Southern Sweden, Götaland: a very varied area. In the south mainly flat, meadows, sea, views, beach, busy ports. More to the north, dense forests, hills, gravel roads, quiet towns (we would call them villages), lakes. And then Öland: a large, flat island with several surprises such as the two lighthouses, the Iron Age fortress on the southern tip, nice little harbours, castles and ruins, also of the Swedish royal couple. And wooden houses everywhere, nature, friendly people, space. The word "cute" sometimes crosses my mind. So knotty. The roads are mostly good, even the gravel roads are fine without any off-road experience or motorcycle. This route collection contains 9 routes of more than 2000 kilometers and takes you along the outer edges of Götaland: from Malmö along the east coast via Ystad, Karlshamm, Karlskrona and Kalmar to the island of Öland. From there the route heads inland to Vimmerby, back to the coast at Västervik, up to Linköping and Motala to the large Lake Vättern. Further down via Jonköping to Gothenburg on the west coast and then via a trip inland to enjoy the forests, lakes, gravel roads and nature via Varberg, Halmstad and Helsingborg back to Malmö.

The starting point is Malmö, at ""the bridge"" over the Kattengat between Denmark and Sweden. We drove there by taking the ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby and then crossing the bridge over the Danish islands of Lolland, Falster and Sjaelland via Copenhagen. But you can also take the ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg. Or you can drive all the way overland via Kolding and Odense in Denmark.

In addition to the sights below, there are special towns, nature reserves and castles/mansions in which route you can admire.
Route 1 goes along the coast of the southernmost tip of Sweden, the province of Skåne, through beautiful nature reserves and well-known towns such as Ystad to Karlshamm. Sights: a Viking village at Skanör, Skanör itself, Smygehuk (the southernmost tip of Sweden), Ystad (Wallander!), the stone formation at Käseberga, car museum at Simrishamn.
Route 2 goes through the province of Blekinge past towns like Ronneby and Kalmar to the island of Öland. Sights: kitesurf beach at Kristianopel, rock formation at Gettlinge, lighthouse Långe Jan.
Route 3 goes over Öland and then some more into the forests of the mainland towards Vimmerby. Sights: the ancient castle at Eketorp, Trollskogen (forest with strangely shaped trees and a beach with the wreck of a stranded boat), lighthouse Långe Erik, the special rock formations in the sea of Byrums raukar, Aboda lake and viewpoint.
Route 4 is a bit shorter because you then end at Vimmerby: the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren (from Pippi, among others). Sights: a moose park, an ancient oak, Vimmerby with Astrid Lindgren's amusement park and birth house annex museum.
Route 5 takes you back to the east coast at Västervik and then heads north and back inland to Linköping. Sights: a moose park (more beautiful than the previous day), a troll forest at Gamleby (ABBA city...), knight's castle Ekenäs, the Göta Canal with a lock complex.
Route 6 is also shorter and continues along the Göta Canal to Motala on Lake Vättern and then south to Gränna, where you can cross over to Visingsö Island. The route is shorter because you then have time to visit Visingsö. Sights: car and motorcycle museum and aquarium in Motala, Alvastra monastery ruins, Visingsö, observation tower, boat trip.
Route 7 takes you via Jönköping to Gothenburg. Sights: old wooden houses near Huskvarna (Jönköping) and of course Gothenburg.
Route 8 goes back into the country so you can enjoy the beautiful forests and lakes and gravel roads again. Then back to the coast with nice towns such as Varberg and Falkenberg. Sights: an old mill, a wooden bathhouse in the sea, beach, museum with remains of aircraft from the Second World War.
Route 9 takes you back to Malmö, although you can also cross over to Denmark earlier at Helsingborg. First you pass the beautiful city of Halmstad and the viewpoint at Mölle. Sights: a special bakery annex lunchroom, beach that can be driven on, lighthouse.

A collection with very varied routes, many sights with something for everyone, excellent roads and also pieces of gravel that can be ridden. Of course you can change the daily schedule by making routes longer, shortening or combining them. If you skip all the sights, you can also drive this in 7 days.

The Arctic Challenge Tour, on which this 26-part tour is partly based, is not a speed race. It's a tour. It comes down to agility, good navigation and anticipation. The participants are obliged to adhere to the speed limit of the country concerned. The participants must find the ideal route with the shortest possible distance by complying 100% with the locally applicable traffic rules. Of course, also take maximum speeds into account. The organization checks for violations of the speed limit. In case of gross or repeated exceeding of the maximum speed, disqualification for the relevant stage and for the final classification will follow. Control of the route and speeds is done by means of a track and trace system. This equipment is installed in every vehicle. You can then follow each team accurately in the Back Office. Those staying at home, interested parties and participants can also see the performances of the teams, because you can be followed live via the Internet. The Back Office takes action when a team gets into trouble. (source: website The Arctic Challenge)

That's quite a luxury, having a back office behind you that keeps an eye on you. Most of us will not have that and are on our own or the fellow traveler(s). The only agreement you have with the participants is that you also have to abide by the rules. Fortunately, you don't have to complete this tour in 9 days, like the participants, but you can take it a little longer.

The highlight of the Arctic Challenge in 2020 was the Lofoten, an island group northwest of Norway. The Lofoten archipelago is located in the middle of the wild Norwegian Sea, well above the Arctic Circle. This special region offers a beautiful landscape with imposing mountains, deep fjords and long, wild sandy beaches where the sound of the seabird colonies can always be heard.
The archipelago is best known for its rich fishing tradition. The Lofoten makes a prosperous impression despite their isolated location. The entire economy revolves above all around fishing. The image of the Lofoten is mainly dominated by wooden racks with cod, which hangs to dry. Lofoten fishing has been a household name for centuries. In the middle of winter, the ships set out to catch the fish in just a few months. The rich fishing grounds are due to the North Atlantic Warm Gulf Stream around the islands, in which the fish have their spawning grounds. Oil drilling is not permitted around Lofoten and the cod spawning grounds there.

The next destination for the participants was Sirkka, also known as Levi, a winter sports resort in Finnish Lapland. They stayed there for a few days to go ice-karting and to enjoy the snow by going on a snowmobile or skiing trip. This tour also takes you to Sirkka, but instead of staying there for a few days, you have the option to continue to the North Cape, the second highlight of this trip.

Imagine a place in the far north, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. This place is the North Cape in Western Finnmark in Northern Norway. From here, only the archipelago of Spitsbergen lies between you and the North Pole and the sun shines for 2.5 months at a time; from mid-May to the end of July. Many visitors admire the midnight sun or the sunset over the Barents Sea from the North Cape plateau.

With each route you will find a review with a description of the route, where you pass and what to see along the way. It is also briefly described how the participants in the Arctic Challenge in 2020 had to drive it anyway, from which point to which point. Along the way, markings (route points) have been included that indicate the end points of the stages that the participants had to complete. As mentioned, they covered the distance in 9 days, stages of more than 1000 kilometers were no exception.

Each route ends at a hotel. It is of course not an obligation to use these hotels, you can always find another place to stay in the area, that decision is up to you. My experience, however, is that they are all simple but good hotels for a very reasonable price. They are known and can be booked at booking.com.

The routes of these collections:

R01 - Puttgarden to Angelholm, 280km
R02 - Angelholm to Alingsas, 281km
R03 - Alingsas to Mysen, 261km
R04 - Mysen to Rena, 312km
R05 - Rena to Orkanger, 306km
R06 - Orkanger to Grong, 292km
R07 - Grong to Mo i Rana, 290km
R08 - Mo i Rana to Bodo, 231km
R09 - Roundtour Bodo to Lofoten part 1, 314km
R10 - Roundtour Bodo to Lofoten part 2, 250km
R11 - Roundtour Bodo to Lofoten part 3, 291km
R12 - Bodo to Arjeplog, 295km
R13 - Arjeplog to Jokkmokk, 244km
R14 - Jokkmokk to Pajala, 239km
R15 - Roundtour Sirkka to North Cape part 1, 257km
R16 - Roundtour Sirkka to North Cape part 2, 300km
R17 - Roundtour Sirkka to North Cape part 3, 244km
R18 - Roundtour Sirkka to North Cape part 4, 275km
R19 - Roundtour Sirkka to North Cape part 5, 332km
R20 - Sirkka to Kemi, 299km
R21 - Kemi to Ylivieska, 251km
R22 - Ylivieska to Jalasjarvi, 236km
R23 - Jalasjarvi to Turku, 279km
R24 - Stockholm to Askersund, 271km
R25 - Askersund to Varnamo, 224
R26 - Varnamo to Trelleborg, 259km

Have fun driving these routes!