Our trip to Stockholm was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 but we will be going next July. We were planning to purchase a Stockholm Pass , a card that gets you into a lot of attractions without having to stand in ticket lines, etc. It seemed like a good thing 2 years ago when I was planning our trip. Now it seems it's been replaced with something called GoCity Card that seems ridiculously expensive. Has anyone had any experience with this card? It doesn't include general transportation, although it does include HOHO buses and boats and a couple of canal tours. Is there another option anyone knows of? Thanks.
Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
I've found most big-city passes don't work for me because I am not one to rush through sights. Be sure you understand the booking situation at the places you want to go. Will you be able to just flash the pass, or will you still need to make timed reservations even though you have the pass? The situation is not the same as it was back in 2019.
In addition, it's not as if your only choice is the pass or standing in a ticket line. These days, a large number of sightseeing attractions sell tickets online so you don't have to line up to buy a ticket in person. With the capacity limitations imposed recently due to COVID-19 (though I don't know whether that was done in Stockholm), I'd expect even more places to have started making tickets available online.
I'm sure the Stockholm transit authority sells daily--and probably also multi-day--transit tickets if you decide you'll be using enough local transportation for a pass to make economic sense. If you buy the transit pass separately, you have the option of not buying it for every day if there are days when you will mostly be getting around on foot.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
It seems a bit expensive as you say. You would have to visit a lot of attractions each day to make it worth the cost.
And while HOHO-buses can be a good way to see a city, they are horrible as a way to get around. The ordinary public transport system is much better. SL, the Stockholm transit authority, has different tickets depending on what you need. A 24 h-ticket costs 160 kr, 72 h 315 kr and a 7 day ticket costs 415 kr.
Posted by
Switzerland
408 posts
The regular local transport (SL) is very efficient, easy to use and reasonably priced. As mentioned, you can buy various passes or just pay-as-you-go. Stockholm is also pretty flat and fairly easy to walk around. I would also mention that the SL card covers a couple of public ferry lines - we used our card for this in August rather than paying extra for a sightseeing boat. However, the sightseeing boats are convenient and easy to book separately if you wanted to go on a more extensive day trip.
Looking at the Go City card, it definitely seems pretty expensive unless you are someone who really wants to pack in a lot of attractions. Not sure what interests you, but do keep in mind there are a lot of free museums in Stockholm too (National museum, Hallwyl museum, City museum, Swedish history museum) and many places also have family tickets and/or youth and senior discounts. You'd have to calculate and really make sure you would get your money's worth per day. To me, it looks tough to make it pay off.
As far as lines go, I can't say I have ever really had trouble with ticket lines or having to prebook in Sweden - it's not like Florence or Paris. Those tourist attractions that do get busy usually have online ticket sales anyway. So I don't really see much advantage with having the GoCity pass.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
I would also mention that the SL card covers a couple of public ferry
lines - we used our card for this in August rather than paying extra
for a sightseeing boat. However, the sightseeing boats are convenient
and easy to book separately if you wanted to go on a more extensive
day trip
In addition to the SL-ferries and the sightseeing boats there are also the ferries to the archipelago operated by Waxholmsbolaget: https://waxholmsbolaget.se/visitor-information
SL-tickets are not valid on them but the prices are reasonable as they are regular public transport whose purpose is to make sure it is possible to travel to and in the archipelago.