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Knights Island, Stockholm, Sweden

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Travel to Sweden

Flying to Sweden

Major airlines running regular flights to Sweden include national carrier SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) (www.flysas.com), Easyjet (U2) (www.easyjet.com) and British Airways (BA) (www.britishairways.com). Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) (www.norwegian.com) operates direct flights from London Gatwick to Stockholm, while Ryanair (FR) (www.ryanair.com) has routes from London to Stockholm, Malmo, Karlstad and Gothenburg. Other airlines plying the skies between the UK and Sweden include FlyTorair (OAI) (www.flytorair.com) and AerOlympic (OD) (www.aerolympic.se).

Air notes:

The cheapest time to fly to Sweden is during the autumn and winter months when the chilly weather and limited hours of daylight put a dampener on seeing the sights and picking up sartorial inspiration from the country’s stylistas. However, if you’re prepared to brave the cold and dark, it’s worth taking a punt on cheaper winter fares for a chance to see the aurora borealis or to take advantage of the short flying times for a weekender in one of the country’s numerous luxe boutique hotels. Peak season fares, from June to August, are usually considerably steeper.

Flight times:

From London to Stockholm is three hours, to Gothenburg is 50 minutes, and to Malmo is 55 minutes. From New York to Stockholm is eight hours.

Air passes:

SAS (www.flysas.com) offers the cheapest air passes in Scandinavia with plenty of options costing less than £50, although its Swedish domestic pass does exclude the Stockholm to Kiruna route.

Travel by rail

Numerous train, or train plus ferry combination routes connect the UK with Sweden but the easiest way is by Eurostar (tel: 08432 186 186; www.eurostar.com) to Brussels, followed by a City Night Line (tel: 08448 484 064; www.raileurope.co.uk) high speed sleeper train to Copenhagen. From Copenhagen, the X2000 train (tel: (0771) 757 575; www.sj.se) takes you across the Öresund Bridge to Malmö, where you can pick up connections to the rest of Sweden. On average it takes around 5 hours to get to Stockholm. Other connections include taking the ferry from Denmark or making use of through rail routes from Norway (Oslo, Narvik and Trondheim). Bicycles can be taken on the trains. Along with state operator, SJ, domestic rail services are offered by Connex AB (tel: (0771) 260 000; www.connex.se), Inlandsbanan (tel: (0771) 535 353; www.inlandsbanan.se) and Tågcompaniet (tel: (0771) 444 111; www.tagkompaniet.se).

Rail passes:

InterRail offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents. The One Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Cut-price Youth Passes are available for travellers aged between 12 and 25. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064 in the UK;www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass offers unlimited first-class train travel in 25 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The One Country (Sweden) Pass allows three, four, five, six or eight days' travel within a one-month period. The Eurailpass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more people travelling together. The Eurailpass Youth ticket is available to those aged under 26 and offers unlimited second-class train travel. The Eurail Regional Pass allows between three and 10 days travel over a one or two month period in Sweden and neighbouring Norway. The Eurail Select Pass is valid in three, four or five bordering countries and allows five, six, eight or 10 travel days (or 15 for five countries) in a two-month period. Similar but cheaper (depending on whether or not you plan to stay within Scandinavia) is the Eurail Scandinavia Pass, which allows between four and 10 days travel over two months in all four Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland). Available online via The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

ScanRail: allows unlimited travel within Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Valid for five, eight or 10 days in two months or 21 consecutive days. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/railpasses/scanrail.htm).

By rail note:

If you’re planning a long stay, SJ offers a points scheme, with points accrued on journeys put towards further tickets. The SJ Prio scheme is free to join and more information is available on the website, www.sj.se.

Driving to Sweden

Sweden is easily accessible by car from Finland and Norway, whose long borders with Sweden have numerous, often unmanned, crossing points. Motorists entering from Denmark can use the beautiful Öresund Bridge, which connects the Danish capital Copenhagen with Malmö. On the Swedish side, the toll bridge connects to the E6 motorway.

Getting to Sweden by boat

Swedish ports offering marina facilities include Gothenburg (www.portgot.se), Sundsvalls Hamn (www.sundsvallshamn.se), Hargs Hamn (www.hargshamn.se) and Trelleborg (www.trelleborgshamn.se).

Öresund Runt Card: This pass enables visitors to travel on both sides of the Öresund sound (Sweden and Denmark) on boats or trains. The ticket can be bought from the Malmo Tourism Office at Central Station for around SEK249, is valid for two days and must be purchased in advance.

Cruise ships:

Although lacking the picturesque fjords of its western neighbour, Norway; Sweden is a popular cruise destination with most heading to Stockholm, Visby, Gothenburg and Halmstad. Ferry operator, DFDS Seaways (tel: (042) 266 000; www.dfdsseaways.se) also offers low-cost mini cruises from Newcastle to Gothenburg.

Ferry operators:

A number of ferry companies ply the waters of the North Sea, with the biggest – and the only one to offer a direct link to Sweden from the UK – being DFDS Seaways (tel: (042) 266 000; www.dfdsseaways.se). Scandlines (tel: +45 3315 1515, www.scandlines.de) Stena Line (tel: (031) 704 0000, www.stenaline.com), HH-Ferries (tel: (042) 268 024, www.hhferries.se) and Viking Line (tel: (08) 452 4000, www.vikingline.se) are the main ferry companies to try in and around Scandinavia.

River routes:

From Finland, it’s possible to enter Sweden along the Torne River, which for runs along the border of the two countries for 50% of its 522km (324 mile) length. From Norway, entry into Sweden is possible via the River Enningdalselva.

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