When we have many groups at the island we have a group leader gathering. On these meetings a representative from each group meet to discuss practical details, program bookings etc. The meetings happen every day at 18:30 at the camfire site behind Lillgårn, the Program office. Of course you can also visit the Program office whenever you have the need to discuss something about your program. We recommend that you gather all leaders in the group in the evening, after the group leader gathering – it’s important that all leaders receive the information given at the meeting.
The camp menu at Vässarö provides your group with four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snacks. Food is collected at the Food Supply/Quartermasters once a day for cooking at the campsite. Our aim is to provide every group with fresh ingredients, with a possibility for you to cook it ”your way”, as well as a possibility to eat it ”our way” by using the suggested recipes. You can find the menu in the folder ”Food information”. We are aware that not all of our specialities are to your taste, and we are prepared to make changes in the menuThe blue boxes you receive the food in must be returned to Vässarö at the next visit to the Food supply. Unfortunately it’s not possible to borrow these during your stay. Bring appropriate boxes and containers for your kitchen and don’t forget a bucket with lid for your food waste.
For the activities Trapper trail, guiding of the ”Naturlära”, sailing and canoeing booking should be made on the Program booking form before the 1st of april the year of the camp. After that our program staff puts together the program and try to be considerate to all wishes. Here you can read more about the program.
The program can be discussed on the leader gatherings in the spring and day by day once you are at Vässarö. Apart form the activitites mentioned above, acitivities are booked at arrival to Vässarö. Our program packages are free and all our groups is offered at least one sailing slot during their stay. These activities has to be followed by a leader that can be responsible for keeping order.
Most groups stay on Vässarö from Sunday to Saturday, giving them time to travel to and from the island. It is vital that you realise that Vässarö is an island; what you can do here is limited. A week or 10 days is not a problem, but two weeks or more almost requires that you leave for a few days, to go sightseeing or hiking. We recommend 7- 10 days. Swedish scout groups often have their camps the second and third week of June and the two first weeks in August. Foreign groups tend to arrive in the middle of July and a few weeks onwards. Don’t be disappointed if there are no Swedish groups on the island when you arrive; there are usually 50-70 staff members who can ”represent” Swedish scouting for you!
All participants have the oppertunity to shower once during their stay. Some participants might have good reasons for showering more than once, and that is also tolerable considering the capacity of the showers. The leaders decide when the group should use the shower – no booking is needed.
Due to safety reasons it is not allowed to swim in the harbour or at the docks in Fladan. The rest of the island has a lot of nice cliffs. If you want suggestions on where to swim – look at the map over Vässarö. The jetty by the sauna is primarily for those who have booked the sauna – please show consideration to those who have booked.
It is prohibited to dive when you are swimming from Vässarö. This is because of currents bringing floating waste towards land and the ice in the winters moves rocks. Hurting yourself in the water results in an immidiate life threat and that we want to avoid at any cost.
A time slot in the kiosk can be booked at the camp office. 1 cashier can handle approximately 25 persons per 30 minutes. During weeks with many groups it’s not guaranteed that you get a slot every day. The opening times might be changed, this is announced on the group leader gatherings. In the kiosk you can by post cards, stamps, hygiene products, song books, t-shirts and sweaters, soda etc. On Vässarö we do not sell any kinds of tobacco.
We offer payment by card or Swish both in the kiosk and at the camp office.
The dinning hall at Vässarö is open every night at 21:00-23:00. All scouts over 15 years and leaders are welcome. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and sandwiches are normally served. You don’t have to eat something to be there – you can come to talk, sing, play board games or just relaxe quitely.
All mobile operators have good service at Vässarö. On several spots there are an open Wi-fi and in the dining hall there are three computers for surfing. Charging hubs is located on some of the outhouses and on the outside of Lillgårn, the program office on the central island. Here you can charge your phone, powerbank or speaker. We recommend you to carefully mark your gear.
You need to bring your own camping equipment (tent, stove*, cooking equipment etc.) If you have problem
bringing cooking equipment, you can rent sets from us. Check box at „Programme Booking Form‟. Of course you also need to bring your personal camping gear, such as warm clothes, raincoat, wellies, swimming costume, plate, mug, cutlery, towels, sleeping bag (night temperatures may be as low as 5-10°C), sleeping mat. Shoe-wise, you should consider bringing practical shoes, for example jogging shoes. Quite some walking is offered, but heavy hiking boots might be excessive unless, of course, you plan to do some hiking before or after your stay at Vässarö.
The Swedish summer may vary from cold and windy (10° C) to warm and sunny (28° C), usually, however, it stabilises in between. Be prepared!
So, not counting all guests on the island, who are the rest of all the people that inhabit the island? Well, there are seven full time employees, some of whom are on summer holiday elsewhere when you visit us. The rest of the gang are volunteers – or ”funk” as we call them – from age 17 and up. We have staff families, staff dogs, and staff children. There can be between 50 and 100 members of staff working at the same time. We also have a small number of international staff members. Interested?
Contact the Camp office (Storgårn) for more information or read here: Staff information
Sometimes it’s necessary to mark a path/trail. Only decomposable markers are allowed, please no plastic ones.
Some groups welcome parents and others to visit the camp. Are you one of those? It’s necessary to organize such a day in advance so that the visitors get correct information about boat times etc. Contact bokning@vassaro.se if you want tips on how a visitation day can be organized.
At the end of your camp, you and the Camp office should set a time for when you meet at the office to do the bill. Try to arrange for that meeting to take place when there is plenty of time to go through the figures.
The campsite should be cleaned before you leave the island: construction wood should be placed in a pile in order of length of wood; rocks too should be placed in piles; if grass has been dug up refill the holes and even out the surface. Clean out the ditches and collect the wood chops. There is a special check list for arrival and departure. This you will get at arrival and you can find it here -> Checklist
07.00—08.00
Breakfast handout
15.00—17.00
Main handout
18.00—20.00
Time for returning leftover ingredients and picking up dessert (on some days)
Want to order something extra?
Welcome between 15.00-17.00, at least 24 hours before you need it.
Morning:
kl. 09.15 – 11.30
Afternoon:
kl. 13.30 – 16.15
Evening:
kl. 18.30 – 21.00.
Deviations might occur.
All days
18.00 – 20.00
Time slots are booked at the campo office.
We offer payment by card or Swish.
