Landing in the Bright Summer Night at Arlanda

Stockholm's latitude means summer days are long and twilight lingers well past what feels like a normal evening — it won't get properly dark the way it would further south, even at an hour your body clock reads as late. If your flight lands at 10 or 11pm in June or July, don't be surprised to step outside into something that looks like early evening.

Bright evenings can genuinely delay your body's normal wind-down, on top of whatever jet lag or a long flight has already done to your schedule. A sleep mask, blackout curtains if your hotel has them, or simply accepting you'll fall asleep a little later than usual are all reasonable ways to handle it — fighting the light rarely works as well as just planning around it.

It's not something to worry about beyond that first night or two; most travellers adjust within a few days.

Because it doesn't look or feel like the hour it actually is, it's easy to be tempted into a wander that turns a late landing into an even later night. Going straight to the hotel after a long day of travel is usually the better plan, even though the light outside is telling you otherwise — you can always go out and enjoy the bright evenings properly once you're rested.

Your flight is tracked from booking, so whatever time you actually land, the pickup follows it — and there's no added cost for a late-night pickup either way.

• Stockholm summer nights stay light for hours after a normal bedtime
• A sleep mask or blackout curtains help more than fighting the light
• Heading straight to the hotel after landing usually beats a late-night wander
• No night surcharge, whatever hour you land