Getting around Sweden: transport and apps

Trains

• SJ runs the intercity network. Stockholm to Gothenburg is about 3 hours, Stockholm to Malmo about 4h30, and both are frequent.
• Book ahead. Advance fares can be a third of the walk-up price and the cheap seats genuinely run out.
• The night train to Lapland goes Stockholm to Abisko and Narvik and takes about 18 hours. It is a destination in itself.
• MTRX and Snalltaget compete on some routes and are usually cheaper.
• Everything is booked in an app and the ticket is a QR code. No paper.

Buses and ferries

• Flixbus and Vy Bus4You cover the long routes cheaply and slowly.
• Ferries matter here. Stockholm's archipelago is served by Waxholmsbolaget; Gotland by Destination Gotland from Nynashamn; Finland and Estonia by the big overnight boats from Stockholm's Varta terminal.
• The Stockholm archipelago boats are public transport, not tours, and are the best value day out in the city.

Driving

• Sweden drives on the right. Roads are excellent and empty outside the cities.
• Headlights on at all times, day and night, is the law.
• Winter tyres are mandatory from 1 December to 31 March when winter conditions exist, and rental cars have them fitted.
• Elk and reindeer collisions are a real hazard at dawn and dusk, especially in the north. The warning signs are not decorative.
• Congestion charges apply in Stockholm and Gothenburg automatically by camera; rental companies bill them on.
• Alcohol limit is 0.02%, effectively zero, and enforcement is strict.

Apps worth having

• SL for Stockholm, Vasttrafik for Gothenburg, Skanetrafiken for Malmo.
• SJ for trains.
• Parkster or EasyPark for parking, because most parking machines have gone.
• Swish is the national payment app and needs a Swedish bank account, so visitors cannot use it. This is worth knowing before someone asks you to Swish them.