My son and I have an upcoming trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We will be there for 4 nights (a 5th night will be spend “sleeping” on a red eye to Stockholm – SEE ALSO: 4 tips for surviving a red eye flight in economy). Our red eye flight arrives at Arlanda airport at about 7 a.m. and so I have been researching tips on the best way to get from Arlanda to Stockholm city. I thought I would share the fruits of my research as well as see if any of you readers have suggestions on the fastest, cheapest and best way to get from Arlanda airport to Stockholm central city.
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 Arlanda to Stockholm central
The absolute fastest way from Arlanda to Stockholm is to take the Arlanda Express train from Arlanda airport to Stockholm Central station
Note 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 Arlanda to Stockholm city, see below.
Of course this is also the most expensive way to get from Arlanda airport to Stockholm. The Arlanda to stockholm 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 Arlanda airport to Stockholm Central station. At Arlanda airport, there are two Arlanda Express stations: Arlanda South (Terminals 2, 3 and 4) and Arlanda North (Terminal 5). At Stockholm Central Station, the Arlanda Express arrives at and departs from platforms 1 and 2.
Express bus from Arlanda airport to Stockholm central
Another option is an express bus from Arlanda to Stockholm city center. This bus from 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 Arlanda to Stockholm city, see below.
The Flygbussarna bus from Arlanda to Stockholm city center runs up to every 10 minutes and takes about 45 minutes to travel from Arlanda to Stockholm Central Station in the Stockholm city center.
Check the Flygbussarna website for up to date information, but at the time of this writing, it departed from Bus Stop 7 for Terminals 2, 3 and 4 and Bus Stop 1 from Terminal 5. The price for the Flygbussarna bus from Arlanda airport to Stockholm 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 Arlanda to Stockholm city
You can take an Uber from Arlanda airport to Stockholm 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 Arlanda airport to the Stockholm city center. I would imagine that a taxi from Arlanda airport to Stockholm city center would be comparable and at the time of this writing, I was not aware of Lyft or any other ridesharing companies offering service in Stockholm, Sweden.
Public transportation / subway from Arlanda airport to Stockholm city
You can take public transportation from Arlanda to Stockholm city center. All public transportation in Stockholm is run by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL).
If you’re wondering how to take public transportation from Arlanda airport to Stockholm Central station, it’s pretty easy. There are lifts / escalators down to the train platforms from all terminals of Arlanda airport. The commuter trains depart out of SkyCity, which is located between Terminals 4 and 5. You want commuter train #36.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you access the commuter train from Arlanda Central station, you will pay a SEK 120 fee to go from the airport to the Arlanda Central SL station. 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). So it’s possible if you’re traveling with a lot of children (like me!) that this may be your cheapest way from Arlanda to Stockholm.
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.
So what’s the best way from Arlanda to Stockholm City?
As always, the absolute BEST way from Arlanda to the Stockholm city center depends on you. Do you want the fastest way from Arlanda to Stockholm? The cheapest way from Arlanda to Stockholm city? I think we are going to take the Flygbussarna bus – I’ll let you know how it goes!
Which of these ways from Arlanda to Stockholm city 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 
I just stayed in Stockholm last week – stayed at the clarion sign. It’s my go to hotel in Stockholm the last 6 years
Personally I took the bus and the cost was 115 kr but much cheaper then the express train but takes 20 minutes longer
The great think is they both ( bus n train ) bring you out 1 to 2 blocks from clarion sign
It’s cold there – bring a hoodie and jacket
Cool! We’re staying at the Clarion Hotel sign a few of the nights.
Awesome place to eat is called GIRO it’s a pizza/Italian place -I’m from NYC so you we love our pizza and when they said it’s the best pizza in the world – wish I had a penny for every time I heard that
The pizza was the best I had in europe – very very good
It’s 2 or 3 blocks from clarion sign
Cool – we’ll have to check that out!
Just returned from Stockholm on Saturday. Traveling by myself, I took the bus. Stayed at the Hilton Slussen which is 2 metro stops from the Stockholm Central Station. Came back very early on Sat (due to Harvey in Houston) and the bus got to ARN 10 minutes early.
Cool – we are staying at the Hilton Slussen one of our nights as well
You left out the least expensive. SL card gets you bus, tram, train service – and a few boats! From ARN airport terminal catch the 583 bus to the Marsta train station. At Marsta take the next train heading into the city, the train goes to center city and you can get to just about anywhere in Stockholm from there. I picked a hotel close to Karlaplan station. Likely will add 15-20 minutes to the train trip you mentioned.
I mentioned the SL option but didn’t realize that you could take a bus to Marsta and take the train there. Nice find!