Hi all,
I'm looking to travel alone (woman in my 30's) to Stockholm, Copenhagen and "Norway in a Nutshell" and would like to do it in 7 days in October or November.
Questions for those of you who have traveled there:
1. Does this trip sound reasonable in 7 days? If you had to focus on two cities/regions, which two would you pick? How long would you stay in each cities?
2. Is traveling in October of November a good idea? How would the weather be? Would stores/shops/sightseeing open at reasonable hours?
3. What is the best route to cover all of the cities?
Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5516 posts
1) This is too much for 7 days. The distances between cities are great and you'd spend most of your trip on trains or in airports. With only a week in the offseason, I'd just visit just Stockholm and Copenhagen
2) In October and November, it tends to be cold, overcast, and precipitation falls in the form of rain. There are only 6 to 7 hours of daylight. Some sights have reduced hours. I lived in Stockholm for a couple of years and in November it gets dark between 3 and 3:30 pm. Is there another time of year you could visit? I always suggest that people visit the Nordics in summer as the weather tends to be beautiful and the days are long. A friend of mine came to visit me in Stockholm in November (against my recommendation, but she wanted to come because flights were really cheap) and complained about the weather and short days.
3) For a route (if you had more than 7 days), I'd fly into Stockholm. Travel Stockholm - Copenhagen - overnight ferry to Oslo - Norway in a Nutshell - Bergen.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8141 posts
We have found a cruise ship the best way to see the region--and St. Petersburg. Scandinavia is deadly expensive to travel on the ground.
You may also find the weather rainy and a little.cold after the first.of September.
Our cruise started in Copenhagen and we flew in 4 days earlier. After the cruise, we flew to.Oslo and took the Norway in a Nutshell over to Bergen. We flew home from Bergen after transferring planes in Oslo.
If you must visit Stockholm, you should fly into there--and take a cheap, fast flight down to Copenhagen. It is a 1 hr. budget flight Copenhagen to Oslo.I
It's just so much easier to go on a Baltic cruise--and much more enjoyable in better weather months..
Posted by
Copenhagen, Denmark
971 posts
The weather will most likely be grey and rainy at that time of year and daylight hours are few. If you can only go at that time of year focus on the cities, where there are more indoor activities like museums. As already stated you dont have the time for all the destinations, so I would focus on Stockholm and Copenhagen. Travel between them can be done cheaply by plane or train. The train is a bit slower but can be very cheap if booked in advance and more relaxing and convenient. Look at www.sj.se.
I disagree with David that cruises are a better or cheaper Way to visit Scandinavia. Also if you are a bit savy, travel in Copenhagen or Stockholm should be no more expensive than other major European cities.
Posted by
Portland
3595 posts
Just in case you are still considering Norway in a Nutshell, let me give you a few specifics to convince you against it.
!st: It's a very long full day. You would need to spend the prior night in Oslo, and likely would want to sleep in Bergen at the end. Or, vice versa. Even if you made one of those cities your departure for home site, you'd still be devoting a day and a half to NiN.
2nd: At that time of year you are likely to have bad weather in the fjord. It will also be dark before the end of the trip.
Keep to Copenhagen and Stockholm for a much better experience.