A green lawn with trees and path leading to two red cabins at Kneippbyn Resort in Visby, Sweden — Kneippbyn Resort in Visby

What’s a stuga?

If you’re Swedish or living in Sweden, you already know what a stuga is. If not, it’s a cabin or cottage in the woods or near the beach where you can go in the summer to relax and enjoy nature. Many Swedes own their own stuga, and there are also plenty available for rent. It’s a great vacation option when you want to spend some time alone with your family or a small group of friends but aren’t up for camping. Think glamping, with a range of which amenities are available depending on where you want to stay and how much you want to pay.

A brown cabin with a wood front porch surrounded by trees and green plants at First Camp Stensö in Kalmar, Sweden — First Camp Stensö in Kalmar

Where to find a stuga to rent

There are many options out there, so you might start by searching for “hyra stuga,” “rent a stuga in Sweden,” or similar. So far, we’ve stayed at Kneippbyn in Visby and at First Camp Stensö in Kalmar. If you have a particular location in mind, add that location to your search to narrow it down. First Camp has locations all over Sweden and Denmark, so that could be a good place to start.

A brown bird sitting on a porch railing in front of a brown cabin, trees, and green plants at First Camp Stensö in Kalmar, Sweden — First Camp Stensö in Kalmar

Packing tips – living room

Scented candle
Lighter
Power strips

We travel with our cats when possible, so we look for pet-friendly stugas. Because pet-friendly usually means dogs, the cabin can smell like dogs on arrival. This is where a scented candle comes in handy! Even without this specific issue, it’s nice for your vacation living space to smell good.

Two cats, one black with white tuxedo markings and one white with black spots, looking out a window at green plants on a blue upholstered bench in a cabin at First Camp Stensö in Kalmar, Sweden — First Camp Stensö in Kalmar

You may want to unplug completely during vacation, but if not, your stuga may not have enough outlets to accommodate your computer/phone charger/video game system/speaker/kitchen appliance needs.

Packing tips – bedroom

Extra hangers

If you want to hang your clothes in the closet during your stay, the closet may not come with any hangers, or may only have a few.

Packing tips – kitchen

Scissors
Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil
Toaster
Ice cube tray
Bowls
Whisk

Some of the food we bought had packaging that was a hassle to open without scissors. Sure, a knife will work, but scissors are better.

Salt, pepper, and cooking oil you can, of course, buy there, but you probably already have these at home, and why buy duplicates?

We didn’t think about bringing a toaster along the first time we rented a stuga. Toast is a quick, easy meal or snack that doesn’t require any additional kitchen equipment to make.

If you want cold drinks and don’t want to buy bags of ice during your vacation, taking along an ice cube tray will have you covered.

A can and two glasses of Brewski Pineapple Pie craft beer on the kitchen table at a cabin at Kneippbyn Resort in Visby, Sweden — Kneippbyn Resort in Visby

Packing tips – bathroom

Allergy medicine
Over-the-counter painkillers
Triple antibiotic ointment
Tissues

Adjust the medicines to include whichever ones you think you might need. We remembered prescriptions but forgot that the need for a few other things might come up.

Toilet paper will work in place of tissues, but we ended up buying tissues after we got there as a nicer alternative.

A rose gold MacBook, gold-rimmed sunglasses, and a glass and bottle of Nääs Gårdsbryggeri Sunshine craft beer on a porch table with trees and green plants in the background at First Camp Stensö in Kalmar, Sweden — First Camp Stensö, Kalmar

Things you can leave at home

Last time, we brought our own coffeemaker, but this turned out to be unnecessary, the stuga had one. Swedes really love their coffee!

You may need to bring your own your sheets and towels if you haven’t added this service on to your rental, but you don’t need to bring your own duvet and pillows, those are included.