Feeling inspired yet? Read what the media and our customers say about this experience below.
You can also see customer photos of this experience in the Nature Travels Facebook Gallery.
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Press coverage of Canoeing in Dalsland's Lake District:
"Accommodation each night is under the stars with wild camping spots and fireplaces adding a touch of Bear Grylls to the proceedings." The Guardian recommends Canoeing in Dalsland's Lake District as one of its "Top 10 Activity Holidays in Europe".
"An hour's drive north of Gothenburg, Dalsland is a region of deep forests and glittering lakes, perfect for a wilderness adventure." The Guardian recommends Canoeing in Dalsland's Lake District as one of its top Diamond Jubilee Weekend escapes.
"North of Gothenburg, Dalsland is known as Sweden's Lake District." The Financial Times recommends Canoeing in Dalsland's Lake District in its "Go With The Flow" feature on canoeing with families.
Customer Reviews of Canoeing in Dalsland's Lake District:
"This was the most incredible holiday we have ever done. We felt it soothed our souls, recharged us and left us so so refreshed. The support we received from the local hosts out there was second to none, we are already looking at similar trips for next year! I have been singing your praises to anyone who will listen and sending the info around. Thank you so so much. We really needed this break into nature." Amy, October 2024
"Thanks for another great trip out to Sweden. A magical place. Looking forward to the next time!" Mel, September 2024
"Another epic Sweden canoe adventure. The last of three father and son trips with the boys. Amazing memories and experiences. Just wanted to say thanks for the assistance with these trips. The first was in 2017, then 2023 then this last one in 2024. Three sons - three trips planned with you guys. Thanks for the memories." Nathan, August 2024
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"You offered the right experience for the ages of our kids, and the perfect amount of time, too. We enjoyed switching off and just enjoying nature, the freedom to explore in our canoe, and not to be restricted where we wanted to camp." Rochelle, August 2024
"The best part was the general feeling of remoteness, especially as May was a quiet time of year. Excellent bird life." Matt, May 2024
"Thank you so much for everything you did in helping us plan our trip. I simply cannot fault anything throughout the process, from my initial enquiry to completing the trip...the whole process is seamless, it was easy to book, and your personal knowledge and advice was invaluable. We will 100% be using Nature Travels again in the future. Going in May meant that there were not many other activities going on, so we rarely saw another group during the whole period. The communication from the outset was excellent, and level of information I received was always timely and detailed." Dave, May 2024
"We loved everything! We loved the peace. The wild camping. The vastness. But we also loved the little town of Bengstfors and the hotel. We had the best time. The whole trip went so smoothly so thank you very much. It was a wonderful experience to completely clear your head of anything but what was in front of you. I hope to do more trips with you in the future. Even your details of the public transport were so accurate and made everything simple. Can’t thank you enough for giving us the possibility to see Sweden like that." Mel, September 2023
"Our trip in the Dalsland lakes was a great adventure, thanks for the assistance in organising. That's my second trip with my second son. I have one more to go so will be in touch again to organise." Nathan, July 2023
"Lots of good information. Wild camping, gorgeous scenery, flexibility to go as far as we wanted." Jane
"Our 4th time with this brilliant company. Excellent information, personal and prompt service, really friendly, competitively priced. Just an overall seamless booking experience. Website is clear and informative, and all email correspondence with further information was prompt and helpful. Another great holiday (appreciated even more after the restrictions of the last few years). Keep doing what you do! [We really enjoyed] the freedom to make our own adventure. The peace, solitude and beautiful lakes and scenery. Paddling for hours in amazing sunshine and perfect canoeing conditions. Stopping to make camp each evening alone on little islands, beaches and headlands. Cooking over an open fire as the sun (never quite) set. Swimming in the lakes. Watching the wildlife." Serena, July 2022
"It was magical. The camping, the silence, the freedom, the beauty of the country." Rianne, July 2022
"Well...we had an AMAZING time!!! Sweden was phenomenal!!! Thanks so much for your help in sorting us out for our holiday." Andy, July 2022
"Simple, well laid-out website with clear trip info. [The best part was] being out in the wilderness alone." Thomas, June 2022
"We had an amazing time on the water in Dalsland, a stunning place with astounding islands, we found our own "smultronställe" [special places] several times on our journey. We wanted to sincerely thank you and the team for helping to make this happen for us, especially as you kept our holiday alive during the dark days of the pandemic. Excellent work and well done!" Adam, May 2022
"The best part was camping on beautiful places with no-one else around." Uli, September 2021
"Thank you for your help and support of our Gold DofE group. All worked well. Questions were answered promptly by email or phone. [The best parts were] the feeling of remoteness and the quietness of the area, also how clean the area was." Kevin, September 2019
"The information given beforehand was very helpful, as well as the service provided with all the questions we had. We loved being outdoor and seeing different parts of the Dalsland Lakes. All of our equipment was good enough to keep us going for the week. The sight were incredible and the weather could not have been more perfect. We had a lovely holiday and enjoyed being outdoors. Thank you so much for the experience and useful help provided to us before the trip! [I chose Nature Travels because] great quality for the price, and seemed trustworthy/knowledgeable for outdoor travel in the Nordic countries." Xander, August 2019
"[I chose Nature Travels] because of the good pricing, and all of the information I got." Jorden, August 2019
"Great information, and all my questions were answered. [The best part was] being in nature without a lot of people. But meeting some people to talk to and share a fire. Just life without the pressure of time, the bustle of the city and looking out for people who want bad things, the fear of not seeing everything and missing out. Taking a step back and enjoying clean air, nice people and a good workout. Back to nature, back to basics." Kim, July 2019
"Good, precious experience. Freedom of lots of campsites to choose from." Caitlin, July 2019.
"Matt and I loved our trip. I wanted to say thank you for the organisation - we will definitely be looking to do something similar in the near future!" Will, July 2019.
"Everything was very well-documented and we were therefore very well-prepared. The website is great, the images speak for themselves and the reviews of previous travelers really help to get well-informed. Even though it was very chilly during the first days of the season (early May), we had the lakes for ourselves and had a great time. Due to some wind and waves, we encountered a small challenge with our canoe being fully filled with water. However, the resulting unplanned spot where we camped overnight gave us the best view on stars across the sky. Overall a great experience." Robert, May 2019
"Location lovely, we saw beavers! And heard a moose! Lots of well-maintained campsites. Beautiful scenery." Jenny, September 2018
"The trip was really good and the guys at the canoe centre could not have been better - they were very accommodating with all our requests. Very impressed." James, school group August 2018
"[The best part was] being outdoors in beautiful nature with friends." Lucy, August 2018
"The whole area was very quiet and not too many people. The weather was perfect too! It was fantastic." Rachel, August 2018
"The scale of the location in which our group paddled was amazing, wild campsites were excellent, transport in Sweden outstanding and the assistance available from local people a real pleasure to experience." John, July 2018
"[The highlight was] the nature, it seemed like we were alone in the world." Haike, late September 2017 (September is a very quiet time to be outdoors in Sweden, with lovely autumn colours)
"We loved every part of our trip. The service and into was quick and useful. We'd love to book with you again in the future." Beatriz, September 2017
"The information was really useful and reassuring that everything was taken care of. The services provided where really good. The information was really useful. The experience level was rightly chosen. We were able to adjust our plans during the trip if we wanted to because we were well-informed beforehand. Good informative website and good service before the booking process." Anouk, August 2017
"We had an amazing time on our recent trip to Dalsland. We'd not done much canoeing before (read that as single digit hours), certainly not mixed canoeing and camping like we have done for the past week. We were fairly blessed with the weather and not a single mosquito bite! We'd like to thank you for all your help and support before the trip, your advice was invaluabl and if you could pass on our thanks to our local host for us, as absolutely nothing was too much trouble for him and his upbeat, jovial personality certainly added to our experience. We are sure we'll be back booking with you in the near future and a sea kayak trip now looks like it's on the cards! We will certainly recommend Nature Travels to all our friends and colleagues who have followed our adventure on Facebook." Greg, August 2017
"An excellent trip. Service provided when choosing which trip to take was very good. We had an excellent time. Thanks to you and your colleagues for your advice prior to departure. I'm sure we will be returning." Andy, August 2017
"Excellent service and very helpful team on site at Sweden best part of the trip was first day heading out into the unknown. From my first enquiry experience it was easy to do business with Nature Travels makes planning easy they handle all the organisation. Overall your service was excellent and I will be using you guys again to book more adventures next year. Thanks for everything!!" Rob, July 2017
"Chris and I had a great trip in Sweden’s Dalsland. Our paddle was on Lelång, Foxen and Stora Le, with an extra bit into Store Le, Norway. Our mileage was close to 200km but we were not racing. On our way we saw beavers, lots of their lodges and plenty of their felled trees. Ospreys in courtship mode. A great many Black Throated Divers (Loons). A Golden Plover on the shore of Lelang. Goosanders some with chicks. A female Goldeneye Duck with a duckling. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Several Common Cranes feeding in a field between Ed and Bengtsfors. Other findings included flowers some of which I had not seen before, Sticky Flycatcher (Silene viscaria) and few others yet to be identified. Thank you for a great opportunity." Doug, June 2017
"Nothing to improve, communication was very detailed and lots of information provided. When the weather was right some parts of the trip were really beautiful, scenic and atmospheric. Camping on our own island in the middle of the lake was an amazing experience, and it felt like a real achievement when we arrived at the end! Thanks so much, we all had an experience that we'll never forget! Value for money, experience offered was very unique, very useful website." Sam, June 2017
"When you arrive at the place your canoe is all ready. There is a really nice chap there and he says "that way is north and that way is south" - it's quite exciting. Just really helpful and kind. Generally the whole experience was magical. Once or twice we were a bit pushed when the water was rough." Andrew, May 2017
"We had a great time, traveled three lakes. We particularly liked Östra Silen and the island hopping we did there. Had great weather with only a few days where it rained and hardly saw another soul for the entire week." Nathan, May 2017
"In short it was fantastic!" Johnathan, May 2017
"Sandy and I had an amazing time canoeing in Dalsland in September. We know that we were extremely fortunate to have such great weather, as we had one windy day, no rain at all after that first day, and we enjoyed near-constant sunshine. The lakes were warm for swimming and the fishing was better than expected too. Christer set us up without fuss at Bengtsfors, and we set off paddling from just outside the hotel. Our only plan was to meet him a week later at an agreed place. So we had total freedom to enjoy the lake system. Using the wind breaks for sleeping we put up the tent only once. Our journey took us across four major lakes. For my son and I this was an unforgettable experience.
The only downsides are two-fold: firstly that I must now buy a canoe for use back home in Scotland and, secondly, deciding which trip to do next year with my other son as a special time together to mark his tenth birthday.
As you may remember, we had a hiccup with our initial plans, but I am so glad that we persevered and did this. I was unsure what to expect in Dalsland. It was far wilder than I had imagined, and being out of season we had a lot of pleasant solitude. We saw capercaillie, red squirrels, ospreys, loons and had a long view of a pine marten. I could happily have spent a whole month exploring the wider regions possibly reaching into Norway one day I hope.
Many thanks to you all for the arrangements. Hope to be in touch soon about a booking for next year." Magnus, September 2016
"All in all a fantastic trip, a beautiful country and a brilliant experience! Yours was the clearest website and explained everything very clearly!" Paul, August 2016
"You were all really helpful! Getting so close to nature and being far away from towns and people was lovely. It was great having the freedom to do our own thing, but also some advice about how to plan our route so we got the most out of it. The package had everything we needed and was more affordable than the other options I looked at." Lelia, August 2016
"I found it the best value for money and it was one of the first options that I found. The wild camping was a real draw, it just ticked a lot of the boxes. Our first night's stop we found the nicest a hut to stay in, the weather was perfect and we had a good fire going to just take the edge off the eve. The paddling was great until the wind got fierce." Abigail, August 2016
"Dalsland and is a really pretty location with many remote campsites and islands." Philip, August 2016
"Bufjorden Lake was really beautiful and tranquil. Camping near that lake was the best." Bram, August 2016"
"[The canoe tour had] beautiful scenery and helpful/friendly staff." Katherine, July 2016
"Hard to pick out just one aspect! From a comprehensive website and booking process, to easy and relaxing travelling in Sweden, to the warmth of the people we met, the fabulous canoeing with outstanding scenery, peace, quiet, sunshine, lake swimming, wildlife, campfires, sunsets and a sensation of having the whole area just to ourselves. It was a fantastic trip and one we wholeheartedly recommend for anyone seeking some adventure and fun. We had a brilliant trip and will recommend your company to others." Serena, June 2016
"I felt very reassured and kept informed. Hopefully next year we will book another experience in Finland. Was happy with all the booking process. [The best part was] the beautiful landscape and freedom. It was a great challenge also as our goal was to travel 5-7 hours a day." Nick, June 2016
"It was a great canoe trip, that met all our expectations and we had an overall really great time." Ken, June 2016
"Love the lakes and the vast amount of trees, beautiful scenery. The lakes (when not windy) were beautifully calm." Nigel, May 2016
"The beauty of the countryside as well as how empty it was. We thought it was a real bonus going just off-season because we had whole islands and campsites to ourselves which added to the feeling of escape." Helen, September 2015
"Weather was fantastic. Very relaxing. Excellent family time with teenagers." Jackie, August 2015
"Great communication and answered all my questions quickly. I felt it easy to deal with Nature Travels and they were very informative of the local area. The guys seemed knowledgeable and everything was as described. Thank you for a great trip, making amendments to the group and generally being a nice company to deal with. And very good employees." Daryll, August 2015
"Absolutely fantastic - demanding, challenging and rewarding." Name not supplied, August 2015
"Second time with you guys and it was as easy as the first. Local info about Midsummer was very useful, thanks." Nick, June 2015
"We had a really great time with the canoeing in Dalsland and everyone was helpful." Katherine, August 2014
"Overall, the experience has been great.I enjoyed the freedom and flexibility to choose a route. I would like to thank you on behalf of the students and staff for all the hard work that you put in to making our expedition a success. I will certainly be looking to use Nature Travels for our overseas expeditions in the future." James, school group July 2014
"[Booking process] was excellent. I booked at the last minute and Linda went above and beyond to make sure I had the paperwork needed for my trip! It was an amazing experience. The landscape was amazing and the sunsets were beautiful. It definitely exceeded both our expectations." Sam, August 2013
"Perfect weather, good company, great region for canoeing with lots of interesting things along the way. Thanks for the good communication leading up to the trip. Nothing was too much trouble for you to help with." David, July 2013
"The location - it was a lovely friendly wilderness, didn't see people some days, always had a camp location to ourselves. Thanks for a great trip." Fay, June 2013.
"The whole experience really - the paddling trip was superb: wonderful paddling, cracking camps, the beautiful scenery/environment/trees, sunsets, the beavers (2 evenings of close-up beaver-watching)/the divers, the fantastic lake swimming, the exercise, the lack of insect life (mozzies/ midges)and the weather was good after an initial wet couple of days. Also liked the flexibility/freedom the holiday offered - we went around the route the other way than suggested, had 2 nights at the one camp, and took an extra day/night through a lock to another lake system. All 4 of us (incl. two teenage daughters) would very happily go for a similar holiday again - something for everyone. Overall a great family holiday, helped by pretty good weather and (very surprisingly) few mozzies. Have recommended to many folk already!" Rory, August 2012
"[We really enjoyed] the unspoilt beauty of the area and working and playing together as a family. The girls loved making camp fires in the evening." Sara, August 2012
"It is a great place and we both enjoyed the whole experience. I have been recommending Sweden ever since! Excellent response to any and all enquiries. You made the process very easy. A grand service - Cheers." Nick, June 2012