Copenhagen->Stockholm

There are no real night trains - too short/fast.
Flying CAN be cheaper - its the price Arlanda airport central Stockholm that may spoil the total (or booking late). ALL the airlines compete so SAS is normally compatitive.

Time city center to city center is not MUCH different.
Malmö is worth a day (max) if you do not get round in the region. You are not saving much time or money stopping in Malmö - you could equally well avoid the extra change of hotel and make Malmö a day tour from Copenhagen.
There are also (slow) busses - and not that much cheaper.
Train trip not very scenic - mostly forests and agicultural land.. (google earth is your friend)

I must disagree with Bjorn. First by saying that spending a day in Malmo is not essential.

And secondly by thinking that the train ride is indeed scenic. Certainly part of the trip runs through forests in Småland, but that is only for an hour or so.

There is a night train from Malmö to Stockholm.

And non-swedes think the train ride is scenic, because it is exotic to them.

I take a lot of pictures of Malmö, to better cope with me having to live here, turning it into a fun hobby. And I present the pictures in a way so that you should really "feel" the street level of the city, the whole city, all the contrasts. The pictures are on Facebook, in the liking page with the name "Det här är Malmö".

If you start your trip in Kopenhagen I think that Malmo could be a fun day trip (early start late return to maximize your time) but I would not recommend staying there overnight for just 1 night, not worth losing time for switching from one hotel to another. I lived in Kopenhagen for nearly a year as a student and loved every minute there but as a tourist you don't need more than a few days. Did you consider other routes? I traveled to Sweden by car and by train via Helsingborg. What's boring to some can be excited to others. I got a kick out of my train car traveling to Sweden on a short ferry ride. If not time strapped I always prefer the train ride. You get to meet and talk to people, see the country more than you would from the plane and without the pressure of keeping your hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road. Coming from big city I enjoy miles and miles of the inland forest with occasional small towns. I am not sure what are train connections now but I am sure you will find enought trains to Stockholm from every direction.

But it doesn't hurt knowing that the by far most common approach when riding the train in Sweden, is to NOT talk to your seat neighbour, no matter how many hours the ride is... If you do it because you want to chit-chat, or because you think that it is the "right" thing to do, people will think you are a problem. If you start a conversation, you better have some interesting things to say.

http://temporarystockholmer.blogspot.com/2008/12/swedes-are-rude.html

Trains are not transferred by the ferries at Helsingør/Helsingborg anymore (after the bridge).

BTW: the name of the Danish capital is København, by reasons unknown to me Germans call it Kopenhagen and English speaking Copenhagen (Meaning is Merchants Harbor - even in English Haven is an alternative name for harbor), French Copenhague and so on - at least the Swedish Köpenhamn is a direct translation of København.

oh, and the name of the country is Danmark - have never realized why "e" is better than "a" for English speaking ppl. - they do not say Berbedos insteak of Barbados :-)

Thanks for the replies all! Lots to think about. Definitely going to take the train; as one post said, it will be exotic to a non-Swede such as myself :-)

Thanks for the replies all! Lots to think about. Definitely going to take the train; as one post said, it will be exotic to a non-Swede such as myself :-)

Thanks for the replies all! Lots to think about. Definitely going to take the train; as one post said, it will be exotic to a non-Swede such as myself :-)