Getting Around Umeå

So thanks to my insightful last post, you've got yourself to Umeå and saved yourself a little bit of money as well!  Now that you're here, the next thing you could ask is, how do you get around Umeå?  Surprisingly... I have the answer :)

A Bike!  You can get to almost anywhere in Umeå once you have a bicycle as there are literally more bicycle paths than there are roads!  People are also known to get very attached to the bikes in Umeå.  This is my friend, Neisha, with her bike aka "Finbar".

There are many places you can get a bicycle in Umeå.  There are several second hand bike shops downtown but my advice is to try buy one off another student as the shops can be very expensive.  The best thing to do is to keep asking people, as somebody always knows somebody selling a bike!  Also you can try the website Blocket.se as a lot of people will post their bike for sale on this website.

Also the City of Umeå usually have a bicycle sale at the start of the semester so keep your eyes open for this!

Also a lot of people are wary of cycling once the snow arrives, but from experience once you take your time you will be fine!  The city officials are very good at keeping the bicycle paths clear even during the heavy snow falls!

However, as much as many of us rely on our bikes, there are times when you will need to get a bus!  All buses in Umeå go directly into the city centre which is very useful.  What can be a bit of pain however is that they do not accept cash on the city buses.  I highly recommend buying a rechargeable bus card as it can work out a lot cheaper than paying per trip!  And make sure you mention your age when buying the card as discounts are available depending on how young you are!  The website for buses within Umeå is Tabussen.nu.  Here you can find timetables for all the buses in Umeå including the airport bus (but don't worry about this upon arrival as it will depart whenever a flight arrives).

Oh you can also walk as well obviously... I just don't have the patience for that!

Brian