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Stockholm on your own


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When we cruise to Stockholm next summer, we will be meeting up with the Swedish pen pal I stayed with for a summer as a teen in 1986. I haven't been to Stockholm since that time and we drove into the city, so I'm pretty clueless. I'm wondering how hard it is to get to Stockholm from the port? We normally take the cruise line's excursions, so I'm really nervous about going out there on our own to meet up with her (why I'm already thinking about this so early; I'm a planner, lol!). Any thoughts on the best way to get in to the city and back with plenty of time before departure? TIA!

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Posted (edited)

do you know exactly where you dock?  We were able to very easily traverse the city using its amazing public transportation system with a 3 year old in tow.  There are several docking spaces, so if you don't know exactly where you dock let us know your ship name and arrival date and I'm sure someone on this forum will be able to tell you if you are close to public transport.  Please note that if you want to go to Vassa, it is quite empty at opening time and filled up as the day went on so you might want to go there first.  Stockholm is a really good city to travel independently since the public transportation is so strong, and there are so many different amazing places to visit you need to choose what you are most interested in and only visit those attractions.  

 

I researched all of the museums but not transport.  For the first museum, the HOHO boats ran directly to Vassa first thing, so we started there.  After that, I went to the information desk of the museum I was currently at, and asked them how to get to the next museum we wanted to visit and wrote that down and followed it.  We went on subways, buses, trams and ferries.  Actually, I probably should have researched transportation because there might have been a better way to organize our day more logistically, but the priority was our 3 year old not melting down so we saw what we really wanted to see first and then moved on.  

Edited by kitkat343
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Depends which dock you use.  We were docked at Stadsgarden very close to the city centre and there was a free shuttle to the Opera House.
 

 From there it was easy to get around and in a day we did Old Town, Vasa, City Hall and the main shopping area all on foot before taking the bus back to ship.

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As @kitkat343 and @Thejuggler have posted, we need to know where you dock.

Stadsgarden or Frihamnen - both in the city, or Nynashamn - on the coast about an hour away. Or elsewhere.

If you don't have that information from the cruiseline, eg in the itinerary, then we can figure it from the name of the ship and whether it's a tender port (against Stockholm there's be an anchor icon or it will say "ashore by tender" or similar.

 

JB 🙂

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Posted (edited)

Thank you all so much! I didn't realize there were multiple docks. Unfortunately, sounds like I've got the unlucky one -- Nynashamn. We will be on the Carnival Miracle.

Edited by RedheadMom18
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From Nynashamn, you take the train to Stockholm Central Station. You can walk to Old Town from there. The train takes a little more than an hour and runs frequently. 

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19 hours ago, RedheadMom18 said:

Thank you all so much! I didn't realize there were multiple docks. Unfortunately, sounds like I've got the unlucky one -- Nynashamn. We will be on the Carnival Miracle.

Dont think of it as unlucky! Nynäshamn is absolutely lovely (as in locals even go there for holidays) and very easy to get the commuter rail directly to the centre of the city. Just please account for time as it is 1h away

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Miss_Confused said:

Dont think of it as unlucky! Nynäshamn is absolutely lovely (as in locals even go there for holidays) and very easy to get the commuter rail directly to the centre of the city. Just please account for time as it is 1h away


Never heard of anyone going to Nynäshamn for holiday (unless they own a summer house nearby). Most use it as a transit due to that ferries to/from Visby, Gotland departs from Nynäshamn.

Docking in Nynäshamn IS a major minus due to not going through the archipelago as well as have the hassle with commuter trains with the risk of delays and etc.

 

This is why it's important to research before booking a cruise so you don't end up in Nynäshamn instead of central Stockholm.

Edited by Desdichado62
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I've never considered going to Nynäshamn for a holiday, although I'm sure there are some nice parts of the town. But the train to Stockholm is as mentioned easy, just remember that you don't need to leave the train at Stockholm Central station, it also stops at Stockholm Södra (South station) and Odenplan, depending on where you are going those might be better options. 

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On 7/15/2024 at 5:26 PM, RedheadMom18 said:

Thank you all so much! I didn't realize there were multiple docks. Unfortunately, sounds like I've got the unlucky one -- Nynashamn. We will be on the Carnival Miracle.

 

 

At  963ft & 88,000 tonnes Carnival Miracle is significantly smaller than the maximum size ship for negotiating the archipelago altho at about 2000 pax she's my preferred size of ship.

But she's quite old (built 2004), so may be inadequately-equipped for the job.

Or Stadsgarden & Frihamnen  may be booked-out on your date.

 

JB 🙂

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If you are docking at r Nynashamn, I assume you would miss the opening at Vassa if traveling from June - August since it opens at 8:30; if that's the case, people on this forum have reported it is also less crowded in the late afternoon (I cannot verify this from personal experience, but I do know the museums in NYC tend to empty out in the later afternoons).  Good luck.  

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On 7/15/2024 at 5:15 AM, John Bull said:

As @kitkat343 and @Thejuggler have posted, we need to know where you dock.

Stadsgarden or Frihamnen - both in the city, or Nynashamn - on the coast about an hour away. Or elsewhere.

If you don't have that information from the cruiseline, eg in the itinerary, then we can figure it from the name of the ship and whether it's a tender port (against Stockholm there's be an anchor icon or it will say "ashore by tender" or similar.

 

JB 🙂

Hi JB!  Of course my RS books don't have Nynashamn listed as a port. 😬 I used GoogleMaps and I think it's a bus rather than a train with a transfer to get to Stockholm? I'm on Miracle as well. TIA!

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On 7/20/2024 at 12:40 AM, kitkat343 said:

If you are docking at r Nynashamn, I assume you would miss the opening at Vassa if traveling from June - August since it opens at 8:30; if that's the case, people on this forum have reported it is also less crowded in the late afternoon (I cannot verify this from personal experience, but I do know the museums in NYC tend to empty out in the later afternoons).  Good luck.  

Oh you dont need to be at Vasa at 8.30 - its fine to come later

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4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Hi JB!  Of course my RS books don't have Nynashamn listed as a port. 😬 I used GoogleMaps and I think it's a bus rather than a train with a transfer to get to Stockholm? I'm on Miracle as well. TIA!

 

 

That's a shame, more for missing the archipelago of islands than the hour's travel.

 

Sounds like Nyneshamn is very much like my home-town of Lee-on-the-Solent - a place where folk in the region go to enjoy a pleasant day by the sea, but not on the tourist trail.

 

JB 🙂

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I'm not familiar with Lee-on-the-Solent, but I would probably compare Nynäshamn to Felixstowe or Harwich. A town that has grown up around a port. 

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2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Hi JB!  Of course my RS books don't have Nynashamn listed as a port. 😬 I used GoogleMaps and I think it's a bus rather than a train with a transfer to get to Stockholm? I'm on Miracle as well. TIA!

The train station is at the port. Train #42 runs to Stockholm Central Staion. No transfers required. Google Maps uses the same icon for bus and train.

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1 hour ago, Apel said:

I'm not familiar with Lee-on-the-Solent, but I would probably compare Nynäshamn to Felixstowe or Harwich. A town that has grown up around a port. 

 

 

OK, strike Lee-on-the-Solent - developed from a strip of waterfront houses started around 1900. Then, being close to Portsmouth, the home of the infant Royal Navy Air Service and much later the RN hovercraft arm. Now just a pleasant place to live or visit and watch ships arriving & departing Southampton.al

JB 🙂 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stadsgarden is so easy. From the ship you can walk out of the gate and turn left until you come to a small dock. It's so easy and the Emilie stops here hourly. You pay by card on the boat and it's 10 minutes to Djurgarden where the Vasa and other museums are. It costs about £3 or you can pay £9 for a day ticket so after the museums you can jump back on the ferry to Nybroplan where there is a lovely park. You can walk over the bridge to Gamla Stan and, after exploring,  take the ferry right back to the ship. Timetable is on line

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