Packing Tips When Renting a Stuga in 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
