FASTEST: Arlanda Express
The by far fastest way of travelling between Arlanda Airport and central Stockholm is the Arlanda Express train, which takes less than 20 minutes. It stops directly underneath the terminals so you don’t have to walk very far to get to where you’re going either.
On the downside, it’s comparatively expensive.
A standard single ticket for one adult costs 340 kronor. Concessions are 160 kronor for youths aged 18-25 and 210 kronor for pensioners or people over the age of 65. Children aged 0-7 travel for free, as do children aged 8-17 if accompanied by an adult (or for 160 kronor if not).
SL commuter train
The SL commuter train (pendeltåg) takes around 40 minutes, twice as long as the Arlanda Express, plus a 5-10 minute walk from the SkyCity shopping area, where the station is located, to the various terminals.
If you don’t have an SL card, a ticket costs 177 kronor. If you do have an SL card, you still have to pay a passage fee of 135 kronor to enter the airport from the train station.
The reason is that the 19 kilometres of railway past Arlanda is operated by a company called A-Train, which owns the Arlanda Express and charges other train companies that use the airport station, a fee which is then passed on to the passengers.
Concessions include pensioners, students and under-20s, who pay 161 kronor for a ticket if they don’t have an SL card. If they do have an SL card they still have to pay the full price for entering the airport.
Under-18s don’t have to pay the passage fee, so they can just get a normal single SL ticket for 26 kronor.
CHEAPEST: SL commuter train + bus
If you’re short on cash, stingy or just enjoy hacking the system, you can avoid paying the passage fee by taking the train part of the way and then switching to a bus.
From Stockholm City, take the SL commuter train to Märsta, then change to bus 583 to Arlanda. The bus calls at Terminals 2, 3 and 5. You can make this journey for free on your SL card. If you don’t have an SL card it’s 42 kronor for an adult single ticket.
For pensioners, students and under-20s, a single ticket is 26 kronor.
You do have to be prepared to travel for up to an hour if you take this route, and that’s if there aren’t any delays or cancellations. Bear in mind that some trains may be busy. If you're going the opposite way, you just do the same thing the other way around.
Airport bus
The airport buses, Flygbussarna, depart from Stockholm central station and take you to Arlanda in 40 minutes.
If you buy your ticket online, the price for an adult is 129 kronor, and 99 kronor for 8-25s. The standard price is otherwise 149 kronor or 109 kronor. There are also discounts for groups (299 kronor for three people and 399 kronor for four people)
You can also catch the airport bus from Fridhemsplan, Hornstull, Liljeholmen, Kista, Sundbyberg or Brommaplan, in which case the online price for an adult is 149 kronor.
Flixbus also has an airport transfer between Arlanda and central Stockholm. Tickets are 79 kronor and the journey takes around 40 minutes.
Taxi
Tourists and foreigners are often the target of unlicensed taxi operators, so if you’re getting a taxi to or from Arlanda, read The Local’s guide to how to avoid taxi scams.
Always check for yellow registration plates at the front and back of the vehicle, as well as for a yellow and white sign with the jämförpris (“comparison price”) in the window.
This is a legal requirement and will show you the price of a 10 kilometre journey taking 15 minutes at different times of day, although beware that they are allowed to add an extra fee for pickup/dropoff at stations or terminals, as well as a waiting fee.
Before you get in the car, ask the driver how much it is going to cost: taxis that have an agreement with airport operator Swedavia should charge no more than 800 kronor (in a car with 1-4 people) or 1,275 kronor (in a car with 5-8 people) from central Stockholm.
Note that there are many Stockholm suburbs which are not included in the taxi zone. So if you're travelling from Arlanda to a destination outside of the taxi zone area, you'll be paying the meter rate – which if you’re unlucky could end up being very expensive.
A taxi journey between Arlanda and central Stockholm takes around 30 minutes, but can vary depending on the time of day, so beware of traffic jams during rush hour.
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