Sweden

Sweden splits into two trips. The summer one is Stockholm and the west coast — long bright evenings, ferries between islands, swimming off the rocks. The winter one is Lapland: dog-sledding, the aurora, and the strange theatre of polar night. Either way it runs smoothly, near-cashless, and English is never a problem.

A first summer trip usually centres on Stockholm — Gamla Stan's old streets, the museum island of Djurgården, and a ferry out into the archipelago to swim and eat at a harbour restaurant. Gothenburg and its rugged west-coast islands make a natural second stop, reached by a fast train. Days stretch absurdly long: you eat dinner at nine with full sun still up. Lodging and restaurants are the real spend; supermarkets and a cabin kitchen keep it sane.

The honest part: the season is brutally short. The glorious version of Sweden lasts roughly June through August, and outside it the days collapse — by December Stockholm gets daylight from late morning to mid-afternoon, and the far north goes properly dark. Lapland's aurora trips are a gamble against cloud, and the cold is serious. Prices sit high year-round, and carry almost no cash because much of the country no longer takes it. Come in the wrong month expecting the postcard and you'll be disappointed.