Clay_C.

I will be making my first ever visit starting 20 September, very excited. Here are a couple of questions:

1) Can I believe the recent article in The Economist suggesting it is more than possible to go cashless? I am there for exactly 72 hours. Can you imagine any situations someone in town for a short time would be disadvantaged without a few notes and coins? Is it true that I can round up a bill in a bar or restaurant on my credit card receipt if I am inclined to leave a tip? That taxis are ok with credit cards as well? Will I be able to use public toilets without coins?

2) I have already splurged on a prepaid Arlanda Express train ticket. I shall also be after an SL 72 hour travelcard. Can I purchase this at the airport, or do I wait until arrival at Centralstation?

3) Any random tips for a solo traveler? I mean the kind of thing not easily found in a guidebook, etc. I am staying at Motel L down south by the Globe, so would be grateful for restaurants around there or Södermalm well suited for dining alone.

nollbit

It's entirely possible to go cashless in Stockholm! All reputable taxi companies (go with Taxi Stockholm (cars with phone number 08-15000 printed on them), Taxi Kurir, Top Cab accept credit cards. Uber also operates in Stockholm. Some smaller shops might not accept cards or might have a lower limit on the purchase if you pay by card. These shops can be avoided if you want to. Everything essential is payable by card. Do note that Amex might not be accepted everywhere.

You can probably purchase it at the 7-11 at the airport. You can most definitely purchase it at a Pressbyrån at the central station.

The globe area is deserted after dark unless there's a concert or other event in the area. Probably everything is closed during nights, apart from the McDonalds. I'd head in to Södermalm. The first station on Södermalm is Skanstull and there's a pretty nice food court in the (small) shopping mall Ringen next to subway station. I can recommend the ramen.

SK

1) I agree with nollbit. I spent two days in Stockholm a few weeks ago, and I went totally cashless. At no point did I feel the need to get cash.

GUWonder

The official tourist welcome center at the airport sells 72 hour SL passes too.

Clay_C.

Cheers for the knowledge!

Silly as it may seem, I am mostly concerned about not being able to get into a public restroom without some coins. As I get older, access to facilities becomes an important consideration. I lived in Prague in the 90s, and was horrified to find on a recent trip back that all of my go-to places to go were either gone or changing money now.

helosc

As far as I remember, you need coins for toilets in Stockholm - maybe someone else has more updated information.
In my experience you need coins for public toilets in all of Europe (a few have automats or personnel that can exchange a note to coins - but cash is needed anyhow).
I always make sure to have a stash of the appropiate coins wherever I go.

:D!

I was in Norway recently and only card payment was accepted for the public toilets that I passed by (though I refuse to pay for public toilets anyway).

I don't know about Stockholm as I did not seek out any toilets when I was there, but it surprises me that card payment is not accepted given that cash is still a lot more prevalent in Norway than Sweden. If Swedish toilets do only take coins then they would need to change all the coin acceptors in 9 months' time and it would seem more sensible to replace them with card machines...

rgc01

There are lots of place to eat in Södermalm

Yeah, it is pretty stupid that you can get by completely cashless except for public toilets. There are some places like at the train station where you can pay with a card.
On the other hand you could take out 100 SEK at any ATM and have it broken so you can have coins

tsastor

At some places you can access the toilet via an SMS text message, Kulturhuset comes to mind. Also, no one will probably blink an eye if you sneak into the toilet from any hotel lobby or in any bigger restaurant.

Clay_C.

I used to regard myself as a bit of a ninja when it came to scoping out free public toilets, but last year I found even McDonalds in Prague required coins!

I will have a look around when I arrive, if I have to get 100 SEK to break into coins that will not be a big problem for the piece of mind it will provide.

skba1

Public toilets I very rarely use in Sweden - they are often quite dirty and not that often cleaned. It is often easy to sneak into a restaurant/bar to borrow the facilities, or some other public operations like libraries may offer free toilets.

Or go in somewhere and buy a tea for 25 SEK in a cafe instead of paying 5/10 SEK in coins to a machine for a most likely sub-par toilet.

Almost all stores accept cards. Beware that VISA/Mastercard are the safest bets. Only some small cafés or tobacco shops etc. may be cash only, plus some flea market type places and antiquities stores etc.

I am an old style person that uses cash most of the time, and there are even places that refuse to take it...

miamiflyer8

Best to use Uber in Stockholm. Lived there for 2.5 years and been scammed.

On Södermalm, go to Medborgarplatsen and go to Söderhallarna with also good dining options.

miamiflyer8

If you are looking for wine or hard liquor, it must be purchased at a Systembolaget store, beer and cider are the only alcohol sold in supermarkets.


If you are traveling on a budget avoid Östermalm for shopping and dining as it is one of the fanciest areas (if not the) in Stockholm.

Feel free to ask me for more advice thru private message.

GUWonder

There are indeed some Swedish places -- including bars and nightclubs -- that refuse to accept cash for payment. Not so amusingly, the propensity of such places to over-bill foreigners' bank cards may be perhaps higher than usual for places that accept cash and cards.

lhrsfo

I just returned from Stockholm and regretted taking cash out at the airport. I never used it and ended up having to spend it all up on the last day.

As to using cards, beware Dynamic Currency Conversion, which seems to be prevalent - over half the places I used my card tried that scam.