Traveling between Arlanda airport and Stockholm city center can be done in many different ways as everyone who has visited the city knows. Sometimes you prioritize how quick you want to arrive to the heart of Stockholm and other times price is the only that matters. Let me explain you the cheapest way to travel between Stockholm and Arlanda … unless you have a friend who picks you up, of course.
This travel option is also very interesting if you are on a stop over and have just a few hours or if you are planning to visit Stockholm in 3 days.
How to Travel Between Arlanda and Stockholm
Arlanda to Stockholm By Taxi
The taxi fare is around $60 from the airport to the city and a little bit cheaper the other way around. If you need a bigger taxi or a van then price can go up to $90. Ask for a fixed fare because taxis in Sweden are not regulated and if you jump into the wrong taxi you’ll pay a loooooot. A private taxi for 3 people can be booked online for around $130.
You can also check here what a taxi between Arlanda and Stockholm would cost you.
Arlanda to Stockholm on the Arlanda Express train
You can get an adult ticket for the Arlanda Express fast train for around $40 although there are a lot of options to travel cheaper if you are a couple, a family, a student or you are traveling at certain times. You should check their website for a complete explanation.
NEW and cheaper! Arlanda to Stockholm with Flixbus
An even cheaper shuttle bus service operated by Flixbus starting at 3.90 € / $5.99 / £3.99 lets you travel between Arlanda Terminal 2/3, Terminal 4 or Terminal 5 to Stockholm Cityterminalen in 40 minutes (you can book online here).
Regarding the duration of the trip, Arlanda Express is the fastest one at about 20 min. It takes around 50 minutes for shuttle buses to get to Stockholms Cityterminalen located beside Stockholm’s Central Station. On a taxi or bus the duration of your trip may vary depending on traffic jams and road work in the northern part of Stockholm.
An Old 24-hour Travelcard on Paper
Photo: Israel Úbeda / sweetsweden.com
Using Public Transportation to Get From Arlanda to Stockholm or Back
The option to get to the center of Stockholm by public transportation is very interesting for those planning to get around in Stockholm by means of the commuter trains, underground trains, buses and trams. If you plan to do so you can use your ticket to travel cheaper. For instance if you buy your Stockholm Pass tourist card with the extra public transportation add-on and let them ship it to you at your home. You find more information about the Go City Stockholm pass here.
If you are unsure of buying the Stockholm Pass but you do want to use the public transportation to get to the museums, attractions and sights in Stockholm go to the 7-eleven, Pressbyrån kiosks at Arlanda Airport or visit the visitor center to buy an SL-Access card for a period of 24, 72 hours or 7 days. You can get them on paper or fill a physical chipped card that you can top up during your stay. Prices start at 13€ / 25€ / 33€ or $14 / $27 /$36 and £11.50 / £22 / £29 respectively. You’ll find more information on public transportation in Stockholm here.
This public transport cards are valid from your first use.
How to Get The Public Bus And Commuter Train to Stockholm
Make your way to the airport entrance and look for where bus nr 583 stops. Usually the stop is located between terminals 4 and 5 and the stop number is 15/16 but that may suffer from variations.
Wait for the bus and get on the bus destination Märsta Station. Travel time is around 18 minutes. Buses depart often and even beyond midnight but you should check the schedule for the bus line 583 here.
Bus bound for Märsta Station
Photo: Israel Úbeda / sweetsweden.com
If you are lucky, once you arrive at Märsta Station it will not be long until a commuter train (pendeltåg in Swedish) departs. You should wait for train nr. 42X or 41 that travel through Stockholm’s City Station. Travel time is around 40 minutes. The schedule for the commuter train 42X from December to mid June and mid August to December can be downloaded here. For commuter train 41 here. Summer schedules (mid June to mid August) are available some weeks before the season but they don’t differ much.
With shorter commuting times your trip to Stockholm should take less than an hour but if you miss the train and have to wait for the next one it could be up to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Pendeltåg train to Stockholm Central Station
Photo: Israel Úbeda / sweetsweden.com
From Arlanda Airport to Stockholm Without SL-Access
If you are NOT interested in using public transportation DURING your stay but still you’d like to take advantage of it to get to Stockholm at the cheapest fare possible you need to go to one of the kiosks at Arlanda airport and buy a one-time single ticket (in Swedish called engångsbiljett) costing only 43 SEK (around 4€ / $5 / £3.60) which will entitle you to travel in the way I explained above. You will need a similar one-time ticket for you return trip to the airport. That makes $10 for a sneak peek at Stockholm.
If you are staying longer you can always combine the different travel card and ticket options so that you have enough credit or a valid ticket when returning to the airport after your holidays. A 7-day ticket is well worth its price and it’s the option I recommend even for those staying in Stockholm for 4 and up to 7 days.
So this is the story about the famous bus 583 and the commuter train 42x that will take you to the city center at the cheapest possible fare so that you can spend your money visiting attractions, eating good food and discovering what makes Stockholm unique and tourism in Sweden different.
If you have any questions, doubts or suggestions feel free to leave me a comment below.
Hello Israel!
First of all, this website has been very helpful and really beefed up my knowledge on the practical aspects of visiting Stockholm, so thank you!
I’d like some advice regarding getting to Arlanda Airport during my upcoming family trip. We are a family of 4 adults, and will have 1 medium-large sized luggage each. Our flight departing from Arlanda is at 10.25pm.
I’m undecided about the transport option. Could you advise please?
1) Taxi seems to be most convenient for 4 (e.g. Uber is consistently 490 SEK whenever I check) but I’m unsure whether they will take or accept the number of luggages we have.
2) Arlanda Express train is 550 SEK for 4 and very quick, but we are staying in Sodermalm (near Medborgaplatsen), so we would have to take taxi/uber/subway to the train station anyway (added cost?)
3) Flygbussarna (99 SEK per person) or Flixbus airport shuttles are most reasonably priced, but take longer than the express train and also require transport to the station first.
Hi Yvonne,
I have been checking the options and I do think in your case taxi would be the best option. You can get a taxi from Stockholm to Arlanda for 390 SEK (maybe a bit more from Södermalm) but they usually have fixed prices.
Regarding taxis you need to take into account that prices are liberalized in Sweden which means they can charge you how much they want and some companies use that to lure tourists. So never take a taxi on the street without being sure of the prices. My advice then is to book with one of these companies: Taxi Stockholm, Taxi Kurir or Taxi 08. Be careful because some companies use similar names to misguide. One thing you could do is book online at Taxi 08 or download an app for the other companies I mentioned.
In case you use a public travelcard to get around in Stockholm then in your last day you could travel to Stockholm Central Station or to T-Centralen metro station and from there walk 5 min to Cityterminalen and take Flygbussarna buses. That would be my second option.
Regards,
Israel
Hi Israel, thank you for your prompt and thorough reply!! :)
I have explored the Taxi 08 website and am amazed; I thought the usual/fixed price was 500 SEK but have realised that is the price FROM Arlanda which is higher(?). I’m so pleased by the knowledge of this website and can’t believe that it is a fixed price and no surcharge even for pre-booking. We probably have to add on the luggage option (+30 SEK so 420 SEK), very reasonable.
Hi Yvonne,
they charge more from the airport to the city. I guess because the taxis themselves need to pay some tax for picking up passengers at the airport.
Regards,
Israel
Hi Israel, I’m visiting Stockholm next week with my family. I would like to find out from you regarding using the SL access card to get from Arlanda Airport to Stockholm city centre. Am I correct to say that if I buy the SL card & load it with 7 days Travelcard, I can use it to travel from Arlanda to city centre? I read that I can buy the SL access card from Arlanda Centre.
Hi Mona
Yes you can travel with the SL-access loaded with any period ticket (24,72 hours or 7 days) or with single journey tickets.
You just need to follow the way explained here with the bus and commuter train.
Regards
Israel
Hi Israel, that’s a real quick reply. Thank you. One more question, do I have to pay passage fee (SEK120) if I travel on bus 583 from Arlanda?
Haha I just woke up, saw your message and answered instantly.
No you don’t have to pay the passage fee. This fee is for those taking the commuter train directly at the Arlanda C station. By taking the bus to Märsta station and getting on the commuter train there you skip the fee albeit the journey is a little longee.
Regards
Israel
Hi Israel.
We (two people) arrive Arlanda Airport terminal 5 on 4/8/2019,
Follow your comment we try to book on Flixbus website but it didn’t work.
Can we buy direct ticket from airport, and is it different price with online booking? Our hotel is 200m from central station
Hi Duong,
that is strange because the website has been working flawlessly for months. Maybe you should try again?
Regarding your question I think you can buy on spot but price is usually higher and subjected to availability.
Regards,
Israel
Hi Israel.
Thanks for your help, i just restart my browser and book two ticket from airport to city center with Flexbus = 8 Euro for two, Thanks again.
Regards,
Wow that’s a great price. Glad to have helped!
Enjoy the visit and come back to explain your stay :D
Regards!
hey there, we are 2 people straying for about 4 days, from what I understood if we get the 7 days travel card we can travel from and to the Arlanda Airport without any extra fees, am I right ?
thanx
Sure. You buy it upon arrival in Arlanda and follow the instructions here regarding bus to Märsta Station and commuter train to Stockholm City. There is another option with the travelcard that includes a fee and that is taking the commuter train at Arlanda C station. That’s NOT the one I recommend here.
Regards,
Israel
Hi Israel, thanks for your detailed post on how the various options, I am planning to visit in a few weeks. Glad to hear that taking Marsta Station bus and commuter train is covered by 7 day SL-Access card. What about the return trip, is it exactly in reverse for bus destinations, etc? Thanks in advance for your help! Bob
Hi Bob,
sure just the reverse. Commuter train and getting off at Märsta Station (end destination may be another one). Then bus 583.
An easier alternative albeit with private transportation is Flixbus shuttle buses to Stockholm Centrum.
Have a nice trip,
Israel
Thanks for the reminder, yeah I saw that option from your post and I am debating if it is worth the €3.99 to not have to switch from bus to train, ha.
No problem. The thing is when I first wrote the original post in Spanish there was no Flixbus available. Just Flygbussarna, Arlanda Express or taxis so public transportation was the cheapest by far. But now starting at €4 it might be worth so I just provide all options for all travelers.
Have a nice trip
Israel
Hi Isreal, I’m traveling from California, U.S.A. to Fryshuset
Martendalsgatan 2-8 Stockholm, Sweden. I am in the music business and will work an event for one day only. I fly in, stay one night then fly back the next day. Question, do the hotels have free airport shuttles? If not what cheap way would you suggest that puts me close to my destination?
Hi Frankie
No they usually don’t.
That could be done in two ways. 1) Exclusively by public transportation. Getting from Arlanda to Stockholm as explained here and from Stockholm City Center to your destination on the underground and light train. For this last part of the journey take green metro line toward Farsta Strand, Hägsätra or Skarpnäck and get off at Gullmarsplan. Then ligh train 22 toward Sickla and get off at Mårtensdal.
2) with a cheap airport shuttle like the ones Flixbus operates to the city center (paid separately as it is a private company) and then by public transportation as explained above.
There is a 24-hour public transportation ticket which would be useful for you. Cost is around $15.
Hope this info can be useful for you. Regards
Israel
Hi Israel,
I got the SL card and followed your suggestion and it worked great. Thanks for that.
For the return, can I take the 41/42X train straight to Arlanda and not pay the SEK120 Airport-Train fee or do I do the same in reverse?
Hi Shafiq, great to know that it worked for you.
If you return by commuter train and get off at Arlanda C station (the one at the airport) you’ll have to pay the extra fee. To avoid paying the fee you need to stop at Märsta station and from there take bus 583 towards Arlanda.
Regards,
Israel
I need to go from Arlanda to Värtahamnen at night. How much does the night bus 593 cost, what kind of ticket do I need for it, and can I use the same ticket to take the early morning tunnelbana to Ropsten (from where I can walk to Värtahamnen)? Thanks!
It is 39 SEK. You can buy it with your credit or debit card on the bus. No, you need another ticket for the early morning metro. Again 39 SEK.
Thank you!
What is your recommendation to reach from Arlanda airport to Kista/Helenelund station ?
Hi Abhinav,
with public transportation it would be train 41 to Märsta and from there bus 583.
Regards
Israel