General train travel question for Denmark, Sweden, and Norway

Although Kalmar is a nice town/small city, personally I'd rather spend those days in Stockholm. Two days and a few hours isn't much time for such an important destination. Stockholm has a lot of sights, and they're somewhat scattered. It's spread across a bunch of islands, and the city is gorgeous. I like to include smaller cities/towns when I travel, not take trips that are nothing more than a string of large cities, but you do have Bergen at the end of the trip.

The components of the Norway-in-a-Nutshell trip can be booked by you at a worthwhile savings. It's not hard, but it's a long trip, and in some cases you won't have a lot of choices to fit everything together and complete the trip in a single day. One or more components could sell out, so it's not something to be left until the last minute. These are the pieces of the itinerary and how you can book them:

• Main-line train Oslo to Myrdal and Flamsbana Myrdal to Flam: Book on vy.no as a single trip. The Oslo-Myrdal leg has a variable price; the fare will increase over time. There can be sell-outs on the Oslo-Myrdal train, which could cause scheduling difficulties.

• Naeroyfjord ferry Flam to Gudvangen: Buy from NorwaysBest.com unless you can find a cheaper way to buy from the ferry company (I could not in 2022).

• Bus 950 Gudvangen to Voss: Pay the bus driver.

• Main-line train Voss to Bergen: Buy from vy.no if you want, but I don't think you need to rush to do that. I think this fare is fixed, and there seems to be plenty of capacity on those trains.

Your other train trips (none of which I've taken) probably all have variable fares. They are likely to become more expensive between now and late August. Check cancellation/change policies before deciding when to make those purchases, though. I'm not sure what the best timing would be. I take long, not-pre-planned trips that tend to hop from one smaller city to another, so I don't have a good feel for the sweet spot on the purchase of train tickets in Scandinavia. I think you'll get some more-specific advice from others.

It sounds fine but if you want to get a taste of Sweden that most tourists don't, I have a suggestion. (I have driven this and I am a senior citizen.)

Another option is take the train to Malmö and pick up a rental car to drive to Kalmar.
Drive along the southern coast of Sweden on E6/E22 (Skåne) hitting Ystad (of Kurt Wallander films) for a few hours. From there you could stop at Ales Stenar (a Viking monument) for an hour. When I was there there were hang gliders flying overhead as this area is on a cliff (which has a path down to the sea). There is parking at Kåseberga harbor. Take Öst Kustvägen towards Simrishamn. There are sandy beaches at Sandhammaren, which is a nature reserve not far from Ales Stenar. Continue past Simrishamn to Kivik.

The area around Simrishamn is known as Österlen and is one of those hidden gems, in my opinion. Kivik is famous for its apple orchards. Kiviks Musteri makes Swedish apple juice, cider, and other items. North of Kivik are secluded sandy beaches and pine forests. (Friseboda has parking). They're accessible and public. You will need to get a bit off the beaten path from Highway 118 to access them. From Åhus continue on 118 to E22 and head to Kalmar.

It's a 200-mile drive from Malmö to Kalmar. It's safe and easy but lovely. You could stop anywhere along the way to have lunch or coffee. There should be plenty of parking opportunities. Drop off the car in Kalmar. Continue by train to Stockholm.

Swedish car rental companies offer both manual and automatic cars. I read that you don't need an international driving permit here but it might be good to have one. I always purchase additional insurance to cover the deductible in case of an accident (or even a scratch).

Late August is a good time of year. The weather is pleasant. Most touristy places are still open even though most Swedes have gone back to work and back to school. You will still have several hours of light so the days are still long enough to enjoy them.

I suggest you cut down on Oslo. The Viking Museum is closed until 2027 and there's just not much else there. One night is enough.

Sunday August 25 train from Copenhagen to Kalmar Sweden

You have two options, Öresundståg direct or high speed train to Alvesta and change there to a local or regional train. The former has a fixed price, buy the latter in advance at www.sj.se

Tuesday August 27 train from Kalmar to Stockholm

Buy in advance at www.sj.se. Note that Kalmar to Stockholm requires a change and you have a choice of two routes, with a change in Alvesta or a change in Linköping. In my opinion the route via Linköping is a bit more charming and more scenic, even if it's often a bit (15-30 minutes or so) slower. If you can't see any options that include a change in Linköping, add Hultsfred as a via-station.

Friday August 30 train from Stockholm to Oslo

Buy in advance at www.sj.se

Monday Sept 2 train from Oslo to Bergen-Norway in a Nutshell

Follow the advice above, acraven knows what they're talking about. And yes, I agree that two days in Stockholm is a very short visit.

I suggest you cut down on Oslo. The Viking Museum is closed until 2027
and there's just not much else there. One night is enough.

Au contraire, there is a lot to see and do in Oslo. If you think the Viking museum is the only thing worth visiting I can really recommend a trip to Oslo because you've missed a lot.

Sunday August 25 train from Copenhagen to Kalmar Sweden

The direct train has a "group" discount if bought from Skånetrafiken, 1170 SEK for three. Use their app or their own ticket machines at Copenhagen central, close to the exit for track 1-2. The Kalmar Länstrafik app is even cheaper at 1155 SEK. Seniors over 70 gets a second discount from Skånetrafiken in Sweden but not in Denmark, if that applies you could split the ticket, for example buy one ticket Copenhagen-Malmö for 360 SEK for three adults and Malmö-Kalmar 607 SEK for three seniors.