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Sweden by campervan: safety and healthcare

Campervan safety in Sweden: vehicle security, healthcare, emergency contacts and practical prevention. What to know before you go.

Published 18 September 2026Last checked 19 September 2026

Safety and health

Safety and health

Sweden is a safe country to travel by road and the risks are not the ones people expect. UK Foreign Office advice describes pickpockets targeting tourists in major cities, and notes that violent crime does occur, with gang-related shootings and explosions reported in Malmö, Stockholm and Gothenburg. That is real, and it is also concentrated in specific residential areas rather than anywhere a campervan would be. Ordinary care covers it: nothing visible through the windows, doors locked in city traffic.

A moose cow lying in long grass beside a wooden rail fence
Dawn and dusk on a forest road. This is the real hazard here

What works

  • Slow down at dawn and dusk on forest roads. An elk is tall enough that a collision brings it through the windscreen rather than under the bumper.
  • If you hit protected game, mark the spot and call the police. It is a legal duty under the Hunting Ordinance, it is how an injured animal gets tracked, and there is a free roll of marker tape for the purpose at many petrol stations.

Health, fire and numbers

  • 112 for any emergency, in English. 1177 for medical advice that is not urgent. 114 14 for non-urgent police.
  • An apotek is a pharmacy. Ranges are smaller than in southern Europe and much is prescription only, so bring what you rely on.

Drug law is the one place where Sweden is much stricter than its reputation. The UK Foreign Office warns that illegal drugs including cannabis are prohibited in any quantity and that penalties reach ten years in prison. Whatever is tolerated where you set off from, it is not tolerated here.