, shops, galleries and cafés.

Your accommodation tonight is in the heart of this old town in a small, historic hotel. Small restaurants surround the hotel, head out for a wander and enjoy the peaceful setting of this old fort.

Accommodation
Gamlebyen Hotell
Historic choice

Day 2 - Explore Fredrikstad, a small historic town by the sea

Explore the old town, busy in summer with markets and visitors. If you are keen to explore the beaches of this area, drive down to the Hvaler islands, located just outside of Fredrikstad, the sunniest area in Norway. The islands are an incredibly popular holiday destination and you can go fishing, bathing, paddling, and sailing, sunbathing on polished granite rocks, dining in scenic surroundings, and explore the beautiful Ytre Hvaler National Park.

Just south of Fredrikstad, you can visit Halden, an idyllic small town nestled down by the Iddefjord, just on the border to Sweden. Above the town looms the mighty Fredriksten Fortress. The fortress is one of the most important attractions for tourists who visit Halden, and during the summer months almost 300,000 people come to see Fredriksten. It was constructed in the 17th century, and its walls, bastions, armaments, ammunition tower, dark secret passageways and museums tell the story of the town. The whole site is also lit by an impressive floodlighting.

Meals
1 Breakfast
Accommodation
Gamlebyen Hotell

Day 3 - Coastal drive - stop for seafood safaris and visit the 3,000-year-old Tanum rock carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage site

The west coast of Sweden is a good place to enjoy fresh seafood. The waters of the coast of Bohuslän is a veritable smorgasbord of different types of seafood and visitors can enjoy not only the end product but also the process of catching or fishing for seafood. Stop along the way today to join sea safaris or walk along piers.

If you wish, you can visit Koster Marine Park for a day. You can cycle on the car-free islands of the archipelago and/or paddle a sea kayak. Other activities in this pristine and unique environment include fishing, seal spotting trips, fishing for crabs, and beach combing. More than 6,000 sea creatures, including rare seabirds, brachiopods, sponge and coral larvae, live in the waters of this preserve, which is Sweden's first national marine park. The return boat trip leaves from Strömstad, close to Fredrikstad.

Shortly before you arrive into Fjällbacka, visit the 3,000-year-old Tanum rock carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage site. These Bronze Age petroglyphs, number in the thousands. About 600 panels are included in the UNESCO World Heritage site, once the coastline of a fiord thousands of years ago. Many of the glyphs show boats, humans with bows, spears or axes, rituals and hunting scenes.

Meals
1 Breakfast
Transportation
1.5 hrs direct drive in total
Accommodation
Fjällbacka boutique guest house

Day 4 - Day to explore Ingrid Bergman summer house town - boat trips, island hopping or explore Camilla Läckberg's novel locations

Love seafood - you can explore the islands today and be sure to enjoy the seafood stars of the region, when they are in season, locally caught lobsters, oysters and langoustine. The regulars are herring, cod, salmon and a big, fat prawn sandwich.

Love Swedish crime novels - check the schedules for Camilla Läckberg – Murder Mystery Tours. At times during the year, Camilla herself is actually the tour guide!

We suggest visiting some of the tiny villages such as Hamburgsund and Kungshamn, ideally by boat. Visit Ingrid Bergman's favourite island, Dannholmen.

We have some suggestions for longer stays in this area if you wish to stay in remote island accommodation, Weather Islands. Extended kayaking trips are also popular.

Meals
1 Breakfast

Day 5 - Stay at a floating pontoon hotel in a sleepy fishing isle, Klädesholmen

Continue your drive along the coast to your seaside hotel, Salt & Sill. Once a sleepy fishing isle and Sweden's largest herring producer, Klädesholmen is now home to your evening's accommodation, a Scandinavian-minimalist “boatel” floating on a pontoon, which means you can jump into the sea for a pre-dinner swim. Be sure to order the excellent pickled herring, paired here with Aquavit (the caraway compliments the smokiness of the fish).

If you plan your trip in spring, we suggest you change this itinerary to see some of the 26,500 cranes that gather each spring at Lake Hornborga. The lake is one of Europe’s most important bird lakes and is very close to your treetop hotel. If you do this, we can accommodate you 6.5 feet up in an old oak, so get ready for a night completely undisturbed with spectacular treetop views. Your breakfast gets hoisted up to you in the morning.

Depending on what you decide to do, you can visit the Volvo factory in Trollhättan or near Falköping, visit the Åsle Tå, Sweden’s largest collection of cottages and a unique historical environment from the 18th and 19th centuries. Visit an elk and bison park, you get the opportunity to closely meet the animals in a natural setting. Along the coast, add a boat tour or kayak adventure as today, there is little driving.

Meals
1 Breakfast
Accommodation
Salt and Sill seaside hotel

Day 6 - Drive to Gothenburg

After your treetop breakfast, drive a short distance into Gothenburg. If you are not ready for the big smoke, divert to Marstrand - a beautiful small coastal village 30 minutes from Gothenburg.

Gothenburg is the city where you can go shopping and visit a museum on the same day as you explore the car-free archipelago. The distances are short and public transport brings you from café-lined streets and sights to barren cliffs and deep forests. The city centre is shopping-friendly with lots of small independent shops as well as malls like Nordstan and Arkaden. You can also enjoy opera, theatre, concerts and an array of museums exploring everything from the local maritime history to arts and beyond.

Meals
1 Breakfast
Dates & Prices

All prices listed are per person, based on two people sharing a room. Prices are indicative due to the current uncertainty across Europe with increasing energy and volatile fuel costs.

Dates
Valid From
Valid To
From Price
Status
Accommodation
1 May 2024
30 Sep 2024
1 May 2024
30 Sep 2024
NZD 3,131
Available
Standard

Important Information

Driving in Sweden during the peak season (July - early August):

Europeans love driving in the Nordic Region and during the summer months, the more popular tourist roads becomes crowded with European vans. This can slow the roads down, as it can be difficult to pass these vans. Norwegian country roads are often quite narrow. Having said this, these roads are incredibly scenic and have lots of picnic & photo spots.

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