Getting around Sweden

By plane

Although Sweden is a fairly large country, most of the action takes place in the southern parts where the distances are not huge. Domestic flights are mainly for travellers with little time or much money, however if you are heading for the far north you may want to consider it. The most important domestic airlines:

• Skyways[20] - the largest number of domestic routes, several from Copenhagen
• SAS [21] - the international airline has many domestic routes as well.
• Direktflyg[22] - several domestic routes and also flights to Norway
• FlyNordic [23] - several domestic and a few international destinations.
• Malmö Aviation [24] - serves domestic destinations, Brussels and Nice.
• Sterling[25] - The low cost airline connects Stockholm with Malmö and Gothenburg
• Gotlandsflyg [26] - connects Stockholm and the island of Gotland.

By train

Sweden has an extensive railway network. Most major lines are controlled by the government-owned company SJ. To buy a railway ticket, or to obtain information, phone +46 771 75 75 75 or check their website [27]. Tickets are cheaper the earlier you buy them, so if your itinerary is set, buy your tickets ASAP! SJ recently started auctioning last minute tickets on the swedish eBay site Tradera (site only in swedish), available from 48 until 6 hours before departure. Swedish Rail passes are also available for International guests to Sweden. The national public transport authority is called Rikstrafiken[28], and it has online timetables in English, which include schedules for trains, buses and ferries. The service is called Resplus[29]. Regional public transport is usually operated by companies contracted by the counties. For instance, when travelling regionally in the province of Scania (Skåne in Swedish), one should refer to Skånetrafiken[30]. Connex[31] provides affordable railroad transportation up north. If you're on a tight schedule, be aware that trains, especially those operated by Connex, sometimes have quite significant delays (up to 1-2 hours).

By bus

Swebus Express[32] runs a number of bus lines in the southern third of the country, Götaland and Svealand. They tend to be a little cheaper than going by train if you can't take advantage of SJ's youth discounts. Y-buss[33] and Härjedalingen[34] operate between Stockholm and Norrland. Swebus Express also operates from Stockholm and Göteborg to Oslo.

By car

In Svealand and Götaland driving takes you quickly from one place to the other. In Norrland the distances tend to be bigger between the different sites so the time spent driving may be long. Unless you really like driving, it is often more convenient to take the train or fly to the sites, particularly in Northern Norrland. Traveling by night can be dangerous due to unexpected animals on the roads and the cold nights during the winter. Collisions with moose, roe deer, or other animals are a not uncommon cause of car accidents. See also Driving in Sweden and Winter driving.

By thumb

Sweden has a reputation for being a pretty difficult country to hitch in, though it's still quite possible to hitchhike (but not assured to be risk-free). Ordinary people are often afraid to pick up strangers, unless they're women with babies in desperate conditions, after dark maybe (when it's probable that leaving them there means killing them by hypothermia). Truck drivers are probably most likely to pick up hitchhikers, so target them. Asking at gas stations works pretty well. Bus stops are common places to attract attention, position yourself before the actual bus stop so the vehicle can stop at the stop. This works best if the road is widened at the bus stop, allowing cars to pull off easily.