# Swedish sb/travel tips?...for a couple of years from now



## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

I'm not sure you're going to get a lot of Swedish culture at a ski-resort. I suppose it depends a little when you go, but Åre is mostly about skiing and partying to my knowledge. Åre is for sure the largest resort in Sweden. There are many different places to go and it all depends on what you want. If you go to Stockholm, having snow is certainly not assured. 

What are your thoughts about social life outside of snowboarding? There are plenty of smaller resorts that could fit your bill, but not all are easily accessible. Are you going to travel alone or are you bringing friends/family with you?


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## MassSnowboarder (Mar 3, 2015)

Snowdaddy said:


> I'm not sure you're going to get a lot of Swedish culture at a ski-resort. I suppose it depends a little when you go, but Åre is mostly about skiing and partying to my knowledge. Åre is for sure the largest resort in Sweden. There are many different places to go and it all depends on what you want. If you go to Stockholm, having snow is certainly not assured.
> 
> What are your thoughts about social life outside of snowboarding? There are plenty of smaller resorts that could fit your bill, but not all are easily accessible. Are you going to travel alone or are you bringing friends/family with you?


I would be traveling by myself, and it would be my first trip to Sweden, ever. I'd like to go someplace that's scenic, with a friendly, easy-going atmosphere, and accessible. Probably someplace where I could say "hi" to folks here and there, maybe chat informally a bit, get a decent meal without stuffing myself, but at the end of the day I'd probably curl up by myself in my hotel/motel room and reminisce about my day of snowboarding before drifting off to sleep for the night.

At home in Massachusetts, USA, I like local resorts with a fun but relaxed family vibe, even though I am single. Away from home, I have been to Tremblant in Québec, Canada, which is probably Québec's equivalent of Åre. But I've also enjoyed going to more low-key ski areas in Québec as well, either driving myself from home, or going on a bus trip as part of a group. In Sweden, though, I'd probably want to go by public transit, if possible, because I've never driven anywhere other than the Northeast US and Southern Québec, and other than seeing Stockholm, Åre, Riksgransen, and a few Swedish cities other than Stockholm on the map, I really don't know my way around the country.

Also, if I do go, I might visit around February/March, depending on weather, amount of daylight and snow conditions...I've heard Sweden is really cold in December & January, with late sunrises and early sunsets, more so than in the Northeast US.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Would you be fine with staying at a hotel with little else to do but snowboarding or hang around the hotel bar/restaurant? Lots of places have activities where you can do things like going to on tours in snowcats to distant waffle houses or more fancy restaurants at the top/peak of the resort.

Places that comes to mind would be Sälen and Åre with the easiest access. With a little bit of transfer you could get yourself to places like Ramundberget or Riksgränsen. Take into account that lots of places don't really have anything else but the skiing/snowboarding. People rent cabins and aren't really being that sociable at night.

If you're only going to go to Sweden once. Maybe you should consider going first to Stockholm and spend a few days there and then take a flight up to Kiruna and buss transfer to Riksgränsen. From Kiruna you also have the possibility to go here: How to get here obviously not snowboarding, but maybe something you would be interested in.


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## MassSnowboarder (Mar 3, 2015)

@Snowdaddy : Thanks so much for your feedback. I'll need some time to check over your suggestions and consider my options...but since I'm not planning on going right away, I'll have time.

I do have a couple of questions, though...

1). It looks like the lower-mountain green pistes at Sälen might be just right for me. Riksgränsen sounds dreamy--I remember seeing magazine photos of Terje, Daniel Franck, and Todd Richards up there back in the 1990s--but I question whether the green trails there might be more difficult up there than a green piste at someplace like Sälen. I wouldn't want to make the long trek to Riksgränsen and then discover I'd be in over my head, even on a green.

2). Is Sweden planning on eliminating cash in the near future? I read online a few months back that Sweden was moving toward eliminating all paper and coin currency by 2023, and accepting payments by credit or debit card, or by smartphone or an electronic chip, only. I'm concerned about this possibility because, in my travels, I generally like to pay with cash.

Your thought about spending one week in Stockholm and then heading up to a ski area further north to snowboard also appeals to me. Again, considering difficulty of trails, expense, etc., it would then be a question which resort.

Thanks again!


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## kieloa (Sep 20, 2019)

MassSnowboarder said:


> @Snowdaddy :
> 2). Is Sweden planning on eliminating cash in the near future? I read online a few months back that Sweden was moving toward eliminating all paper and coin currency by 2023, and accepting payments by credit or debit card, or by smartphone or an electronic chip, only. I'm concerned about this possibility because, in my travels, I generally like to pay with cash.


I understand preferring cash over card when travelling for safety reasons (holding little amount of cash with you, no card frauds etc.). But Scandinavia is a REALLY safe place to travel.
But I'm sorry, I don't have any tips for snowboarding in Sweden. I have only been in Svanstein/Pullinki, I like the atmosphere and you can spot absolute legends there.  But I think it's too difficult for you to travel there and there's no good hotels near the hill.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

MassSnowboarder said:


> @Snowdaddy : Thanks so much for your feedback. I'll need some time to check over your suggestions and consider my options...but since I'm not planning on going right away, I'll have time.
> 
> I do have a couple of questions, though...
> 
> ...


I don't really have any input on the cash thing. I use debit/credit cards and a phone app called Swish. Very seldom carry cash.

Sälen is OK. Nothing wrong with that place and you can do your trip outside the school holidays to lessen the crowds. The place called Lindvallen has a great hotel called Bügelhof Hotel Bügelhof i Sälen that I have found very nice. There are also cabins to rent. For a more scenic place you could pick Sälen Högfjället Book your ski trip/skiing holiday to Högfjället in Sälen - SkiStar.com

There are other places in Sälen (Like Hundfjället), but I think Lindvallen is the busiest place and probably the most social place to go. I have never been to Högfjället, but I drove past it and it looks nice.

There are many small resorts in Sweden but they're not very accessible from an international point of view. Your best bet is probably Sälen or Åre/Duved.

Personally I like Funäsfjällen/Ramundberget a lot. I haven't been to Riksgränsen in a long while and would really like to go back there. Riksgränsen/Abisko is a very scenic place both in the summer and winter time.


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

Can start in Luleå and get Gällivare, Kiruna and Riksgränsen, they have snowmobiles and heliskiing too on the swedish side, while ending up in Narvik in Norway. All by railroad. Could even get Lyngen or Lofoten while you're at it.


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