Travel report: Bike Tour along the Kattegat in Sweden

...were traveling along Sweden's west coast in the summer of 2024. They spent the first few days of their vacation on their own in Copenhagen. They then set off on their cycle tour from Helsingborg on the Kattegattleden cycle path and reached Gothenburg after eight days. They cycled in the wind and rain (thanks to the weather app, mostly by announcement) and enjoyed every ray of sunshine all the more.

Almost 600 kilometers from Copenhagen to Gothenburg

We already have a few cycle tours under our belts and appreciate the convenience of luggage transfers. On the one hand, we can pack a few more things, and on the other hand, we cycle completely carefree on the stages. We have already traveled a lot in the south – but are increasingly struggling with the heat. As we rely on summer vacations, we wanted to go to a cooler country this time and so Sweden, which we didn't know yet, came in very handy.

The fact that we only want to cycle with our own bikes is now a matter of course for us. They have been with us for so many years and are perfectly suited to us. Non-flat tires, ergonomic grips on the handlebars, padded saddle - we don't want to do without these things when we've covered so many kilometers. E-bike? Not (yet) an issue for us.

Another thought led us to the ecological journey without our own car. On the one hand, we both didn't fancy the endless journey by car, and on the other, we didn't necessarily trust it to cover the long distance due to its considerably weaker condition. So the only option was the train. Not so easy, because there are very few bicycle stands on the ICE. So we had to rethink things a bit.

Day 2: Copenhagen (approx. 30 kilometers)

Copenhagen is the cycling city par excellence – a paradise for all cyclists. However, a lot of people also cycle there. The cycle paths everywhere are well frequented. We were impressed by the state-of-the-art cycle bridges. We explored the city and its many sights by bike.

Day 3: Amager (55 kilometers)

The peninsula invited us to take a wonderful tour around it. A wonderfully developed cycle path leads around the outside. The western coast in particular is pure idyll. On one side the sea, on the other a nature reserve with many animal species. We were lucky that there were some shelters to take shelter in, because we were caught out by the rain 2 or 3 times. On the east coast, we had a fabulous view of the Öresund Bridge. Unfortunately, our swimsuits were in the hotel - but there is a very inviting lido. The last few kilometers along the airport grounds were a bit annoying, but only for a short time.

Day 4: Onward journey to Helsingborg

We would have loved to cycle to Helsingborg. But with the two suitcases? Unfortunately, we couldn't find a way to have them transported. So once again, the only option was the Flixbus. This took the detour via the Öresund Bridge and Malmö. At least we had enough time to explore the enchanting city of Helsingborg. It was almost a shame that we made so little use of this sunny day on the bike.

Day 5: Start of the cycle tour from Helsingborg to Ängelholm (65 kilometers)

This has gone wrong before. Nothing but rain, rain, rain and no end in sight. At least we were able to occupy the hotel room until 12.00 noon, after which it wasn't just us cyclists who besieged the lobby. Was the first day of the cycle tour going to be a washout and had to be completed by train? It rained so heavily in the morning that we wouldn't even have made it to the station dry. My weather app (which we were able to rely on pretty well during the entire trip) indicated that the weather would ease from around 2.00 pm. We wanted to take a chance. We put on all the rain gear we had with us and immediately noticed the weak points. Rain boots are a great thing! But we only had one pair. The app was right, the rain steadily subsided. At least the wind dried our clothes quickly enough. One of the most beautiful routes opened up: Sofiero Castle, picturesque bays, windmills and even vineyards amazed us. In Ängelholm, the sun actually greeted us. We were proud not to have taken the train.

Day 6: Ängelholm - Halmstad (95 kilometers)

Today we were rewarded with sunny weather. This was also important, as we were facing the longest and most mountainous stage (the shortcut was out of the question). We had already learned the day before that it can be quite steep on the coast. Today we were really challenged. In the middle of the stage, it felt like it was all uphill. When the torture finally came to an end, the descent was so steep that my hands hurt from braking. The stage is not rideable the other way round! On the other hand, we were able to gather countless impressions. The first excitement came at the strawberry kiosk: A pound of strawberries in exchange for the cash of trust – how great. We took a short break in Torekov to marvel at the small island of Halland. Båstad invited us to take a lunch break at the harbor. But the best break we had was at Mellby beach – swimming in the sea. It's so shallow there, the waves only look dangerous but are completely harmless. Unfortunately, the short time available meant we had to cycle on quickly without making any further detours. We took some photos of the mouth of the Lagan and arrived in Halmstad around 7 p.m., pretty exhausted.

Day 7: Halmstad - Falkenberg (60 kilometers)

Today the nice weather was over again. There was drizzle all day and, above all, a lot of headwind. This made some stretches a real effort. We delayed our departure for this reason and had a look around Halmstad. But apart from the church and castle, there wasn't much to discover, so we closed our eyes and kept going. Instead, the small island off Tylösand was once again a source of great enthusiasm – so beautiful! And the first signs of the archipelago at Steninge. We walked to the tip of the small peninsula and watched young boys fishing for crabs: A string clip with a piece of bread on it, luring crabs and fishing them out of the water by hand. Fishing can be that easy! For a large part of the route, we cycled directly along the sea – we were constantly pulling out our cell phones to take photos of the sea, small bays, big waves.... We realized one thing in particular here: pure relaxation, coming to rest. You notice the deceleration with every kilometer. Arriving in the really pretty town of Falkenberg with the picturesque Tullbron (one of Sweden's most beautiful stone bridges) and the small wooden houses in Gamla Stan is absolutely fitting.

Day 8: Falkenberg - Varberg (48 kilometers)

So little distance? So we were able to take all the recommendations along the route today. First, we cycled the detour to Morups Tånge lighthouse. In the fishing village of Träslövsläge, we rested with crab sandwiches and admired the kite surfers. Once again, most of the route went right along the water – what could be better? We were really impressed by Varberg. Thanks to our early arrival, we walked to the fortress and enjoyed the cold bathhouse. In the evening, I spontaneously went to a concert (five minutes away by bike). We kept noticing small concerts in churches that take place every day of the week. Admission is usually free. I was amazed at how many people were there - almost like us, though, most of them over the age of 70. But that didn't stop them from singing along to the chorale.

Day 9: Varberg - Kungsbacka (80 kilometers)

Good planning was important today. The weather app announced heavy rain from 12.00 noon. So we wanted to be at Tjolöholm Castle by 11:30 at the latest. The app said 54 kilometers, which should be manageable. We were downright euphoric shortly after the start – we had a tailwind for the first time today, or rather a tail storm. It went so quickly that we opted out of the shortcut and kept taking photos of the picturesque bays and even the Ringhals nuclear power plant. The thick clouds came closer and closer, but the weather app kept its word. Unfortunately, the route app didn't. After 54 kilometers, there was still no castle in sight. As the first drops began to fall, we laboriously searched for the route on G-Maps and finally reached it after 64 kilometers, completely soaked! Very annoying. Not only were we wet now, it was also cold. Fortunately, I still had a skirt and sweater in my pocket and was able to change out of my completely soaked clothes. I took my time visiting the castle – there was no point in continuing in the rain anyway. My husband didn't have a change of clothes and didn't want to mingle with the visitors dripping like that. The castle is really beautiful, by the way, but after 3 hours it was enough. We ventured on shortly before 3 p.m., as the rain was supposed to let up. Ok, it did, but it still took a while before it really stopped. Fortunately, it was now only 15 kilometers to Kungsbacka, which we reached –- how could it be otherwise – in sunshine. After a nice hot shower, we treated ourselves to one of the best restaurants! We would like to take this opportunity to thank the hotel for providing us with various newspapers. Sorry, we didn't read them, but stuffed them into our shoes several times.

Day 10: Kungsbacka - Gothenburg (70 kilometers)

Once again, a mix of rain, clouds and sun awaited us. Nevertheless, we decided to take the long route, which was a very good idea. To say it straight away – this stage was the most disappointing of all. A large part of the route runs alongside busy roads and with little view of the sea. The route was also quite hilly. A few times we had to take shelter from the rain in the bus shelters that were available almost everywhere. We reached the most interesting places right at the beginning. We passed right by the church in Onsala. It was not the first one to impress us with its wooden ceiling resembling the hull of a ship. The detour to Gottskär was the highlight of the day: cliffs, an islet in the middle of stormy waves, which we would have reached on foot. However, we wanted to continue and unfortunately couldn't get anything out of the route across the peninsula. Back near the sea, we were surprised by some funny scrap metal sculptures. Overjoyed, but also pretty exhausted, we reached Gothenburg in the afternoon and had thus completed the (considerably more than) 390 kilometers of the Kattegattleden via Biobike.

Days 11 and 12: Gothenburg and excursion to the archipelago (65 kilometers)

We treated ourselves to a day off the bike – somehow we didn't want to touch the handlebars at the moment. So we walked through the city to all the sights with umbrellas. But now we had our own bikes with us, so the next day we followed the recommendation of all the travel guides. Cycle tour to the northern archipelago. Despite the sunny weather forecast, we were accompanied by a few rain showers and had already memorized all the bus shelters. The outward journey was brutal: rain, a headwind and what felt like nothing but uphill. Then another detour. When we arrived at the ferry, we weren't sure which one to take at first, but fortunately decided on the right one to Hönö. We crossed this island to get to Öckerö by land. However, we got the best impressions on the third island, Hälsö. Here you don't need to explain to anyone what an archipelago is. For us, as connoisseurs of the East German Baltic Sea with its huge, wide sandy beaches, such images of the Baltic Sea are completely new. We almost felt like getting on the ferry to the next island at the end of Hälsö - but unfortunately we still had to make our way back. As expected and hoped, this was now much more pleasant. No more rain, tailwind - it just rolled along. This made us a little overconfident and we dared to cross the Göta (which is actually a kilometer-long harbour) over the Älvsborgsbron - the suspension bridge, which is almost 1 kilometer long and, above all, 45 meters high and visible from afar. Now I also understood why the Öresund Bridge is not open to cyclists. We would have been mercilessly blown off the Älvsborgsbron if it hadn't been for the very safe railings. The crossing was like a battle against the sideways wind, but it was simply an impressive experience.