Getting to 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. There are also low-price tickets, but they must be bought well in advance.

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 . As of summer 2009, the cheapest SJ tickets are released exactly 90 days before departure, so time your online ticket purchases carefully if your itinerary is set and don't buy tickets earlier than 90 days before your trip. 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 , and it has online timetables in English, which include schedules for trains, buses and ferries. The service is called Resplus .

Regional public transport is usually operated by companies contracted by the counties. For instance, when travelling regionally in the province of Scania( Skane in Swedish), one should refer to Skanetrafiken . For travelling in the region of [Malardalen] (the "Lake Malaren Valley"), you can check all train and bus operators on a mutual website, Trafik i Malardalen . This regional traffic cooperation includes many of Sweden's major cities, such as Stockholm , Uppsala , Vasteras , Linkoping , Norrkoping , Orebro and Eskilstuna , and reaches more than three million people. Connex provides affordable railroad transportation up north. If you're on a tight schedule, be aware that trains, especially those bound for far destinations (i.e. the Connex and SJ Norrland trains), sometimes have quite significant delays (up to 1-2 hours).

By bus

Swebus Express runs a number of bus lines in the southern third of the country, Gotaland 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 and Harjedalingen operate between Stockholm and Norrland. Swebus Express also operates from Stockholm and Goteborg to Oslo. At the county or lan level, buses are a good method for traveling short distances from town to town (as they are more frequent and cheaper than trains). It is best to check with the local transportation authority for routes and schedules. A newcomer on the bus market is Bus4You

By car

In Svealand and Gotaland 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.

Source: Wikitravel.org