Traveling to Karlstad university

GETTING TO THE UNIVERSITY

Karlstad has a very efficient and convenient public transport system. Bus lines 1,2 and 3 go from the city center to the university. The bus stop  is called “Universitet” – do NOT sit on the bus until “Campus” unless you wish to see the student dorms! Line 1 is an express bus that directly travels from the Stora Torget bus stop in front of the pubs via Drottninggatan to the campus bus stop.

GETTING TO KARLSTAD

Karlstad is the regional capital of the Värmland province in western Sweden. Located approx. 140 kilometers from the border with Norway, the city is located in the Klarälven river delta into Scandinavia’s largest lake – lake Vänern. Visitors arrive efficiently by train from Stockholm, Gothenburg or Oslo. They arrive by plane with direct connections from Stockholm. Many opportunities for express buses exist, too. Check the Karlstad airport with a schedule over direct flight connections from the airport’s web page.

TRAVEL TO/FROM KARLSTAD AIRPORT

KSD airport is s small airport approx. 20 kilometers out of town. It has no web page in English, and there are neither regular public transport links, nor is there a permanent taxi station. You need to call and order minibus or taxi service before you start your trip to Karlstad! There are two options for trips between Karlstad airport and the city center (you need to book 2 trips for incoming / outgoing):

“Flygbuss”: The regular flights from/to Frankfurt and from/to Stockholm will be serviced by the local public bus company. You should have ordered transport within two hours before landing. Trip cost: 77 SEK one-way. Operator: Värmlandstrafik.

Your arriving bus stop for Flygbuss is “Centralstationen” (the railway station, close to the hotels in Karlstad). Travel time: approx. 1/2 hour from the airport. When leaving, you can order the bus from the university’s campus bus stop, with approx. 75 minutes trip time to the airport.

“Flygtaxi”: Order a taxi. Call +46 08-120 920 00, or use the company Flygtaxi. Recommended rate is approx. 360 SEK per trip. You should order your taxi on arrival day ahead of traveling to avoid unavailability due to many spontaneous requests.

KSD airport has a customer service phone, in case you do have special needs or any specific questions about special luggage: +46 054 540 77 00

TRAVELLING TO SWEDEN

If you need some general useful information during/before your journey to Sweden, please check with the Swedish tourist office web page.

Travel visa to Sweden & immigration issues: Sweden is a member of the EU Schengen mobility framework. If you have citizenship or an unconstrained residence permit in a Schengen country, you can travel to Sweden for the duration of the summer school without further paperwork. In other cases, special rules might apply to your country. Please check with your local Swedish embassy’s web pages, and check the general information at the Swedish immigration authority’s web page.

Sweden currently practices exceptional border controls on train, ferry and car communication over the national border. You should carry a valid Schengen national ID card or passport upon entering the country (and consider voting on your next national and EU elections in case you dislike getting ID’d within Schengen space).

Currency: The local currency is Swedish crowns (SEK). In general, most places accept card payments with VISA and MASTERCARD and most European national bank cards. You can use cash machines at the bank offices to withdraw cash with your bank card. Cash currency exchange is possible with FOREX in Drottninggatan 27, 652 25, KARLSTAD.