Activities

     Practical Sweden

Where To Stay

Reduced rates at hotels are offered through such programs as the Scandic Hotel Cheques. Participating hotels in Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö offer family plans that include accommodations, breakfasts and city cards good for free public transportation and discounts on sightseeing and entertainment.

The Stockholm and Göteborg packages offer a variety of ways to save on lodging, sightseeing and transportation.

For more unusual lodging, the Romantik Hotels organization offers inexpensive rooms in quaint historic hotels and manor houses.

Transportation

Arriving & Departing: Bus fare from Arlanda Airport to Stockholm is about $9; taxi fare for the 45-minute ride is about $50.

There is frequent ferry and hydrofoil service between Malmö and Copenhagen; the trip takes 45 to 90 minutes. Ships sail daily between Göteborg and ports in Germany and Britain, and between Stockholm and Helsinki.

Trains from various European cities connect by ferry to Malmö, Göteborg and Stockholm. A rail and road bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen is planned.

Getting Around:
New for 1997 - The Sweden Rail Pass: For unlimited travel in 1st or 2nd class for 7 ($250/$190) or 14 days ($339/$255) on all routes operated by the Swedish State Railways. Up to 2 children under age 4 travel free and children under age 16 get 50% off. The pass does not include the cost of reservation or supplement fees. The "Reslust Card": This card gives the possibility to get a reduced ticket on all X2000 om 2nd class and all night trains, as well as reduced ticket prices on all InterCity trains for distances over 93 miles. The card is only beneficial during point-to-point travel and can only be purchased in Sweden from the Swedish State Railways.

Stockholm has a streamlined subway system. The 24-hour City Card, good for savings on transportation and admission to attractions, costs $28 in Stockholm, $18 in Göteborg. Malmö’s 72-hour card is $27. Cards can be bought at tourist offices, train stations and major newsstands in those cities.

Consider a cruise across southern Sweden aboard a Göta Canal steamer from Stockholm to Göteborg.

Bicycles can be carried on trains as luggage for a small charge; rental fees are inexpensive.

Holidays

New Year’s Day, Epiphany (Jan. 6), Good Friday (Mar. 28), Easter Sunday and Monday (Mar. 30 and 31), Labor Day (May 1), Ascension Day (May 8), Whitsunday and Whitmonday (May 18 and 19), Midsummer Eve (June 20), Midsummer Day (June 21), All Saints Day (Nov. 1), Christmas, Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

Money Matters

Banking hours are weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (also 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday). The krona is divided into 100 öre. $1 = 7 SEK as of May, 1997.

Free Literature

  • SWEDEN: An illustrated roundup of special events, travel to and within Sweden, highlights of each region, maps.
  • HOTELS IN SWEDEN: Names, addresses, telephone and telex numbers, with details on accommodations and rates.
  • Maps and a detailed list of events are also available.

Swedish Travel & Tourism Council
New York / 655 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 885-9700
fax (212) 885-9710

Visit our web page at: http://www.gosweden.org