The Arlanda Express in action. Photo by Let Ideas Compete.

By Marcus Cederstrom in Stockholm—

I have spent too much time wandering around airports trying to figure out the cheapest way to get into my latest European destination. It’s frustrating and really no way to start a trip after having been crammed on an airplane for several hours. Some airports are easier than others, though, and offer a few different options. Stockholm’s Arlanda airport is one of those.

Taxi

There is of course the classic taxi option. It tends to cost about about 500 SEK to take a taxi from the airport into central Stockholm. I don’t suggest it for a variety of reasons, one being the risk of black taxis that are more than willing to relieve you of your money in the 45 minutes it takes to get into town.

Bus

Another option into town is the bus. Flygbussarna takes about 45 minutes for the trip, but costs only a quarter of what you’d spend on a taxi. For 119 SEK, an adult can make the one-way trip into town. The cost is 89 SEK for a youth (under 25) ticket.

You can also save a bit of money by purchasing the round-trip ticket and buying the ticket online. The bus leaves on a pretty regular basis depending on the hour of the day. During heavily trafficked hours, the bus leaves every ten minutes. In the middle of the night, it departs every 30 minutes.

The Arlanda Express Train

Finally, there is the Arlanda Express. This is my favorite option (probably because I still qualify for the youth ticket!). The super-fast (200 km per hour) train will get you into Stockholm’s Central Station in 20 minutes. Adult tickets are 240 SEK, but watch for group deals where you and a buddy can travel one way for 280 SEK total. Youth and students pay only 120 SEK. Check the timetable to be sure, but the train leaves every 15 minutes for most of the day.

Public Transportation

And finally, public transportation. With a mixture of buses and trains, you can get from the airport into town for about 60 SEK. Of course, it will take you about two hours, but it is a good option if you’re willing to take the scenic route.

Getting into Stockholm from other airports

If you did fly into one of the other airports surrounding Stockholm (Ryanair to Skavsta for example), take the bus. Seriously. It will take you just over an hour and costs 75-99 SEK one way. The price depends on which company you choose (Flygbussarna or FlybyCoach) and whether you book online or not. Watch out for taxis: They’ll cost you well over 1000 SEK.

For more info on getting into Stockholm, view this article in our city guide. With the stress of getting from the airport to town out of your system, you’ll be able to enjoy and explore all that Stockholm has to offer. And with the money you saved on your way in, you’ll be off to a great start.

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Follow the red diamonds. Photo by Diorama Sky.

By Cynthia Kane in Madrid—

Transportation is easy in Madrid, but if you aren’t aware of your options, you may end up losing money when you’re trying to save it. Here are some tips to help you get to where you’re going and still have money to spend once you get there!

10 bus or metro rides with the “billete de diez”

Although metro tickets are only €1 for a single ride within Madrid, buying multiple single journey tickets can actually cost you more than if you buy a metro pack. One option is to buy a ticket for 10 rides, which is otherwise known as a “billete de diez” or “Metrobús.” The cost is €7.40 and you can use this ticket to travel anywhere within Zone A, which is where most of the tourist attractions in the city are located.

What’s great about these tickets is that they can be used on both the metro and buses, and there is no expiration date! You can buy the “billete de diez” at any metro station, “estanco” (tobacco shop), and at the kiosks located in the metro station. You can’t, however, buy these passes on the bus.

Unlimited travel with the “Abono Turistico” pass

The second option for cheap metro travel is the “Abono Turístico.” This pass gives you unlimited travel throughout the city of Madrid on the metro and buses, and is also valid on the “cercanías,” trains that take you to Madrid’s surrounding areas. You can buy a pass for either 1-5 days or 7 days, and for either zone A or to for the entire Community of Madrid.

This pass is a great option if you know you are going to be traveling outside the city center for day trips. A one-day adult pass for only zone A is €5.20. For a 1-day pass that includes the Community of Madrid the cost is €10.40. A seven-day pass for travel in zone A is €23.60, and for travel that includes the Community of Madrid it is €47.20.

You will need your passport to buy the “Abono Turistico.” It can be purchased in metro stations, the tourism office in Madrid, at hotels, or online.

The “Abono” ticket for longer stays

A third option if you are in town for a month is to buy a season ticket, simply called an “Abono.” The “Abono” is valid for the entire calendar month, so it’s beneficial to buy the pass before the month begins. Zone A should cover everywhere you’d want to go, unless you are planning to travel outside the city.

An adult “Abono” for travel within Zone A costs €46. There are reductions in cost for young people and those over 65. To purchase the “Abono,” you will need your passport and a small passport size photo, and they can be purchased at most tobacco shops around the city.

Taxi Tips

Two quick tips about taking a taxi in Madrid:

For normal rides you do not need to tip the driver. Of course if you want to, go ahead. But again, you can save an extra euro just by knowing it’s not customary to do so.

Secondly, the meter always starts at €2.05, but depending on where you’re going and the time of day, you may be charged an extra fee on top of that.

There is an additional charge from 11 PM to 6 AM, on Sundays and public holidays, and there are extra supplements for travel starting from a bus or train station (€2.95), from the airport (€5.50), and to and from the IFEMA fair complex (€2.95).

About the author: Cynthia Kane is the editor of MAPMagazine.com, a Madrid travel e-zine, written by native English-speaking Madrid experts.

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One of the Stockholm City Bikes racks. Photo by ITDP-Europe.

By Marcus Cederstrom in Stockholm—

Stockholm is a beautiful city and one that can easily be toured on foot. If you’re hoping to get around a little faster though, cycling around town will allow you more freedom. Bike lanes are common and well respected by motorists and pedestrians alike.

It’s no surprise then that Stockholm City Bikes, a bike sharing program run as a joint venture between the city of Stockholm and Clear Channel, has emerged as a popular service in Stockholm. Best of all, once you join the program, your rentals are free!

When to rent

The program offers 1,000 bikes at 80 unmanned bike stations throughout the city, many of them located in the middle of town. Bikes are available every day of the week, from 6 AM to 6 PM. Of course, touring Stockholm on a bike in the middle of the winter can be a dangerous endeavor. With this in mind, Stockholm City Bikes are only rentable from April 1st to October 31st.

The three-day card and the season pass

When renting a bike from the Stockholm City Bikes program, you have two different options. The first is the three-day rental card, which costs 125 SEK. It is valid for three days from the time you first use the card, not from the time you buy the card.

The other option is the season pass. This is valid throughout the entire season, from April through October and can be purchased at sales locations for 250 SEK, or online for 200 SEK. If you intend on biking around Stockholm for more than three days, plan ahead and buy the card online and save 50 SEK.

The most convenient sales locations include any SL Center (the public transportation company in Stockholm), Central Station, Slussen, or the Stockholm Tourist Centre. You can also buy the card online at Stockholm City Bike’s website, where, as we mentioned, you can get the season card for 200 SEK instead of 250. Unfortunately, cards cannot be purchased at the bike racks.

Getting your bike

Once you’ve purchased your card, all you have to do is find a bike stand from which to rent. At every rack, you’ll find an automatic card reader with very clear instructions. Just hold your card up against the reader, wait for it to register, and then grab your bike. You only have 30 seconds from the time your card is registered, but if you’re too slow, don’t worry, just repeat the process—albeit a little quicker this time!

Get it back on time

Rentals last three hours, at which point you are expected to return the bike to any of the city’s numerous bike stands. If three hours isn’t enough for you, you can just head to a nearby stand and re-rent the bike. The three-hour rule is strictly enforced, mostly because it is difficult to argue with the computer and the time stamp it records.

If you are late, you receive what Stockholm City Bikes refers to as a “penalty point.” Three penalty points and your card will be blocked. If you keep your bike for more than five hours, your card is automatically blocked regardless of the number of penalty points you might have already accumulated.

Stockholm City Bikes has its limitations, not being able to buy a rental card at the bike stand, for example. Regardless, the service covers almost all of Stockholm and allows tourists (and locals for that matter) a great way of getting around.

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London's famous double-decker buses. Photo by Salim Virji.

By Justin Bergman in London—

Any visitor to London will undoubtedly leave singing the praises of the Oyster card. Not only is the Underground’s “pay-as-you-go” card efficient—you just swipe in when you get on the Tube and swipe out when you get off and the fare is deducted from your pre-paid account—it can also save a traveler loads of pounds. A single-ride ticket on the Underground costs a whopping £4 (or $6.50… Yes that’s right, $6.50). A single ride with an Oyster card in the center of the city is only £1.60 ($2.50).

But the Tube doesn’t go everywhere. Here’s what you need to know about one of the city’s other major transport options—those giant cherry-colored double-decker buses.

Get On The Bus

It’s weird. In London, as in most of the rest of Europe, people actually use the city’s bus system. Having lived in New York for four years, I think I can count on two hands the number of times I took one of the grindingly slow city buses. You can probably walk across Manhattan on 14th Street faster than the M-14 bus can get you there.

The London bus system, aside from affording some of the best views of the city from the front seat on the top floor of the double-deckers, is also fairly speedy, thanks to dedicated bus lanes on most city streets. Most bus stops also have electronic screens telling you in real-time which buses are coming next and how long they’ll take to reach the stop. And unlike the Tube, the buses run all night long.

Plus, buses are cheap. The Oyster card works—just tap the card on the sensor when you get on; each ride is £1 ($1.60). Or, if you don’t have a card, you can buy a ticket with cash at a ticket machine at some bus stops or from the driver on the bus (£2, or $3.25).

Mapping the Route

The bus stop. Photo by Fabbio.

But here’s the big question: With so many buses whizzing about the city, how do you figure out where you’re going? Map out the route before you leave the hotel by using the handy Transport for London website. Here you’ll find bus maps for every section of the city, as well as a nifty journey planner.

This tool is absolutely brilliant. This is how it works: On the right-hand side of the home page, enter your starting point and destination point—it can be an address, a post code, a Tube station or even a place of interest. Then click on the “Leave Now” icon, and the site will give you up to a dozen different transport options on how to get there.

For instance, to get to the Tate Modern from my house in East London, the site tells me to walk to St. Thomas’s Square, jump on the 48 Bus to London Bridge and then walk to the museum. Or, if I want to include the Tube, I can walk to St. Thomas’s Square, take the 254 Bus to the Bethnal Green Underground station and jump on the Tube to St. Paul’s, a short walk from the museum. Each trip takes an hour. And maps are included on the site to show you ever step of the way.

Hailing a Bus

Here’s an extra tip, one I wish someone had told me when I moved to London. Buses don’t automatically stop at every bus stop on the route—you need to flag them down if you’re waiting to catch one. Otherwise, you’ll be left at the curb, frantically checking the screen to figure out when the next one is coming.

Oh, and while you’re waiting, stand back from the curb. I know this goes without saying, but the buses drive extremely close to the curb in London, so much so that you could be clipped if your backpack is hanging out in the street even a few inches.

The last thing you want to do on vacation is go head-to-head with a seven-ton double-decker bus. Believe me, you won’t stand a chance.

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It’s occurred to most of us at one time or another—is it worth buying metro tickets in cities where public transportation ticketing is based on the honor system? Travelers on a budget might consider saving money by “riding black,” and in Prague, at least, they’d have ample company.

A recent study published by Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes found that one in six riders goes without a valid ticket. If you’re caught by one of the city’s plainclothes inspectors and you pay up right away, the penalty is CZK500 (€18; $23).

Of course, riding black goes against the spirit of the system and we don’t recommend it. But knowing the odds is a valuable piece of information, especially in cities with more expensive forms of public transportation. In Prague, you’re better off buying the CZK14 ticket (€.50; $.65) than risking it.

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