Easter Road Trip to Southern Sweden

What to do during the Easter weekend? That is a constant question for us. It is a weekend where we usually try to travel. Susann and I actually spent our first Easter together in Belgrade together with another close Finnish friend. The weekend has since included several trips. In 2023 we joined Susann’s parents on a Road Trip to eastern Finland. Som in 2024 we looked forward to a new road trip with Susann’s parents and their motor home. This time we spent thelong weekend in Sweden as we drove south with our target set on Ystad. It was time to start our Easter road trip.

Driving South to Söderköping

We left Vagnhärad on Friday morning heading south along what can be considered the more scenic route. After Nyköping we left the motorway and took the smaller roads towards Söderköping. This included the car ferry across the bay Bråviken, with some nice morning views across the water.

We have been to Söderköping in the past. This is a picturesque town next to the famous Göta Kanal. We made a short stop here to enjoy the view this cold March day. It was a good time to stretch our legs, but Söderköping is a place that comes to life during the summer. Now it was a sleepy small town with empty streets.

Read more about Söderköping here: Söderköping, Östergötland | Exploring Sweden

Lunch in Västervik

We soon continued to Västervik, a town along the Baltic Sea coast and a summer destination for many Swedes. The sun was finally shining and the dream of the upcoming spring was kept alive. Our drive south had reached lunch time. Yes, we were hungry and what is better than stopping in a town with plenty of options? At least a lot better than stopping for fast food along the main roads.

We ended up at a tapas restaurant and made the usual mistake. We ate too much. What followed was a longer, but slower, walk along the harbor of Västervik. We did our best to enjoy the nice weather, something that we would be in limited supply going forward.

Read more about Västervik here: Västervik, Småland | Exploring Sweden

Sleeping in Ronnebyhamn

We had barely left Västervik before the rain started to fall. Once we reached Kalmar, where we had planned to stay for the evening and night, the weather was not as good as we would have liked. That meant that we actually decided to continue driving through the evening, instead of doing that in the morning. Well, Susann’s father first wanted to take a detour across the Öland Bridge. So we got to enjoy the rainy views from this amazing bridge.

We actually ended up driving all the way down to the province of Blekinge in southern Sweden. Here we found a motor home parking in Ronnebyhamn. We parked for the night and got some well-needed sleep. Waking up in the morning the rain had stopped and we could enjoy the view out towards the water. The morning mist was still hanging along the coast. As the others needed some time to prepare in the morning I took a walk through the small locality. This is like a satellite community that has developed at the harbor for the town Ronneby that is further inland.

A Break at Hallamölla

We still had a quite long drive down to Ystad. With a short stop for resupplies in Bromölla we were soon on our way through the province of Skåne. Our first proper stop to stretch our legs were at Hallamölla, the highest waterfall in Skåne. With a height of 23 meters, in a beautiful natural setting, it is worth a visit. We had a coffee break here and took the possibility to walk along the fall. Little A found it to be a perfect spot for me to take photos of her. I ended up with quite a few photos of her smiling and performing with the fall in the background.

Exploring Ystad

We had eventually reached it, the town of Ystad. One of the crime capitals of Sweden. The home of Kurt Wallander. Yes, this is where the novels by Henning Mankell take place. Ystad is a small town along the southern coast of Sweden and a destination that was on Susann’s mother’s wish list for the trip. I had been here during my road trip the year before, but it was nice to be back. It is a beautiful town to stroll around in. There is that historical atmosphere with the old buildings and narrow streets. We did kind of take the same walk as I did when visiting the year before, just in the opposite direction.

Can you imagine, we even got to enjoy some sunshine while walking along the picturesque streets. Once more a sleepy town, waiting for the summer to arrive. Agreeing on what to have for lunch was the main issue as we walked around. As is usually the case when that happens, we ended up at a pizzeria.

Read more about Ystad here: Ystad, Skåne | Exploring Sweden

Smygehuk – The Southernmost Point of Sweden

Leaving Ystad we only had a short drive to the southernmost point in Sweden. Smygehuk was windy, but these extreme points in a country is quite fascinating. Later in the summer we would actually end up at the northernmost point of Sweden at Treriksröset. Treriksröset is only 1572 kilometers away from Smygehuk. Stockholm didn’t feel much closer, even though it was only 510 kilometers to the capital and a little bit less back home.

Read more about Smygehuk here: Smygehuk, Skåne | Exploring Sweden

Turning Back North

We were a long way from home and when leaving Smygehuk we had no other choice than to turn back north. Well, at least a little bit to the north. We drove by Malmö and made a short stop in Lomma to plan for the evening. We were looking for camping sites for the night and it was going to turn out to be a bit of a challenge. Many sites for camping had not yet opened for the summer season and the few that we found open were already full for the night. We did eventually end up driving all the way to Ullared, taking us on a detour westward.

Ullared is well-known for its huge low-cost department store. We actually visited the store in the morning before continuing our drive. The store is quite big, but I have never really understood the fascination many have with this place. It just takes forever to get through and everyone is just tired afterward.

Read more about Ullared here: Ullared, Halland | Exploring Sweden

Heading Back Home

From Ullared we did eventually decide that it was time to drive back home. We had a stop in Gislaved to stretch our legs and to eat lunch. A locality that I had actually never been to before. It was another gray day and Gislaved did not get the possibility to shine in any way . But we did enjoy the buffet lunch at a Asian restaurant.

What followed was a long drive north. It wasn’t until we reached Brahehus outside of Gränna that we stopped next. Well, this is almost a mandatory stop when driving by. The castle ruin here really offers a magnificent view.

We did eventually just make one more short stop in Norsholm to stretch our legs. Once more we stopped at the famous Göta Kanal. I believe it would probably have been a lot nicer if it would have been a sunny summer day. Now we didn’t see anyone in this small locality. We did at least get to stretch our legs before we continued driving. From here it was, however, not much more than an hour back home to Vagnhärad. Our three day adventure to the south of Sweden had come to an end. The Easter road trip was about to end.

Read more about Brahehus here: Brahehus, Småland | Exploring Sweden