Ehi! Sono un australiano che attualmente vive in Danimarca e sto programmando di fare un viaggio attraverso la Svezia meridionale con la famiglia il prossimo marzo (più o meno come raffigurato, costa fino a Stoccolma e poi nell’entroterra di nuovo a Malmö). Siamo un po’ preoccupati che questa possa essere un’idea poco sicura, dato che come australiani non abbiamo familiarità con la guida su neve e ghiaccio, e temiamo che sia ciò che dovremo affrontare sulle strade svedesi a marzo.
La nostra auto a noleggio avrà pneumatici invernali (come richiesto dalla legge) e sarà probabilmente una trazione integrale o 4 ruote motrici. Gli autisti hanno un po’ di neve/ghiaccio guidando dalle cime delle montagne in Australia, ma non molto.
Potremmo avere una prospettiva svedese su cosa aspettarci e se questa sia una cattiva idea o no?
https://i.redd.it/1ma3lfag961g1.png
di Elite_Longbowman
38 commenti
As long as you have winter tires you will be fine. AWD definitely isn’t required, just nice to have. And since you will only be driving in the southern parts of the country, there might not be any snow at all for any part of the trip.
Statistics say that it will be grey slushy and not spring yet it will mostly barring any snow storms bare ground and rather grey weather.
Should be fine in March, dont expect santas winter Wonderland in the south at that time. At most some slush / rain wind and frost.
As long as you have winter tires on the car it should be fine. Remember to adapt the speed to the road conditions. Drive safely and welcome to Sweden!
Studded tires are a must. AWD or 4WD is not needed. But un-studded tires on a car you aren’t familiar with, in a country you aren’t familiar with is borderline retarded.
March is probably aswell kinda dark so don’t expect to see much other than darkness.
Stick to big roads and it’s very safe. You might have no snow and you might see a winter wonderland
I would recomend jönköping up, göteborg down. After Kalmar the road to Sthlm is very boring imo. But I have a bias to cities. Very nice trip either way
Looks like you plan to follow roads, risk of snow is low and 4wd or similar won’t be needed. You could even go all the way up north and likely have little to no snow on the roads.
There might be some ice, but even that is unlikely on the bigger roads.
You probably won’t even see snow for most of the trip.
If it’s not actively snowing, all the roads you’ll drive on will be cleared and salted. With winter tyres you’d be fine in any car.
I have use for 4wd maybe once a year, which is usually in the beginning of the season when the “surprise” (come on, you got 10 days warning) snow happens and the snow isn’t handled.
With your current plan, you pass very near to Uppsala, but choose to skip it. It is one of Sweden’s largest cities with a lot of history and a lively city center as it is Sweden’s foremost student city. Consider paying it a visit.
If you’re into Viking history at all, Uppsala (and specifically Gamla Uppsala) was a very important place to which Vikings made pilgrimages every seven years. Some say that the holy tree Yggdrasil grew in Gamla Uppsala.
Include Uppsala as well, otherwise looks good. Roads will be fine with winter tires, mostly wet / slushy. No need for 4wd, personally I prefer a suv for driving experience on long trips.
Hi mate! It’s not a big deal really. Just go slow in the corners and keep a healthy safety distance for braking. Modern cars have ABS and stability control etc so you have a lot of safety nets.
We don’t have mountain ranges like in the alps so driving here in the winter with good tires isn’t really a problem. Our road crews are typically pretty on the ball in terms of plowing the roads if it starts snowing.
Your loop is a little weird. If I have time I’d personally rather swing by Gothenburg instead of going through Jönköping.
So I’d do E to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to G.
You can also do the ferry Helsinborg-Helsingör instead of going over the Öresundsbridge twice.
Apart from the obvious Stockholm and Gothenburg make sure to strech your legs in Kalmar and Karlskrona, some nice towns on the lower east coast.
No thoughts on the whole winter driving thing, but I’ll just say that the F-leg of the trip is boring AF. It’s the E4 highway, and not very scenic, except some parts just north of Jönköping along the Vättern coast.
If you have the time, I’d recommend you going between the lakes instead, passing through
* Örebro
* Mariestad
* Skövde
* Gislaved
* Halmstad
And then reconnect on the E6 as shown, down to CPH.
I took that route going down from Dalarna this summer, and I much prefer it to the highway.
What do you value and want to see?
In terms of landscapes I would skip the east coast which is very forgettable and desolate before Stockholm and instead follow the west coast which has more to offer and way better roads. ~~You dont want to miss Bohuslän. If you do insist on the east coast you have to follow Skånes coast through Österlen which is one of the most unique landscapes we have~~. Going E4 north of Jönköping will give you a very pleasant view.
Edit: I missed the part about March. Maybe the wrong time to see Bohuslän and Österlen. Still would opt for the west coast. Why do you do this in March? Could be a tedious time to be on the roads. Do you have the option to at least wait for April?
Expect rain and possibly slush, not snow
I would really recommend crossing over the Öland Bridge to Öland as well (from the city of Kalmar, just off to the right of the B-icon). It really is a marvellous place and with a landscape unlike anything in Sweden.
Thanks everyone for the feedback, glad to hear that it’s not going to be a problem!
Regarding the itinerary, I was just putting places in to get the rough shape of the travel as the actual plan is a bit more intricate, but I’ll pass the feedback into the trip planners so they can make sure we do what makes the most sense!
Just want to give you some advice to go through Mariannelund/Lönneberga when traveling the east coast just to see the Astrid Lindgren environments.
Sounds like lots of fun! Drive safe, there is no harm in driving below the speed limit if roads are slippery
You’re going on wide well-maintained roads at the end of winter or possibly even in spring. Pretty much every road on your map is a 4 lane or more highway, except one bit. E20, E22, E4, E18, riksväg 50, E4, E6. The one riksväg 50 bit is 2+2 or 2+1 lanes all the way except one 15 minute bit.
Why do you think you need a 4WD? You’re going to be driving on what hundreds of thousands of people use for daily commuting through densly populated areas, where even if it snows those roads are all priority one for plowing. It’s not some perilous outback expedition. If I saw the map my first thought would be “some technician has a boring list of jobs this week”, not “this person needs a 4WD”.
> We’re a little concerned that this might be an unsafe idea though
Your biggest risk is being stuck in daily commute traffic jams.
I would drive along the west coast up to Gothenburg and then drive north east, if you drive through the south Swedish highlands there’s a higher risk for snow and ice because of the higher elevation. If you hug the west coast then drive between the big lakes between Gothenburg and Stockholm you should be fine. Of course anything can happen but most likely there won’t be snow or ice.
You should make time to drive to Uppsala aswell so you can see the tomb of Gustav Vasa, who united Sweden against the danish oppression and formed the foundations for our government and country.
Then I agree with mentions of Bohuslän and Österlen, which are beautiful places. Also I hope that you return to see the majesty that is northern sweden and its beautiful mountains. Stockholm is beautiful, but its merely a tiny sliver of our beautiful country.
The stretch F to E is really touristy. It is really nice but I would recommend go by coast from G to Gothenburg, stop by varberg nad/or Falkenberg, then head north with a stop at Tjolö slott, then Gothenburg and from Gothenburg to like Lyskekil. Then drive from there, north of Vänern to Karlstad (and its surrounding) and then go inland towards Uppsala or Stockholm.
If you check like STF ([Startpage – Swedish Tourist Association](https://www.swedishtouristassociation.com/)) you can find different accommodations that are cheap and more “Swedish”
Take advantage of like; [Events in Dalsland](https://www.vastsverige.com/en/dalsland/events/?_gl=1*s6hz9e*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDY4OTY2MTM1LjE3NjMxMDY2MjM.*_ga_BNNDT5ZD9K*czE3NjMxMDY2MjAkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjMxMDY2MjAkajYwJGwwJGgw*_ga_K841PH0HXR*czE3NjMxMDY2MjAkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjMxMDY2MjAkajYwJGwwJGgw), [Experience West Sweden & Gothenburg](https://www.vastsverige.com/en/?_gl=1*1wqu9e0*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDY4OTY2MTM1LjE3NjMxMDY2MjM.*_ga_BNNDT5ZD9K*czE3NjMxMDY2MjAkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjMxMDY2NDEkajM5JGwwJGgw*_ga_K841PH0HXR*czE3NjMxMDY2MjAkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjMxMDY2NDEkajM5JGwwJGgw) (just google “vad händer i NAME-OF-PLACE” and you´ll find information)
If you keep to the bigger/normal roads you´ll be fine. They will be salted and plowed. If you have anight where there is ton of snow (unlikely) just wait until they plowed it. But honestly, you need to go further up in to north of Vänern to really get some snow, below it won’t be that much of a problem.
As long as you have winter tires you dont need A/4WD. Every winter i drive a few times up to north Jämtland (from Stockholm) to drive snowmobile. Never been an issue with my FWD kia. Just keep distance and avoid hard braking and acceleration if its slippery.
However in march the weather is more spring than winter.
Its a great idea, you will be alright. Just don’t drive to fast and do unnecessary overtakes on snowy roads.
Skip G
you should be fine by march the snow and ice typically melts away (at least these last couple of years) and it’s not really required to have AWD or 4WD but i wouldn’t recommend BWD but FWD would probably work just fine
E22 is the most boring road ever. Some of the small towns are ok along that way though like Västervik and Kalmar is somewhat OK i guess but that road is a mental challenge holy shit i dislike that road….
Please clean your car by the border to ensure the Danish bacteria stays on the right side of the border.
I would expect boring weather that time of year. No snow but cold.
The road up to Jönköping is very boring with no scenery.
Regarding safety it depends on the weather on those particular days. With bad weather, trucks can get stuck on the big roads.
Also that time of year it can shift from plus to minus, causing slippery roads.
If there will be heavy snowfall or strong winds you might need to wait out the weather.
Good winter tyres is a must.
Looks like you will be travelling mostly main roads so should be ok.
The only area that could be problematic if there is a snow storm, is the north east of Skåne. If there is not, you should be good, but please be ready to adapt the speed. You might on the smaller roads not be able to go as fast. There will be trouble areas, don’t get lured into changing lanes if there is snow build up, and if you need to it’s just like with your bike, don’t turn to much while in the snow. Breaking in it might lock up the tires without effect (you’ll glide on top) so breaking by just releasing the speeder is a good trick, which means you need much larger distance to car in front than you might think. (So changing lanes will be slow, kind of inching over instead of turning over like we would with clear roads).
If the roads looks clear but blacker than normal, test if it’s ice or water. Easiest test it wiggling the steering wheel while not accelerating, if the car does not respond at all but keep going straight, there is black ice, which means you need to slow down, and be careful with turns, breaking, keeping your distance etc.
But the trip will be fun! If you rent a car in Dk it will have friction tires, not dubbed ones. That will be sufficient with the area you expect to cover, and as mentioned in the start, most of the roads are big. Get cleared and salted/sanded and should be good to drive on without any problems. The tips above are mostly for smaller roads, or if it is snowing, has been thawing and then freezing etc. 🙂
I don’t think you need to worry much about driving conditions, but you chose a very boring time of year to visit.. march is like the greyest, most depressing month of the year.. wait til april and you’ll get some spring brightness instead
Weather can vary a lot during this period. The risk is that there isn’t even any snow.
If you have no snow on the road but degrees close to freezing or below, you have to stay somewhat vigilant of ice etc. Don’t overthink this too much, but be aware when driving over a bridge or similar.
In this case can generally drive normally, just keep distance, drive defensively and so on.
If there is snow visible snow (or ice) on the road you need to understand that breaking distances risks being longer. As such you should keep your distance and just use normal driving common sense. But this will generally be fine, use your brain and you’ll be fine.
However, there are situations you should watch out for. If there is a weather warning in the area you should not drive. Not during yellow warning level and absolutely not during red warning level.
If you for some reason get caught out in a snow storm (you’d have to be rather unlucky but it does happen) or otherwise very bad weather in winter conditions. This is dangerous. Visibility can be very low and the roads can get very slippery. Due to accidents you can suddenly encounter stationary vehicles at high speed roads and so on. If these are the conditions you must drive far slower than the speed limit, even on highways. The speed you can go depends on how far you can see and your braking distance. Ergo, you should be able to stop within the area you can see. In these conditions this could mean that you have to drive very slowly even on a highway.
But then there are the idiots behind you that might not be as smart. And the risk crashing into you. You should try to use fog lights, but sometimes that can reflect on the snow falling and blind you a bit. So it depends. But generally you will want to be as visible as possible for vehicles behind you.
Due to the potentially high amount of accidents you also run the risk of getting stuck in queues and so on and so forth. These are not conditions you should drive in, especially if you are not used to driving in winter conditions.
Anyway, it’s not very likely you get into this situation. So no need to worry. It’s just about common sense and understanding that it is better to come home one day later, even if it means that you miss a day of work, than taking stupid risks.
Put the F on Gothenburg for better roads
march should be fine. spring is here then, but of course there could be setbacks.. keep calm, drive safe. you will survive
March is kind of boring for a roadtrip in southern Sweden. You just drive thru a grey depressing forest. Maybe add the south east corner to spice things up a bit. It is nicer at the coast in my opinion. The town Ystad is nice and Ales Stenar (The stonehedge of Sweden) a little bit to the east in Kåseberga. The beaches at Sandhammaren, Vik or Stenshuvud. Add a detour to Öland and the dramatic landscape out there (The bridge is free of charge)
I would also drive to Göteborg and than do detours to the smaller towns on the west coast like Varberg and Falkenberg on your way back. Båstad and the nature at Hovs Hallar. Mölle and the strange driftwood construction Nimis is also nice.
Ok, I love the ocean, but it makes more sense 🙂
I would choose unstudded winter tires. Not allyear, they are pretty useless. Follow big roads and ice is not really a problem.
Eww skip A
You’re getting some advice to skip the east coast and as a Kalmar resident I just wanted to provide some counter arguments. Kalmar is a nice city, and you have Öland just across the bridge. The road north of Kalmar is indeed boring, but I’d say make a stop and check out Norrköping and especially the old industrial town center which is both beautiful and booming. Bunch of nice stuff to do there, let me know if you want specifics.
And of course, yes, Kalmar and Öland are best in the summer or fall. In March your impressions might vary, but that’s true for most of Sweden to be honest. Good luck!