THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE TO STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Looking back on the last few years that we have been blogging and sharing our experiences online with you, we still can't believe that we have officially traveled to 70 countries together... and what's even more exciting is that YOU were the ones that chose what our 70th country would be.
If you are just tuning in, we recently started a brand new Instagram account (which looking back we really should have started four years ago) under the handle @flyingthenest and to celebrate the launch of this new account we decided to let you all control an entire trip through this account! You chose where we went, where we stayed, what we ate and what we did over 5 days ... and we ended up in Sweden to our biggest surprise!
We seriously had the best time filming this "Instagram Controls our Trip" style video and would love for you to check it out below. If you are planning on heading to Stockholm keep on scrolling for our guide on everything we got up to during our time in this breathtaking city.
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Where to Stay
During our time here in Sweden we found a life changing site where you can get up to 70% off hotels, cruises and flights! Travel Smarter is an amazing platform that basically cuts out the middle man can get you better deals than any other website we have found.
During our 4 nights in Stockholm we ended up saving $800 on our hotel bookings using Travel Smarter!
Jumbo Stay Stockholm
This is hands down one of the most unique places we have ever stayed at - we spent the night sleeping inside a Boeing 747 jumbo jet! This place is not only super unique, it offers free airport bus transfer, free wifi and free breakfast starting from 3am. Each guest room has a flat screen TV and either private or shared bathrooms. You can choose to stay in one of the dorm rooms, sleep inside a Jet Turbine Cabin, or enjoy one of their suites.
We never thought that we would be spending our first morning in Sweden eating breakfast on the wing of a plane!
Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel
We spent the rest of our time in Stockholm staying at the Hilton Stockholm. This stunning hotel is located in the heart of the city, just a short walk away from Old Town. Our room had panoramic views of the inner city, Lake Mälaren and Stockholm City Hall and we loved waking up early and watching the sunrise from our window. Our room featured contemporary Swedish decor, a large TV, comfortable bed, free wifi and a beautiful big window.
The main reason however on why we chose this hotel is that Travel Smarter had this hotel discounted by 50%! We were able to stay in a luxury hotel, in the city centre, with buffet breakfast included for only $200AUD a night!
Getting Around
The city of Stockholm has an amazing public transport system, but it can be quite pricey. We recommend getting yourself a metro card, called the SL-Access card. You can top it up for 24 or 72 hours and 7, 30, 90 or 365 days worth of travel. As we were staying in Stockholm for three days we topped up our SL-Access card for 72 hours worth of travel which cost us $27.95USD. A single ticket costs $6.90USD, so after using the metro four times we had already paid off the card.
You can buy your SL-Access card at the counter on underground stations, SL-centers and kiosks (Pressbyrån, 7-eleven, etc) as well as at some hotels.
Things To Do
Explore Gamla Stan
We suggest starting off your time in Stockholm by strolling through the streets of Old Town (Gamla Stan). Spend an afternoon wandering through the narrow cobblestone streets, take in the colourful architecture and get lost in the winding alleys. This is one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in the world, dating back to the 1200s!
Enjoy Fika
Don't worry, we had no idea what Fika was either until we arrived here in Sweden. Fika basically translates to "a coffee and cake break", which it is, but is also much more than that. Fika is an important part of Swedish culture and Swedes consider it to be essential to make time for fika every day. It is a time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee and have a little something to eat (normally a cinnamon bun - which are AMAZING here in Sweden).
We absolutely love the idea of Fika, and are now going to make it apart of our daily life, even once we leave Sweden!
One of our favourite spots we had Fika was at a Cafe Pascal - we highly recommend checking this spot out.
Catch a Ferry to Fjäderholmarna
You can not visit Stockholm without visiting at least one of the 30,000 islands that make up the Stockholm archipelago. If you are short on time we suggest jumping on the ferry that takes you out to Fjäderholmarna, which is only as 20 minute ferry ride away being the closest island from the city. Here we spent the afternoon walking around the entire island as we enjoyed ice cream and simply enjoying the piece and quiet.
To get here simply take the ferry from Nybroplan dock, berth 13. One way tickets are 105 Swedish krona (just under $13) and can be easily purchased onboard.
Visit the Abba Museum
You may not know this, but we are both massive ABBA fans. We have seen Mamma Mia way too many times, as well as seeing the West End production on our honeymoon (with plans to see it again the next time we visit London). So a visit to ABBA The Museum was no question - it had to be done.
The museum is really well done, with a lot of interactive activities, a lot of ABBA music and it gives you a real look into the life of this uber famous band. It costs 250 SEK to visit and we suggest getting their via the #82 ferry from Gamla Stan.
Go on a Moose Safari
Yep, they have moose in Sweden! This is by far our favourite thing we did during our entire time here in Stockholm. At around 6pm we were picked up by our The Green Trails guide and drove around 30 minutes outside of the city to the Swedish countryside... and oh my goodness!! We couldn't believe that such a short distance from Stockholm was breathtaking forest and woodlands.
Before heading off to find some Swedish wildlife we enjoyed a cozy campfire dinner in the middle of the wilderness. We learnt how to start a fire, cooked up some delicious meatballs and enjoyed chats around the campfire before grabbing our binoculars and heading off to find some moose.
We ended up finding not only moose, but also deer, boar, wild hare. We highly recommend you check out The Green Trails and spend a night out in the nature searching for wild moose!
Spend the day Kayaking the Stockholm Archipelago
After having a small taste of the Stockholm Archipelago during our short visit to Fjäderholmarna, we decided we wanted to spend our last day in Stockholm kayaking to explore more of this stunning area of Sweden.
We booked our kayaking adventure with The Green Trails and had the most incredible day kayaking from one island to the next, having Fika as we looked out over the stunning Archipelago. This was the perfect way to end our time here in Stockholm.
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We just wanted to say a massive thank you to Travel Smarter for sponsoring our trip to Sweden, and helping us make our video idea come to life. We also wanted to give a big thank you to all of you who got involved and voted for everything you see here in this blog post and video - you made our 70th country one we will never forget!