Hop -On-Hop Off bus Stockholm

This is for all who will cruise Northern Europe and stop in Stockholm.It is a beautiful country but if you do not take a ship tour ,do not take their Hop-On Hop Off sightseeing bus that is on the pier waiting for suckers.It is a rip-off.The prices are the highest in Northern Europe and more important,they take you 5 minutes to change for another bus which never comes,the drivers all lie and it is a very unpleasant experience in such a beautiful country.Take a taxi or even walk.It is a very nice walk and you can pace yourself to spend as much or as little time as you want exploring your interests. Avoid the bus .

Sorry to hear you had such poor service on the HOHO in Stockholm. We used it a few years ago and were well served.

Also sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience on the HO/HO bus in Stockholm.

But when you mention that the cost here was the most expensive in Europe I think this has changed now. The financial crisis we all have been seeing hits very hard at small currencies like the Swedish krona. I think that since last summer our currency has lost something like 40% against the US dollar. We have also lost against the euro, but not as much as against the dollar. I think this could be great news for everyone booked on a Baltic cruise the coming summer, everything here in Stockholm is likely to be considerably cheaper than it was last year.

Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity did anyone take the ferry instead and do you consider that a better option?

Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity did anyone take the ferry instead and do you consider that a better option?

We used the ferry and found it to be very satisfactory.

Sheila

We got the public transit visitors card which is good for buses, trams, subway and ferries. It was very reasonable and took us everywhere. We did 3 days post cruise in Stockholm and were very glad we did. It is our current favorite city.

I can't speak to the HOHO bus that meets the cruise ship since we boarded downtown near Stergel's Torg. Don't know if it is the same company or not. We liked the fact that the pass was good for 24 hours sincw we bought ours in the afternoon after we checked into our hotel and were able to use it again the next day until early afternoon. There is also a night tour, but we didn't use it then.

We rode the whole loop the first day to get an idea what we wanted to see, then rode it again the next day to see the Vasa Museum and Gamla Stan/Royal Palace area.

We totally agree about the hop on hop off buses in Stockholm, save your money. They are very expensive and having bought a ticket that should last for two days at 2.30pm, we were not told by the driver that the last bus left at 5pm. Consequently at 5.30pm we ended taking a taxi back to the ship which cost £19. The next morning we waited at the dockside for an hour and a half until a bus arrived, then all the passengers were really irate. Later that day we caught a bus back to the ship,only to be dropped a long way away as the driver wouldn't take the 30 or so passengers back to the ship. We also heard other horror stories about passengers tipped off the bus anywhere at 5pm and had to make their own way back. Some paid £60 to get back by taxi. Don't use these buses they are rip-off!

In Stockholm for 6 days a couple of weeks ago, we did not use the HOHO buses, but we were highly pleased with the HOHO boat service run by the Stromma company. There is a competing HOHO boat service on the same route (Royal, I think), but its operating hours are a bit shorter, and I think Royal, unlike Stromma, doesn't to to the cruise pier at Stadsgarden. 100 SEK for 24 hours, vs. 40 SEK per trip (or maybe it was per stop).

Based in Gamla Stan, we found that we didn't need any mechanized form of land transportation. Even went to Drottningholm Palace and Theatre, and to Gustavsberg through the close-in archipelago, via classic steamboats. Everything else we wanted to see or do, including 1st-class restaurants, was easy walking distance either from the hotel or from the closest HOHO boat pier. And we are not fast walkers.

One slightly off-topic thought: The Stockholm Card may be a good value for really intensive sightseeing, but because it's good for limited time periods only (1, 3, or 5 days, at progressively higher prices), we found it not worth buying for a more relaxed itinerary. And this was especially so considering that some venues have reduced admission fees ("concessions") for seniors ("pensioners"), including senior tourists.

Have to say, though, that recent exchange rate changes notwithstanding, we thought Stockholm was very expensive -- but worth it. We were there only to catch a cruise to St. Petersburg, and were surprised at how much we liked the city.

We were less than pleased with the Stromma offering as well.

Driver at pier 523 (Vartahamnen) promised us 3 days, but we quickly found out first time we reboarded that it was 2 days. Vartahamnen is not a regular stop, but when we bought our tickets we were told "just tell the bus driver it's the pier between stops 10 and 11 and he'll bring you right back here".

Closing down at 5PM was also a major annoyance, as it's light out until very late this time of year. Worst part was the later driver refused to take us back to pier 523, claiming it wasn't a stop and he had never been there before and told us that we "must be lazy" not to be willing to walk back to our ship from the prior stop (stop 10 on the blue line). 15 or 20 minutes later, after carrying our purchases back along streets with no sidewalks, we were back to our ship.

Did contact Stromma and they offered me a free ride next time we're in Stockholm and said they would discuss with the driver.

We did enjoy the boat portion of the offering.