The 10 most beautiful lakes in Sweden

adminonJune 19, 2023July 26, 2023Leave a Comment

The unique nature of Sweden was strongly influenced by the ice age, when mountains and hills were formed. Therefore it is still with over 96.000 lakes a very water rich country, which makes it so interesting for vacationers and especially families. The most beautiful lakes in Sweden impress with their clarity and idyllic location surrounded by dense virgin forests populated by moose and red deer. Anglers are happy about the rich fish stock. Most lakes in Sweden also have swimming spots on the shore or on deserted islands, where you can easily moor your canoe. Historical settlements and castles tell exciting stories about the individual regions.

Sweden – most beautiful lakes: Vanern

With an area of over 5.600km² the Vanern is the largest lake in Sweden. Its 2.000km long shoreline offers space for numerous discoveries. Popular activities include the typical archipelago cruises past countless islands, which sometimes present themselves as barren rocks and then again are overgrown with dense deciduous forest, and of course fishing. The fish-rich lake is home to trout, pike and pikeperch. The two canals that flow into the Vanern invite to extensive paddling tours. Typical Swedish cottages with their own jetty can be found along the shore everywhere. Little princes and princesses enjoy a trip to the fairy-tale castle of Lacko, which was built in the 13th century.The lake was built in the 18th century and later remodeled in baroque style. Today it serves as a perfect backdrop for opera performances and exhibitions.

Lake Vanern

At Vanern – the largest lake in Sweden

Sommen

Sommen is a lake in southern Sweden and attracts with an idyllic rural location. On its rugged shore you will find many bays where you can swim undisturbed with your children. You can enjoy a great view during an excursion by steamboat. Also recommended is a visit to Tranås on the western shore of the lake. Here a museum informs about the history of the former ''fur town.

Vattern

After Vanern, Vattern is the second largest lake in Sweden. Both are connected by the Gota Canal. On a kayak tour with the whole family you will discover dense forests, wide fields and picturesque places along the shore. This area is also ideal for hiking and biking. There is no shortage of secluded swimming and picnic spots around the lake. A historical sight nearby is the castle ruin Visingborg on the island Visingso.

Lake Vattern

Vattern near Karlsborg

Bolmen

In the southwest of the water-rich region of Småland is the Bolmen lake. On its shore many hiking and biking trails lead you through the dense forests. The largest island is Balmso, on its sandy beaches you can spend a relaxing day swimming. About 350 people live on the island. The fish-rich waters are also a paradise for anglers.

Malaren

The third largest lake in Sweden is located in the middle of romantic primeval forests. With a little luck, you and your children can even observe moose in their natural habitat on the shore of the lake. Another highlight at the Malaren is the Viking settlement Birka on the island Bjorko. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Not far away are the castles Gripsholm and Drottningholm. For a break from nature, take a trip to nearby Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

Lake Malaren

Resting place on the island Bjorko in the Malaren

Lake Rusken

With a maximum water depth of 21m, Lake Rusken in the province of Småland is home to numerous species of fish, anglers are attracted to the clear waters especially because of the rich walleye population. Its shores are characterized by dense primeval forests and are home to moose and ospreys.

Åsnen

A part of the asnen lake is specially protected as the youngest national park in Sweden. Its about 1.000 islands and numerous marshlands on the shore are home to ospreys, among others. The best way to glide between the islands is in a kayak. Some of them look like primeval forest, others are overgrown with deciduous forests. A 140km long cycle path leads partly on an old railroad embankment once around the lake. A great view over the islands of the lake promises the nature reserve Lunnabacken.

Lake Asnen

You can cycle around the lake

Lake Siljan

Lake Siljan is the sixth largest lake in Sweden and is connected to Lake Orsa in the north by a channel. Typical are the long church boats, with which competitions are held in the summer, attracting a large audience. Unlike the waters mentioned so far, there are hardly any islands in Lake Sijan and its water is too cold for swimming most of the year. For this you find for example in Siljansnas a rental of kayaks and motorboats.

Hjalmaren

The 477km² large lake Hjalmaren in central Sweden is embedded in a pristine landscape with a rich flora and fauna. Moose, otters and deer are at home in this natural paradise. The largest of the approx 1.300 islands is Vinon, where you can hike, swim and also eat well. On a peninsula lies orebro Castle in the town of the same name. Even older rune stones and tumuli tell families on discovery tours about the long settlement history of the region.

Lake Hjalmaren

Nature Paradise: Hjalmaren in Central Sweden

Sweep

The 24km² large lake Fegen is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve in the province of Halland, where more than 90 bird species live. It is a paradise for canoeing, swimming and cycling and mostly surrounded by deep spruce forests with marshy ground. For their own personal adventure in the wilderness, families can rent campsites on the shore or on the numerous islands in the lake.

With the help of our rental car, camper, motorhome and 4WD price comparison you will not only save a lot of time, but also a lot of money! Through our partner agencies you can choose from many different models from the most popular car rental companies and book at the best price!

Whether car, camper, motorhome, 4WD & station wagon, in our search you will find what you are looking for. If you need assistance with your booking or would like to receive further information, please feel free to contact us via our inquiry form (see below).

Note: Due to the very high demand – especially in the peak travel seasons – there can always be shortages, which affect especially the popular camper and motorhome models. Therefore, the earlier you book, the higher the likelihood that your desired vehicle will be available on your selected date!

Quick check: Cheap cars from popular providers

If you want to explore Australia in a normal car, you will find all imaginable models here – at low prices and excellent conditions. It pays to rummage!

Important info & helpful tips

Car Hire Sydney

On the subject of "car rental Sydney" there is a lot of interesting, but also some really important information that you should know regarding your vacation planning and implementation in the capital of New South Wales. Already the view during the approach to the airport of Sydney characterizes the Australian world metropolis excellently. The runway, which is about nine kilometers south of the city center, juts out into a bay. A few kilometers from the skyscrapers of the business district, the Pacific coast with its wide strips of beach sand is visible. The airport is located about 15 kilometers south of the distinctive Harbour Bridge.

Car Rental

On the tarmac, it is easy to see that this is the start of a geographic region that is less well known in Europe. Airplanes carry emblems and names like Air Tahiti Nui, Air Vanuatu, Fiji Airways, Sichuan Airlines or Virgin Samoa. Flights from Europe land mostly at Terminal 1 and arrive in the afternoon or evening. If you have booked your rental car to be picked up in the city, you can find detailed information about the airport, which is well connected to the public transport network, at TransportNSW. Directly to the left of exit A from the baggage claim area are the counters of the four international car rental companies Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz as well as the two Australian providers Redspot and Thrifty. From exit B it is about a hundred meters to the right. The toll booths are usually open between six in the morning and midnight. Every renter should make sure that the landlord is waiting for times outside of eight o'clock in the morning until twenty o'clock in the evening.

Road & Tunnel Toll

Sydney Harbour Bridge

In major Australian cities, some roads are subject to tolls. This also applies in Sydney to several roads leading from the airport into the city. Since the system is operated with electronic scanning devices at the roadside, unknowingly "driving into" it can be more expensive. Several toll companies offer online registration of the rental car. Every renter should check with the landlord in advance or develop a plan to avoid the toll routes.

In Sydney, the toll roads run in a ring around the inner city districts. Sydney's large spread in area creates a total ring length of over one hundred kilometers. On the eastern flank, both the airport and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are connected to the ring road. While the toll can be bypassed from the airport, the Harbour Bridge and adjacent tunnel cannot be bypassed. From the airport, Southern Cross Drive leads to the city center.

Parking situation in the city

About a third more residents than in Berlin are spread over twice the city area in Sydney. Basically, it is advisable to park outside the popular and popular parts of the city. The area from the business district and Darling Harbour eastward to the Pacific coast and Bondi Beach offer only expensive parking options. Outside of this region, free parking is available almost throughout the city area, although the local situation can vary greatly depending on the time of day and day of the week.

In & around Sydney: car, camper, motorhome or 4WD?

Campervan

What type of rental car is best for my stay in and around Sydney? Of course, this question can only be answered if you already know approximately what you absolutely want to see and what the focus of your trip will be on. If you want to stay mainly in the city and visit only a few highlights in the surrounding area, a normal car is sufficient, because the roads, for example, in the Blue Mountains or in the Hunter Valley are easy to drive without 4WD. A rental car with four-wheel drive is really only needed when driving into the remote outback inland or to visit some national parks that are difficult to access. Renting a motorhome or campervan from Sydney, on the other hand, is very popular with many travelers, as they start their trip from the Australian metropolis. Especially popular are tours with the campervan or motorhome, which lead along the beautiful east coast in the direction of Cairns. But the much more sparsely populated west coast is also very popular among adventurous travelers.

Note: Driving a campervan or motorhome in Sydney is not a big problem, but most of the parking lots have a limit for higher vehicles, which is why you usually have to find a parking place outside the CBD with your rented camper or motorhome.

Recommendations: Excursions by rental car from Sydney

In the following, we would like to list a few interesting recommendations regarding well-known as well as still quite unknown sights that can be reached relatively quickly with a rental car from Sydney:

Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House

Sydney Opera House

If you want to visit and see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, you should get around on foot and by public transport. The rented car can be parked for example well in the districts Camperdown or Marrickville situated to the east of the city center. Basically, the closer you get to the water of Port Jackson flowing through town, the more limited the parking situation becomes. Even if with a lot of luck a parking place is found, in the central city area the risk of damaging the rental car should not be neglected.

Bondi Beach & Manly Beach

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach, world famous at least since the Olympic Games 2000, can be reached by rental car. Parking is very expensive and therefore it is worthwhile to stay only a relatively short time for sightseeing. Permanent parking is not recommended and in many cases not allowed. If you want to surf here, you should unload your gear and come back by streetcar after finding a parking space.

The beach favored by Australians is Manly Beach in the north of the city. With a detour of about half an hour drive, the north can be reached toll-free via the A40 motorway. Manly Beach is the southernmost point of a stretch of coastline that stretches about twenty kilometers north to Palm Beach. Here you can find one dream stand after the other and for every taste you will find the right spot.

Northern districts

Port Jackson

The neighborhoods north of the Harbour Bridge are often reminiscent of the appearance of U.S. suburbs. Broad streets and almost exclusively one- to two-story houses, both brick and wood, convey the charm of middle-class life. At first sight boring looking residential areas hold authentic impressions and moments of the life of the Australian population in corner stores, bars and restaurants. The shore regions at Port Jackson should be approached according to your personal feeling of safety and should be avoided from dusk and in the dark.

Southern neighborhoods

The southwestern region of Sydney is the most urbanized area of the entire city. Here you have to expect occasional heavy traffic, reminiscent of big European cities. The further east the southern districts are located, the looser the development becomes. For a particularly varied impression of Sydney, visit the districts of Liverpool with Warwick Farm, Hoxton and the hills of Padstow. A Vietnamese-style equivalent of Chinatown, located close to the city center, can be found in Cabramatta, some thirty kilometers to the west.

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains National Park

In the east Sydney borders directly on the nature reserve and world natural heritage Blue Mountains. Even if Sydney is only one stop of your stay in Australia, a visit to the Blue Mountains should definitely be planned. Due to the geographical proximity, a day trip is no problem either. The Great Western Highway towards Katoomba approaches the park area, and along the way you'll find several places to park your rental car – whether it's a car, 4WD, motorhome or campervan. If you want to visit the famous Three Sisters rock formation, drive through to Katoomba, about sixty kilometers from Sydney. The Three Sisters are a fifteen minute walk from Katoomba.

Non-binding inquiry

Are you interested in renting a car in Sydney? Whether it's a car, campervan, motorhome or 4WD, the staff at our partner travel agency will be happy to help you locate the right vehicle for your Australian vacation and assist you with your booking.

New Zealand - victim of its fame

Lonely bays with endless white beaches, surrounded by untouched rainforests, where the echo of freedom resounds. Cliff landscapes that glow pastel in the glow of the rising sun are home to breathtaking rock formations, staged by Mother Nature. Endless evergreen fjords rising majestically from the Pacific Ocean, next to stunning glaciers whose sparkle makes the world shine in a new light… – that's exactly the New Zealand I wanted to discover.

My trip through New Zealand

I have been traveling through the country for almost three months now and have not regretted my decision to take a break on the other side of the world for a single day. No guidebook in the world can do justice to the beauty of nature when you discover it for yourself, and nothing and no one can quite prepare you for being on your own in a foreign country. Leaving your comfort zone and going above and beyond is worth every moment.

I got the opportunity to write a guest post for this blog, which I gratefully accept (thanks to Johanna again, at this point!) – not because I have the hottest Work & Travel tips, but because I want to share a concern with you this way.

Like probably many of you in the past and hopefully many more of you in the future, I'm traveling New Zealand on the working holiday visa. I stay mostly at campgrounds and hostels, occasionally at Holiday Parks (i.e. campgrounds with the amenities of a hostel, such as kitchen, shower, etc.).

New Zealand is the perfect travel destination

New Zealand is my personal number one in terms of infrastructure for travelers. Although the areas are sometimes sparsely populated, there is never a shortage of public restrooms, places to stay, information centers, and everything you need for a stress-free trip if you prepare a bit (food, gas, etc.).

The Department of Conservation (DOC), New Zealand's public service responsible for preserving nature and cultural heritage, as well as the individual districts on both islands, do a great job of providing information and public facilities for us "low budget tourists". So all in all: the perfect place to make your dream of a year abroad/time off, on perhaps the most beautiful spot on earth, come true.

My concern

As I said before, I am not writing this post to tell you about the beauty of the island and all its advantages, others have already done that before me and there is nothing to add to that. 🙂 Here comes my BUT and big request, to all travelers and those who will be:

I have hardly ever been to a campsite or hostel where I have not witnessed disrespect or. I have become ignorant of other travelers. It is embarrassing to see how many tourists ride the "after me, the flood" wave. Even though the country still offers a lot of freedoms, unlike many other places in this world – there are rules here too. And there are for good reason, because New Zealand's fame as a backpacker's paradise, takes its toll. While tourism significantly boosts the country, we also contribute in a big way to not using limited resources responsibly and not leaving nature as we found it.

Forget the manners at home

No wonder we don't go unnoticed, with more people visiting each year than New Zealand has locals. Unfortunately, tourists seem to tend to leave their manners at home. What you would never do "at home" seems for some reason when traveling o.k. to be. Although not every rule seems logical and some may even seem unnecessary: Please respect them as you would at home (for some specific and very illustrative examples, please scroll to the very end).

Because the ignorance of many has consequences that spiral downward: Instead of self-responsibility, there will be more rules and stricter controls, more cuts in the freedom to travel and fewer opportunities to discover the country on your own. Even the famous friendliness of the Kiwi Guy has (understandably) its limits, after one or two negative experiences with travelers who behave as if they were alone in the world.

In the most popular travel/camping apps for New Zealand, there are unfortunately already many negative entries and comments, which undoubtedly and by name refer to European tourists, mainly backpackers..

My request to you

Please, dear fellow travelers and future explorers, set a good example: be respectful and responsible towards nature, your fellow travelers and the people who live here, so that many generations after us will have the opportunity to discover this great country. If we behave as if we were guests of friends, we will be welcomed accordingly. So basically: very simple! 🙂

I'd like to close this post with a quote whose origin I couldn't clearly pinpoint, but which you might encounter from time to time on your travels:

Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time

"Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time."

Thank you for taking the time to read the post – I wish us all continued and future great adventures, unique experiences and safe travels!

Examples

Many campgrounds (especially very inexpensive or even free) do not have trash cans on site. They are often remote and removal would be disproportionately expensive. Please take your trash back with you and dispose of it at the nearest public trash can or one of the many "garbage stations". This is not only good for the environment, but also for the campers who are on this site after you.

Wildlife/Nature:

With a little luck and patience you can still observe a variety of wild animals in their natural environment in New Zealand. This is great and very special, especially because there are no cages and fences blocking the view. But please: respect the animals and keep enough distance to not disturb them. They do not need any petting and also no food from us. These animals are in their natural habitat and are not there for us to take an extravagant selfie… For example, some beaches can only be visited at certain times of the day or year to avoid disturbing the breeding and a minimum distance is always requested to protect the animals.

Kea - Nature and Wildlife in New Zealand

Toilets

For travelers on the trail, free public restrooms aren't hard to find, and every public campground has at least one. However, if you do find yourself in an area without access to a restroom, here is a hygiene guide to protect people and the environment: www.doc.govt.nz

Camping/accommodation fees

Many overnight accommodations operate on a trust basis with self-registration, remote campgrounds, sometimes Holiday Parks and hostels out of "opening hours", resp. when no one is at the reception. You pay for example at campgrounds to an "Honesty"-Box, or in Holiday Parks also the next morning, when the reception is manned again. Some places are inspected daily, or randomly, others are not. But whether controlled or not, please pay your dues. Out of fairness and respect for others (who have paid) and to maintain the system, which actually works wonderfully and gives you the freedom not to be bound to certain check-in times.

Campfire

Open fires are not allowed in many places (beach/camping) because of the fire hazard. It is often very windy and the risk of a spread should not be underestimated. If you don't want to miss out on the "romantic campfire" experience in New Zealand: There are specially designated places/campgrounds where campfires are allowed!

Order/Cleanliness/Night Rest

No matter where you stay or use public facilities, no one is happy to have to clean up after someone else or find common areas "messy". No issue if we leave everything as we found it (or better :)) and show a little consideration for our fellow humans.