Getting to Halland

Halland has no big airport of its own, but it doesn't need one. The county runs down the west coast of Sweden between Gothenburg and the Öresund bridge, and both the Västkustbanan railway and the E6 motorway pass straight through it, calling at or skirting Kungsbacka, Varberg, Falkenberg and Halmstad on the way to Laholm and the Skåne border. Whichever international airport you land at, Halland is a single connecting train or a couple of hours' drive away, not a separate journey requiring its own booking.

Most visitors arrive one of four ways: by air via Gothenburg or Copenhagen, by direct train from either of those cities or from further into Sweden or Denmark, by car down the E6, or — for a smaller number, mostly from Denmark — by the Stena Line ferry into Varberg. None of these routes involves changing continents or transport modes more than once.

Göteborg Landvetter, Sweden's second-largest airport, is the closer option for the northern half of the county. From the terminal, an airport bus (Flygbussarna) runs into Gothenburg Central Station, where you change onto a Västkustbanan train heading south to Kungsbacka, Varberg, Falkenberg or Halmstad. Budget the better part of a morning or afternoon for the whole door-to-door journey once you count the bus transfer and the wait for a connecting train.

Copenhagen Kastrup is the better choice if you're heading for the southern half of the county — Laholm, Halmstad or Båstad just over the county line. Kastrup has its own railway station under the terminal, and Öresundståg and SJ trains run directly north over the Öresund bridge, through Malmö and Helsingborg, and on up the coast without a change. It's a genuinely simple one-seat ride from an international arrivals hall to a Halland platform.

Halmstad City Airport exists and has a domestic terminal a short taxi ride from the town centre, but scheduled traffic is limited and thin compared with the two international hubs — check current routes directly with the airport before planning around it. See Airports for a fuller comparison of all three.

The Västkustbanan is the spine of the whole approach. It's a proper double-track main line, not a rural branch, carrying fast Öresundståg regional trains and SJ long-distance services in both directions all day. From Gothenburg, trains reach Kungsbacka in well under an hour and Varberg in around an hour; continuing to Falkenberg and Halmstad adds progressively more time as the line runs south along the coast. From Copenhagen Airport, the same line runs the other way, reaching Halmstad in a couple of hours with Malmö and Helsingborg in between. Details on classes, seat reservations and how to buy tickets are on By train.

The E6 motorway is the direct road equivalent of the railway, running the full length of the county a short distance inland from the coast, with clearly signed exits for every town. From Gothenburg it's a straightforward hour-plus drive to Varberg and longer again to Halmstad; from Copenhagen or Malmö, the E6 comes up through Skåne and crosses into Halland near Laholm. Sweden requires headlights on at all times, even in daylight, and enforces strict drink-driving limits — effectively zero tolerance by international standards. Full detail, including the scenic coastal alternative to the motorway, is on By car.

Stena Line runs a car ferry between Varberg and Grenaa in Denmark, which is a genuine option if you're already in Jutland and want to skip the long way round through the bridges, or if you simply prefer to arrive by sea. It lands you directly in Varberg's harbour, an easy walk from the town centre and the fortress. It's a minority route compared with flying or the bridge crossing, but a real one — check the current timetable and booking directly with Stena Line rather than relying on any fixed schedule here, since ferry timetables shift by season.

Arriving is only half the picture — once you've landed at an airport or crossed into Halland by road or rail, Getting around covers how to move between towns and beaches without a stressful transfer at every stage, and whether you actually need a rental car.

• SJ — long-distance and regional Swedish rail tickets and timetables
• Öresundståg — the regional service linking Halland with Gothenburg, Malmö and Copenhagen
• Göteborg Landvetter Airport — flights and airport-bus connections
• Stena Line — the Varberg–Grenaa ferry route