Sotenäs camping, 456 44 Kungshamn:
small, most stunning sunsets, kitchen facilities to use, close to a busy street, short drives to the main attractions, good SUP location, hiking options, touristy place
Well, after a few buzzwords, let’s jump into my thoughts I had, especially on this trip, regarding camping alone.
Yes, I will mention a few times that Smögen is one of my favorite places, but first I want to share the fact that camping alone is not always easy and just fun. Whereas, fun it was kind of.
Besides having time for yourself, no one to annoy you and freedom, solo-camping contains one adventure after another. Floods right into the tent, thunderstorms at the sea, storm and tons of rain, rain, rain. But why should I be afraid? Isn’t it fun? Nothing bad can happen, to be honest. What a great feeling, when everything is dry and comfortable again, after I have moved the tent out of a water hole during heavy rain conditions. How nice to lie in my tent during a storm, read books until midnight, and listen to the sounds of nature: The sound of the sea, wind, rain pelting my tent, people talking far away and the storm passing by. Look, every disaster passes by, and you can handle everything yourself by just having faith, because nothing lasts forever anyway. A reason why such adventures are needed: Only after those experiences, I appreciate sun rays and calm even more. I mean, how nice after dealing with all that, to just chill in the sun the next day, drink a cup of coffee, and think of yourself: hell girl, you managed it and survived as well.
So, why did Smögen leave such an impression?
Smögen in particular conveys roughness through all the rocky landscape. All the sailors convey a sense of adventure and freedom. The people create an open-minded, pleasant atmosphere. Paddling with the SUP gives you peace and the possibility to just be “here and now” (okay between couple hundred fire jellyfish maybe not so relaxed, but I tried to ignore that haha). Since you can discover remote places that no one else recognizes, or get a view from a different perspective, literally (try to not move to some deep talk again). Another memory: just jumping off rocks into the water and panicking afterwards because I haven’t thought of how to get out beforehand. Yes blonde or just rash, or just me. This place definitely tempts to spontaneous actions that likewise showed me how precious, fun, and unique life can be. The situation with the rock, in fact, was very careless and could have ended stupidly but hey that’s me, my whole life consists of stupid actions and somehow, I keep on managing to constantly get out of the water again, literally haha again. But I certainly have funny stories to tell, and I am capable to struggle through each and any problem with faith. All the time, I have been by myself and as you can see – I had fun, grew, and collected stories that will shape my whole life from now on.
Difficult to describe, but I went to this place and felt like I was on another planet for a very short time. I switched off and felt wild and free. Things that burdened me before were no longer important. The place made me feel alive, feel strong, and feel a childlike adventure again. I felt proud to be brave, to feel alive, to be aware of the moment, and to laugh at the fact that I was really traveling all by myself. No one knew what I was doing at the time. In retrospect, I realized that yes, so much could have happened, so much more could have gone wrong, and yes, I was completely on my own. But one thing must be said, you would never let yourself down. So, you can just have confidence in yourself and thus not have to rely on others.
Finishing up with some more basic information: I have been in Smögen, July 2022, on my roadtrip and booked/paid my pitch in the beginning of June 2022 (whole campside was fully booked during my stay)
Recommendations:
- book your pitches in advance during high seasons
- definitely a summer go to place
- look for kitchen facilities to use (cooking, storing)
- check out possibly water holes in advance before setting up your tent
- go hiking at Sandöns naturreservat
- check out kleven for photo spots
- visit smögenbryggan during rain seasons (less crowded;))
- take your SUP out at Väjern hamn
- watch sunsets on the rocks behind Sotenäs camping
- use the entrance of first camp for reaching a far located, cool swimming spot with nice hiking options on rocks, and watching sailing boats entering Smögen
