SJ, www.sj.se
for train times & fares. Book Swedish train tickets online
at www.sj.se (no
booking fee) or
www.bokatag.se (small fee). If you can't get your
credit card to work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75
(touch tone 6 for English). Tickets are collected from the SJ
ticket machines at all main stations.
All-Europe
online train times.
Eurostar
times & fares.
Ferries UK to Sweden:
DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Gothenburg ferry was withdrawn in 2006.
17 January 2012. Train times valid from 11 December 2011
to 9 June 2012.
UK to Sweden without flying...
Vasa Museum, Stockholm: Don't miss the fabulous
Vasa museum.
The warship 'Vasa' sank in Stockholm harbour in 1628 and was raised
in 1956.
It's easy to travel from London to
Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö or anywhere else in Sweden by train
or train+ferry, a
wonderful journey with a lot to see on
the way, and a great alternative to an unnecessary flight.
On this page you'll find a step-by-step guide to planning,
booking & making a journey from the UK to Sweden by train or ferry, with train & ferry
timetables, approximate fares, and the best way to buy
tickets.
London to Stockholm &
Gothenburg by Eurostar &
sleeper train.
This is the fastest & most frequent option, with
daily departures, shown in red on the map
below. Take a lunchtime Eurostar to
Brussels, a high-speed train to Cologne, the excellent City
Night Line overnight sleeper train to Copenhagen then
either a fast
X2000 train to Stockholm or an Öresund link train to
Gothenburg.
London-Stockholm by cruise ferry to Denmark then train.
This is a more leisurely option, with more cruising
and fewer trains. It's shown in yellow on the map
below as far as Copenhagen, then in red to Stockholm. Although there are no longer any
direct ferries from the UK to Sweden, you can sail from Harwich to Esbjerg in
Denmark by DFDS Seaways cruise ferry, take an InterCity train to
Copenhagen then the sleeper to Stockholm. This
route offers 3-4
departures weekly, and it's a very comfortable option.
London-Stockholm by daytime trains. It's too
far to go in one day, so you travel London to Hamburg
on day 1, stay overnight, then travel Hamburg to
Stockholm on day 2. It's slower & less
time-effective than using the sleeper train, but if
you prefer daytime train travel, here's how to do it.
This is the fastest and most
frequent option, with daily departures. You leave
London at lunchtime, and arrive Stockholm early evening next
day.
London ► Stockholm &
Gothenburg
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras
daily except Saturdays at 15:04, arriving
Brussels
Midi at 18:05. On Saturdays, depart London
at 12:57 arriving Brussels Midi at 16:08.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to
Cologne by ICE
high-speed train leaving
Brussels
Midi at 18:25 and arriving Cologne at 20:15. On Saturdays you can
also take the earlier 17:28 Thalys
train arriving Cologne at 19:15. You've time
for a meal in Cologne.
Day 1: Travel overnight from
Cologne to Copenhagen on the City Night Line sleeper train
'Borealis', leaving
Cologne daily at 22:28 and arriving next morning in
Copenhagen
main station at 10:07. This train has a sleeping-car
(1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, standard with washbasin or
deluxe with private shower & toilet),
couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) & seats.
More pictures & information about City Night Line
sleeper trains. The arrival time in Copenhagen
has been known to vary, so check times for your date of
travel using
www.bahn.de.
A bistro car is available in the morning, between
Hamburg and Copenhagen.
Day 2: For Stockholm, travel
from Copenhagen to Stockholm by
X2000 high-speed
tilting train, leaving
Copenhagen
main station at 11:37 and arriving in Malmö at 12:09
and Stockholm
Central at 16:50. Always check times for your
date of travel at
www.sj.se,
as this train runs an hour later on certain dates in
2012. Soon after
leaving Copenhagen, the X2000 train to Stockholm crosses
the
Öresund Fixed Link,
opened in 1999 to connect Denmark with
Sweden. It's part tunnel, part double-decker road/rail
bridge, and on the long bridge section your train
seems to 'fly' across the sea to Sweden...
Day 2: For Gothenburg,
travel from Copenhagen to Gothenburg by
Öresund link train, leaving Copenhagen at 10:32 and
arriving in Gothenburg at 14:17. These trains
usually run every hour, by all means catch a later one
if you like. You'll also find a few daily SJ
X2000 high-speed
tilting trains on this route, sometimes with cheaper
pre-bookable prices, but being hourly, the
Öresund link trains usually provide
the best connections.
Day 1:
From Gothenburg, travel from Gothenburg to
Copenhagen by Öresund link train,
leaving Gothenburg at 13:42 and arriving Copenhagen
main station at 17:27. These trains usually run hourly, by all means catch an earlier one if you
like. Always check times for your date of travel,
in case they vary due to engineering work.
Day 1, travel
overnight from
Copenhagen to Cologne by City Night Line sleeper train
'Borealis', leaving
Copenhagen
main station daily at 18:20 and arriving Cologne at 06:14
next morning. This train has couchettes (4-berth &
6-berth) and a sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments,
standard with washbasin or deluxe with private shower &
toilet).
More pictures & information about City Night Line
sleeper trains. The departure times from
Denmark may
vary on some dates, possibly requiring an earlier
connection from Stockholm or Gothenburg, so please check
times for your date of travel at
www.bahn.de. A bistro car is available in the evening,
from Copenhagen as far as Hamburg.
Day 2: Travel from Brussels to
London by Eurostar. Daily except Saturdays, a
Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi at 12:56 and arrives London St Pancras at 14:03.
On Saturdays and also Mondays & Tuesdays from 18
February onwards, also Wed, Thurs & Fri from 2 April
onwards, a Eurostar leaves Brussels
Midi at 10:56
and arrives London St Pancras at 11:57.
Take Eurostar to Brussels, then a
German ICE high-speed train
to Cologne...
ICE3
2nd class. ICEs are perhaps the most comfortable daytime trains
in Europe...
ICE3 1st class, with real leather seats. All seats in
both classes have power sockets.
An ICE to Cologne &
Frankfurt waiting to leave Brussels Midi.
More ICE info.
Introducing the City Night Line sleeper
train 'Borealis' from Cologne to Copenhagen...
The
Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains. It
has a modern sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with
private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms
with washbasin, there's a shower at the end of the corridor
and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers), modern
air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4-
or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not
recommended). A bistro car is attached between
Hamburg and Copenhagen in both directions. Inclusive fares are charged covering travel
plus sleeping accommodation. More
pictures & information about this City Night Line train.
Dinner in Cologne before you board? For a
traditional German meal in Cologne before boarding your
sleeper, try the Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de),
5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle
restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de),
10-15 minutes walk from Cologne Hauptbahnhof, or there's a
restaurant inside the Hauptbahnhof itself at the Schweinske,
www.schweinske.de.
Feedback is always
appreciated!
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
The budget option, far more comfortable than a seat for
just a few euros more...
Above: One
of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the
Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train.
This method involves two or three websites, so do a dry run on
each
site to check prices and availability before booking for
real.
Step 1,
book your trains from London to Cologne & back.
First, see if there's a
cheap 'London spezial' ticket available on your date of travel
from the German Railways website using the special links I'm
about to give you, starting at just 49 euros each
way. I recommend booking a round trip as two one-ways,
as it's easier to see where the availability is. I
also
strongly recommend registering when prompted, so that you
can log in at any time to see all your bookings and reprint
tickets if you need to. Here are some links I've set up
with all the details necessary to bring up the cheap fares,
just open the links, enter your departure date, and see what
prices come up. Remember that on your inward journey,
departure from Cologne will be the day after departure from
Copenhagen!
Don't panic
if you don't see any cheap fares for your date of travel.
This is not unusual! Availability
of these cheap 'London Spezial' fares is very limited as DB
only have a small allocation of seats on Eurostar. If you
find a cheap ticket, great, if not, move swiftly on to the
next paragraph...
Next, check prices from London to Cologne at the Belgian
Railways international website,
www.b-europe.com. This can book both
Eurostar+Thalys and Eurostar+ICE, it frequently seems to
offer the cheapest fares (if there's no DB 'spezial'
available, that is), it does self-print tickets and accepts
credit cards from anyone in any country.
Finally, you can also check London-Cologne prices at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only) and
www.eurostar.com.
By all means try booking London to Cologne on each of these
sites, but a major quirk of the French reservation system on
which they're based is that it can't mix & match fare types
for a two-leg journey and it may come up with silly-money
fares as a result. The solution is to split the
journey into London-Brussels and Brussels-Cologne as
follows: UK residents
should go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
and using the Eurostar & ICE times given above as your
guide, first book the train from London to Brussels & back,
add it to your basket, click 'continue shopping' then book
Brussels to Cologne & back. Add this to your basket
and checkout. Another way
to split the journey, which can be used by anyone from any
country is to book London-Brussels at
www.eurostar.com
(with self-print tickets) and the Brussels-Cologne ICE at
www.bahn.de
(also with self-print tickets). Brussels-Cologne
Thalys trains can be booked at
www.thalys.com.
Step 2,
now book your trains from Cologne to Stockholm & back.
German
Railways have 'Europa Spezial' fares from German cities to
Stockholm. So first try booking from Cologne (Köln
Hbf) to Stockholm all in one go at
www.bahn.de. I recommend booking a round trip as
two one-way trips. When booking from Cologne to
Stockholm, you won't see any cheap Cologne-Stockholm fares
via the City Night Line to Copenhagen and the direct
Copenhagen-Stockholm train unless you enter 'Copenhagen' in
the 'via' box and '01:30' in the stopover box. I've
set these links up for you with the necessary parameters,
just enter your own departure dates, and look for the trains
I've described above in the search results. You pay
online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format on your
own PC printer.
Alternative
step
2: DB only have a small allocation of cheap
'spezial ' tickets to Stockholm. So if you don't see
any cheap fares from Cologne to Stockholm when you book all
in one go, split the journey into two as follows:
First, go to the German
Railways website,
www.bahn.de
and book a sleeper or couchette on the City Night Line
sleeper train from Cologne (Köln Hbf) to Copenhagen and
back, looking for the cheap 'Savings' fares on the direct
CNL train with 0 changes. You pay online and print out your own ticket
in .PDF format on your own PC printer. Easy!
I strongly recommend registering when it asks you before completing
the purchase, so you can easily retrieve any bookings.
Now book the
Copenhagen-Stockholm train online direct with Swedish Railways
at www.sj.se (see my advice on using
it here). If you can't get the SJ site to
work for any reason, try
www.bokatag.se instead (though they add a small fee)
or simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). The price you'll pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. The cheap
deals start 90 days before departure. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available,
rising to higher levels closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or collect your tickets
from the silver-grey Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which are
installed at Copenhagen main station, on the left as you
walk in the main entrance.
Reports suggest
SJ.se has suddenly stopped taking non-Scandinavian credit
cards, if you have payment problemns you can also
book this train at
www.bokatag.se.
If you're
going to Gothenburg rather than Stockholm, book from
Cologne to Copenhagen using
www.bahn.de,
looking for the direct CNL train with 0 changes. Then
buy a Copenhagen to Gothenburg ticket either at the station
in Copenhagen (as the price is fixed and no seat reservation
is necessary) or buy it online at
www.sj.se.
The easiest way to book train tickets from London to
Stockholm is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all the trains can be booked as a single
transaction on one UK-based website. If you live
outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which
for some reason raileurope.co.uk currently won't do) then
use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section). In any case, I
recommend comparing prices for the Cologne-Copenhagen train
on both
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ. Remember that booking opens 90
days before departure, you can't book before then.
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Stockholm'
all in one go as this won't work, or even if it does, it
won't find the cheapest fares.
First, enter 'Cologne' &
'Copenhagen' and book the overnight train from Cologne to
Copenhagen & back. Obviously, in the search results simply
look for the direct train with no changes. For some
reason it won't book 4-berth couchettes, and may struggle
with 2-berth sleepers with shower, but if you have any
difficulties like this simply book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket.
Step 4,
book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train. The easy way is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from Copenhagen
to Stockholm & back. The second way, which can often
be cheaper, is to book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train online
direct with Swedish Railways
at
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on using
it here). If you can't get the SJ site to
work for any reason, try
www.bokatag.se instead (though they add a small fee)
or simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). The price you'll pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. The cheap
deals start 90 days before departure. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available,
rising closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or collect your tickets
from the silver-grey Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which are
installed at Copenhagen main station, on the left as you
walk into the main entrance.
www.raileurope.co.uk
can send tickets to any UK address and they normally arrive
within a couple of days. Only UK credit cards are
accepted.
You
can buy tickets through a number of UK agencies, but the best
for this trip is probably Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66
(lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Sat & Sun,
no booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for
debit cards), or
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee per transaction).
Click
here for a list
of agencies and more info on how to
book.
Tailor-made train travel + hotel arrangements...
If you want a compete tailor-made
trip with all your rail travel expertly booked for you and
good quality hotels arranged, UK residents can call
www.railbookers.com on 020 3327 0761. US
residents can call them on (646) 770 2894 (please
quote seat61) and Canadian residents on (416) 800 0732
(please quote 'seat61'). Australian residents can call
their Australian office,
www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550.
Just tell them what you want, and they'll advise you on the
best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out for you,
hassle-free. They get very positive reviews and take
good care of their guests.
Above: DFDS Seaways ferry "Dana Sirena" links
Harwich with Esbjerg...
Photo
courtesy of DFDS Seaways.
This is a very comfortable way to
go, although not the fastest. There are cabins, restaurants, bars and
cinema on board the DFDS Seaways cruise ferry from
Harwich in Essex to Esbjerg, then a train
ride across Denmark to Copenhagen for the sleeper to
Stockholm. There used to be a direct ferry from
the UK to Gothenburg in Sweden, but this was withdrawn
in October 2006.
London
▶ Stockholm
Day 1, travel from London to Harwich by train, leaving London Liverpool
Street at 14:00 (14:02 on Sundays), changing trains at
Manningtree and arriving Harwich International at 15:17
(15:43 on Sundays). Harwich International station is right next
to the ferry terminal. Trains to Harwich run hourly, but
this departure gives plenty of time to catch the ferry.
Please check times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Day 1 early
evening, Sail from
Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark aboard DFDS Seaways 'Dana Sirena'.
The Dana Sirena sails from Harwich every Wednesday, Friday & Sunday
at 17:45 (increased to every second day in
June, July & August ), arriving in Esbjerg at 13:00 next
day (day 2).
www.dfds.co.uk
will confirm sailing dates. The Dana Sirena is a
modern and well-run ship, with comfortable cabins,
two restaurants, a bar, coffee shop and lounges, see the
photos below. On arrival at Esbjerg, take a taxi
or bus or simply walk to the
railway station. Bus number 5 runs from the ferry
terminal to the
station every 20 minutes, bus fare 15 Kr adult 8 Kr
child. If you've a backpack or light luggage,
you can easily walk from the ferry terminal to the
pedestrianised town centre in about 10-15 minutes, from
where it's another 5-10 minutes walk to the station.
The station is a historic red-brick building, though not
very distinctively marked.
Day 2 afternoon, travel from Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by air-conditioned InterCity
train, leaving Esbjerg town station at 14:42 and arriving
Copenhagen
main station at 17:50. The journey is about 175
miles, right across Denmark in air-conditioned comfort.
Day 2 evening, travel from
Copenhagen to Stockholm overnight, leaving
Copenhagen
main station by frequent local train at 21:12 arriving Malmö
at 21:46 (these Copenhagen-Malmö local trains in fact run every 20 minutes). A sleeper train leaves Malmö at
22:38, arriving Stockholm
Central at
06:30 next morning (day 3 from London). This sleeper
train runs daily except Saturday nights and has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and sleepers (1 & 2 bed
rooms with washbasin). Check train times at
www.bahn.de.
Alternatively,
spend the night in Copenhagen and head for Stockholm the
next day (day 3). Regular
X2000 high-speed trains link Copenhagen with
Stockholm in about 5½ hours, check train times at
www.bahn.de.
Stockholm
▶ London
Day 1, travel from Stockholm to
Copenhagen overnight by sleeper train, leaving
Stockholm Central at
22:23 and arriving Malmö at 06:17 next
morning. This sleeper train runs daily except
Saturday nights. A connecting local
train leaves Malmö every 20 minutes, with one at 06:42 arriving
Copenhagen
main station at 07:16.
The sleeper train has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and
sleepers (1 & 2 bed rooms).
Alternatively, on Mondays-Saturdays there is an
X2000 high-speed
train leaving Stockholm at 05:55 (06:14 on
Saturdays) and
arriving
Copenhagen
main station at 10:40 (11:23 on Saturdays), allowing same-day
connection to Esbjerg for the ferry to England.
Check times and days of running at
www.bahn.de.
Day 2, travel from Copenhagen to
Esbjerg by modern air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving
Copenhagen
main station at
12:30 and arriving Esbjerg at 15:26. You can
check times at
www.bahn.de. Take a bus or taxi to
the ferry terminal, or simply walk (25 minutes). Bus number 5 runs from the station
to the port every 20 minutes.
Day 2 evening, sail from
Esbjerg to Harwich aboard DFDS Seaways' 'Dana Sirena', leaving Esbjerg ferry
terminal at 18:45 on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, arriving Harwich at
12:00
next day (sailings are increased to every second day in
June, July & August). See
www.dfds.co.uk
to confirm sailing dates.
Day 3, travel from Harwich to
London by train, leaving Harwich at 12:33, changing
trains at Manningtree and arriving London Liverpool Street at
13:55.
The train service runs hourly, you can check
times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Introducing DFDS
Seaways "Dana Sirena" from Harwich to Esbjerg...
The Dana
Sirena is a modern and well-run ship, built in 2002.
All passengers travel in cabins, and all cabins have a private
shower & toilet. Facilities on board include the 7 Seas buffet restaurant,
the Blue
Riband à la carte
restaurant, Café Lighthouse (with WiFi access for laptops), Columbus Lounge,
and shop. The ship is child-friendly, with children's play
area, child restraints for cabin berths available from
reception, and highchairs available in all restaurants and
lounges.
Cabins come in three classes:
Seaways class:
1-6 berths with private shower and toilet;
Sirena class: 1
or 2 berth with private shower and toilet, TV (BBC World,
BBC Prime), complimentary minibar, breakfast included;
Commodore
Deluxe: Hotel-style rooms with double bed or two single
beds, TV (BBC Prime, BBC World), small sitting area, private
shower and toilet. Commodore cabins are on their own
deck with exclusive access to the Commodore Lounge which has
sea views, complimentary tea, coffee, snacks, beer and (in
the evening) free wine and spirits, PC with internet access
and WiFi access if you have your own laptop. Commodore
Deluxe is like travelling to Scandinavia
aboard a
floating hotel, highly recommended!
Crossing the North Sea with
DFDS Seaways aboard the Dana Sirena is one of the most
civilised & relaxing ways to reach Denmark...
Commodore class cabin
with double bed, TV, shower & toilet. Yes,
that's an ice bucket on the table with a half bottle
of sparkling wine....
Sirena class cabin
with TV, shower, toilet & minibar.
On board the
Danish InterCity train from Esbjerg to Copenhagen...
An air-conditioned Danish InterCity train.
2nd class seats on board
the InterCity train...
Arrived at
Copenhagen!
On board the X2000 daytime
trains from Copenhagen to Stockholm...
A 125 mph X2000 train from Copenhagen to Stockholm,
at Copenhagen station....
2nd class seating on the X2000. All seats have
power sockets for laptops & mobiles...
London to
Harwich by train starts at just £8 each way if you
pre-book a cheap Advance
ticket (no refunds, only valid on the specific train you
book at these prices). If you buy tickets at the
station on the day of travel, the cost is £30.10 for an Off-Peak
1 month return, or £27.80 full
fare one-way. No reservation is necessary with these
fares, you just turn up, buy a ticket, and hop on the next
train.
Harwich to
Esbjerg by ferry starts at around £152 return per person for two people
sharing a 2-bed Seaways class cabin with private toilet and shower or £294 return for one person with sole use of a
cabin. To
check sailing dates, times and fares for different types of
cabin, visit
www.dfds.co.uk.
DFDS
Seaways now has an airline-style pricing system so prices
vary, book early and avoid peak times to get the cheapest fares. Children under 16 travel at
reduced fare. Unfortunately, DFDS
won't now let solo passengers share cabins, the whole cabin
must be booked.
Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by intercity train costs 347 Kr (£42) one way,
694 Kr (£84)
return for adults, or 173 Kr (£21) each way for children and
seniors over 65. Advance reservation is possible but not
necessary, tickets can be bought at the station on the day
and you can just hop on.
You can check fares at
www.dsb.dk
(Danish Railways).
Copenhagen to
Stockholm by sleeper train costs around SEK 760 (£56)
one-way or SEK 1520 (£112) return per person travelling in
6-bunk couchettes, or SEK 1170 (£87) one-way, SEK 2340
(£174) return per person travelling in a 2-bed sleeper,
booked online at www.sj.se.
How to buy tickets...
Step 1:
Buy your ferry tickets online at
www.dfds.co.uk
(no booking fee)
or by calling DFDS Seaways on 0871 522 9955, although there's a £20 fee for phone bookings.
Phone lines are open 09:00-17:30 Mondays-Fridays,
09:00-17:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays.
You can buy
your London-Harwich & Esbjerg-Copenhagen train tickets at
the station on the day of travel. No reservation is
necessary, and there's no price advantage in buying tickets
in advance. But if you really want to, you can buy
the London-Harwich ticket online at
www.nationalrail.co.uk and the Esbjerg-Copenhagen ticket
(with seat reservation) at
www.dsb.dk,
the Danish Railways website. This is in Danish, but
it's not difficult to work out how to use it if you're
familiar with the way such booking systems work. You
pay by credit card then print out your own ticket.
remember that Copenhagen in Danish is 'Kobenhavn'.
Alternatively, if you book by phone,
DFDS can add both UK and Esbjerg-Copenhagen tickets to your ferry fare, including
making a seat reservation on the Esbjerg-Copenhagen train.
Ask DFDS about special cheap train fares from other UK
stations to Harwich, too.
Step 2:
Buy the Copenhagen-Malmö-Stockholm sleeper tickets online at
either www.sj.se
(no booking fee, see this
step-by-step advice on using it) or
www.bokatag.se (English button is bottom right, booking
fee added, accepts all credit cards through 3-D secure
system, you may have to fake a Swedish phone number).
If you can't get your credit card to work, call SJ telesales
on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English). Bookings open 90 days
before departure. Using either
www.sj.se or
www.bokatag.se (or SJ telesales) you pay online and
collect tickets from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket
machines installed at Copenhagen main station or any Swedish
station including Stockholm or Malmö or you can be emailed a
'print your own' ticket in .pdf format. This is the
cheapest option as there are no booking fees.
Train on
a ferry! This is
a Hamburg to Copenhagen ICE-TD EuroCity train on board
the Puttgarten to Rodby ferry. This is one of the
few remaining routes in Europe where trains go onto
ferries, the other major route being mainland Italy to
Sicily. The Rodby-Puttgarten crossing takes about
50 minutes, and you must leave the train and go up into
the ferry whilst it is at sea. The ferry has bars,
lounges restaurants & shops. Naturally, you can
leave your bags on the train...
First class real leather seats on the Hamburg-Copenhagen ICE-TD train. There's a bistro car serving drinks, snacks
and meals...
Second class seats on the Hamburg-Copenhagen ICE-TD train.
All seats have power sockets for laptops & mobiles...
London to Sweden is too far to go in one day, so an overnight
stop in Hamburg is required. It's therefore
slower and less time-effective than using the
Cologne-Copenhagen overnight sleeper train. But
some people prefer all-daytime train travel, so here's
how to do it. Take a bottle of wine, a good
book, an enjoy a 2-day train ride across Europe on
some very modern & comfortable trains.
London ► Stockholm or Gothenburg by daytime trains
Day 1, travel
from London to Hamburg using any of the services
suggested on the London to Germany
page.
Day 2, travel
from Hamburg to Stockholm or Gothenburg by any suitable
trains. For example, on most days you can leave Hamburg at 09:28
on a fast ICE-TD
EuroCity train for Copenhagen,
change at Copenhagen & Malmö onto an X2000 125mph train, arriving Stockholm
19:50.
You can check train times using
www.bahn.de. The
Hamburg-Copenhagen train is shunted onto
a ferry for the crossing from Puttgarten in Germany to Rodby
in Denmark, one of the few places in Europe where trains
still go onto ferries. An interesting experience in
itself! You need to leave the train and go upstairs
onto the ferry during the crossing. Trains from
Copenhagen to Malmö & Stockholm no longer use train ferries
but cross the
Öresund Fixed Link, a tunnel &
double-decker road/rail bridge opened in 1999 linking Denmark with Sweden.
Stockholm or Gothenburg ► London by daytime
trains
Day 1, travel
from Stockholm or Gothenburg to Hamburg by any suitable
daytime trains. For example, on most days you can
leave Stockholm at 08:21, change once in Copenhagen,
arriving Hamburg 20:16. You can check train times for your date
of travel using
www.bahn.de.
Day 2, travel
from Hamburg to London using any of the services
suggested on the
London to Germany
page.
Fares & how
to buy tickets...
London to Stockholm by train, from 95 euros each
way...
London-Cologne tickets booked with the Belgian
Railways website start at 56 euros (£49) one-way or
112 euros (£98) return, using either Eurostar and
Thalys or Eurostar and ICE.
You then need to
add a Cologne to Hamburg ticket bought at the German Railways
website from 29 euros (£25) plus a Hamburg to Stockholm ticket
for the following day from 39 euro (£34). However, if
you're clever, you can book from Cologne to Stockholm all in one
go with 'Hamburg' in the 'via' box and '10:00' in the 'stopover'
box giving you a 10 hour overnight stopover in Hamburg, all for
the same 39 euros fare. 56 + 39 = 95 euros.
Here's how to buy
the tickets. First do your homework and make a note of
each separate train you want book on which date on the
London-Hamburg part of the journey, using the train times on the
London to Germany
page.
Step 1, now go
to the Belgian railways website
www.b-europe.com and book from London to Cologne and
back, looking for the particular trains you want. This site
will happily book you from London to Cologne all in one go, booking
Eurostar and either Thalys or German ICE trains between Brussels and
Cologne, with print-at-home tickets.
Step 2, now book from
Cologne to Stockholm from 39 euros
using this special ink to the
German Railways website bahn.de. I have set this link up with
a 10 hour layover in Hamburg, please adjust the departure time and
stopover time to bring up the trains you want both on day 1 from
Cologne to Hamburg and on day 2 from Hamburg to Stockholm.
Obviously, make sure you have sufficient connection time in Cologne
to allow for any delay, over 30 minutes.
Step 3, if you are booking a
return journey, book the Stockholm to Cologne return leg separately
using this special ink.
In theory, it's
possible to travel from London to Stockholm for 88 euros with a
'London Spezial' fare from 49 euros from London to Germany and a 39
euro 'Stockholm Spezial' from Germany to Stockholm. However,
limited availability of the 'London Spezials' and the fact that they
are only valid on the German ICE not the more frequent Thalys trains
on the Brussels-Cologne section mean you're better off booking as
shown above.
Alternative way to
buy tickets...
You can also
book as follows, although it usually works out more
expensive. But it's worth knowing about if you cannot
see any cheap fares to Stockholm at the German Railways
website. First jot down
each separate specific train you need to book using the information
above, with the date of departure for that train. I suggest doing a dry
run to check prices & availability on all websites
before booking for real.
Step 1,
go to the Belgian railways website
www.b-europe.com and book from London to Cologne and
back on whichever trains you want. This site will
happily book you from London to Cologne all in one go,
booking Eurostar and either Thalys or German ICE trains
between Brussels and Cologne, with print-at-home
tickets.
Step 2,
go to
www.bahn.de. First book from Cologne to
Hamburg & back for day 1 of your outward journey and day 2
of your return. Then book from Hamburg to Copenhagen & back for day 2 of your
outward journey and day 1 of your return. Cologne-Hamburg starts at just 29 euro (£24) one-way
or 58
euro (£48) return. Hamburg-Copenhagen starts at 39 euro (£33) one-way
or 78 euro (£66) return, assuming
you book well in advance (maximum 90 days ahead).
Again, if you're clever you can make creative use of the
'stopover' and 'via' boxes to book Cologne to Copenhagen
with a 10 hour (or so) stopover in Hamburg, which means both
journeys can be had for as little as 39 euros.
Step 3,
buy your Copenhagen-Stockholm or Copenhagen-Gothenburg
ticket direct from Swedish Railways. Prices vary like
air fares, between £17 & £70 each way to Stockholm.
Book from
Copenhagen to Stockholm train online direct with Swedish
Railways at
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see advice on using it below)
or
at
www.bokatag.se (English button bottom right, booking fee
added). If you can't get your credit card to
work, simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). The price you'll pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available,
rising to pretty much higher prices closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or you can choose to collect your tickets
from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed at Copenhagen main station.
Malmö is just opposite Copenhagen across the Öresund, and
linked to Copenhagen by frequent local train running across
the Öresund Link across the sea from Denmark to Sweden, opened
in 1999. The link is part tunnel, part double-decker
road/rail bridge, and on the long bridge section your train
seems to 'fly' across the sea to Sweden....
Travel to Copenhagen using any of the options shown on the
London to Denmark
page. Book your tickets as shown on that page.
Then simply buy a local ticket from any of the ticket machines
or staffed ticket office at Copenhagen station and hop on an
'Öresundtåg'
(Öresund Link train) from Copenhagen to Malmö. These run every 20 minutes, journey time 35 minutes.
The Copenhagen-Malmö fare is about DKK 105 (£12) each way.
An Öresund Link Train
(Öresundtåg) from Copenhagen to
Malmö & Gothenburg, seen at Malmö Central station. The train crosses from
Denmark to Sweden on the 1999-built Öresund Link tunnel
& road/rail bridge...
London to Gothenburg (Göteborg)
There are now no ferries from the UK to anywhere in Sweden,
but you can easily take a train or ferry to Denmark, then a
comfortable onward train to Gothenburg.
Take an onward train from Copenhagen to Gothenburg.
These run every 2-3 hours, journey time 3 hours 54 minutes.
Simply use
www.sj.se or
http://bahn.hafas.de to find
connecting Copenhagen-Gothenburg train times. Most
trains are Öresund Link trains, see the photos above.
First travel to Gothenburg or Stockholm as shown above.
Overnight sleeper trains run from Stockholm and Gothenburg to Northern
Sweden, including Boden, Luleå, Kiruna and Narvik in Norway.
These trains are
run by www.sj.se, who took over from previous franchisee
www.connex.se
in 2008.
The trains have 1 & 2 berth sleepers, some with private toilet and shower,
6-berth couchettes, ordinary seats, bar and even cinema. Daytime trains
from Gothenburg and Stockholm to most cities in Sweden are
also run
by national train operator SJ, see www.sj.se
for times and fares.
A sleeper train to Luleå
waits to leave Stockholm Central... Photo
courtesy of
Railbookers.com.
A 2-berth sleeper with
private shower & toilet, in daytime mode.
Photo courtesy of
Railbookers.com.
2-bed
sleeper on the Stockholm to Narvik train. Courtesy of Ayan Ghosh.
Narvik station, inside the Arctic Circle. Although
it's in Norway, the railway to Narvik runs from Sweden.
Photo courtesy of
Ayan Ghosh.
Sunset from the sleeper train from Narvik to Stockholm...
Photo courtesy of
Ayan Ghosh.
Trains arrive at Stockholm Central station, a Stockholm
landmark right in the heart of the city, an easy stroll to
the old town and most of the sights.
The station has left luggage lockers, ticket office and
all the usual facilities.
The station was opened in 1871, and the tracks once
occupied the space where the spacious concourse is today.
The platforms were moved to the west during rebuilding in
1925.
Above: Swedish intercity train fares vary
like air fares, with really cheap prices if you book in
advance at www.sj.se.
Right: If you
choose to pick up your tickets at Copenhagen station, look
for the two SJ ticket machines on the
left as you walk in the main entrance, next to the ticket
office.
They
have touch screens and an English-language facility.
Enter your booking reference and out come the tickets.
Similar machines are installed at Oslo Central, Stockholm
Central and at all
main Swedish stations.
How to buy Swedish train tickets online at
www.sj.se...
The best way to buy your train tickets within Sweden, or (in
either direction) between Copenhagen & Stockholm, Copenhagen &
Gothenburg, Copenhagen & Oslo or Stockholm & Oslo, is online
at the official Swedish Railways website,
www.sj.se.
It's far cheaper than buying through a UK agency, and there
are no booking fees or postage to pay. You can simply
print out your own ticket.
IMPORTANT UPDATE NOV/DEC 2011: One report
in mid November suggests SJ.se has stopped taking foreign credit cards,
maybe temporarily, maybe not. Give it a go, as several
more recent reports say that their UK card worked fine, and
please let me know
if online booking works or doesn't work for you. If it
doesn't work, call SJ
telesales and book by phone, collecting tickets from the
self-service machines or use the competing site
www.bokatag.com.
Go to www.sj.se.
The English button is top right. Bookings open 90 days
before departure. Use the journey planner to make your
booking.
It's pretty self-explanatory, but here are a few tips:
'Copenhagen' produces an error message, but gives you the
option to select 'Kobenhavn H', which is Copenhagen main
station and what you want for tickets to or from Copenhagen.
For Stockholm, enter 'Stockholm C' (C for central). If
booking from Copenhagen to Oslo (Oslo S), beware of services
that involve 'Swebus expressbuss' to Oslo Gaslleriet, make
sure you book the train to Oslo S. Swedish rail fares vary like air fares by date & train, so
shop around for the cheapest tickets. After selecting a
departure and price, you may be given an option to upgrade to
a 'rebookable' ticket (which can be changed) or to a 'rebookable,
refundable' ticket. If you don't select either of these
extra-cost options, your ticket will probably be
non-refundable & non-changeable. Just stick with the
base price if you want the cheapest fare. You're then
given a chance to choose your exact seat if you like, with a
seating plan.
You can usually choose self-print tickets (probably the best option)
or you can choose to collect your tickets at the station from
the self-service machines, which also works in Copenhagen and
Oslo even though these are not SJ stations, as there are SJ
self-service machines installed there. 'Tickets sent' is
only if you have a Swedish address, and 'Mobile' only works
for Swedish or Danish mobile phones. You pay by credit
card and get a booking number on the final confirmation page.
You're also sent an email with this booking number and
instructions to 'check in' online within 60 days of departure.
Checking in to get your self-print ticket...
Unlike many other rail booking sites, you aren't initially
given your self-print ticket, certainly if you're booking over
60 days in advance. You need to 'check in'
online to get your self-print ticket, at any time within 60
days of departure. As your booking confirmation says, go
to
www.sj.se/searchorder/changeorderstart.form. This is only in Swedish, so
you may appreciate this help:
Log in at
www.sj.se/searchorder/changeorderstart.formusing your booking reference and
your phone number which you gave when booking. You need
to change 'Svierge' to 'Storbritannien +44' (Storbritanien is
Swedish for Great Britain, so you'll find it alphabetically
under 'S'!).
You should now see your booking. Click the 'checka in'
link to the right of the booking you want to check in for.
You're given various warnings at each stage that once checked
in, your ticket can't be changed or refunded (though of course
your particular ticket might be non-refundable and
non-changeable anyway). Just ignore these.
On the next page, tick the 'checka in biljet' ('check
in ticket') box and click 'Ga vidare' ('Continue').
On the next page, click 'Bekrafta' ('confirm')
On the next page you should see the familiar 'PDF' logo and
the words 'skriv ut incheckad biljet' ('print out
checked-in ticket').
Your self-print ticket should now appear. Self-print
tickets are very handy - you can print a couple of copies in
case you lose one, and you can save the PDF file to your PC.
Update March 2010: It's been reported that this
check-in procedure has been abolished, and you can now print
out your ticket immediately after booking. The various
'warnings' that appear in Swedish simply tell you to make sure
pop-ups are not blocked on your PC, as the ticket will appear
in a new window. Print each ticket on A4 paper.
You will need to show identification on the train (meaning
your passport).
Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or
(when available)
Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Definitely take a good guidebook. For independent travel, I
think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.
Both guidebooks provide an excellent level of practical information
and historical background. You won't regret buying one! My
own book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on
this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", is due to be published in June 2008, and Amazon
will let you pre-order now.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Other hotel sites worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is a huge resource, and the best place to browse for
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
Budget backpacker hostels...
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in a backpacker hostel
in most European cities try
www.hostelbookers.com.
Travel insurance & health card
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself).
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a spare credit card, one designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card
to save on mobile data and phone calls...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in a backpacker hostel
in most European cities try
In
the UK, try
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, try
If you live in the USA or Canada, try
