Travel to Stockholm

Flying to Stockholm

Airlines operating direct flights to Stockholm from the UK include British Airways, Norwegian, Ryanair and SAS. If travelling from the USA, you can take direct flights with SAS and Norwegian. Prices can rise noticeably during peak holiday periods, including school summer holidays, Easter weekend and Christmas.

Flight times

From London - 2 hours 25 minutes

From New York - 8 hours

From Los Angeles - 10 hours 40 minutes (including stopover)

From Sydney - 23 hours (including stopover)

Travel by road

In Sweden, traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Speed limits are 110/120kph (68mph/ 74mph) on motorways depending on the road quality, 70kph (43mph) on other roads outside urban areas, and 50kph (31mph) in towns and cities.

The use of dipped headlights is compulsory in the daytime for cars and motorcycles, as are crash helmets for motorcyclists. Drivers must also carry an emergency warning triangle. Studded tyres are only permitted from 1 October and 15 April, unless road conditions warrant their use outside of these dates, and are mandatory in winter weather.

You must carry a national driving licence and vehicle registration documents at all times. The Swedish authorities do not require drivers to carry a Green Card, but it is advisable.

Assistancekåren (tel: +46 20 912 912 (in Sweden only); www.assistancekaren.se) is the country's main motoring organisation and can provide additional information on driving in Sweden.

Emergency breakdown services

Assistancekåren (tel: +46 20 912 912, in Sweden only).

Routes

Stockholm is integrated within the European motorway network, but Oslo is the only other European capital within convenient distance for direct overland access. The European motorway E18 goes straight westwards to to Oslo, while E20 heads to Gothenburg.

European motorway E4 heads south to Helsingborg for ferry connections with Helsingør in Denmark and connects to the E6 to Malmö for the Öresund bridge to Copenhagen.

Coaches

Cityterminalen, Klarabergsviadukten 72 (tel: +46 10 455 3397; www.cityterminalen.com), situated next to Stockholm Central, is the terminus for international coach connections.

Eurolines (www.eurolines.com/en) provides coach links to hundreds of European cities and towns. Coaches serve most destinations within Sweden as well, although services to the far north are limited. Swebus AB (tel: +46 771 218 218; www.swebus.se) runs services out of the capital.

Time to city

Oslo – 6 hours; Gothenburg - 5 hours; Malmö – 6 hours; Copenhagen – 7 hours.

Travel by Rail

Services

Stockholm is the hub of the Swedish rail service and, as such, enjoys efficient connections with all parts of the country. Stockholm Central Station is located on Centralplan 15 in Norrmalm, and has connections with the underground station T-Centralen, which most underground lines run through, as well as airport buses.

Operators

SJ (tel: +46 771 757 575; www.sj.se) is the efficient and well-organised national rail carrier for the country. Tågkompaniet (TKAB) (tel: +46 771 444 111; www.tagkompaniet.se) also operates a franchise in Greater Stockholm.

There are also international rail links, via the tilting SJ X2 high-speed trains which connect Stockholm with Copenhagen and Oslo.

Journey times

To Copenhagen - 5 hours; Oslo - 5 hours; Gothenburg - 3 hours 15 minutes.

Travel by boat

Easy access to the sea and the waterways of the Stockholm Archipelago, as well as inland waterways such as the Göta Canal between Stockholm and Gothenburg make the city an ideal destination for boat travellers. The port authority, Ports of Stockholm Group (tel: +46 8 670 2600; www.portsofstockholm.com), looks after the ports in Stockholm, Nynäshamn and Kapellskär.

In Stockholm, ferries dock at Frihamnen, Stadsgården and Vartahamnen, depending on the size of the vessel. There are immigration facilities for ferry passengers and Stockholm Information Service booths offering information, hotel booking and car hire.

Ferry operators

Tallink Silja (tel: +46 8 222 140; www.tallinksilja.se) has regular ferry services to Åland, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki and Turku.

Viking Line (tel: +46 8 452 4200; www.vikingline.com) travels from Helsinki via Åland to Stockholm, from Helsinki to Tallinn and from Turku via Åland to Stockholm.

Polferries (tel: +46 8 5206 8660; www.polferries.com/ferry) runs a service from Gdansk to Nynäshamn.

Transfer

The city centre is within easy walking distance of the port of Stadsgården. Taxis are readily available. Nynäshamn, situated 60km (37 miles) south of Stockholm, is linked to the city by the 73 road, as well as by rail, while the E18 road links the city with Kapellskär, 90km (56 miles) north of Stockholm.