By car

Halland is easy driving territory. The E6 motorway runs the entire length of the county, a short distance inland from the coast, with clearly signed exits for Kungsbacka, Åsa, Varberg, Falkenberg, Halmstad and Laholm, so you're never more than a few minutes' drive from the motorway wherever you are. From Gothenburg it's a straightforward hour or so to Varberg and a bit over that to Halmstad; from Malmö or Copenhagen the E6 comes up through Skåne and crosses into Halland near Laholm. Traffic is light by international standards outside the Gothenburg approach and the peak of the July holiday season, and the road surface and signage are what you'd expect of a well-maintained Swedish motorway.

A car is genuinely useful in Halland if you plan to string together beaches, nature reserves and villages that sit off the rail line — Åkulla's forest lakes, Mästocka's heath, or the string of smaller beaches between the main towns are all easier with your own wheels. If you're mainly moving between the coastal towns themselves, though, the train is often just as fast and considerably less hassle; see By train and Getting around for that comparison.

Sweden requires headlights on at all times, day and night, on every road — it's not optional and not just for poor visibility. Drink-driving limits are strict, effectively zero tolerance by the standards of many other countries, and enforced seriously; don't drive after any alcohol at all. Speed limits are well signed and speed cameras are common on the E6 and other main roads, so it's worth actually reading the signs rather than assuming a blanket limit. Away from the motorway, Halland's inland roads run through farmland and forest where moose and deer cross at dawn and dusk — a genuine hazard, not a tourist-brochure warning, and the reason locals slow down noticeably on wooded stretches once the light starts to fade.

Running alongside the E6, closer to the shore, the old coast road and a web of smaller lanes link the fishing villages, beaches and harbours that the motorway bypasses entirely — places like Glommen, Ugglarp, Steninge and Träslövsläge. It's slower, with more turns and lower limits through the villages, but it's the route to take if the drive itself is part of the point rather than just a way to cover distance. A day spent on the coast road rather than the E6 easily doubles the driving time between, say, Varberg and Falkenberg, but it also puts you within reach of harbour kiosks, smokehouses and beach car parks that you'd otherwise fly straight past. The Coastal road trip itinerary is built entirely around this alternative route.

Town-centre parking in Halmstad, Varberg and Falkenberg is almost always paid, by app or by machine at the bay, with rates that step up through the working day and often relax in the evening and on Sundays — check the signage at the specific bay, since rules vary block by block. Coastal car parks at the busiest beaches, above all Tylösand and Mellbystrand, fill up by mid-morning on hot days in July, when the whole county's population effectively doubles with domestic holidaymakers; arriving early or coming by bike or bus is the only reliable way to avoid circling for a space. Smaller beaches and inland nature reserves generally have modest free or low-cost car parks that rarely fill, which is one more reason to explore beyond the two or three best-known strands.

If you're picking up a hire car at Landvetter or Kastrup, see Airports for how each airport connects onward, and Getting to Halland for the wider picture of arriving from abroad.

• Länsstyrelsen Halland — the county administrative board, for regional road and travel advisories
• SMHI — Swedish weather service, useful for winter driving conditions