Stockholm day tours with a private driver: palaces, Sigtuna and Uppsala

The classic Stockholm day tours by car are short drives: Drottningholm Palace is about 20 minutes from Norrmalm, Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred and the cathedral city of Uppsala about an hour each, and Sigtuna, Sweden's first town, about 47 minutes. That means a private driver can link two sights in a single relaxed day, with lunch, and still have you back for dinner in the city.

With Elly8.net, the private city highlights tour costs from US$360 in a business sedan to US$720 in an Executive Sprinter, and the full-day chauffeur from US$665 to US$1,325, per vehicle and all-in. Below are the four best routes with routed clear-road times, how to choose between the packages, and the trips where a boat or a train is honestly the better way to go.

Which Stockholm day tour is worth a private driver?

Shorter outings, such as Drottningholm alone or a drive out to the archipelago town of Vaxholm, fit inside the private city highlights tour or a few hours of the hourly service. The table gives the routed distance and clear-road time from Norrmalm, our reference point for Stockholm fares.

See Stockholm prices and reserve

Route 1: Drottningholm and Gripsholm, the palace day

Drottningholm Palace stands on the island of Lovön in Lake Mälaren and is the permanent home of the King and Queen. UNESCO lists the Royal Domain of Drottningholm as a World Heritage site and describes it as the finest example of an 18th-century north European royal residence inspired by Versailles, with a perfectly preserved theatre built in 1766, a Chinese Pavilion and formal gardens.

From there the road follows the lake west to Mariefred and Gripsholm Castle, built in the 16th century at the initiative of King Gustav Vasa. The Royal Palaces describe state apartments from the Vasa era, one of Europe's best-preserved 18th-century theatres and the Swedish State Portrait Collection, with paintings of historical figures from Gustav Vasa's reign to the present day.

By routed estimate the loop runs Norrmalm to Drottningholm about 11 km and 18 minutes, Drottningholm to Gripsholm about 73 km and 1 hour 5 minutes, and Gripsholm back to Norrmalm about 69 km and 1 hour: some 154 km (96 mi) and 2 hours 27 minutes of driving in all.

A typical day:

• 09:30 Pickup in the city, palace grounds at Drottningholm by 10:00.
• 10:00 to 12:00 Palace, gardens and, in season, the theatre.
• 12:15 to 13:20 Drive west along Mälaren to Mariefred.
• 13:30 to 16:30 Lunch in Mariefred and Gripsholm Castle.
• 16:30 to 17:30 Drive back to Stockholm.

That is eight hours door to door, which is what the full-day chauffeur covers. Check the palaces' own pages for opening days before you book, because seasonal hours vary.

Route 2: Sigtuna and Uppsala, the north loop

Sigtuna calls itself Sweden's first town, and its visitor board says no other place on earth is as rich in runestones. The small lakeside town has more than a thousand years of history in its streets, with ruins, shops and cafés.

Uppsala, the old university city, is home to the largest cathedral in the Nordics, according to Destination Uppsala. It is the most-searched day trip north of the capital, and a natural pair with Sigtuna.

By routed estimate the loop is Norrmalm to Sigtuna about 49 km and 47 minutes, Sigtuna to Uppsala about 34 km and 42 minutes, and Uppsala back to Norrmalm about 71 km and 1 hour 2 minutes: some 154 km (96 mi) and 2 hours 32 minutes of driving.

A typical north-loop day:

• 09:00 Pickup in the city and north on the E4.
• 09:45 to 11:30 Sigtuna: the main street, the church ruins and a coffee by the water.
• 11:30 to 12:15 Drive on to Uppsala.
• 12:15 to 15:45 Lunch, the cathedral and the old university quarter.
• 15:45 to 16:50 Drive back to Stockholm, with time to rest before dinner.

That is just under eight hours, inside the full-day chauffeur. If you prefer a slower pace, drop Sigtuna and spend the day in Uppsala; the hourly service then becomes the better value.

Both towns sit close to Arlanda: Sigtuna is about 17 km (11 mi) and 18 minutes from the airport and Uppsala about 36 km (23 mi) and 32 minutes. That makes the north loop an easy way to fill an arrival day or a late departure: land, see Sigtuna and Uppsala, and reach your hotel in the evening, or check out in the morning and finish at the terminal. Ask the desk to price the combined route on the web booker.

Route 3: Skokloster, the castle off the beaten path

Visit Stockholm describes Skokloster, built in the early 1600s, as the largest private castle in Sweden, with a collection of antiques, weapons and art that includes works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. It sits on Lake Mälaren north-west of the city, about 66 km (41 mi) and 1 hour 4 minutes by routed estimate.

Public transport takes about an hour from Stockholm Central according to the same guide, but the last stretch is rural, which is exactly where a car helps. Skokloster combines well with Sigtuna in a full day; ask the desk to price it. The castle's own site is Skokloster Castle.

The same Visit Stockholm guide lists other royal and historic houses around the city, including Ulriksdal Palace in Solna, Rosersberg to the north and Tullgarn near Trosa, which a chauffeur can add to a day by the hour.

Route 4: Vaxholm and the edge of the archipelago

The Stockholm Archipelago begins about 20 minutes from the city, says Visit Stockholm, and counts more than 30,000 islands. Most of it is reached by boat, and that is the right way to see it.

What a car can do is take you to the archipelago town of Vaxholm by road, about 33 km (21 mi) and 37 minutes by routed estimate, for lunch by the water and a stroll, and bring you back without a fixed boat timetable. On the hourly service, from US$90 an hour in a business sedan with a 3-hour minimum, a four-hour Vaxholm outing is a simple half day.

What a Stockholm day tour costs

All Elly8.net prices are per vehicle, never per person, and include the chauffeur, vehicle, taxes and standard gratuity. Parking, tolls and congestion tax are billed at cost.

How to choose:

• The private city highlights tour suits the city itself plus a short hop such as Drottningholm. See private city tours.
• The full-day chauffeur suits the palace day, the north loop or Skokloster, where the car waits at each stop.
• The hourly service suits a half day to Vaxholm or a single palace, or a day built around your own plan. See hourly chauffeur.

Vehicle size is by passengers and bags: a Business Sedan or First Class Sedan takes three passengers, a Business SUV or First Class SUV six, and an Executive Sprinter twelve. As arithmetic for comparison only, a full day in a Business SUV at US$850 split between six travellers is about US$142 each. See the fleet.

When a coach tour, a boat or a train makes more sense

Be fair to the alternatives:

• The archipelago is a boat trip. Ferries and sightseeing boats are the way to see the islands. Take the car only if you want Vaxholm on your own schedule.
• Birka is a boat trip too. The Viking-Age site on the island of Björkö in Lake Mälaren is listed by UNESCO together with Hovgården on Adelsö. It is an island visit, not a drive.
• Solo travellers on a budget. Visit Stockholm notes that Gripsholm is about an hour by train from Stockholm and Drottningholm is easily reached by public transport. A seat on a group tour or a train ticket costs far less than a private car.
• Uppsala alone. If all you want is the cathedral, a regional train is quick and inexpensive.

The private car wins for families and small groups, for anyone who wants two sights in one day without timetables, for travellers with limited mobility, and for winter days when standing at a rural bus stop is no fun.

Planning tips for North American travellers

• Seasons. Opening days and hours at palaces and castles vary through the year, and gardens are at their best in summer. Check the official sites before you fix a date.
• Daylight. In midwinter the days are short, so start early and plan the outdoor parts for the middle of the day.
• Lunch. Mariefred, Sigtuna and Uppsala all have cafés and restaurants; the chauffeur waits while you eat.
• Arrival or departure day. Combine Sigtuna or Uppsala with an Arlanda transfer; the airport fare to Norrmalm runs from US$220 in a business sedan to US$575 in a Sprinter.
• Getting around the city. For short trips once you are back in town, see our guide to Uber, taxis and pre-booked cars in Stockholm.
• Arriving from Denmark? See Copenhagen to Stockholm by private driver or train.

Corporate groups and incentive trips can book on a corporate account with monthly invoicing, and hotels book guests through hotel accounts.

How to book a Stockholm day tour

Rides in Stockholm are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk.

1. Choose the package on the Stockholm fares, or enter your own route and stops on the web booker.
2. Choose the vehicle by passengers and bags, and add child seats.
3. Reserve and pay by card in US$. Confirmation arrives by email, and the chauffeur meets you at your hotel.

Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% at 72 hours or less; 50% at 48 hours or less; 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show, with refunds to the original card. See the cancellation policy and the Stockholm chauffeur service. Travelling on around Scandinavia? Our Oslo day tours with a private driver cover the Norwegian capital.

Book any address

Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory.