Stockholm was the last of our stops on our 14 days in Europe. We had been averaging around 8-9 miles per day of walking, so having a nice relaxing boat ride was just what our sore feet needed. Many residents here rely on these ferries since Stockholm is built across 14 islands. For visitors, however, it can be a great way to relax and see some of the lesser visited areas of Stockholm.
The Ferries are Included with SL Card
One of the most amazing benefits of Stockholm’s great public transportation system is the fact that you can ride a number of ferry routes with your SL Card. The SL Card gives a visitor unlimited access to Stockholm’s public transportation system for the period of time that it’s valid. The cards are fairly expensive but the public transportation system in Stockholm is excellent, so it is worth it. The SL Card covers most of the subways, trams and ferries in the city of Stockholm and it’s surrounding areas. Tourists would most likely be looking one of the choices below.
| Cost for Adults 20-64 | Cost for Under 20 or Over 64 years old | |
| 24 hour pass | 165 SEK (about $16 US) | 110 SEK (about $11 US) |
| 72 hour pass | 330 SEK (about $33 US) | 220 SEK (about $22 US) |
| 7 day pass | 430 SEK (about $43 US) | 290 SEK (about $29 US) |
| 30 day pass | 970 SEK (about $97 US) | 650 SEK (about $65 US) |
We bought 4 of the 72 hour passes, 2 adults and 2 children, so we spent around $110 US on the passes. That seemed like a lot, but with the ferries being included in the price, it seemed pretty reasonable. Purchasing the tickets was easy, we just went to the subway station near our hotel and bought it from the attendant who was watching the turnstiles.
There are 4 ferry lines that are covered with the SL card – lines 80, 82, 83, and 89. The maps for where those lines go are located on the SL website.
Most of the tourists seemed to be getting onto route 80 at the Nybroplan terminal, located near Berzelii Park. That is where we chose to get on as well.
The ferries are two levels with the bottom floor being completely covered. Rows of seats face both directions. There are tons of windows, so if you prefer to stay out of the elements this is a great place to sit. The second level is out essentially a deck on the top of the first level and it is a fantastic place to enjoy the beautiful weather that Stockholm often has during the summer. There is a set of stairs on the back of the ferry that provides access to the second deck.
Daytripping on Commuter Lines 80 and 83
The main commuter ferry line was commuter line 80 from Nybroplan to Nacka Strand. That was as far as we went and we returned on the same boat. If you want to continue on the route, you need to get off at Nacka Strand and continue on the route with a different boat. There might be a boat that does the entire route, I just didn’t see it. That being said, as you can see, line 80 covers a large portion of Stockholm.
The first stop from Nybroplan is Allmanna Grand. It is on Djurgarden island which has an amusement park named Grona Lund as well as an open air museum/zoo called Skansen. It is also home to the very popular Vasa Museum, which houses a poorly designed 17th century warship that sunk early into it’s maiden voyage in 1628. It was raised in 1961 and was towed into the museum in 1990. Djurgarden also has ABBA the Museum, which of course is a museum commemorating a Disco group responsible for some of the worst atrocities ever inflicted upon popular music.
Djurgarden is an extremely popular stop and I noticed that a large portion of the people on the ferry got on at Nybroplan and off at Allmanna Grand. We actually used it the next day to get back from a visit to Skansen, even though the tram would’ve been faster, because we enjoyed the ferry so much.
You can also get off at Nacka Strand and get on line 83, which covers a lot more rural islands. Nacka Strand has a handful of restaurants near the terminal which makes it an interesting place to stop, especially if you are using this opportunity to leave line 80 and get onto line 83. Restaurant J looks like a particularly good place to stop for a drink or a bite to eat, as it sits on the dock overlooking the water.
A full round trip on line 83 takes about 3 hours and could be a great relaxing trip on a beautiful day. Line 83 terminates at Rindo, which is primarily a residential island and has multiple stops along the way. Some of these islands are small and have only a dozen or two houses on them.
Vaxholm island might be a good stop on a trip like this because there is a decent number of bars and restaurants near the ferry terminal.
We took the much shorter route from Nybroplan to Nacka Strand and back, mainly because we didn’t have all day to devote to a ferry trip. If we were to go back to Stockholm with more than 2 days to really enjoy the city, I definitely would’ve taken advantage of the longer routes. We had a really relaxing time on the ferry and if we had some more time available to get off at some stops and really enjoy the trip, I think we could’ve made a full day of it. Oh well, I guess that gives us a great excuse to return to Stockholm!
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