Arlanda airport to central(ish) Stockholm for a non-bankrupting price?

May 29, 2015 12:53 PM

How can an academic friend get from Stockholm Arlanda airport, to Wittstocksgatan, Stockholm, for a reasonable price? Criteria inside.

1. Prefers train, but it isn't clear which trains (if any) are non-exorbitant in price. Don't mind a slower train if it saves significant money.
2. Arriving on Sweden's National Day (Saturday 6th June) in the afternoon - will it being the National Day cause any complications?
3. Arriving after a marathon series of flights = very tired + non-Swedish speaking. Need easy method.
4. Car hire / driving not an option.
5. Female traveling alone, therefore safe options only.

Thank you.

posted by Wordshore to Travel & Transportation around Stockholm, Sweden (10 answers total)

What do you consider exorbiant pricing? The arlanda express train (ie airport to central stockholm) is approximately 30USD. and then it looks like a 2-3 stop subway train (or probably a taxi if you are just done figuring things out).

I think there's also a $10USD bus that takes twice as long... but I've never taken it.
posted by larthegreat at 1:04 PM on May 29, 2015

flygbussarna.se bus to St:Eriksplan then number 4 bus toward Radiohuset exit at Banergatan stop.
posted by meijusa at 1:06 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Define "reasonable". Swedish prices are higher than most places. You won't get any super low prices, but you can get cheaper. That being said, give that she will be very tired and non-Swedish speaking, I would recommend paying a bit extra for a more direct, simple method. I would recommend Arlanda Express.

National Day won't pose great difficulties.

Bus tends to be chreaper. Cheaper trains than Arlanda Express exist, such as the local pendeltåget (commuter rail).

To learn about other options, check out SL at SL.se (they have an English language version). It will also give you prices.

The biggest safety issue will be pick pockets, not assault.

Here is WikiTravel's guide.
posted by troytroy at 1:06 PM on May 29, 2015

She should be able to buy an SL access card at Arlanda and preload it with ticket money. A typical trip costs 25 SEK in town; the card is valid for both subway and buses (not airport bus or Arlanda express train). One needs to have the ticket before taking a bus and cannot pay the driver.
posted by meijusa at 1:18 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Arlanda Express is about twice as fast as the normal train (20 mins vs 40-45), and 2-3x the price. Here's the link to the Swedish rail site. There'll be numerous trains per hour going to the Central Station in Stockholm from Arlanda.

Also, she'll be fine buying her ticket when she arrives. Pretty much everybody under 60 in Sweden speaks better English than me, and they sell tickets by machine that have English menus. Safety won't be an issue.

2nding the recommendation to add extra money to a ticket and using it around Stockholm. It can be a pain to reload at the stations.
posted by benbenson at 2:22 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd recommend either the train: The Arlanda Express (20 minutes. One way ticket: 280 SEK). Or the bus: Flygbussarna (40 minutes. One way ticket: 99 SEK).

They take you to the same place, the Central station / Cityterminalen. Check the links for timetables and information on where to buy tickets.

For easy travel, I would recommend either one of those options and then a cab (there are taxi stations right next to both the bus- and trainstation) to Wittstocksgatan, which should only be about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to get a taxi from one of the large companies like Taxi Stockholm, Taxi Kurir or Taxi 020. Smaller companies or single drivers have been known to rip off tourists.
posted by Petersondub at 2:44 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Do not attempt taking public transport (SL) in from the airport. It's huge a hassle, there's extra exit fees, etc. Be very careful about taxis, there are a lot of rip-off artists and its unregulated. Your friend should stick to Taxi Kurir or Taxi 020 (not advisign Taxi Stockholm since so many copy them). Arlanda express often has special offers, sometimes 200kr return, but generally not worth the money for the bit of time saved. Taxis are expensive any way you look at it, but taxi from where the bus lets off would be my advice. Navigate the whole SL-card issue once situated at hotel.
posted by Iteki at 5:12 PM on May 29, 2015

I seem to have missed reading the post before mine, so basically seconding it!
posted by Iteki at 5:16 PM on May 29, 2015

Echo flygbussarna.se

I visited an academic institution in Stockholm and they suggested this method of getting to Arlanda. I am female, and was traveling alone, 26 years old, not a word of Swedish. The academic folks were vigilant about my safety -- always had a male student walk with me to my apartment, etc. They felt that the bus was safe.

Incidentally almost everyone in Sweden speaks perfect English, except for cab drivers.

(I didn't end up using it because I had to leave at 4 AM to catch my flight, necessitating a taxi, which was fine... but getting tickets for the bus, etc. was easy)
posted by amy27 at 12:31 AM on May 30, 2015

Here's the way I'd do it: buy an SL 24-hour ticket at the airport, for example at Pressbyrån (convenience store). This ticket costs 115 SEK ($13.50) and will take you the entire way. Skip the Arlanda train station fee by taking bus 583 to Märsta. From there, take the shuttle train (pendeltåg) to the Central Station, and finally the red metro line to Karlaplan. Wittstocksgatan is within walking distance from there.

Travel time: 23 minutes by bus, 38 minutes by train, 4 minutes by metro, and maybe 4 minutes on foot.

I'm pretty sure this is the cheapest option. Arlanda express will get you there faster but it's more expensive. Flygbussarna might be cheaper, but then you'll be at St:Eriksplan and you'll still have to pay to get to east Stockholm somehow.
posted by Caconym at 9:35 AM on May 30, 2015