Stockholm to Trelleborg by bike
This is a great route if you want to see as much as you can while travelling through southern Sweden by bike. I really enjoyed this route, which is possible to cover in 10 days on a road bike (excluding some days of rest in between). It’s also doable if this is your first cycling holiday, as long as you’re not completely unfit and have done at least a few long-distance (90+ kilometres) daytrips before. Read more about my experiences of cycling this route here.
Day 1 – 81 km/50 miles
Stockholm > Trosa
Getting out of Stockholm takes a while. The first part of the day will therefore involve more navigating and less pretty views than the other days. I took a 10-minute ferry at Skanssundet to avoid having to cycle through more cities. The ferry doesn’t need to be booked in advance. This first day includes some minor hills, but nothing too steep.
Day 2 – 50 km/30 miles
Trosa > Nyköping
This is some very easy cycling that can be done in 2 hours. I decided to add some extra distance by doing a short loop around the island underneath Trosa, which is quite pretty but also looks like it’s a big holiday park.
Day 3 – 116 km/72 miles
Nyköping > Linköping
From Nyköping to the ferry at Skenås, the route went through a wooded area. I recommend cycling in a straight line down from Nyköping (crossing through Bränn-Ekeby) to get the nicest scenery. From Nävekvam, you ride parallel to the water until you reach the ferry. Norrköping is about halfway through the route, so it’s a perfect lunch stop. From there until Linköping, I mostly followed a car road. The views here aren’t as spectacular as during some of the other days, but it’s a pleasant ride that goes slightly uphill on the second half.
Day 4 – 91 km/57 miles
Linköping > Gränna
A lovely ride that again goes slightly uphill with a few noticable climbs. After Mjölby, the route gets more and more beautiful. Especially when following the lake down to Gränna from Ödeshög, you get to see stunning panoramas. Through the trees, you can already catch a glimpse of the lake every now and then as you climb the last hills before the trees open up on an amazing downhill road into Gränna.
Day 5 – 110 km/68 miles
Gränna > Ulricehamn
This lake-to-lake route is another good one. It has the most elevation, so it’s recommended to take some rest either the day before (as I did) or after. The first half of the route follows a car road, where you switch between cycling on the road and on a seperate cycle path leading into Jönköping. Jönköping is a perfect place to stop for lunch. If you’re bringing your own food, you can stop at the small beach next to the Liljeholmen neighbourhood to admire the Vättern lake from a different angle. Alternatively, go into the city to grab some lunch and snacks. After Jönköping, you can follow a motorway straight to Ulricehamn to avoid more hills, but I suggest going south past the Komosse swamps, which takes you through the forest for most of the second half of this day.
Day 6 – 43 km/27 miles
Ulricehamn > Borås
There’s a very nice cycle path around the south end of the Åsunden lake. After that, you’ll face a bit of a hill on a cycle path next to a car road, which for the last 10 km bends down into Borås.
Day 7 – 72 km/45 miles
Borås > Göteborg
It’s an easy ride into Göteborg, except for one climb at about 25 km into the route. You’ll pass by another bright blue lake, cycling on a car road once again. As you approach Göteborg, the surroundings will become more urbanised and you’ll have to follow a motorway into the city.
Day 8 – 128 km/80 miles
Göteborg > Falkenberg
This part couldn’t be any more relaxed in terms of navigation and hills (or rather, the lack thereof). Being close to the coast gave me a very nice tailwind. At the end of the day, I felt as if I could do another 126 km. I stayed in a B&B a little south of Falkenberg, so if you stop in town, it’s about 117 km from Göteborg.
Day 9 – 111 km/69 miles
Falkenberg > Ängelholm
Another fairy easy ride interrupted by a big hill at approximately 76 km into the route. As the cycle path twirls around the motorway for the first part, you don’t have a lot of flexibility to adapt the route, which meant we had to cycle on gravel roads sometimes. This did mean we were able to enjoy being surrounded by trees again, as the coastal area doesn’t have as many forests as the rest of Sweden.
Day 10 – 125 km/78 miles
Ängelholm > Trelleborg
The final day was again full of pretty sights. You can choose to cycle either via Malmö or Lund for a lunch stop. As I wanted to stay close to the coast after passing through Mälmo, I accidentally took a route that crossed grassy farmlands, which wasn’t the best on a road bike. It’s therefore probably better to try and go more inland via Oxie. Nevertheless, it’s worth taking a slight detour to approach Trelleborg from the side, along the sea.