Route

Narvik (NO) - Riksgränsen - Abisko - Kiruna - Gällivare - Jokkmokk - Arvidsjaur -  Östersund - Åre - Storlien (Grenze zu Norwegen) - Åre - Sundsvall

Report

The year before (Denmark - southern Sweden in 2016) was mostly nice weather and unexpected warm. But not in the summer of 2017 in the north. It was often not over 12 degrees, it rained almost every day. It was still extremely beautiful, especially between Narvik - Riksgränsen - Abisko - Kiruna. South of Kiruna, to Svappavaara (Kiruna - Gällivare at junction to Vittangi) it had a lot of traffic, afterwards the roads were just perfect and little traffic. You often meet reindeer on the streets, ...amazing! I was unlucky with the weather. In Gällivare it rained for 3 days continuously and the temperatures were mostly about 10 degrees during the day. Luckily it had a great campsite with a great cuisine. The advantage in the north is that you can ride forward at any time of the day or night, as there is daylight between 3 AM and 9 AM. It didn't rain the next morning, I started at 3 a.m and I arrived Jokkmokk at 9 a.m, ...the rain started again.

Basically, the roads south to Östersund are very good, it has little traffic, just a little up and down, an absolutely recommended route, even for people who are not - or little - trained. Between Östersund and Åre you will find beautiful landscapes and a few hills to climb. Unfortunately there is "quite a lot" of traffic in this area. Amazing scenery and roads further west between Åre and Storlien (border to Norway) there is less traffic.

I took the bus from the town of Åre back to Östersund, although it would have gone downhill... I just didn't want to go through this huge traffic anymore - a lot of big campers! Maybe the traffic is not "that" extremely heavy, the perception is individual, maybe I'm a little bit tricky. From Östersund towards Sundsvall there are different possibilities. Recommendation not to choose the big road E14. The alternative route towards Hammerstrand - Sundsvall is very good, good roads and very beautiful. Unfortunately, the weather didn't get better and so I was happy to come to a heated hotel in Sundsvall.

I preferred to stay at campsites, because in the north they are always fully equipped kitchens (often with pans and dishes), lounges, clean toilets and showers - sometimes even sauna! If it's cold all day, you'll enjoy it!

Recommendation:

- Take a look at the campsites in advance. There are many campsites at the website https://www.camping.info. I found it better than the official site, www.camping.se.

- The campsites are often cheap, especially with a member card, which you can get at every campsite.

- In the north (Lapland) the campsites are rare, so you should check it in advance,

- Alternatively you can set up the tent anywhere, it is allowed in Sweden. But think of the mosquitos!! ...at the campsites, you can escape to the kitchen, You might be happier 🙂