Fancy a trip to Europe? With guaranteed free accommodation? In a natural, open-plan space, with unlimited bed space, where you can check in whenever and check out a day or two later than arranged?
Sounds too good to be true? It's not!
See Sweden has this thing called the freedom to roam. This is a law-protected right which allows its citizens to sleep, eat and walk wherever they want -- and now that right has been extended to visitors.
The Scandinavian nation is the world's first country to be listed on Airbnb. The country boasts tens of thousands of miles of forests, and thousands of lakes, among many other outdoor amenities. And according to its tourism department, visitors can camp, pick berries, hike, swim anywhere as long as it's not private space.
But while accommodation is sorted, getting there, eating and entertaining yourself can set you back a few thousand rands:
- Flights – as of June 2017, the fastest ticket getting to Sweden's capital, Stockholm, from OR Tambo International is an estimated R19,000
- Food and entertainment - 1.00 Swedish krona (Sweden's currency) equals South Africa's R1.52 as of the writing of this article, and so our rand is weaker and so as a visitor you may need to churn out a bit more for a cappuccino or a Coca-Cola
If you do go, send us pics do. After all, the best time to visit is June and August as the weather is warm and sunny there.
*This only offers to Airbnb customers