Commuter Boats in Stockholm

Considering that central Stockholm is made up of 14 islands, not to mention the dozens of others in the outlying areas, one would think that there would be multiple commuter boat lines connecting the islands in the city, ferrying people to and from their jobs. However, this is not really the case. There are indeed a few and the city has, over the years, tried to add new lines every now and again with varying degrees of success. I think the combination of a very efficient system of subways, trains, buses and trams already connecting the islands and the fact that commuters are generally in a hurry (boats generally tend to be slower than other modes of transportation) are the reasons there aren't more commuter ferry lines.

Ferry departing Ropsten

As I mentioned, there are a few commuter boat lines, all part of the public transportation system in Stockholm (meaning that they can all be accessed with the same tickets/passes). A couple of these lines are of special interest to tourists/visitors. The most popular and useful one is the Djurgården ferry. This ferry travels back and forth between the historic old town (Gamla Stan) and the island of Djurgården where most of Stockholm's main attractions can be found (Vasa Museum, Skansen, ABBA the Museum and much more). And it is just a ten minute boat ride... very convenient.

Ferry dock at Blockhusudden

Another commuter ferry of interest travels between the downtown area (Nybrokajen), around Djurgården and then out to the suburbs of Ropsten and Lidingö. Along the way, it not only stops on Djurgården near the main attractions, it also makes stops at the other end of Djurgården (Blockhusudden) as well as Nacka Strand. Last summer, I wrote an article about visiting the museum Thielska Galleriet at Blockhusudden) using this ferry. If you continue on all the way to Ropsten, then you are just across the bridge from another great museum: Millesgården. 

Ferry at Nybrokajen

The final ferry of interest (that is part of the public transportation system) actually takes you as far as the town of Vaxholm in the Stockholm archipelago. This ferry departs from Strömkajen in the downtown area, along with the Waxholmsbolaget ferries to the archipelago. It is ferry #83 and on the display it is marked "pendelbåt" (commuter ferry). In the past week I have used these commuter boats to visit both Djurgården and Vaxholm (blog articles to come soon). Timetables for these boats can be found on SL's website. The part of the website with timetables is in Swedish, but they are pretty straightforward (departure/arrival points and times). Just click on "Båt" to see the ferry timetables. If you are staying at the Hotel Rival, contact me for assistance or more information. 

Departing Vaxholm...