This post covers each of the hop-on-hop-off bus tours available in Stockholm, including details about ticket prices, services included, and potential discounts.
- City Sightseeing
- Stockholm Red Bus
- Open Top Tours
- Deals & Discounts
- Pros and Cons
- Things to Do in Stockholm
CITY SIGHTSEEING
This company is well known across the world for providing an excellent hop on hop off bus tour, and they are currently offering this service in Stockholm.
There are a total of 24 stops on this bus tour including The Royal Palace, Skansen, the ABBA Museum, the Royal Opera and many other notable sites.
City Sightseeing offers this tour in 11 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian.
Tickets are available for either 24 hours or 72 hours, and you can combine your bus tour with a boat tour during the summer months to save some money.
Adult tickets come with free admission to Gröna Lund, an excellent family-friendly amusement park that everyone can enjoy!
Ticket Prices
- 24-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
- €35/Adults | €18/Children
- 72-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
- €45.60/Adults | €22.80/Children
- 24-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour + Boat Tour
- €47.46/Adults | €23.73/Children
- 72-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour + Boat Tour
- €54.90/Adults | €27.45/Children
Purchase tickets or learn more.
This hop on hop off bus tour runs from 10:00 am - 19:00 (7 pm) each day during the summer months and 10:00 am - 16:00 (4 pm) during the winter.
It takes about 1 ½ - 2 hours to complete the tour.
Ticket holders can board the bus at any stop and begin their tour wherever they wish.
STOCKHOLM RED BUS
Like their competitors, this company also offers hop on hop off bus tours for 24 hours.
This tour has a total of 20 stops, including sites like the Vasa Museum, City Hall, the Royal Palace, Old Town, and Skansen.
Stockholm Red Bus tours are offered in 14 different languages including English, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian.
One of the nice things about this tour is that it’s actually free for kids under 12 if their parents or guardians have a ticket.
Ticket Prices
- 24-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
- €35/Adults (13+)
Purchase tickets or learn more.
This hop on hop off bus tour runs from 10:00 am - 18:00 (6 pm) during the summer months and 10:00 am - 17:00 (5 pm) during the winter.
The tour typically takes about 2 hours to complete, giving you at least 5 hours to explore the city at your own pace.
The main difference between Stockholm Red Bus and other competitors is that they don’t offer any additional benefits like extra tickets for fun activities.
Aside from that, this is a very similar hop on hop off bus tour!
OPEN TOP BUS TOURS
This hop on hop off bus tour is easy to pick out from the rest because they use distinctive green buses for their outings.
Open Top provides a total of 19 stops in Stockholm including popular sites like Riddarholms Church, the Royal Opera, the Royal Palace, the Old Town, and many other notable locations.
Audio commentary will be provided in 8 languages including Spanish, Swedish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Russian.
Tickets are available for either 24 hours or 72 hours at a time, giving you the option to decide how much time to spend exploring the city.
Ticket Prices
- 24-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
- €47.46/Adults | €23.73/Children
- 72-Hour Hop on Hop off Bus Tour
- €54.90/Adults | €27.45/Children
Purchase tickets or learn more.
The Open Top Hop on Hop off Bus Tour runs from 10:00 am - 17:00 (5 pm) each day and it will take roughly 1 ½ hours to complete the tour, giving you at least 5 hours extra to explore the city!
Although this is the cheapest option, it doesn’t include as many advantages as the other services, so you might want to pay a few more euros to enjoy a few additional activities while you’re in Stockholm.
DEALS AND DISCOUNTS
In this section we will cover all of the different opportunities to save money with hop on hop off bus tours.
We include details about tourist passes and combo packages you may want to consider.
Tourist Passes
Each hop on hop off bus tour is included on at least one Stockholm tourist pass, allowing you to easily save money on this activity.
If you’re planning to visit more than a few attractions or enjoy any additional activities, you may want to consider using this type of service.
Here are each of the passes you can use to get a discount:
- Stockholm Pass
- Open Top Tours
- Stockholm iVenture Card
- Stockholm Red Bus
Both services are all-inclusive tourist passes, which means that it includes admission to dozens of popular activities and attractions for a specific amount of time (1, 2, 3, or 5 days).
If you want to save a lot of money with these passes, you’ll have to use them for as many different activities as possible.
The more you do with the pass, the more money you’ll end up saving!
Here are a few of the additional attractions included with these tourist passes:
- Hop on Hop off Boat Tour
- Nobel Prize Museum
- The Nordic Museum
- The Viking Museum
- Skansen Aquarium
- The Royal Palace
- Royal Canal Tour
- Vasa Museum
- Skyview
- And more!
Depending on how you use these passes, you should be able to save between 10% - 50% off general admission prices.
For more details, please read our post covering Stockholm City Passes.
Combo Packages
Every hop on hop off bus tour is included in at least one combo package with a boat tour or cruise.
There are also some combo deals which include other activities.
This is a great alternative to a tourist pass if you’re not interested in visiting a lot of attractions.
City Sightseeing Bus & Boat Tour
- €47.46/Adults | €23.73/Children
- Purchase combo package or learn more.
Stockholm Red Buses & Boat Tour
- €50 per person
- Purchase combo package or learn more.
Hop-on-Hop-off Bus & Boat Tour
- €47.46/Adults | €23.73/Children
- Purchase combo package or learn more.
Hop-on-Hop-off Bus & Boat Tour + Skansen
- €65 per person
- Purchase tickets or learn more.
PROS AND CONS
There are a lot of good reasons to consider taking a hop on hop off bus tour, but this service won’t be fun for everyone.
With that in mind, this section will provide some pros and cons to give you a sense of what you may or may not like about this type of outing.
Pros
Here are a few benefits of taking a hop on hop off bus tour that you might want to consider before purchasing a ticket.
Good Overview
If you’re looking for a quick overview of the city that will provide basic details about Stockholm and help you get your bearings, this type of bus tour should do the trick.
Explore at your Leisure
One of the best things about these hop on hop off bus tours is that you can jump off at any location you want and spend some time looking around at your own pace.
When you’re done exploring one area, you can hop back onto the bus and head to the next destination!
Reasonable Prices
Tickets typically last for at least one or two days, and you’ll usually pay far less for the second day than the first. You can expect prices to range from €30-€45 on average.
Cons
Although most people will enjoy this type of tour, there are a few things you might not enjoy as much that you want to think about before buying a ticket.
Not Highly Detailed
If you’re looking to learn a lot about the history of Stockholm, you may want to consider another type of tour.
While the commentary provided on a hop on hop off bus tour can serve as an excellent introduction to the city, it is by no means extensive.
Inefficient Sightseeing
The whole idea behind a hop on hop off bus tour is to take your time and jump off to look around at your leisure.
If you don’t have much time to explore the city, this isn’t going to be the most efficient tour you can take.
Instead, we recommend either a fully-guided bus tour or a walking tour of Stockholm.
No Assigned Seating
Hop on hop off bus tours offer first-come, first-served seating, so there’s a chance that you might not get to sit next to a window – or you might just get standing room only!
If you want to ensure you have someplace to sit throughout your outing, consider a fully-guided bus tour instead.
