I'm going on a Baltic Sea cruise with a group of 7 people in July. We have one night in Stockholm on either end of the cruise so we can see the city (the usual tourist things; Vasa museum is top on the list). None of us have been anywhere in Scandinavia, so this is all new territory.

I'm a relatively experienced trip planner, but usually I'm planning trips for just two or three people to destinations I'm a little more familiar with! So, I have some questions and am hoping the brilliant Fodorite brain trust can help me find a great solution.

The group of seven: One or two single guys, three single women (all age 30s-early 40s), and the parents of one of the women. One of the guys is doing flights based on points and plans to arrive in Stockholm the morning our cruise leaves, so he'll be included for our second hotel night but not our first.

1. <b>Hotel</b>: Under $200/room/night would be fantastic, though that's a starting point that I'm not sure is realistic! I've been looking at Hotwire; it looks like there's a good option there in the Norrmalm/Gamla Stan area. I know that sometimes Hotwire zones can mix really great areas with not-so-great areas (my hometown of Nashville is a prime example!), so not knowing the city well, I'm concerned that we'd end up somewhere that's really inconvenient or not nice. The zone includes the peninsula of Gamla Stan, goes all the way up to Karolinska Institutet, and is bordered by Birger Jarlsgartan on the east. Is that all fine? Am I right that the area close to Gamla Stan (either actually in it, or across the water) is where we'd ideally shoot for?

2. <b>Transport</b>: Normally I'm a big fan of public transit, but it looks relatively expensive (at minimum, $37 round trip per person on the Arlanda Express), and with this many people I'm wondering if a car service or taxi would be more cost effective. Of course we'll also need to get to and from the cruise ship - the cruise company offers airport transfers, but I haven't seen anything about hotel transfers. Any suggestions there would be great.

Of course, any suggestions on sightseeing, restaurants, etc in Stockholm are also welcome! We're all very excited, but this trip has come about pretty suddenly and we haven't had time to do a ton of research yet. We're all budget-conscious so probably no fine dining, but we do like to eat. Thanks in advance for your help!

I did the same thing with my cruise. And of course I can't remember the name of the hotel cause our travel agent made all the arrangements. Old Town was wonderful and there are many restaurants in that area. We walked everywhere but took a cab from the airport to the hotel. And the same with getting to the ship. You will love Stockholm.

Hey Sharon! Yeah, I figured the cab was probably our best option under the circumstances - I was surprised at how expensive the train was, but from what I gather, I should get used to Stockholm being expensive. This is all good to know! Thanks! We're all really excited!

You can buy a transit pass in Stockholm , huge discount for seniors. The Arlanda Express also offers a discount for seniors. Swedish friends gave us these tips.
What to see besides VASA? City Hall is magnificent, Drottingholm Palace where the royals live.", go there by boat. Gamma Stan, old town. Pretty city.
Look at the Scandic Hotel chain as they offer special deals.

If you are going to use the Arlanda Express to travel to the city, you will exit at a part of the Central Station that is about twenty-five yards from the Nordic C and the Nordic Light hotels. Both are fine, but the Nordic C is a bit less expensive. Gamla Stan is a fifteen minute walk away, as are the main shopping streets of downtown Stockholm. I would agree that City Hall is a worthwhile destination, as is the Vasa Museum. Getting out on the water on a fine summer day is exhilarating, but if you only have one day, you would probably spend a large part of it going to Drottingholm Palace (worthwhile if you have more time). Millesgarden is also an excellent outdoor location, but it would take the better part of a day. The Fotografiska (Photography Museum) usually has excellent exhibits, and the bar on the top floor has a great view of Stockholm harbor. Stockholm is expensive, but much cheaper than Norwegian cities. Costs are reduced to some degree by the fact that most hotels have expansive breakfasts, enough to get you all the way to the evening. If you are in the city in July, waking up early (sunrise will be about 4:00 A.M. in late July) and walking through the nearly deserted streets of a major city is a magnificent way to start the day. I could go on...it's my very favorite city in Europe (or anywhere)

You can use the airport bus service Flygbussarna to the city terminal rather than the Arlanda Express. It is less expensive but obviously takes longer.
There is also the option of the regular train service rather than the Arlanda Express. You can check the prices on the Swedish Railway website.

If you take a taxi from Arlanda, make sure you take the flat fee taxis. That's advertized on the taxis themselves. Also, don't let the driver talk you into the scam that you need to pay the city toll getting into Stockholm. The flat fee has toll included.

I stayed at the Radisson Blu Royal Viking, which is also right by the main train station.

There's lots to do in Stockholm, although it is expensive. For additional museums see:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ays-stockholm/

Links to other Stockholm posts at the top of the page.

We stayed at The Lady Hamilton hotel in Gamla Stan, right around the corner from Stockholm Cathedral, the Nobel Museum, and the palace. The hotel building dates from the 1470's. There are two "sister" hotels, The Lord Nelson and The Victory.

The Lord Nelson is down the street from Lady Hamilton, not sure where the Victory Hotel is.

You might just google their websites and check them out. May not be your taste, not sure of the price ranges these days.

Thanks so much, everyone - this is HUGELY helpful! I think we're getting together next week to plan, and this will be great info to have. You've all been very helpful.

Midnightsun, thanks for reminding me of the Fotografiska - that needs to be on our list as well, since we have a couple of amateur photographers in the group! And thursdayd, your TRs are still definitely on my reading list!

crefloors….we stayed at the Lord Nelson many moons ago. The location is wonderful…. but the rooms are s m a l l . However, for one nite it could do the trick. I gather the Lady Hamilton's rooms are larger. Lovely to stay in Gamla Stan.

Lady Hamilton has some fairly small rooms but I don't think as small as the Lord Nelson. The Lord Nelson is a VERY narrow building.

I was supposed to room with my niece and when we got to the room, it was pretty small so it was hard to figure out where to stow our stuff. Plus, she was talking to her boyfriend every day. It was a new romance, she met him in Copenhagen but he was only there for one semester and went back to Spokane just before Christmas. Anyway, I didn't want to be listening to conversations.

I went down to the desk and asked them if they had a single available and since it was right after New Years, they did. I had plastic, I said "book 'em" and she moved and I had the second bed for my stuff and she had her privacy. LOL They DO have larger rooms. It really was fine for two people but given the circumstances I thought it would be best for her to have her privacy, and me too.

We were there close to a week and the location was just great. They also had a great breakfast that was included in our room rate.

One downside of being so close to the Cathedral is the darn bells. I did battle every night and on Epiphany it was twice as bad. LOL

crefloors…lol. You are bringing it all back. At one point my husband was thinking of checking to see if Lady H. had rooms available after we were shown to our room at the Lord Nelson. The two of us could barely get in the room with our luggage. So he prevailed and they gave us a bigger room facing the street. A double bed just fit and in the corner was the shower…. something like that machine Woody Allen used in Sleeper. (I forget where the sink and toilet were.) So anyhow, he asked the nice person helping us… what is your biggest room like? Reply…. this is it.

The nautical decor was wonderful. We felt like we were on a very, very small boat.

Stayed at the Radisson Blu Waterfront hotel, right next to the train station and across from city hall. Rooms were expensive (around $400 Canadian per night) but I remember the buffet breakfast was included and fantastic. From there we took the metro and the tram (to get to the ABBA and Vasa museums). Easy to walk to the Old Town. There is so much to do, we had 4 nights and I still have a list of things to see if I ever go back.

Enjoyed the ABBA museum very much, if that is your kind of thing... very fun and interactive. Also did a one hour cruise and that was nice to be on the water.

Haha, when I first worked in Stockholm they booked the Lord Nelson for me. We used to call it the Shoebox Hotel. After that I got First Reisen. Much, much nicer.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to update you all that we booked the Nordic C (direct with the hotel) for our first night, and got a couple of Hotwire rooms at the Central hotel for our second. I think we did pretty well! Thanks so much for all your help. We have all the main logistics taken care of, so now I get to plan the fun stuff.