If you don't want to be addicted and really enjoy Sweden, drive or rent a car at all Swedish airports and major train stations.
Public transport is good and not overpriced by Nordic standards, but especially in rural areas and the north of the country, connections are very sparse, with very few buses running on Saturdays, for example.
Compare car rental prices in Sweden
By car
Drive on the right.
Swedes are probably the most responsible drivers in the world. They all obey the rules. No one honks their horn. Almost everyone will let you cross at the crosswalk. Plus, there are minimal cars on the roads compared to other countries, except during rush hour in Stockholm and around the holidays when all Swedes head from the cities to their cottages in the countryside.
Most cost effective to travel with 4-5 people and rent a car. This also gives one flexibility. Cars are available at every airport and in the center of major cities.
Detailed information about rental prices, as well as general information about regulations, tolls and traffic, can be found in the separate chapter Car rental Sweden.
By air
Sweden is a large country and therefore for long distances it is most practical to travel by plane.
Domestic tickets are not very expensive and prices for one-way travel with hand luggage range between 700 sek and 1500 sek.
Logically, the busiest transport runs from Stockholm to all major cities and very small airports.
Compare flight prices around Sweden
You can use the services of several airlines on many routes around Sweden. The name of the airline that flies the route is given in brackets).
- From Stockholm Arlanda Airport ARN
- Ängelholm (SAS)
- Arvidsjaur (PopulAir)
- Gällivare (PopulAir)
- Göteborg (Ryanair, SAS)
- Hagfors (Jonair)
- Hemavan (PopulAir)
- Kalmar (SAS)
- Kiruna (Norwegian, SAS)
- Kramfors (PopulAir)
- Luleå (Norwergian, Ryanair, SAS)
- Lycksele (PopulAir)
- Malmö (Ryanair, SAS)
- Mora (Jonair)
- Örnskösldsvik (PopulAir)
- Östersund (SAS)
- Ronneby (SAS)
- Skellefteå (Ryanair, SAS)
- Sundsvall (SAS)
- Sveg (Jonair)
- Torsby (Jonair)
- Umeå (Norwegian, SAS)
- Vilhelmina (PopulAir)
- Visby - Gotland (Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS)
- From Stockholm Bromma Airport (BMA)
- Ängelholm (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Göteborg (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Halmstad (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Kalmar (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Kristianstad (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Malmö (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Östersund (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Ronneby (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Sälen-Trysil (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Skellefteå (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Umeå (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Växjö (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Visby (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- From Göteborg Airport GOT
- Luleå (SAS)
- Skellefteå (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- StockholmBromma (Braathens Regional Airlines)
- Stockholm Arlanda (Ryanair, SAS)
- Visby (Braathens Regional Airlines)
Jonair also flies on the Luleå - Pajala and Umeå - Östersund routes.
Public transport
If you want to use public transport, it is advisable to book tickets for long-distance trains and buses in advance for the lowest prices. Prices rise very quickly. It is ideal to buy tickets 1-2 months in advance.
For regional transport, tickets are still the same price and just buy them on the spot, either at the station ticket office or from the bus driver or conductor on the train.
Resrobot transport search engine
Sweden has a search engine for all train and bus connections , resrobot.se, but some private carriers do not appear on it.
This applies in particular to the long-distance bus carriers Flixbus, Ybuss and others.
The search engine works well for rail connections and regional transport, which it covers in its entirety.
You can also buy a ticket directly in the Resrobot search engine, but this is only recommended for regional connections, where online purchase is not necessary, as the ticket always costs the same on the spot.
For long-distance routes (e.g. Stockholm-Gothenburg, Stockholm-Norrköping, etc.), tickets via Resrobot are usually more expensive than directly with individual carriers. However, you can always see right away which carrier operates a given route and therefore know which site to buy a ticket cheaper.
A detailed breakdown of all booking platforms of each carrier is given below.
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Trains
The most comfortable and secure way to travel is by rail, but the network is not very dense and concentrates mainly on the main lines.
On long-distance routes between major cities and on regional services around Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, trains are significantly more frequent and clearer than buses.
There are several rail operators in Sweden which compete with each other on some routes. There is no general comparator of all rail carriers and it is therefore always advisable to compare the websites of all the carriers operating on the route in question on competing routes.
SJ - Swedish State Railways
The largest carrier in Sweden, mainly providing long-distance services between all major cities.
The website also provides a clear overview of all regional stop trains that are not operated directly by SJ, but by the individual counties and regions.
SJ long-distance trains are divided into several categories.
- SJ Regional - modern units run on long-distance routes but stop at most stations. Tickets tend to be the cheapest of the long-distance trains, but have up to twice the journey time compared to faster services.
- SJ InterCity - older trains with locomotive and black coaches, which are typical of SJ. These trains are faster than SJ Regional because they stop at fewer stations. They mainly serve lines north of Stockholm or to Norway or Karlstad.
- SJ Snabbtåg - high-speed trains running at up to 200 km/h - 210 km/h (depending on the age of the particular unit) on main lines, mainly from Stockholm to Gothenburg and Malmö, but also running north via Sundsvall to Umeå. These services tend to be the most expensive, but the fastest and most comfortable of all train types.
- SJ Nattåg - night sleeper and sleeper trains running mainly from Stockholm northwards, into the mountains and to Malmö.
SJ Swedish Railways is a reliable carrier. Some trains may look dated, but they are well maintained, clean and comfortable inside.
Tickets are checked by conductors and you cannot buy a ticket inside the train. You must always have a ticket purchased from the station ticket office, a machine or online.
- sj.se - Official website with online ticket purchase and timetables
- Mobile app (Google Play / App Store)
MTRX
A private carrier that competes with SJ Snabbtåg express trains on the Stockholm - Gothenburg route, with several stops along the way.
MTRX has modern units in its fleet running at speeds up to 200 km/h and therefore fully competitive with SJ Snabbtåg's fast trains. Prices on MTRX are typically calculated according to occupancy, so early morning or late evening services are typically the cheapest.
Tickets can be purchased at the station at the red MTRX machines or online.
- mtrx.travel - Official website with online ticket purchase and timetables, also searches for connections of other carriers, but with a surcharge
- Mobile app (Google Play / App Store)
Öresundståg
The trains operating under this brand are regional services in the south-west of Sweden, running along the sea on regional stops between the cities of Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, Copenhagen or Karlskrona.
Tickets can be purchased at oresundstag.se/en, but also at no extra cost at sj.se, which also operates faster trains with fewer stops on the routes.
Vy
The Swedish branch of the Norwegian rail operator Vy operates overnight sleeper and sleeper trains from Stockholm via the towns of Gävle, Sundsvall, Umeå and Boden, where the trains split. Some continue on to Luleå and some continue via Gällivare, Kiruna or Abiska stations to the Norwegian port of Narvik and beyond the Arctic Circle.
Directly on this route, it competes with SJ's night trains.
In addition, Vy also operates regional trains throughout the north under the Norrtåg brand, which run between the Norwegian border town of Storlien, the ski resorts of Duved, Åre and Östersund and the main line town of Sundsvall.
Norrtåg trains also run on the main line Sundsvall - Umeå - Boden - Luleå or Luleå - Kiruna - Narvik all regional stops.
- vy.se - Booking long-distance tickets, also searches for connections from other carriers, but with a surcharge
- norrtag.se - timetables and booking of regional transport tickets on Northern Sweden lines
It is recommended to book tickets on long-distance connections of night trains at least 1-2 months in advance, while tickets on regional connections can be bought quietly on the spot, including the option from the conductor if there is a ticket office or machine at the stop.
Snälltåget
A private carrier that runs regular trains 2-3 times a day on the Stockholm - Malmö route, once a day from Stockholm via Östersund, Åre and Duved to Storlien, and also operates a night train Stockholm - Berlin.
The trains make many stops along the way and compete with the rival SJ, which runs to Malmö significantly more frequently and faster, especially at a slightly lower price.
Buy tickets online 1-2 months in advance for the lowest price.
- snalltaget.se - Booking long-distance tickets and night train
Mälartåg
A regional carrier operating in the wide area around Stockholm and Uppsala, competing with regional services from SJ and local counties.
Tickets are often cheaper than SJ trains and are bought from a machine at the station or online.
- malartag.se - Regional ticket booking and timetables
Regional trains
Off the main lines, trains operated by regions and counties run alongside local bus services.
These services can be found in the resrobot.se search engine or on the websites of the individual transport systems.
Tickets are always the same price no matter which search engine you look at. Plus, there's no need to buy tickets in advance. You can buy them for the same price from a ticket office or ticket machine, and if there is no ticket office or ticket machine at the station, then from the conductor.
You can always pay by card.
- SL - regional trains and public transport around Stockholm, information: sl.se
- Västtrafik - regional trains and public transport around Gothenburg, information: vasttrafik.se
- Tåg i Bergslagen - regional trains around Gävle, Borlänge and Örebro, information: tagibergslagen.se
- Värmlandstrafik - regional trains around Torsby and Kil, information: varmlandstrafik.se
- Skånetrafiken - regional trains and public transport around Malmö, information: skanetrafiken.se
- JLT - regional trains around Jönköping and Nässjö, information: jlt.se
- Krösatåg - regional trains around Linköping, Karlskrona and Kalmar, information: krosatagen.se
- Xtrafik - regional trains around Gävle, information: xtrafik.se
Inlandsbanan
Inlandsbanan tourist trains run every summer through the interior of northern Sweden on a scenic local line.
The route runs through the foothills of the Scandinavian mountains for more than 1,280 km. The trains always run in two sections and the entire route can be completed in 2 days.
- Mora - Östersund
- Östersund - Gällivare
Individual tickets are available (the whole route can be purchased for 2 685 sek) or hiking packages including overnight stays, where the whole route takes 6 days. These packages can be purchased for prices around 9 000 sek and include hotel accommodation.
Detailed information about this tourist railway can be found on the website: inlandsbanan.se/en.
Buses
Long-distance buses are a cheaper alternative to trains on many major routes.
Smaller towns and villages are served by regional buses operated by the individual regions. These regional buses run relatively frequently on weekdays (usually at least 2-3 times a day to the smallest villages), but very little at weekends (often not at all on Saturdays).
On which routes are long-distance buses worthwhile?
Especially if you book tickets less than 2 months before departure, buses can be 2-3 times cheaper than trains.
Long-distance buses are especially worth the price from Stockholm to Karlstad, Örebro, Jönköping or Gothenburg, and also from Gothenburg to Malmö.
Long-distance services are mainly provided by 2 carriers. Ideally book tickets in advance on the website.
There are also carriers from Stockholm to the north 1-2 times a day ybuss.se. However, ticket prices are often higher than for trains.
Regional buses
All other bus routes are operated by individual regions, and to avoid having to search individual websites, the best way to find timetables and view prices is on the resrobot.se.
On this website you will find all public transport bus routes throughout Sweden. The search engine can also combine connections with transfers, including transfers between buses and trains.
Ferries
Sweden has several islands that can only be reached by ferry.
Boats to Gotland
Sweden's largest island, Gotland, is accessible by air from all major Swedish cities via Visby VBY airport. If you're heading to Gotland with your own or rented car, or even as a foot passenger, you can also take advantage of the boat service.
You can compare all prices and ferry tickets via directferries.com, where you can also buy a boat ticket.
- Visby - Nynäshamn
- 2-5x per day (Destination Gotland)
- from 35 eur on foot / 87 eur with car
- Visby - Oskarshamn
- 1x per day (Destination Gotland)
- from 25 eur pedestrian / 77 eur with car
- Visby - Stockholm city centre
- 2-5 times a week from April to October (Viking Line)
- Price from 200 eur
Boats to Öland
Sweden's second largest island is connected to the mainland by a free road bridge, but ferries also run from the northern tip during the summer season from May to October.
- Byxelkrok - Oskarshamn
- 2-3 times a day
- 125 sek on foot / 590 sek with a car
- olandsfarjan.se