Who’s coming with us?
Spend long enough perusing the options on offer in any location on Airbnb and you’ll come across some odd listings, but we’re pretty sure an entire country has never been listed on the website before.
Until now…
In an effort to promote the country’s ‘Freedom to Roam’ principle, the entire country of Sweden has been listed on the holiday rental website. That’s right, the entire country.
And, unlike all other Airbnb rentals around the world, so vast is the beautiful Scandinavian country that we’re pretty sure there’s never a chance the maximum occupancy limit will be troubled.
The ‘Freedom to Roam’ principle, which is protected by law, gives everyone the right to walk, cycle, ride, ski and camp on any land with the exception of private gardens, near a dwelling house or land under cultivation.
Basically, it gives anyone living in or visiting the country to pretty much pitch up wherever they want; the only thing they have to pay, so to speak, is respect for nature and the animals living there.
Broken down a little more, here are the basics of what it entails:
- You are allowed to access any land, except private residences, the immediate vicinity (70 metres) of a dwelling house and cultivated land.
- You can put up a tent.
- Campfires are allowed.
- You are allowed to collect flowers, mushrooms and berries.
- Driving on private roads is allowed unless there’s a sign saying otherwise.
- Swimming in lakes is allowed.
- You can access any beach as long as you stay away from private residences.
- You are allowed to catch fish in the five big lakes and along the entire coastline.
“Sweden has no Eiffel Towers. No Niagara Falls or Big Bens. Not even a little Sphinx. Sweden has something else – the freedom to roam. This is our monument,” the Visit Sweden blurb reads and as people who have been there will testify, there’s plenty of room to roam in as well.
For more info on the Freedom to Roam campaign, check out the Visit Sweden website.
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