Advance booking for train/bus/ferry?
 

We are traveling to Denmark & Sweden in late June and traveling around entirely by public transportation. Is it necessary to book train and bus tickets in advance? How about the ferry over to Gotland? Do the prices go up as the dates get nearer?

Usually advance bookings are not needed on buses and trains plus there is not much price difference (although you can sometimes get decent advance purchase fares).

For the Gotland ferries booking in advance makes sense as the prices rise as the ferries get fuller. Also, mid-week fares are better than weekend fares.

Cheers,
T.

Generally no need to make seat reservations in advance . You´ll never be "denied boarding" from a train even without a seat reservation, and on most major lines trains will run at least once hourly.
But since you are travelling in June, keep an eye out for busy times such as start of school holidays and beginning and end of weekends.

Friday 24th is Midsummer's Eve and around that weekend it could be busy on all forms of transportation.

That is around the weekend I will be traveling. I will be taking a train from Copenhagen to Kalmar on the 23rd, a bus to Oskarshamn on the 25th & a ferry to Gotland on the 25th. I will definitely book the ferry in advance.

Could I wait to book the train to Kalmar when I land in Copenhagen on the 20th? I want to catch a specific bus to Oskarshamn on the 25th and there appear to be only 2 on that day, so I will probably book that in advance as well.

Thanks for the helpful responses thus far! As I am researching more, I am learning what a big occasion Midsummer's Eve & Day can be in Scandinavia. Is it true that most of the stores are closed?

Note that the train systems in Denmark and Sweden are very different:

For SJ long distance trains in Sweden (X2000) you'll definitely want to book in advance to get a decent prize. They start selling the cheapest tickets 90 days before departure and for popular trains they run out quickly. Reservation is included with the ticket, which is bound to a specific train (airline-style). You can NOT just hop on any train.

The regional Öresund trains (Copenhagen-Malmö-Gothenburg/Karlskrona/Kalmar) on the other hand are run by the county transit authorities (not SJ). Tickets are fixed-price and valid for any departure.

For Copenhagen/Malmö-Kalmar you have the choice of either Öresundståg (some find them uncomfortable, I don't) all the way or SJ with a change in Alvesta.