SE Sweden: how to get around

The national public transport carriers operate an alliance service called Resplus for multiple-leg travel. See Resrobot for an interactive journey planner.

Regional public transport typically has a carrier per county. For instance, when travelling regionally in the province of Scania (Skåne in Swedish), one should refer to Skånetrafiken. For travelling in the region of Mälardalen (the "Lake Mälaren Valley"), you can check all train and bus operators at Trafik i Mälardalen. This regional traffic cooperation includes many of Sweden's major cities, such as Stockholm, Uppsala, Västerås, Linköping, Norrköping, Örebro and Eskilstuna.

Flixbus and Nettbuss runs a number of bus lines in the southern third of the country, Götaland and Svealand. They tend to cost less than going by train, if you can't take advantage of SJ's youth discounts. Y-buss , tapanis, and Härjedalingen operate between Stockholm and Norrland.

Flixbus also operates from Stockholm and Göteborg to Oslo. At the county or län level, buses are a good method for travelling short distances from town to town, as they are more frequent and cheaper than trains. It is best to check with the local transportation authority for routes and schedules.

• Bus4You is a high-comfort carrier.

City buses are operated by the counties' public-transport companies.

If you plan to use city buses, check out the local arrangements for how to obtain tickets. In many Swedish cities it is not possible to buy tickets for the city buses at the bus. In this case neither cash nor bank or credit cards are accepted. Instead you need an electronic bus card, a special card for each region, that sometimes also has to be filled with a minimum amount of money, typically 100 kr. This bus card can sometimes be obtained only at dedicated ticket offices, not at the bus, but can often be filled with money for travel at local shops or refill machines that are found at public places.

On long distance buses, passengers can normally buy tickets from the driver.

Svealand and Götaland can be crossed by car within a day, but distances in Norrland tend to be larger, and settlements can be tens of kilometres apart. When available, air or rail travel are often faster. Travelling by night can be dangerous due to wild animals on the roads, and the cold nights during the winter. See E4 through Sweden and E6 through Sweden and Norway for two of the main highways. While traffic is less aggressive than in Denmark or Central Europe, traffic jams are common around Stockholm and Gothenburg.

Car crash rates in Sweden are among the lowest in Europe. Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory for everyone in the car. Driving tired is illegal and is treated the same way as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Animal collisions with moose, deer and boar are a major danger; these animals are commonly on the road, especially around dawn and dusk. The moose is a big and heavy animal (up to 700 kg and 2.1 m shoulder height) so a collision can be lethal.

Drunk driving is a serious crime, the laws are strictly enforced, and the punishments are harsh by international standards. The legal limit of 0.02% is lower than in most other Western countries and as little as one beer may put you over the limit. Violations carry a hefty fine and/or a prison sentence of up to 6 months, while serious violations of 0.1% and higher carry a guaranteed prison sentence of up to 2 years. Be sure to either bring a designated driver, take a taxi or make use of public transport if you plan on drinking. The Stockholm port at Frihamnen has alcogates: an automated breathalyzer which reports drunk drivers to police.

Sweden has a small but growing network of designated scenic routes, they are often minor roads with limited traffic and speeds not exceeding 80 km/h.

Road ferries (ferries that constitute part of public roads) are yellow, run by Färjerederiet. An online map service showing all available road ferries and their daily schedule can be found on Trafikverket's website.

The Swedish archipelagoes have boat services provided by the local county transport authority, in Swedish called skärgårdstrafik.

• Destination Gotland runs domestic ferry lines from Nynäshamn and Oskarshamn to Visby, Gotland.
• Ölandsfärjan runs a domestic ferry line in the summer season (mid-June to mid-August) between Oskarshamn and Byxelkrok on Öland.
• Ventrafiken runs a domestic ferry line between Landskrona and Ven in Scania.

Taxis are generally comfortable and, in the larger cities, easy to find. Check the price info on the rear window before entering, and do use the seat belt. If you are travelling with a toddler call in advance to get a cab with a proper child seat, or the driver may refuse you. Outside the bigger cities it makes sense to note the contact information of one or a few companies with decent pricing and enough presence in the city you are visiting. Officially registered taxis can be recognized by the vehicle registration plate with black text on a yellow background, whereas ordinary cars have registration plates with a white background.

• TaxiKurir. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. Includes several cities around Sweden. (updated Aug 2020)
• Sverigetaxi. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. Includes several cities around Sweden. (updated Aug 2020)
• Cabonline. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. Includes several cities. (updated Feb 2021)

Sweden has a reputation for being a pretty difficult country to hitch in, though it's still quite possible to hitch-hike. Ordinary people are often reluctant to pick up strangers. However, given a location with sufficiently much traffic, you will often find the one or other helpful driver.

Bus stops are common places to attract attention, position yourself before the actual bus stop so the vehicle can stop at the stop. This works best if the road is widened at the bus stop, allowing cars to pull off easily. Also the beginning of motorway or major road ramps is a good location, or right after a junction. Avoid any location where cars are able to drive 80 km/h and above (even if it's a bus stop), or where there is no space for cars to stop.

Unless for shorter trips, you will want to avoid minor side roads. While you can find rides there, they are often just 30-50 km, and it will take ages to arrive. Motorways and major roads is the best way forward. Note, pedestrians are prohibited from accessing motorways.

Truck drivers are probably likely to pick up hitch-hikers, so ask at gas stations — anywhere else they will have a hard time to stop.

Look polite, friendly and trustworthy (see clothes), try to catch the drivers eyes and have a smile on your lips even if cars don't stop — in the end it is a social game.

Most Swedish cities have excellent bicycle paths, and renting a bike can be a quick and healthy method of getting around locally. Some cities have bikes for borrowing. Inter-city cycling is a good option for the experienced cyclist. While cycling is not allowed on motorways, most of them have a parallel old road without the heavy traffic.

Note that most long-distance trains don't take bikes. A foldable bike or combining regional trains may be viable although cumbersome options.

Cars are by law required to stop at any unattended crosswalks (zebra stripes in the road without red-lights) to let pedestrians cross the road. But keep in mind that you are required to make eye contact with the driver so that they know that you are about to cross the street.