My son and I just returned from a trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We were there for 4 nights (a 5th night was spent “sleeping” on a red eye to Stockholm – SEE ALSO: 4 tips for surviving a red eye flight in economy). I wrote last week about the best way to get from Arlanda to Stockholm city, so today I thought I would share my thoughts on the return journey – the fastest, cheapest and best way to get from Stockholm city center to Arlanda airport.
Arlanda airport (ARN) is the larger of Stockholm’s two airports (Bromma airport is the other) and is located 42km (26 miles) north of the Stockholm city center.
Express train from Stockholm central city to Arlanda airport
The fastest way from Stockholm central city to Arlanda Airport is to take the Arlanda Express train from Stockholm Central station to Arlanda Airport. The Stockholm Central station is in (wait for it) the city center of Stockholm and is a huge complex. Signs for the Arlanda Express are plentiful and it’s very easy to find your way to the tracks for the Arlanda Airport once you’re in the Stockholm Central Station. Stockholm Central Station is a quick walk from the Clarion Hotel Sign hotel, which is one of the hotels I stayed at while I was in Stockholm.
One important thing to keep in mind is that the Arlanda Express is NOT affiliated with the Stockholm transit company (SL) and any SL travel cards will NOT work on this Arlanda express train. For public transportation options to travel from Stockholm city center to Arlanda Airport, see below.
Naturally, since it’s the fastest way, the Arlanda Express is also the most expensive way to get from Stockholm to Arlanda airport. The Stockholm to Arlanda train price on the Arlanda Express is 280 SEK (~USD35) for a one way adult journey (roundtrip / return tickets are 550SEK, a very slight discount). Children / youth ages 8-25 are SEK 150 and children 7 and under are free. The Arlanda Express does offer a variety of discounts, including early bird discounts and occasional discounts for multiple passengers.
It takes about 20 minutes on the Arlanda Express to get from Stockholm Central station to Arlanda airport. At Stockholm Central Station, the Arlanda Express arrives at and departs from platforms 1 and 2. At Arlanda airport, there are two Arlanda Express stations: Arlanda South (Terminals 2, 3 and 4) and Arlanda North (Terminal 5).
Express bus from Stockholm central to Arlanda airport
Another option is an express bus from Stockholm city center to Arlanda Airport. This bus to Arlanda airport is run by Flygbussarna.
Note that just like the Arlanda Express train, the Flygbussarna is NOT affiliated with the Stockholm transit company (SL) and any SL travel cards will NOT work on this Arlanda airport express bus. For public transportation options to travel from Stockholm city to Arlanda airport, see below.
The Flygbussarna bus from Stockholm city center to Arlanda Airport runs up to every 10 minutes and takes about 45 minutes to travel from Stockholm Central Station in the Stockholm city center to Arlanda Airport
Check the Flygbussarna website for up to date information, but at the time of this writing, it departed from Terminalslingan street on the west side of Stockholm Central Station. The price for the Flygbussarna bus from Stockholm to Arlanda airport is 99 SEK (~USD13) for adults and 89 SEK for youth ages 8-17. Up to 2 children 7 and under travel free with a paying adult. You can also buy a “family” ticket which costs 349SEK (~USD44) and covers 2 adults and 3 children.
Cost of a Rideshare / Uber from Stockholm city to Arlanda
You can take an Uber from Stockholm to Arlanda airport but it’s going to be expensive. Remember, the airport is 25 miles from the Stockholm city center.
When I did a quick check of the Stockholm Uber airport fare, it was 470 SEK (~USD 60) for a one way trip on Uber from Stockholm city center to Arlanda airport. I would imagine that a taxi from Stockholm city center to Arlanda airport would be about the same price and there does not appear to be Lyft or any other ridesharing companies offering service in Stockholm, Sweden.
Public transportation / subway from Stockholm city to Arlanda airport
You can take public transportation from Stockholm city center to Arlanda. All public transportation in Stockholm is run by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL).
If you’re wondering how to take public transportation from Stockholm Central station to Arlanda Airport, it’s pretty easy. You want commuter train #36, which is easily accessible from anywhere in Stockholm, with perhaps a transfer at Stockholm Central station.
All SL tickets cost SEK 30 if you have an SL travel card and SEK 43 if you do not. There are discounts for children and seniors, and an unlimited number of children under the age of 7 always travel free on SL when accompanied by a passenger with a ticket. Also, from noon on Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday (and public holidays), up to six children under the age of 12 travel for free when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you take the commuter train to Arlanda Central station, you will pay a SEK 120 fee to go from the Arlanda Central SL station to the actual airport. This is called an access fee or passage fee. Note that children under 18 do NOT pay this access fee ( similar to how children do not have to pay to board the AirTrain when going from Newark Airport to Manhattan).
As pointed out in the comments of the original post about how to get from Stockholm city center to Arlanda airport, there is another option for taking public transportation that is even cheaper. If you take a commuter train #36 to Marsta instead of to Arlanda, you can then take Bus #583 from Marsta station to Arlanda airport, which is about a 20 minute bus ride.
That would definitely be the cheapest way from Stockholm to Arlanda airport. If you’re not familiar with Stockholm or not super comfortable with public transportation that may be out of your comfort zone but perhaps after a few days in Stockholm you might feel more comfortable
So what’s the best way from Stockholm City to Arlanda airport?
As always, the absolute BEST way from the Stockholm city center to Arlanda Airport depends on you. Do you want the fastest way from Stockholm to Arlanda airport? The cheapest way from Stockholm city to Arlanda? We ended up taking the Flygbussarna when we went from Arlanda to Stockholm, and then took the commuter rail to Marsta. We ended up staying the night at the Best Western Arlanda Hotellby which had a free airport shuttle, but had we not stayed there, we would have probb
Which of these ways from Stockholm city to Arlanda airport would you choose or have you chosen in the past? Leave your suggestions in the comments
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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