🇸🇪 Sweden · Europe
Gothenburg
Sweden’s friendly second city — fish churches, giant buns and a tram ticket that sails.
cityfoodslow☀ best: May – Aug
SHOESTRING
€65/day
dorms, street plates, transit
COMFY
€113/day
private room, sit-down meals, a treat
FLASH
€221/day
nice hotel, good dinners, no maths
🧮 Trip maths
€790 total
What Gothenburg costs, day to day
🛵 Getting around
Uber
Bolt
Tram rideScandinavia’s biggest tram network€3–€3.5
24-hour passcovers the southern-archipelago ferries€8.7–€9.5
Airport bus€10–€12
🛏 Stays
Per night
Hostel dorm bed€24–€39
Airbnb 1-BR€74–€130
Hotel (breakfast incl.)€82–€139
Monthly
Studio€955–€1,476
1-BR, Majorna€1,215–€1,823
🛒 Groceries & daily life
Willys — cheapest big shop
ICA / Coop — everywhere
Lidl — undercuts on basics
Water 1.5 L€1.1–€1.6
Milk 1 L€1.1–€1.4
Eggs ×10€2.6–€3.3
Bread loaf€1.9–€2.4
Rice 1 kg€1.6–€2.1
Chicken breast 1 kg€7.4–€9.5
Bananas 1 kg€1.6–€1.9
Local beer 0.5 L (shop)€1.7–€2.4
🍜 Eating out
Hagabullen (giant cinnamon bun)€4.3–€6.1
Dagens lunch€9.5–€13
Fish gratin lunch€10–€14
Shrimp sandwich€12–€16
West-coast oysterseach€2.6–€4.3
🎡 Things to do — with kids
Liseberg amusement parkentry + ride passes — the Nordics’ best€13–€52
Universeum science house€17–€22
Car-free southern archipelago (ferry incl. in pass)free
🌙 Things to do — grown-ups
Haga fika crawl€4.3–€8.7
Island-hop the archipelago€0–€3.5
Konstmuseum€6.1–€7.8
Feskekôrka fish hall graze€4.3–€13
🌤 Climate
Day °CSea °CRain
Best: May – Aug · Wet: —
Rain is a lifestyle; pack the shell. Summer archipelago days repay every drizzle.
✈️ Getting there
SASNorwegianRyanairLondon€17–€48
Malaga€26–€61
🏧 ATMs & money
Fees: The blue cooperative 'Bankomat' machines are the standard and add nothing.
Limits: Bankomat machines allow 5,000–10,000 kr per pull.
Best machines: BankomatHandelsbanken
Sweden is arguably the most cashless place on Earth — some cafés refuse cash. Don't exchange; just tap.
🩺 Health & safety
Vaccines: Routine; tick-borne encephalitis if you'll do southern-coast forests or the archipelago in summer.
Health: Tap water superb; healthcare excellent (bring your EHIC/GHIC if European).
Tap water: ✅ Superb, safe, and free everywhere — no need to ever buy bottled.
Safety: The gang-related incidents in Swedish headlines happen in outer suburbs with no tourist presence whatsoever — central Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö rank with Europe's calmest city centres for visitors. Winter ice and summer boat-beers-swimming combos deserve more caution than any street.
Emergency: 112
🌱 Vegan, veggie & gluten-free
Plant-based: Possibly Europe's easiest vegan country per capita — oat-milk homeland, and every lunch buffet has a green option.
Gluten-free: 'Glutenfri' is labeled by law; knäckebröd traps aside, GF bread is in every ICA.
Say nothing — just read the menu icons. Sweden did the work already.
🛂 Visa & entry
This is a Schengen-area country. Most US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian, NZ, Brazilian, Japanese and Korean passports enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen zone. From 2025 the EU's ETIAS pre-authorisation applies to visa-free non-EU visitors — check before you fly.
Rules change — always verify with an official source for your nationality before you book.
💬 Traveller tips & reports
The tram ticket sails — Västtrafik tickets cover the southern archipelago boats — car-free islands, smooth granite, swim ladders. Gothenburg’s best summer day costs a transit fare.
@styrso.swim · Jul ’25 · ▲ 81