Oslo to Stockholm by train or plane?

[mocrimlaw]

We are getting off a cruise of the Norwegian fjords in Oslo at 4pm (Day 1). We start the Baltic cruise in Stockholm 2 days later (Day 3). I was planning to spend the interim day (Day 2) in Stockholm so as to have time to see that city, while sadly not being able to see Oslo this trip. We could either fly to Stockholm, on Day 1 in the late evening - thereby allowing more time in Stockholm, although not sure how long it will take to get off the ship with our luggage as we are getting off early (the NCL cruise continues on to end in Southampton), so not sure about getting to the airport on time. OR we could take a very early train to Stockholm, spending the evening in Oslo first ( and seeing a little of Oslo at least since this is mid-August and it will be light for awhile). Train takes longer - presumably we could see some of the countryside - and of course the train depots are closer to the city than the airports so that saves some time. Anyone have any thoughts on this - any ideas welcome!! Thanks!

[GottaKnowWhen]

We took the train from Stockholm to Oslo a few years ago. Comfortable, good scenery, etc. If you can time it to get to Stockholm in time to see the Vassa museum and/or the City Hall, take the train. Gamla Stan (Old Town) is also worth some time. Note that the airport is well out of town. Train stations are downtown both cities. Our time in Oslo was spent with friends at their home so I cannot comment on what you might do there on the evening Day 1...

 

 

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[SarniaLo]

I also took the train from Stockholm to Oslo and it's quite a pleasant ride though the countryside. The train is now around 5 hours I think, so when you factor in shuttles to and from the airports at both ends, time to check-in, go through security and so on, it's not longer to take the train. And you can get very cheap tickets if you buy them 90 days in advance.

In your case the only thing in strong favor for the plane would be the ability to leave the day before and have more time in Stockholm. Although as you mention I'm not sure at what time you would be able to catch a flight (probably not before 7pm). For peace of mind, spending the evening in Oslo and taking the train to Stockholm on Day 2 would be a good option.

[mocrimlaw]

I appreciate hearing about the train being a good experience - I think that's what we will do!

[kaisatsu]

I've taken the train from Oslo to Stockholm. Note that even though you're starting in Norway, you have to buy the tickets from the Swedish rail company (http://sj.se) rather than from the Norwegian rail system (http://nsb.no). There are a few SJ kiosk terminals in the Oslo S station that you can use to collect your tickets.

 

To me, the scenery was fairly nondescript. Pleasant, but fairly uniform (mostly just small towns and countryside). Maybe I'm spoiled by the Oslo-Bergen rail route. ;)

 

Flying would take a little over half the time. Even though the airports are quite far outside the cities, both places have an express train that makes the trip in 20 minutes. In Oslo, the Flytoget runs every 10 minutes, and the Arlanda Express runs every 15 minutes to Stockholm.*

 

There are frequent inexpensive flights between the two cities on SAS and Norwegian (Norwegian charges extra for checked luggage), and the flight is under an hour. You wouldn't need to check in especially early, so 90 minutes ahead would be fine.

 

Personally, if having time in Stockholm meant getting up to catch an early morning train, I'd opt for a flight the night before or morning of. To me the rail trip is not really worth the extra few hours of sleep.

 

 

 

* The regular NSB train to the Oslo airport is significantly cheaper than the Flytoget, but it only runs 3 times an hour, so you have to plan a bit more. For the Arlanda Express, definitely book tickets as far in advance as possible. Same-day tickets cost a fortune, and they're nearly half the price online 90 days in advance.

[mocrimlaw]

Thank you Kaisatsu for that helpful information about the routes to the airport. I have a new dilemma. Now NCL is saying they won't tell me what time we can get off the ship in Oslo until we are ON the ship. I want to book tickets ahead of time, and have a driver for the day in Stockholm who needs to know when we will be arriving too. Are there usually empty seats on the flights from Oslo to Stockholm? Even so, I hate to not know what we are doing until we are there. I am REALLY OCD about traveling and like to have everything planned far in advance. Now I am thinking you are right, we should fly. Maybe the only option is to get off the ship the night before and stay in a hotel in Oslo and that way we can have the flight pre-booked. I am really worried they will say we can't get off the ship before maybe 8 am, and if they don't put the gangway up, we won't have the option to get off any earlier. The ship is docked from 4 pm the night before, so that may be the best option - hate to have to pay for a hotel, but it would be worse to not be able to get to Stockholm at all!