Cousins ask me the darnedest questions. And they seem to think I’ve been everywhere. One recent question stumped me, so I did some research, but I’m still not sure which option to suggest. The question was how to go from Copenhagen, Denmark to Stockholm, Sweden. My research reminded me of one of the funniest movies ever Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and in this case, there’s even a bus option.
Turns out getting from Copenhagen to Stockholm is pretty easy, so let’s take a look at the options I discovered. It’s not a trip I’ve done, so I’m curious what you’d all suggest. Seems like each option comes with its pros and cons.
Planes: Copenhagen to Stockholm by Air
There are daily direct flights from Copenhagen to Stockholm. The flight is about 75 minutes. Depending on the time of year, flights can be inexpensive. This option is fast, but you’d have to also add in the cost of getting to and from the airports and also add in some time for the usual airport transit experience.
Great Circle Mapper: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=CPH-ARN
Trains: Copenhagen to Stockholm by Train
Taking the train from Copenhagen to Stockholm usually costs less than getting there by plane, but at almost a six hour trip, that’s more or less a whole travel day. Train tickets are less expensive midweek and at night, with weekends being more expensive. You can get train tickets and see prices at RailEurope.com.
Train via Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/JVLNkQZcnou
Automobiles: Copenhagen to Stockholm by Car
You can rent a car to get from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Obviously the trip would take longer, but if you like road trips, there’s a sense of a place you enjoy that comes from driving. I’d estimate the drive time to be about seven hours to cover the 410 miles (660 kilometers) trip. There would be a toll fee when crossing the Oresund Bridge, which connects Denmark and Sweden. This is probably the slower and relatively expensive option, but it could be the most interesting one, too.
Driving via Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/2tX76Zud6py
Bus: Copenhagen to Stockholm by Bus
As bus travel often is, this option is definitely cheap, however taking the bus from Copenhagen to Stockholm is slow. The travel time by bus is 10 to 20 hours and includes changing buses. You can check timetables and pricing at Swebus Express (Copenhagen is listed as Kopenhamn).
If I was going with a group of people, I think it would be fun to rent a car. I am, however, super partial to train travel, especially because I find it relaxing. Did I miss any options you’re aware of? How have you gone from Copenhagen to Stockholm and would you choose that option again?
You absolutely do NOT use raileurope to get your tickets, http://www.sj.se and take the x2000, also it’s probably cheaper to go to Malmö Central and then rent a car there and do the 1way trip up to Stockholm. It’s an incredibly boring drive especially once past Jönköping.
It’s either train or plane and it’s about do you want to take a 8am flight so you’re not losing your day, but you’re probably exhausted from getting up at 4:30 to get to Kastrup by 6am, arrive in Arlanda at 9:30 then downtown by 10:30 (with no luggage) taking the Arlanda Express which is $30+ per person.. Take a 6am train, and you’re downtown by 12ish.
Wow, Scott, great information. I think, as you suggest, it would be more relaxing to take the train, with very little time difference in transit. Thank you!
Train or airplane. The car ride isn’t that exciting.
My preference would be the train ride. It’s comfortable, convenient and affordable , especially if you are flexible and can book a month or two in advance. I suggest you go to sj.se and book the ticket (change language to English in the top right corner). Tickets are $40 or more.
Looks like the train makes the most sense. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and answer the question! You know your ABC’s :)
You could really mix it up by taking the train from Copenhagen to Frederikshavn. Then you could take the Stena Line ferry to Gothenburg, ending with the train from Gothenburg to Stockholm. It’d be longer by far, and probably more money, but it’d be great at providing a sense of place.
Interesting option. I’ll look into the ferry schedules, for sure. Thank you!
Have made 2 roundtrips between the 2 cities once by car and the second by train. Prefer the train for interacting with other travelers. Jönköping on the way was very interesting as they were having some kind of athletics competition by a huge lake. From Sweden, you will cross the Sound strait at Malmo where the bridge will end into a tunnel and you’ll come out at the other end in Denmark. The bridge/tunnel combo is an engineering marvel in and of itself and the longest of its kind in Europe.
Don’t forget to visit the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen! :)
Looks like the train choice is the winner. From the photos, the bridge/tunnel combo does look like a marvel. Thanks for the reminder of the Little Mermaid, Kalboz!!
I have SJ prio elite status from taking the train so much for this journey. But I often take the Oresundstag train to Malmo Central and then get into the SJ X2000 trains for Stockholm.
I also frequently fly SAS and Norwegian between CPH and ARN.
Sometimes the cost in time and money works out better with the flight than with the train, and other times it’s the other way around. The only times I most definitely do the flights is if I need to be in either central Stockholm or Copenhagen before 10 am and am not staying near Stockholm C or CPH/Copenhagen H, or if I want to take a post-9pm flight between the two. Otherwise I seem to take the train way more than I would have imagined. Sometimes I pay more for the train than for my flights to get between these city pairs.
Good to know. I think flying, since not in a rush, doesn’t make sense given the distances between both these cities and the airports. I will dive deeper into looking at train schedules! Thanks for adding this info!
I enjoyed the train.
I’m a train fan, too, Gary, and seem to choose that option when I can. Thanks!
CPH-STO flights with norwegian maybe SAS
Other option is train+bus to Malmö AirPort MMX
Takes 60-75 minutes
Could be worth it as flights MMX-STO often are 30-40$ cheaper. From MMX Norwegian SAS and BRA are flying. Norwegian from 30$ one way, SAS 55$ or 6000 SAS miles + 13$taxes.
Most of the times this year, the total travel cost in money for me to get to/from Stockholm using MMX is more expensive than flying to/from Stockholm using CPH or to use the train the whole way to get between central Copenhagen and central Stockholm. The primary reason for me to use MMX to get to Stockholm is if I want to get into BMA for some reason. Usually the total travel costs in time and money have me skipping MMX-STO flights because I can get a better schedule and value for money using CPH-STO flights or using just the trains. The primary users of MMX-STO flights seem to be OPM spenders during the work weeks and individuals with their own cars to park at/near the airport during the weekends or who consider the automobile ride costs to/from the airport to not be a disadvantage.
I also have a residence close enough to CPH and to MMX, but I rule out using MMX 95+% of the time (due to a combination of factors) when doing my frequent Copenhagen/Malmo-Stockholm trips. The exceptions are when I have a morning meeting in Stockholm or Copenhagen and will be doing just an intra-day roundtrip between the two cities.
Malmo-Stockholm and Stockholm-Malmo have overnight trains available with berths to sleep on. It’s not a bad option if wanting to cut out the costs of a hotel night or two and maximize your time by traveling while sleeping. It’s one of the few routes, beside a couple of ski trip related train routes, where I would consider the night trains.
This to and from the airport cost does seem to weigh on the decision to fly vs using trains. I’ll look into the night trains. I’ve done that once before between cities and it worked really well. Great idea, thank you!
ARN is pretty far from Stockholm… I think it was a 25 mile drive in a taxi to our hotel. But in the end, we ended up flying as it was still faster than the train overall.
Both of you are suggesting flying, so I have more research to do. I thought once I add in time to/from and at the airports on both ends it might not make sense. But I’ll recheck the flight options. Thanks, fellas!
I’d personally fly it, as the train route is particularly dull, but you could also see if anyone is ridesharing on BlaBlaCar.
I thought of BBC too. In some places, like Spain, for instance, the drive times have been more than twice the train times, so those trips didn’t seem to be worth the savings. I will, for sure, look into BBC for this route, though. Thanks for the suggestion.
It’s funny you are asking about a travel from Copenhagen to Stockholm as this is exactly what we are doing next month. As I like Western European trains, I usually prefer them over flying so I bought our tickets for the fast train, SJ X2000, as soon as they went on sale, i.e. some 2-3 months ago. They were significantly less expensive than they are now so I can highly recommend buying them well ahead of time.
Overall, it was a relatively painless experience with purchasing tickets on Swedish website sj.se except for the fact that due to the seating arrangement there are no 3 seats together (either 2 or 1) and the website doesn’t let you select your seats but assigns them automatically, so now I have to seat with a stranger right behind the other two members of my family. It’s not a big deal for me though as it could even lead to some pleasant conversation. Although I’d rather seat by myself in a single seat row.
Anyway, I have just received an email from sj.se that our Copenhagen train will now depart from Malmo.
Below is the text of the original email:
“The train will depart from Malmö C instead of Köpenhamn H. Passengers boarding the train in Köpenhamn (Copenhagen) or at Kastrup (Copenhagen Airport) are asked to take the Öresundståg trains which depart regularly from those stations.
Your SJ ticket is valid on these trains. In Malmö you will change to your booked SJ train which departs at XX:XX. We apologise for the inconvenience. NOTE! In order to make the connection in Malmö you will need to travel with an Öresundtåg train which departs Köpenhamn/Kastrup approximately 60 minutes earlier than the departure time on your booked ticket. If you would rather rebook or cancel your ticket and receive a refund, use our app (click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the ticket) or click here (hyperlänka: http://www.sj.se/searchorder). If you booked your ticket via an outlet and would like a refund, please contact them for assistance.”
Besides the obvious inconvenience of taking a local train and making a connection in Malmo, I am really unimpressed by the fact that they didn’t even bother including a link for the Öresundtåg schedule and also they didn’t indicate the exact time for our modified train from Malmo. I had to research it on my own.. That’s certainly not a service one would expect from Swedish train authority but that’s been my experience so far. So, just in case, your cousin should be prepared for something like this.
Cheers!
HI Dimi, Thanks for the reminder about train costs being less when you buy them farther out. I forget this sometimes and pay too much :( I know what you mean about assigned seats. I’ve had that experience in Spain, too. Thanks for posting the email notification you got about the change. Does seem like it’s missing helpful information! I wonder if this will change again or if it happens often. Certainly a month out is pretty good notice, but still now puts another chore on your travel prep to-do list! Enjoy your trip and thanks for reading and taking the time to respond.
From June 25th until at least mid-August, SJ and Snalltaget trains to Stockholm will mostly not make it all the way to Stockholm C Station if coming in from say Copenhagen/Malmo or Gothenburg. They are making most passengers to do a change to the SL (Stockholm local) commuter trains instead for the final stretch. That means a transfer. In other words, my suggestion now is to consider to avoid the train this summer.
Thanks, GUW, for adding this to the post so people can be aware of the transfer requirements.