CAMPFIRES & KAYAKS

Kick the family holiday off in Sweden’s capital, which has as much in store for little travellers as for adults. Start with a boat tour through Stockholm’s canals and waterways, and discover why the city is nicknamed ‘Beauty on Water’. Visit the wonderland of Skansen on Djurgarden Island, where a zoo and open-air museum lends it the name ‘Sweden in miniature’. Meet native Nordic animals, admire traditional Swedish arts and crafts demonstrations like glass blowing, folk music and decorative painting, and enjoy the rides in the playground and amusement park.

Stockholm has endless delights up its sleeve. Discover the Viking past at the Historiska Museet, indulge in some seventies nostalgia at the ABBA Museum and eye up the world’s last preserved 17^th-century galleon at Vasamuseet – the warship spent 333 years at the bottom of the sea. While in Stockholm you’ll stay at the Hotel Rival, owned by none other than ABBA’s Benny Andersson – and yes, your room comes with a Greatest Hits album.

Leave the city behind and go deep into nature at the Kolarbyn Ecolodge, where you won’t find any of the luxuries of the usual sort – and that’s precisely why you’ll love it. This is a real outdoorsy experience, which means no electricity, showers or stresses of modern life. There’s a floating sauna to warm you up after bathing in the pristine lake and sharing your well-earned meal around the campfire will feel very special indeed.

With the help of the knowledgeable and passionate guides, Andreas and Marcus, you’ll forage for your own food, chop your own wood to keep the campfire going and take your baths in the lake. The kids will love the forest camps, with camouflaged huts and sheepskin-covered camp beds, and the adventure of living like intrepid explorers. Forage in the forest for wild blueberries and lingonberries for your breakfast pancakes, head out on safaris to spy beavers, moose and wolves in the wild, and glide out on the lake on a sunset boat trip and go fishing for your supper.

Return to Stockholm for your boat transfer to Bergholmen Island, where you’ll find your private island glamping accommodation, Island Lodge. Again you’ll be totally immersed in nature but this time all your food is prepared for you, there are showers (albeit outdoor) and you also get to sleep in cosy tents with real beds. Explore your exclusive island by strolling along the secluded beaches, foraging for mushrooms in the birch and fir tree forest or even setting sail on a catamaran. Head out on seal safaris and go sea kayaking and fishing in the glassy waters.

If you just want to wind down after all the adventure, then luxuriating in the outdoor hot tub on the water’s edge should do it. Feast on the gourmet barbecues, offering spring lamb and Atlantic red char, and indulge in some wine tasting to round things off.