Why West Sweden is the perfect half-term holiday destination

Last Updated on February 12, 2025 by Laura

Golden were the days when our twins were little and we could carry them around anywhere at any time of the year. But since last September, they started school. So, we needed to re-arrange all our yearly holiday plans according to their new “free time”. In the UK, part of the children’ holidays come to break the school terms: October, February and May. This means that millions of families around the country depart mostly on the same dates. For they joy of the airline companies who triple the price of their tickets. Having worked in travel for years now, I knew perfectly which destinations are usually booked during this period. Therefore, for our children’ first half-term holiday, I wanted to go against the current and book an unusual half-term destination: Sweden. In this blog, you will discover our West Sweden family holiday and why it’s the perfect half-term destination.

Half-term holidays. The big dilemma for many families

West Sweden family holiday

I am a parent for about 4 years now, but working in travel since 2017 more or less. During my time as travel agent, there were 3 periods that I hated the most during the whole year. These were the half-term school breaks. Hundreds of suddenly-turned-crazy parents wanted all the same destinations, the same hotels, the same overpriced holidays and flight tickets. There was a year which I promised myself that if I ever had children, I would never be such a crazy parent. Years later and mom of two tornado twins, I still haven’t changed idea.

As much as I empathise with tired parents needing a break, I don’t think this should be a reason for overcrowding all the same places or getting crazy about a holiday. Maybe because travel is already a big part of my life. Indeed, I travel myself 6 up to 9 times a year. Therefore, it is not such a big deal for me like it could be for a family who wait this moment for the whole year. I understand that and recognise this ” holiday system” in the UK is a big part of the problem and contributes to over-tourism in certain popular destinations.

That’s why, regardless of the type of break, I always wanted my children to have active, engaging holidays. Breaks where we could have fun all together and discover new places that are not necessarily Spain or Portugal. Like when we embarked on a 10-day road trip to Northern France. I think that school breaks should be an occasion for us to stay all together as a family and create amazing memories. This is one of the reasons why, the destination I picked up for the kids’ first school break was West Sweden.

How we ended up in Sweden

West Sweden family holiday – Hamburgo

Long before my children were officially starting school, I was already thinking to their first half-term break in October. I love to organise things per time and I always prefer to book holidays at least 3 months in advance. Many families in the UK still think to October as a last extension of summer. This means that many families head towards warmer destinations like Spain or Portugal. However, I really love to go with the seasons, when possible, and want my children to experience these at their best. Fall season in Europe is really beautiful with incredible foliage, cosy cafes and spooky Halloween decorations. Why missing all of these?

There were a few places on my top list, and Sweden was floating among them with me unsure whether to book or not. Indeed, one of the best season to visit Sweden (particularly the West coast) is summer. Especially if one wants to enjoy wild swimming and endless hikes. Therefore, we were slightly off season. However, there was a part of me envisioning ourselves walking on tranquil shores, visiting picturesque villages and having fika in cosy Swedish cafes. Seemed the perfect Autumn escape! And to be honest, I wasn’t really attracted to the idea of a big swimming pool with other 2000 screaming kids. So, after illustrating my vision to my husband, he agreed and we decided to book.

Why West Sweden is an excellent family holiday destination

If you have never thought of Sweden as a family destination, you got it wrong. Indeed, it turned out that Sweden is excellently prepared to welcome families. And I am not saying this lightly. My children have been basically all over Europe and there were places that didn’t know even what a high chair was (yes, I’m looking at you Prague). We’ve probably been lucky, but all the places we visited from the smallest cafe’ to the luxury hotel had everything families could wish for. From dedicated changing rooms, to play rooms to kids menu and even special kids times for using facilities.

Wherever we went with the kids we always felt comfortable and welcomed with a warm smile and I can grant you that this doesn’t happen often. Moreover, there are tons of playgrounds with amazing facilities, even in the most random places. Big cities like Gothenburg also have interesting children museums and activities for the whole family. One week really flew by!

Experiencing the Great Swedish outdoor life

West Sweden family holiday – Swedish countryside

One of the reasons why I chose West Sweden (on top of the reasons above) its for the immense, incredible nordic landscapes. West Sweden is a treasure of rugged coastlines, forests and endless hiking paths. If you are into outdoor, don’t be afraid of the windy coast and get out explore! Our kids loved visiting the coast of Smogen and hike in the steep rocks of Fjiallabacka. We really had an amazing time. Summer is, of course, the best period to experience outdoor life. However, we got very lucky with the weather and despite a little wind, temperatures were mild and pleasant!

Relaxing break

A visit to Sweden cannot be considered complete without a good Swedish sauna! In addition to be family-friendly, many hotels in West Sweden have complimentary access to wonderful spa facilities. This means that you can combine both a family stay with a relaxing one. Some hotels have separate access times for families with small kids. This is done to not disturb the relaxing break of adults-only stays or older kids. We honestly liked to have a specific time with other families as no one could complaint of noises and splashes around. Moreover, we had the opportunity to chat with other local families who were there with their kids as a weekend trip.

Unique kids’ friendly accommodations

West Sweden family holiday – Our Moose House Stay

One thing that surprised me about Sweden, West Sweden in this case, is the amount of unique and peculiar accommodations available. There is literally anything you could ever imagine. From mushroom houses in the middle of the forest, to floating rooms in picturesque lakes, treehouses looking out of a fairytale and more. I really wish I was a child because those places are made for children’s dreams for sure! I had quite a never ending list of places I wanted to book.

Unfortunately many of these places open only during summer and have a strict closure deadline between September and October. In effect, winters are quite rigid in Sweden so it wouldn’t be as enjoyable as during summer. Nevertheless, on the top of my list there were two places that I managed to book for our stay and I would say they have been the highlight of our stay!

Where to stay in Sweden

West Sweden family holiday – Our Treehouse

One, I call it now simply as “the Moose house”. This is the name the twins gave it to it and it’s quite appropriate since the house it’s just a giant moose. Located within a a moose park, all the accommodations of this hotel are shaped in different animals. The interior design is completely in wood and full of hide and seek corners for the kids. A big bonus is of course that you can watch wildlife comfortably from your terrace.

A second, and probably favourite, accommodation is a treehouse hotel I discovered by chance when looking at kids’ friendly accommodations in Sweden. When I saw it, it was like all my childhood dreams came true and I knew I really wanted to stay there! It was a fantastic stay, with a bit of a creepy halloween theme since we arrived late at night and we ended up walking in the woods in the dark for 20 mins.

Being such unique stays these places are not widely available at booking.com as regular accommodations. Their cost per night is also higher than regular hotels ranging between $350 and $1000 per night.

Fika

West Sweden family holiday – Some of our Fika around West Sweden

I really love the Swedish concept of Fika. If you are not familiar with this term, Fika is literally taking a break with a coffee/tea and cake (or most of the time cinnamon bun). Is never too late for a Fika break. Even if you are in the middle of nowhere, there will be always a place serving some kind of desserts and coffee. Of course we tried to respect this national tradition as much as possible. Indeed, every single afternoon of our trip we stopped somewhere nice for our coffee break. I never ate so many cinnamon buns in my life but I was very happy of our breaks!

Sustainable Travel

During the recent years, overtourism and sustainability are some of the hot topics when it comes to travel plans. As both a person who works in the travel industry and also as a blogger, I feel this matter is really important. Of course, it might happen to travel during peak season and into super popular places. People don’t always have the privilege of choosing their annual leave or more exclusive and expensive destinations. Nevertheless, there are always steps that one can take to travel in a sustainable way. This could range from choosing family-managed small hotels instead of an AirBnB or a big chain hotel, head to less visited destinations, spend more time in the countryside or search for eco-sustainable experience.

Sweden is a country that has a lot of offer in terms of sustainability. Many hotels are eco-friendly and nature is king in every aspect of the Swedish lifestyle. Spending that half-term in the nature with the kids made me really appreciate this type of slow, simple holiday. I hope we can make this a type of adventure a yearly event!

Lisenberg

West Sweden family holiday – Lisenberg Park

Last but not least, West Sweden is home of one of the biggest and most famous amusement parks in Europe: Lisenberg. If you never heard about it before, you are missing out because this mega amusement park has something for every visitor. As you know, we have small children. Therefore, we were initially skeptical about taking them here. Nevertheless, after a good research, I discovered that a big part of the park is dedicated to little children. There are lots of attractions dedicated to the little ones and parents can join too!

We decided to go on Halloween day because there are special decorations and theme organised for the celebrations. Giant pumpkins, scary sections (only for the adult side) and lots of colourful thematic shops. We spent the whole afternoon and evening there and we couldn’t finish the children park! Twins had a blast and they really really loved all the attractions where they had to drive something. We finished the evening with a dinner in one of the many restaurants of the park. I think that after Tivoli in Copenhagen, this could be one of my favourite parks I visited!

Planning your trip to Sweden? Stay tuned for more blogs helping for your trip!

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