To be a sardine or eat one?

Mellanfjärden marina with guest and shop houses.

We have been riding along the Swedish coast for two hours trying to find a camp site. There are plenty of them but choosing the right one is as difficult as choosing the right hotel. As the margin of the camp site business is low and usually nobody books a camp site in advance there are no intermediaries like booking.com that provide all required information to make a good choice in advance.

We have a few guide books and directories but the information provided is sparse e.g.:

Sun, summer, swimming!
Family campsite with lots of experiences in the surroundings.
Many activities for children.
GPS: N 61°43’12.24” E 16°2’26.92”.

As you can see, a lot of useful information. In the end the proof of the pudding is in the eating and we need to drive there and see what we get.

Venice style bridge in Swedish fishing village.

Today we our search was not yet successful. The first place we saw was a small Disneyland with over 600 pitches for tents and RVs. Coming closer to the reception area gave us a good impression that this is not the place for a quiet afternoon at the beach. So we left.

The next one was smaller with only 200 pitches but only 5 free ones. After walking over the site I felt like a sardine in a can. There was not a single tree and it had gravel on the ground. Dogs not allowed to come close to the beach. On top they charged top fees. So we left.

Swedish style but not IKEA.

The next was even smaller on a hill side facing the sea with a wonderful view of the sea. It was built on a steep hill side with more than narrow terraces. The distance to the next RV was about 3m and the sardine feeling popped up. Unfortunately the sea view was not complemented with access to the sea. The prospect of being squeezed in between my two neighbouring RVs, the highway and the cliff to the sea made us leave again.

We decide to follow our Norwegian approach and take the small coastal road and drive until we find a small camp site that is not in the guide books. However, in Norway there is usually only one road to follow while in Sweden the main road has many smaller roads to the sea that are often dead-end roads.

Happy end after a desperate search.

With a lot of optimism we follow the driver’s gut feeling, leave the highway and turn into a coastal road. The small road meanders through the fields of golden wheat, small forests interrupt the yellow landscape from time to time until we reach the coast line. The coast is rocky and difficult to access. We are passing through fishing villages with marinas and nicely arranged houses but no sign of a camp site or a place to spend the night. After driving nearly one hour we are about to give up.

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

We can´t agree whether we go for the Disneyland or the sardine can when we enter another village and see a hand-painted sign board announcing “Guest camping”. We follow the sign boards and arrive at two spacious meadows close to the guest marina. One meadow with about 15 RVs has electrical outlets. The other one has no electricity which is why there is only one other camper. We are happy to share the vast plot of land with them. A black board explains the rules: Please put the envelope with camping fee into the letter box of the red house next to the harbour restaurant. We feel like we were in Switzerland.

We have a great tea time in thick green grass with a wonderful view of the sea with a few islands in front. Instead of feeling like a sardine we decide to eat some. And Umbria can be without a leash all day long.

Often the best camp sites are in no guide books. Enjoying the view from the lounge chair.