Driving abroad
Driving in Sweden means driving on the right, with a drink drive limit of 0.02 percent and motorway speeds of 110 to 120 km/h. Everything below is the practical version, the things that actually cost visitors money or time.
Dipped headlights are required at all times, day and night, and elk are a genuine hazard at dawn and dusk.
Once the paperwork is sorted, this is what you came for. Vildmarksvagen, the Wilderness Road, Hoga Kusten Coast Road, Bohuslan Coast Road are among the highest scoring roads we hold in Sweden, and all of them are open to any road legal car.
Motorway limit
110 to 120 km/h
Outside towns
70 to 90 km/h
Built up areas
50 km/h, often 40
Drink drive limit
0.02 percent
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. A planning summary, not legal advice. Check the national road authority before you travel. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 5 March 2026
The detail
Congestion charges in Stockholm and Gothenburg, plus a few bridge tolls, all billed by plate.
Winter tyres are compulsory from 1 December to 31 March in winter conditions.
Environmental zones apply mainly to older diesels in city centres.
UK and EU licences are accepted.
Reflective jacket advised, Warning triangle
112
Now the good part
Jamtland
Sweden's highest public road, empty tundra, waterfalls and reindeer for company.
Vasternorrland
Sweden's High Coast, granite cliffs rising straight from the Gulf of Bothnia.
Vastra Gotaland
Pink granite skerries, fishing harbours and quick sweeping bends beside the sea.
Lapland
The inland artery north, hundreds of kilometres of forest, lake and silence.
Common questions
Motorways 110 to 120 km/h, main roads outside towns 70 to 90 km/h, and built up areas 50 km/h, often 40. Lower limits are posted and always take priority.
Congestion charges in Stockholm and Gothenburg, plus a few bridge tolls, all billed by plate.
0.02 percent. Roadside testing is routine and the safest approach on a driving tour is nothing at all before you drive.
Winter tyres are compulsory from 1 December to 31 March in winter conditions.
Reflective jacket advised, Warning triangle. Emergency number is 112.
UK and EU licences are accepted.