11 days in Scandanavia--3 countries too much?

I would leave Oslo for another trip. I based myself out of Copenhagen for 8 days. Too long for many people but I did a a few day trips and enjoyed not rushing. I then moved on to Stockholm for 5 days. I wish I would have done Copenhagen to Gottensburg then Stockholm I think this would have allowed me to see a different size city. But am still glad I did not rush myself.

I was in Copenhagen during the Jazz festival and they had amazing free concerts. I also took advantage of the Copenhagen card which worked well for me.

We have been to Denmark twice and I would recommend you need 5-6 days minimum for that country, more if possible.

We have been to Bergen, Norway and are going back to Norway by way of an 11 day Arctic Circle cruise to most of the key ports of that country, but not going to Oslo.

I would not try to do three countries in 11 days. Pick 2 if you must. I recommend Norway and a cruise is a great way to see that scenic country.

I could easily spend two weeks in Norway or could spend 3 or 4 days each sampling urban Scandinavia. You will need to answer the question of a sampling trip or more in-depth tour.

Flying to Copenhaven is a good plan in that SAS hubs at CPH for short hops to Oslo etc. You could then multi-city fly to OSL from CPH, tour Oslo for a couple of days then do the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo across the Hardangervida to the fjords to Bergen, a literal cross-secton tour of southern Norway. You could then fly from Bergen to Stockholm.

Oslo is kind of a boring city as well as stupid expensive. But even if you wanted to hit all three capitals, you'd be fine with 11 days. Heck, I saw them on a cruise so only had eight hours in each. I'm sure there are a crapton of flights between each every day, considering how interconnected they are culturally and economically. However if you want to "do" three countries rather than just three cities, that's a different kettle of fish.

Just agreeing with the others. In 11 days you can see three cities (at least as a "tasting platter"), but you can't see three countries. So, you have to decide what kind of trip you want.

If you do want a city focus, consider substituting Bergen for Oslo. Not only did I like Bergen better, but it's smaller, so it takes less time to see, freeing up a day for the other destinations.

Remember to count nights, not days, when planning a trip. Two nights equals one full day; one night is less than a full day. There is an overnight ferry between Copenhagen and Oslo, so that "saves" a night. Also remember that while the flights between these cities are short and frequent, and not necessarily that expensive, it can take time and/or money to get in from the airport to the city (particularly from Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda; see if you can use Stockholm Bromma instead). To find all flight options, use Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.com/

Thank you all for your replies -- I think you affirmed my thought to do two places "well" and not stretch to try and squeeze in Norway. Thanks again and if anyone has any "must sees" in Denmark/Sweden perhaps not listed in the guidebooks, I would love to hear about them!

would rather do two countries well rather than three and feel
exhausted

In that case, three countries is too much for 11 days. It would be possible, but it would be rushed. Focusing on two is a good idea, and Copenhagen and Stockholm are easy to combine, there are frequent trains between them.

In Sweden I'd say that Uppsala is a must see, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Uppsala and if you have time you could take a detour via Gotland and the medieval town Visby between Copenhagen and Stockholm.

I look at 11 days with an overnight flight from the US as 9 days, as the first day and last day are partial. Then you have the transition day from city A to city B. In other words, you have 4 full days in each city. Just base in the city. If you get bored, which is not likely (although I don't know Copenhagen), take day trips. You'll feel like you know these two cities with this plan. Stockholm is one of my favorite cities. Hoping to return in the next year or so.

Hi thanks for the tips on the side trips!

Actually the 11 days is excluding travel days, as I don't find those very useful for sightseeing. Thinking the two cities as "bases" and then exploring from there