I stayed in Stockholm for merely 3 nights between May and June of 2016, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. As you know, Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, etc.) are a bit on the expensive side. I wanted to document some of my expenses so you could get a better understanding of how to budget for your future travels in Sweden!
Exchange Rate
Currency exchange rate: 1 USD = 8.31 SEK
Cost of Living in Stockholm
Below are tables of how much I spent for each item. On the left is what price I paid in Stockholm currency (Swedish Krona), and on the right is the amount converted into USD.
Disclaimer: I was experiencing large amounts of jetlag and insomnia so it affected my meal consumption (I ended up skipping a few meals, which I do not advise).
Food and Drinks
| Beef Teriyaki Meal at Sushi Restaurant | 90 SEK | $11.02 |
| Vietnamese Vermicelli Meal | 90 SEK | $11.02 |
| Juice at Joe & The Juice | 48 SEK | $5.88 |
| 12 oz. Coca Cola | 13 SEK | $1.59 |
| Sparkling Water | 22 SEK | $2.69 |
| McDonald’s | 75 SEK | $9.18 |
Entertainment
| Pub Crawl Pass | 100 SEK | $12.24 |
| Tall Boy Beer from 7-11 | 22 SEK | $2.69 |
| Beer from Pub Crawl (Was Discounted) | 52 SEK | $6.36 |
Transportation
| Bus from Airport to Hostel | 198 SEK | $24.24 |
Miscellaneous
| Exchange Fee (Exchanged cash at airport for a fee) | 50 | $6.12 |
| Combination Lock (for hostel locker) | 45 | $5.51 |
Summary
| Food | $41.37 |
| Entertainment (includes alcohol) | $21.30 |
| Transportation | $24.24 |
| Miscellaneous | $11.63 |
| Total – 805 SEK | $98.53 |
Tips on Traveling Affordably in Stockholm
- Stockholm does seem to serve water for free in restaurants. But my advice will always be to purchase a LifeStraw water bottle so you don’t have to buy water everywhere you go. It can filter up to 1,000 liters of water!
- Drinks can be quite expensive in Stockholm, so if you’re going out, make sure to go to the nearest 7-11/supermarket and buy their 6 pack of tall boy beers to pregame. Unlike most European countries, Stockholm doesn’t allow alcohol on the streets, JFYI!
- If you’re doing some sight seeing, plan Gamla stan, Stortorget, and City Hall all on the same day – you can hit all of these by foot so you don’t need to buy a metro pass!
- Check out their free things to do (I’ll make a post later about this.)
Obviously I didn’t name that many purchases, but I hope this gives you a better sense of prices in Sweden!
2 Comments
FI Fighter
June 26, 2016 at 11:39 pmwow, that’s not bad at all… good job of really stretching that dollar! I kinda feel like I should go to London right now…
p.s. intermittent fasting (i.e. not eating) can actually be pretty healthy, from time to time… Gives the digestive system a well deserved break. 😉
Dan
November 7, 2017 at 9:35 pmI for one am really glad that you wrote this informative blog. I just bought tickets to Stockholm from https://www.flightstostockholm.co.uk and am ready to go there in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the heads up, it will make it easy for me to set a budget now 🙂 though it is an old blog, hope you write an update one aswell.