My Shore Excursion Plan - Stockholm

[dinoman]

I posted this under another thread and I think it would be better to start a new one so it can be found more easily.

 

I am visiting Stockholm on NCL Jewel in June and I work out this plan according to the materials I found on this forum. Any advices are welcomed.

 

Scheduled arriving and departure time: 8:00am - 4:00pm on a Monday, according to the latest available information the ship will dock at Stadsgarden S167

 

8:30am: walk from the pier to Slussen and catch bus 73 Vasa Museum, journey time 12 minutes

9:00am-10:30am: visit Vasa

10:30am: walk or take the ferry from Vasa to Gamla Stan, visit Royal Palace

10:30am - 11:30am: visit Royal Palace & Royal Treasury

11:35am: changing of the guard

12:30pm: lunch at Gamla Stan

1:30pm: visit Royal Treasury and Nobel Museum (if time allowed)

3:00pm: head back to the ship by bus

The total cost in SEK of the above itinerary = 445:

Vasa: 95

Royal Palace: 100

Royal Treasury: 90

1-day Travel Card: 100

Nobel Museum: 60

 

In this case a Stockholm Card (cost 375SEK) is a better deal, even if I take the ferry from Vasa to Gamla Stan (40SEK & not included in Stockholm Card but included in 1-day Travel Card), my total cost would be 375+40=415, still justified the use of the Card.

 

I am travelling with my parents who are 70 and 63 respectively, so I tend to allow more time for rest and photo along the way. If anyone had done similar itinerary previously pls comment for any adjustment to make it more doable.

[RachelG]

Your schedule is definitely doable if you take the ferry from the Vasa to Gamla Stan. Walking would take a long time as they are on different islands (connected by bridges, but it is a long walk). We didn't do the changing of the guard, but have done all the other things on your list. The Vasa was the highlight of our trip to Stockholm, and I would not skimp on time there (1 1/2 hrs should be enough, but you will be surprised how interesting it is).

[TLCOhio]

Your schedule is definitely doable if you take the ferry from the Vasa to Gamla Stan. Walking would take a long time as they are on different islands (connected by bridges, but it is a long walk). We didn't do the changing of the guard, but have done all the other things on your list. The Vasa was the highlight of our trip to Stockholm, and I would not skimp on time there (1 1/2 hrs should be enough, but you will be surprised how interesting it is).

 

Agree on the walk being long from Vasa to Gamia Stan. The Vasa Museum and its history are super wonderful and very interesting. The Charging of the Guard is excellent. Don't miss!!! You can spend lots more time in Gamia Stan walking around, soaking up the history, seeing shops, etc. Below are some of our picture highlights from last summer in charming Stockholm. Your schedule is tight and hopefully you will have some time to just "soak it up" and enjoy the setting and people there.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Shadowstar]

8:30am: walk from the pier to Slussen and catch bus 73 Vasa Museum, journey time 12 minutes

9:00am-10:30am: visit Vasa

10:30am: walk or take the ferry from Vasa to Gamla Stan, visit Royal Palace

10:30am - 11:30am: visit Royal Palace & Royal Treasury

11:35am: changing of the guard

12:30pm: lunch at Gamla Stan

1:30pm: visit Royal Treasury and Nobel Museum (if time allowed)

3:00pm: head back to the ship by bus

 

The total cost in SEK of the above itinerary = 445:

Vasa: 95

Royal Palace: 100

Royal Treasury: 90

1-day Travel Card: 100

Nobel Museum: 60

 

 

I would take the bus to Vasa. 1 1/2 hours is fine for Vasa, it is small but very interesting. It could take 30 minutes to get to the Royal Palace depending on how long you have to wait for the ferry and then there is about a 15 minute walk from the ferry to the palace. If you want to take the bus back, I would give yourself more than one hour to get back to the ship. It took us almost two hours since the buses were very very crowded. If not, take a taxi it will be well worth the extra money.

[TLCOhio]

It took us almost two hours since the buses were very very crowded. If not, take a taxi it will be well worth the extra money.

 

Agree on being ready to use the cab option. Time is money!!! Why waste so much time in a great city like Stockholm just standing around waiting to get on a crowded bus?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[dinoman]

I know my itinerary is a bit tight. Oh I wish I could have some more time in such a beautiful city!

 

Agree on the contingency plan of taking a cab back to the ship. Can I just hail a taxi on the street in Stockholm? I once tried to hail a taxi to get back to the ship from Plaka at Athen but in vain! It turned out that it's the taxi driver to decide whether to take you or not, meaning if your destination is not along the same route or in the same direction as the taxi driver's going he will not take you!

[Dragster13]

You might want to look at the Hop on Hop off boat as it goes to all the points in your schedule and since the boat stops at your pier it might be faster, and does not cost that much. I believe about $12.50 US

[teach2travel]

We will be on this cruise in about 2 weeks, and I love your plan. The only monkey wrench for us is that the Vasa's hours are shorter for us. Until June, they don't open until 10am. :(

[dinoman]

Agree on being ready to use the cab option. Time is money!!! Why waste so much time in a great city like Stockholm just standing around waiting to get on a crowded bus?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

How long would it take to catch a taxi from Gamla Stan to the pier and how much does it cost? Are taxis readily available in the area and I can just hail one on the street?

[crusingnut]

I have a question on Stockholm for the "been there done that" pros. We will be staying at the Sheraton hotel in the city center 2 nights prior to our cruise in May. We have a reservation @ 6 pm for the Ice Bar in the Nordic Sea Hotel and would like to get dinner afterwards at a mid-priced ($20-30pp) restaurant.

 

Can any of you recommend a restaurant between the Nordic & Sheraton hotels?

 

Has anybody eaten dinner @ Skansen or Grona Lund Tivoli? We were thinking of having dinner our 2nd night at one of these or someplace close by.

 

If you have stayed at the Sheraton before, are there any little cafes near by that you could recommend?

[TLCOhio]

How long would it take to catch a taxi from Gamla Stan to the pier and how much does it cost? Are taxis readily available in the area and I can just hail one on the street?

 

To the main pier at Frihamnen, it is about an 8-10 minute cab ride. This new large cruise terminal opened in May 2008. From Gamia Stan, cabs are easily around the area, not in it. Since Gamia Stan is mainly a car-free, walking area, you might have to catch a cab around the edges of this historic zone and/or near the Royal Palace. It is still all very handy and close. Price? Like most things in Stockholm, nothing is cheap, including cabs. I don't have my credit card summaries handy, but my rough guess/re-call would be that it could be around $9-12. If there are two or three people in your group, that helps. Most all taxis in Stockholm take credit cards.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[cruzisme]

so, to return to the ship from G. Stan, it would be less expensive for 2 people in a cab instead of the HOHO, right? ie 12.50 x 2 = 25.00 on the boat

now I haven't done any research about this HOHO, so more info would be appreciated.

we do like the OP's itinerary.

 

ie the walk from the F. pier to Vasa: is it a safe ie smooth sidewalk, interesting walk? about 40 minutes or so in duration, right?

[dinoman]

Thanks for all your advices and based on that I adjusted my itineray a bit (highlighted and underlined for easy reference):

 

8:30am: take a taxi from the pier to Vasa Museum

9:00am-10:30am: visit Vasa

10:30am: walk or take the ferry from Vasa to Gamla Stan, visit Royal Treasury

11:00am - 11:30am: visit Royal Treasury

11:35am: changing of the guard

12:30pm: lunch at Gamla Stan

1:30pm: visit Royal Palace and Nobel Museum (if time allowed)

3:00pm: head back to the ship by taxi

 

The total cost in SEK of the above itinerary = 285 (345 if include Nobel Museum):

Vasa: 95

Royal Palace: 100

Royal Treasury: 90

Nobel Museum: 60

 

Since I changed my transporation mode from public transport to taxi and there are 3 of us in the group, therefore I might not need the Stockholm Card anymore. However does anyone know if I can buy the tickets of Vasa, Palace and Treasury well in advance on the internet?

[TLCOhio]

ie the walk from the F. pier to Vasa: is it a safe ie smooth sidewalk, interesting walk? about 40 minutes or so in duration, right?

 

As with most of Stockholm, things are generally very safe. No worries in that way. The F. pier and port are fairly decent looking, for that type of area. Not too industrial. BUT, there and and in the walk towards the main part of town, it is not what I would call "interesting". Part of it are open sports fields. Some warehouses, etc. As you get into the main part of town it gets better. Your timing guess sounds about right. Depends on your walking pace. It is not as pretty, varied and unique as we experienced walking back from Tivoli and the main downtown of Copenhagen to the boat docking area in that Denmark capital. That was a great, enjoyable and very interesting walk!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

Since I changed my transporation mode from public transport to taxi and there are 3 of us in the group, therefore I might not need the Stockholm Card anymore. However does anyone know if I can buy the tickets of Vasa, Palace and Treasury well in advance on the internet?

 

Hi, Dinoman! Looks like you're a very detailed planner. Things are getting fine-tuned well. My suggestion/reaction would be to wait till you get to Stockholm to buy your tickets. Why? Depending on the weather and what you do and see on the rest of your cruise in the Baltics, you might not want to do as much inside with museums as you are now thinking and planning. From our experiences, the lines for tickets was not that long or major. This gives you more "flexibility" to adjust your plans that afternoon. You might decide to do a boat ride around the islands in Stockholm and/or explore the Gamia Stan in more depth, etc.

 

Below are some added pictures from what we saw and experienced in Stockholm.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[dinoman]

Hi, Dinoman! Looks like you're a very detailed planner. Things are getting fine-tuned well. My suggestion/reaction would be to wait till you get to Stockholm to buy your tickets. Why? Depending on the weather and what you do and see on the rest of your cruise in the Baltics, you might not want to do as much inside with museums as you are now thinking and planning. From our experiences, the lines for tickets was not that long or major. This gives you more "flexibility" to adjust your plans that afternoon. You might decide to do a boat ride around the islands in Stockholm and/or explore the Gamia Stan in more depth, etc.

 

Below are some added pictures from what we saw and experienced in Stockholm.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Thanks for your advice again, Terry. I'm a self-planned independent traveller. I gather as much information as I could before going on a trip and this time I'm bringing my parents to Stockholm for the 1st time and we only have 8 hours on land, that's why I have to plan everything ahead, or at least have a general idea, of what and where to do once we get there.

You reminded me about the weather. Last time when we were on a cruise to the Med there was heavy rain in Mykonos and we hardly went anywhere, just wondering around the pier. I have my fingers crossed and hope that the weather would be good this time.

[TLCOhio]

Thanks for your advice again, Terry. I'm a self-planned independent traveller. I gather as much information as I could before going on a trip and this time I'm bringing my parents to Stockholm for the 1st time and we only have 8 hours on land, that's why I have to plan everything ahead, or at least have a general idea, of what and where to do once we get there. You reminded me about the weather. Last time when we were on a cruise to the Med there was heavy rain in Mykonos and we hardly went anywhere, just wondering around the pier. I have my fingers crossed and hope that the weather would be good this time.

 

We wish you the best for great weather there in Stockholm. Doing your advance research and preparing for several options are important. There could also be strikes that will make being able to adjust so very needed. In most cases, it will all work out well. Have you looked at the Eyewitness series books? They have great pictures, maps and other visuals that help you get a sense of what you might enjoy . . . OR, shift that option down to a lower priority.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Almagetty]

Thanks for all of the great advice in this thread. I plan on following a similar itinerary to dinoman's and had already decided to go the route of using taxi's to and from the ship in Stockholm. Thanks for posting the estimated cost of a taxi ride (although it appears we will be at a different port than you were). I will use your estimate as a guide.

 

Terry, I'm glad to see that you really enjoyed the walk from the pier in Copenhagen to Tivoli, as that is our plan there.

 

Does anyone know how to find out what time the changing of the guard in Stockholm is scheduled for on a particular day? I see dinoman is planning for an 11:35 event, but I've seen other sources that place the timing at around 12:15 PM.

 

Thanks!

[TLCOhio]

Terry, I'm glad to see that you really enjoyed the walk from the pier in Copenhagen to Tivoli, as that is our plan there.

 

Does anyone know how to find out what time the changing of the guard in Stockholm is scheduled for on a particular day? I see dinoman is planning for an 11:35 event, but I've seen other sources that place the timing at around 12:15 PM.

 

YES, we loved that walk back from Tivoli to the main ship docking area. During this late July walk, we saw and enjoyed the City Hall area, main shopping street, lots of nice fountains and statutes, more docking areas, views of the key government buildings, the famed "new" Nyhavn port with its scenic and colorful buildings, the new Opera House view from across the water, the Royal Palaces or Christiansborg Palace (Christiansborg Slot), lots of unique churches and old buildings, nice squares, the bronze Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, etc., etc. We had previously done the canal boat tour (which is a must-see, must-do highlight) and visited the Rosenborg Castle grounds. We visited the old fishing village of Drag'r, south of Copenhagen, strolling through this picturesque town with its thatched-roof homes. Tivoli Gardens is a must-see; there are rides and amusements and restaurants ranging from casual snack shacks to Michelin-starred haute cuisine. Will post more on a separate thread to urge this "walk-back" adventure.

 

From about.com website, they said: "May - August: The changing of the guard can be witnessed with a Military Band daily at 1215 hours (Sundays and holidays at 1315 hours). In the summer season, you may even see guards on horses approaching Stockholm's Royal Palace (especially in May)!"

 

From the Royal Military website, they note: "the Changing of Guard ceremony is held from 23 April to 31 August marching from the Army Museum or Cavalry Barracks (mounted Royal Guards) at 11.45 or 11.35 respectively (Sundays and public holidays 12.45 or 12.35 respectively) accompanied by a military band. The military band is usually from the Swedish Armed Forces Music Centre (FöMuC). If there is no musical accompaniment, The Royal Guards march from the Obelisk at 12.14."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[noteasilyimpressed]

Dinoman, we too are independent travelers in our 30's (we did Tokyo by ourselves last year) and I would just like to thank you for the itinerary you printed. It's almost identical to what we've been thinking and were hoping it was feasible. I think we're going to try the HOHO ferry/bus too but reserve a taxi option if we run out of time.

 

Are there scheduled times for changing of the guard that I can find on the net? I can't seem to get this information (we're going in July on HA Eurodam--be there around July 18th or so).

 

Thanks everyone for your input! I really love this forum. :rolleyes:

[dinoman]

Are there scheduled times for changing of the guard that I can find on the net? I can't seem to get this information (we're going in July on HA Eurodam--be there around July 18th or so).

 

This is a link to the Royal Guard website in which they have a schedule of the Changing of the Guard:

 

http://www.mil.se/en/Organisation/The-Royal-Guards/What-happens-at-the-Royal-Guards/

 

The marching starts at 11:35am from Cavalry Barracks or 11:45am from the Army Museum. If time allows I want to follow the troop from the start and if not I will be at the Royal Palace before 12:15pm. I probably will be there before 11:45am or earlier for a better viewing spot.

[TLCOhio]

The marching starts at 11:35am from Cavalry Barracks or 11:45am from the Army Museum. If time allows I want to follow the troop from the start and if not I will be at the Royal Palace before 12:15pm. I probably will be there before 11:45am or earlier for a better viewing spot.

 

Have a few larger pictures that I have figured out on how to post. This gives a much better sampling on BOTH the Vasa Museum and the Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace, plus the Grand Hotel and the Guard at the Royal Palace and near the historic church in Stockholm.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

 

 

[dinoman]

Great pictures, Terry. I wish I do not have to wait 2 more months! Where do you think is the best location to take photos of the changing guards? From your photo I can see some visitors just stood behind the guards to take photos, are we allowed to do so?

[TLCOhio]

Great pictures, Terry. I wish I do not have to wait 2 more months! Where do you think is the best location to take photos of the changing guards? From your photo I can see some visitors just stood behind the guards to take photos, are we allowed to do so?

 

There is lots going on between the actual guards doing their activities and then the large band of about 36 people performing. They both did a number of movements and some of these pictures are of the band later doing several of their numbers and marches. We got there a little late and actually kind of lucked into catching these pictures. Fortunately, I'm a little tall and that made it a little easier. Here are a few more pictures. It was a great event!!! Nice uniforms and helmets! It was a decent-sized crowd, but not too massive on this early August 2008 date.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

 

 

[Almagetty]

YES, we loved that walk back from Tivoli to the main ship docking area. During this late July walk, we saw and enjoyed the City Hall area, main shopping street, lots of nice fountains and statutes, more docking areas, views of the key government buildings, the famed "new" Nyhavn port with its scenic and colorful buildings, the new Opera House view from across the water, the Royal Palaces or Christiansborg Palace (Christiansborg Slot), lots of unique churches and old buildings, nice squares, the bronze Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, etc., etc. We had previously done the canal boat tour (which is a must-see, must-do highlight) and visited the Rosenborg Castle grounds. We visited the old fishing village of Drag'r, south of Copenhagen, strolling through this picturesque town with its thatched-roof homes. Tivoli Gardens is a must-see; there are rides and amusements and restaurants ranging from casual snack shacks to Michelin-starred haute cuisine. Will post more on a separate thread to urge this "walk-back" adventure.

 

From about.com website, they said: "May - August: The changing of the guard can be witnessed with a Military Band daily at 1215 hours (Sundays and holidays at 1315 hours). In the summer season, you may even see guards on horses approaching Stockholm's Royal Palace (especially in May)!"

 

From the Royal Military website, they note: "the Changing of Guard ceremony is held from 23 April to 31 August marching from the Army Museum or Cavalry Barracks (mounted Royal Guards) at 11.45 or 11.35 respectively (Sundays and public holidays 12.45 or 12.35 respectively) accompanied by a military band. The military band is usually from the Swedish Armed Forces Music Centre (FöMuC). If there is no musical accompaniment, The Royal Guards march from the Obelisk at 12.14."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Thank you for the information on the time for the changing of the guard. If I understand correctly, we can either "follow the band" from the Army Museum or Cavalry Barracks at around 11:35 AM, or we can wait for them to arrive at the Royal Palace at around 12:15 PM. Both sound like great options. I guess it will depend on how we're doing time-wise.

 

I'll be looking for your separate thread about your walk in Copenhagen. It sounds really great. My two teen-aged daughters will really love Tivoli, I know. I think we'll be doing the walk in reverse, walking from the ship to Tivoli and then taking a taxi back at the end of the day.

 

6 weeks to go ... :D