Ah, that explains a lot! We actually visited Sweden last summer (with a camper van), and the first few days were still in the summer vacation. The first night was no problem, because we had reserved a place, but for the second night we only found a place at the third campground we tried. Then, once the vacation was over, the campgrounds were much less crowded (except for an influx of pensioners) - but some attractions (e.g. a historical railway) were already closed.
But are the 4 consecutive weeks during summer apart from the 25 (or 30 or whatever) days? If not that seems actually limiting, to have to use up most of the days in one go.
You are free to distribute your days as you wish mostly. The 4 consecutive weeks thing is something that the employer is not allowed to deny you.
The norm is to use the 4 weeks and then use the remaining days to stretch public holidays a little further.
They aren't, you use your allocated vacation time but are able to take the 4 weeks without question or needing to schedule around other coworkers (it's auto-approved).
Usually around June/July there's very few people working at most places, some restaurants are closed, etc. At one employer it'd be around 10-15% of us around during summer.
I actually prefer to work during this time, much slower pace, time to get into projects that couldn't be planned for. At max I like taking a week off and saving the rest of my vacation days for end of September when the weather starts to get cold.
I don't really understand why some prefer to travel outside of Sweden in June/July/August since those are the best months to be around (and it's high tourism season anywhere else in Europe).
> I don't really understand why some prefer to travel outside of Sweden in June/July/August since those are the best months to be around (and it's high tourism season anywhere else in Europe).
I live in a part of Canada where the summer months are the best months to be here. I used to spend lots of the summer here and travel mostly during less pleasant parts of the year until I had kids. Now they’re out of school for the summer so that’s when we travel… especially to see aunts and uncles who have kids, who are also not in school and thus available to spend time with us when wee visit.
Similar system in Finland. But generally there is implicit negotiations in tech that someone will be around to look after things. And if no one is willing the employer can order the placement of vacations. But there is generally enough people willing to move things around a bit for most to get what they want.
With most office jobs it is pretty free. But when it comes to factories or mandatory services the employer can absolutely ensure that there is enough workers.
June/July is the peak season in Scandinavia for restaurants. I have never heard of a Nordic restaurant that closes in those months, although many close after August outside of the cities. June/July is when they make their money.
I have never heard of a Nordic restaurant that closes in those months
Lots of restaurants in that mainly cater to lunch guests close for at least a few weeks during those months, since 90+% of their customer base are away and they get very few tourists.
Buy not only that, you are entitled to 4 consecutive weeks during the summer months.
Having 4 (or more) weeks off during summer is the norm in Sweden.
So the question is rarely about if you're gonna be off, but rather how you're going to spend that time.