Planning the route is a large part of the fun.
Over the years I’ve done several parts of the route, especially in the north. I’ve been in the south too, but that was so long ago I don’t remember exactly where. I’m pretty sure I did part of Jämtland.
For Vita Bandet there is no fixed route. The only requirement is to stay west of a handful of waypoints, so you stay in the mountains. You can keep to Sweden or cross into Norway.
I started by looking at a lot of tracks from people who have already done the trip. Most follow more or less the same line. The big choice in the south is Storlien (in red) or Undersåker (in blue). The Undersåker route is shorter, but seems to have more roads. Storlien is more in the mountains but a bit longer. My preference will be Storlien, depending on conditions while underway.
After that, most people follow more or less the same route to Hemavan, and then Kungsleden all the way up to Abisko.
In the north I prefer to take Lapplandsleden from Klimpfjäll to Hemavan. This stays more in the mountains.
Later I plan to take the Padjelanta trail rather than Kungsleden all the way. Kungsleden is busy. Saltoluokta is a great hut, but it is quite low, and I had very bad conditions there two years ago. The stretch from Saltoluokta back west to Kungsleden is along a road, or often upwind on a lake. I did Padjelanta in 2024. It was very nice. From Ritsem I’ll go north and then east back to Kungsleden.
From Abisko the usual choice is to cross Torneträsk and then stay on the Swedish side all the way to Treriksröset. I plan to follow Nordkalottleden through Norway to the finish. The standard Swedish side seems very flat. I’ve done Nordkalottleden before, very late in the season (early May 2013). It is a great trek.