Edit Scandinavia itinerary for August?

I would drop one of the three countries. Even expecting a "taste", for me, this itinerary would be only a nibble.

In Copenhagen, I, personally, would skip Christiana in favor of the National Museum, an art museum, or another in-city palace. RS spends a lot of energy describing Christiana. To me, his enthusiasm reflects nostalgia for hippy days. Take a look at TripAdvisor and other reviews - mixed thoughts. Perhaps an area of interest for your group, but not everyone.

If you do go to the National Museum, take a look at the website first and plan your personal highlights. There are incredible exhibits of Viking and pre-history days as well as Danish history up to modern times. The ethnographic collections are also fascinating if this is an interest. If time is limited, best to see those areas that most draw you.

Rosenborg Castle sells out - monitor the ticket availability and buy early as necessary.

You have only seven real days. There's no way I'd try to see 3 major capital cities in that amount of time, much less three capitals and Bergen. Rick's itineraries are nuts.

Consider Copenhagen-Oslo-Nutshell-Bergen. Then on a later trip you can see Stockholm and Helsinki with maybe one or two smaller places in Sweden. Or if you can swing more time, The Baltic capitals (Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius) are all wonderful and quite different from each other.

Doable, but very rushed. Three nights in Copenhagen and two in Stockholm is not a lot.

I agree about Christiania, skip it. There are so much better ways to spend your time in Copenhagen for such a short visit. And to save a bit of time you should take the overnight train to Stockholm.

Once in Stockholm, I'm not sure a ghost walking tour is a good use of your limited time. There are in my opinion better ways to spend your time. And yes, Skansen and the Vasa museum are just next to each other, you can't travel between them by ferry. The easiest way is to walk.

Noting that you are active travelers - NiN is not an active tour if that is what you are hoping for. Hours of sitting on the Bergensbanen train, then transferring to another train and boat. Also, check that overnight Flam accommodation is available during your high season travel.

If you are interested in easy access to hiking, that can be found above Bergen off the Floibanen funicular. Floibanen is right in city center, many trails when you reach the top.

(posting from my secondary acct as I'm having trouble replying with my primary)

Thank you all for your helpful feedback. It makes sense to condense to two countries. Acraven, your suggestion to do Copenhagen and Norway sounds good. I've revised the itinerary as listed below. Any additional suggestions or feedback?

Should we consider an overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo?

Do you advise staying in Oslo for two nights, or staying one night in Oslo/one night in Flam? (ORDtraveler, thank you for the lodging tip. There are available Flam lodging options left though quite limited.) Also tinkering with the idea of one night Oslo/two nights Bergen, or even an extra night in Copenhagen to take a day trip, then one night Oslo.

Wed, 8/7 (Day 1): Depart SFO

Thu, 8/8 (Day 2): Arrive Copenhagen
Early afternoon: Land in Copenhagen, check into hotel
Late afternoon/evening: Stroll Stroget pedestrian center, grab dinner

Fri, 8/9 (Day 3): Copenhagen
Morning bike tour (2-3 hours), National Museum

Sat, 8/10 (Day 4): Copenhagen
Rosenborg Castle, Tivoli Gardens

Sun, 8/11 (Day 5): Copenhagen
Kayaking or Christiansborg Palace, then board overnight cruise to Oslo

Mon, 8/12 (Day 6): Oslo
Afternoon walking tour

Tue, 8/13 (Day 7): Oslo
City Hall tour and Fram Museum

Wed, 8/14 (Day 8): Norway in a Nutshell

Thu, 8/15 (Day 9): Bergen
Bryggen, Mt Floyen, Fish Market

Fri, 8/16 (Day 10): Return flight to SFO

Looks OK. In Flåm you will have to arrange with passengers only from a small cruise ship - one day later would be worse (port list).

If you travel overnight on ferry to Oslo you have more time to explore Denmark; may be one day also nature or smaller places around Copenhagen, e. g. Møns Klint or Dragør or viking boat sailing in Roskilde.

I think you will enjoy plan 2 better than racing through plan 1. Still quick, but time to catch your breath!

I can't advise on Flam - didn't stay there. Just to mention the obvious as you re-jiggle and consider NiN and Flam and Bergen options: if there is rain or fog, views from Mount Floyen and hiking may not be an appealing activity. Bergen old town is fun to explore, but it is small.

As for Oslo, I obviously don't know the interest of the group, but you could include more on 8/13. Are you self-touring the City Hall? If so, probably no more than 45 minutes, and quite possibly less. If in the area, it is interesting to stop in.

There are other museums on Bygdøy Island by the Fram Museum. The Kon-Tiki Museum is right there - your group might enjoy that, it is small - needn't take terribly long. Have a look at the original Kon-Tiki documentary on Youtube about the excursion and the 2012 movie - "Kon-Tiki" - before leaving if you think you might want to visit.

On Bygdøy, walkable (or bus) from Fram and Kon-Tiki, the living history museum, Norsk Folkemuseum, is extensive and quite good. Stave Church, farm houses, city life from past centuries.

We found the Fram museum interesting - it is a bit "old school" with lots of signboards. That is another stop that could be around an hour visit unless someone in the group is particularly interested.

You've clearly researched so you may have already discarded the above sites for your group. I just thought I'd mention in case of uncertainty.

I like the new itinerary, and I think overnight ferries are smart on trips like this. I haven't taken that one, but my experience last year with the Stockholm-Turku ferry was that the fare approximately tripled before I got around to buying my ticket, so that's something to watch out for. The least expensive cabins sold out, which was a good part of what happened, I think.

The Flam question is tough. I spent a couple of nights there (in a private room at the hostel, so it wasn't horribly expensive) because I really wanted to get to the Borgund stave church; due to the bus schedule, it takes a two-night stay to pull that off. Reasons one might stay for a single night (assuming schedules work; I haven't checked) include a bus tour up to the Stegastein viewpoint, a RIB trip or hiking/walking in the area. Flam itself isn't special, just the scenery around it. With an extra hour or two to kill, the little Flamsbana Museum is interesting, but I wouldn't make that alone a reason to split the NiN trip over two days.

Bergen is one of the very wettest places in Europe--over 8" of rain in August, on average. There may well be some rain while you're in the city, but I think it would be unlikely to pour hard all day long. Bergen has quite a lot of indoor sights, so you wouldn't be totally stuck if it did nothing but rain.

Thank you all for the advice. We're going with a day trip from Copenhagen, one night in Oslo, and NiN straight to Bergen. Appreciate the feedback and tips!