Stockholm to Aarhus - Train or Plane?

October 25, 2007 4:49 PM

Would it be cheaper to get to Aarhus (Denmark) from Stockholm (Sweden) by budget air or by train?

I'm going to Europe next week - I'll be in Stockholm from the 2nd to 4th of November, then in Aarhus from 5th to 7th, then back to Stockholm to fly home.

I've tried looking up train fares, but I've only found information for the Eurail multicountry passes, which are exorbitant and unnecessary (as they're meant for more frequent travel). The prices for budget air sound great, but as I haven't managed to get individual train ticket prices, I can't make a fair comparison.

How much does a return trip from Stockholm to Aarhus cost? Is it better to fly or go on a train (overnight?)? Which is safer? I'm a 22-year-old Asian female travelling alone.

(also, any Mefites willing to host me in Stockholm? :P)

posted by divabat to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

A direct flight on the dates you want, from Stockholm to Aarhus, on Sun Air, which is a franchise of BA, will run you $951 Australian. A flight with a stop in Copenhagen on Scandinavian Airlines will cost $385 Australian. There aren't many other options to connect the two within the short time you've got. (My methodology was going to the Aarhus Airport Wikipedia page to see who flew there, and then going to those airlines' websites to check prices.)

The train may be less expensive, but will take a lot longer - you're looking at 8 hours one way from Stockholm to Aarhus via Copenhagen. Check dsb.dk, Denmark's rail website, for info; you can also check out this guy's amazing international train travel website; I sent you an e-mail from the DSB website with what look like the best journeys. SJ, Sweden's train company, can do online-booked tickets for you to Copenhagen, where you'd (probably - I've never done it) be able to just get another ticket to Aarhus on the day of your trip.

You can also buy point-to-point tickets for many trains at a site like raileurope.com, but keep in mind that you're paying a premium for that service. What about asking at a travel agency?
posted by mdonley at 5:28 PM on October 25, 2007

Alternatively, can the folks you're headed to Aarhus to see (if you are, indeed, meeting people) meet you in Copenhagen instead? It might be easier (read: cheaper) for you to get there.

The day train to Copenhagen is cheaper than the night train with "just nu" tickets, in second class, as a student with an ISIC card: 899 SEK (155 AUD) round trip.

The night train (leaves Stockholm the night of the 4th, arrives the morning of the 5th; leaves Copenhagen the night of the 7th and arrives the morning of the 8th) features cheapish tickets as a student with ISIC cards - 1026 SEK (176 AUD), with a place in a 6-bed female-only couchette, from Stockholm to Copenhagen, roundtrip.

Got all this from SJ. Again, all bookable online; you collect your ticket at the station with a machine that prints out whatever you've booked.
posted by mdonley at 5:45 PM on October 25, 2007

Have you considered: train to Gothenburg, then ferry from there to Aarhus? It might be slower or not, I'm not sure and don't live in Sweden any longer but I took that ferry a few times and was a nice ride (weather allowing). You could also fly to Gothenburg, I recall there being some very cheap fares for intra-Sweden flights on promotion back then in '06.
posted by Iosephus at 5:48 PM on October 25, 2007

(Ok, still need more coffee... The ferry goes to Frederikshavn actually, you need a not too long train ride from there to Aarhus. Hope it makes more sense now.)
posted by Iosephus at 5:49 PM on October 25, 2007

As a Dane, I would *typically* use plane from Stockholm to Copenhagen (due to speed), and train from Copenhagen to Aarhus (slightly cheaper, slightly slower). I would never go for the ferries unless I was going on a vacation with ferrying being a major attraction. They are slow as molasses.

The IC trains from Copenhagen to Aarhus are comfortable. You can buy tickets at the trainstation, but many buy them in advance at dsb.dk to ensure getting one. Don't board the train without ticket as that is more expensive.

By checking prices at flyprice.dk:

Plane only, Stockholm-Copenhagen-Aalborg is 1859 DKK (AUD 394) for both ways.

Plane Stockholm-Copenhagen is 689 DKK (AUD 146) both ways, and train Copenhagen-Aalborg is approx. 338 DKK (AUD 72) single-way. The Danish railway has a couple of plans for cheap travel for people younger than 26, but they requires membership which (as far as I can see) costs too much for make a single trip cheaper. They are targeted at the (semi)frequent traveller.

So the latter is cheaper, but how much is your time worth?

BTW: If you use flyprice.dk, you must type the Danish name for Copenhagen: København. "Fra by" = "From city". "Rejsemål" = "To City".
posted by flif at 12:46 AM on October 26, 2007

For international train journeys within Europe, Deutsche Bahn is where you search for timetables, even if you never cross a German border. At least the Swedish railway company is notably poor at this.
posted by springload at 1:20 AM on October 26, 2007

I've been looking at Sterling for the flights, which are crazy cheap. Less than $100 Australian. Would the train be cheaper then that? The train websites don't tell you anything pricewise.
posted by divabat at 5:57 AM on October 26, 2007

Train Stockholm-Copenhagen is about twice as expensive as the cheaper Sterling tickets. I second all of flif's suggestions.
posted by uandt at 6:31 AM on October 26, 2007

Gwargh. After all the fees and add-ons (seat assignment - I need my aisle - and insurance) the difference in prices seemed negligible. For the experience, I thought I'd book a night train from SJ, but the website died on me.

I'll try again later, but we'll see...
posted by divabat at 6:14 PM on October 26, 2007

I ended up flying Stockholm-Copenhagen, then meeting my contact there to take a bus & ferry to Aarhus. Took a train back to Copenhagen, flew back to Stockholm.
posted by divabat at 8:51 PM on November 21, 2007