16 days in Scandinavia

Given your must-do’s, this looks reasonable to me. While I like Copenhagen, you are right there is more in Stockholm.

But do you actually have time for what you want to do in Oslo with the time you have? I only see one evening, when museums will probably be closed, and one morning. I would be ok with this but I am not sure it gives you any time. But it does let you do NiN, Otherwise you could probably fly Bergen to Copenhagen. Only you can decide whether NiN trumps more time in Copenhagen.

Hi TexasTravelMom - I don't have a ton of must-dos in Oslo; the museums sound cool, so that's why I wanted to contort myself to be there when they are open. But Norway originally wasn't in my trip at all. It sort of expanded ... I am cool with Oslo and Helsinki getting the short end of the stick. I am a little sad that Helsinki is really getting the short end, but the only way around that is to fly instead of cruise and honestly I think the cruise will be a cool experience. Also will be sick of flying because we are flying Amsterdam (stopover there) to Bergen and Oslo to Copenhagen at a minimum, each time with checked bags. Have to decide about Copenhagen to Stockholm -- that mostly depends on the timing of the direct trains (I HATE changing with suitcases), and I don't think the schedules are out for this summer yet.

I am assuming we will be able to fly out of Oslo very late and will have nearly a full day.

Also NIN is the whole reason I’m doing Norway. The real question is if I should just skip Oslo and go directly to Copenhagen. Or conversely, skip the full day in Bergen and spend Monday in Oslo. The real trade-off is Oslo vs Helsinki because it is Oslo taking up the extra day (and Bergen by extension because the extra day is added to Bergen in order to get to Oslo on Tuesday).

I count 13 days in Scandinavia, two days in Finland and one day in Estonia.

If you are fine with this pace it is certainly doable. Although I recommend the overnight ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen instead of flying. Takes roughly the same time and saves you a night in a hotel. It also gives you some great views of the Oslo fjord as you depart!

I don't know what museums you are considering in Oslo, but there are things to see and do even if some museums are closed. I don't think you should skip Oslo, the NiN takes you to Oslo anyway. Unless you do the Bergen-Flåm-Bergen version, but you miss some great views that way in my opinion. And if it's a question of Oslo vs Helsinki the winner is Oslo in my opinion. That doesn't mean that Helsinki is boring, but it is less interesting for the general tourist. I also think Tallinn is worth more time than Helsinki. And yes, the cruise from Stockholm gives you a great view of the archipelago and that alone makes it worth it I think.

Although it would make more sense to fly home from Tallinn. Or take the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn, that reduces the backtracking needed.

There are usually several daily direct trains from Copenhagen to Stockholm. SJ, the main operator on the route, has not released their schedule yet. But their competitor Snälltåget has. Snälltåget is a bit slower and only has one or two departures per day, but on the other hand they have a very nice restaurant car in the train, so their evening train can be a good option to have dinner onboard while watching the Swedish landscape roll by the window.

@Badger Thanks for the reply, love to hear from someone in Sweden! I definitely was going to end the NIN in Oslo no matter what and spend the night. The issue is just that I could just leave right away that morning, but instead we will explore a bit. I will look into the Oslo-Copenhagen ferry!

I am flying home from Helsinki and that is already settled, but maybe I could do Stockholm to Tallinn, stay a night in Tallinn and end in Helsinki. Frankly, I was just trying to avoid lugging my bags around more than necessary and adding yet another hotel to this trip. I probably will leave it as it is but plan on a very long day in Tallinn. One of the advantages of your very long daylight hours!

If your flight home is booked my suggestion is to take the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn and spend a night there. It will mean one more hotel, that is the drawback. But it will mean more time in Tallinn which is a more interesting city in my opinion. It is worth more than just a daytrip. And the ferries use the same route out from Stockholm so you will get the same archipelago views. You mention long daylight hours, so I assume this is a summer trip?

The ferry Oslo to Copenhagen would be a plus for me - it gives you most of a day on Oslo and I like boats better than planes. Ha! And a ferry Stockholm to either Helsinki or Tallinn is also a win. It saves you daylight time over flying.

I like Badger’s idea of ferrying directly to Tallinn and spending the night on Night 14. To be honest, at the speed you are traveling and with the ground you are covering, I am not sure why you are concerned about one additional hotel change. Your trip will almost be over and Uber worked well for me in Tallinn if you need that final bit of splurge to and from your hotel. Otherwise, I would say skip Tallinn (which I loved) and spend your final 3 days and nights in Helsinki for a more relaxed end of trip.

Or if you think you don’t want that much time in Helsinki, you could take the day from Tallinn and add it into one of your other stops.

I am getting convinced on Tallinn! But I think the only way the ferry from Oslo works is if I skip the full day in Bergen and spend that extra day in Oslo. The ferry leaves around 3 and it says to be there on the early side. If that’s our only day in Oslo, it is really just a few hours. We’d probably have to go to the hotel and get our stuff around 1. I don’t have a long list for Oslo, but I did want the day. I’m a little torn there. My original plan was not to have a full day in Bergen anyway, but people do seem to love Bergen.

I do like Helsinki (mainly for the Art Nouveau architecture and the art museums); I've spent about eight days there since 2022. But I agree that Tallinn has more to grab the typical traveler. From my perspective, the major issue with your current plans is not inadequate time in Helsinki, it's inadequate time in Tallinn. What I would do is drop Tallinn for next summer and plan to see it on a future trip along with other stops in the Baltic countries (definitely including at least Riga and Vilnius).

So, I booked a ferry (cancellable) from Stockholm to Tallinn. But it turns out that this is a longer ferry and I arrive in Tallinn at 1:15 in the afternoon. I would spend the night in Tallinn but would have to leave fairly early the next day to have even half a day in Helsinki. I feel like overall, this is not really more time in Tallinn than a day trip. However, having read some accounts of the ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn, I would not relish doing that twice in one day (reports of nowhere to even sit). The ferry sounded like fun and the views in Stockholm sound lovely, but I'm wondering if I should just fly. It would give me back half a day in Tallinn.

Given that the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn is apparently only 2 hours, why is the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn 4 hours longer than the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki?

EDIT: apparently the Slija line does it in 17 hours. I booked the Viking Line. Right now, Slija does not have a sailing available the day I need it, but it says "check back later". So I guess I shall -- I booked the cancellation insurance, so I have some flexibility.

The problem with this itinerary is that there is not adequate time anywhere and it will only allow the OP to get a brief glimpse of what the cities have to offer.

Regarding the ferries, Viking line does not have any ships between Stockholm and Tallinn so if you booked a trip with them you have an overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki where you will change to another ferry to Tallinn. The company operating boats between Stockholm and Tallinn is called Tallink and the route is only operated every other day for most of the year but is usually daily in the summer. While it is a good idea to not buy tickets last minute, it's very early to buy them now for a summer trip.

To put it a bit bluntly, you are trying to see a lot - and that’s fine. But in doing so, you have to know the end of your trip is not optimal; so you won’t have optimal options. I think you now have some good information in order to make choices - but choices will have to be made, with the attending inconvenience of whichever you choose.

If it were me (and, it’s not) I would say to skip Tallinn on this trip. I spent a week there in September and there was plenty to see and do. A week might be overkill for many, but the Baltics make a great stand-alone trip for the future. I’m not sure it’s worth the transportation hurdles you are having to leap this time.

I do some wacky trip progressions myself - but always feel like when the logistics are beginning to feel messy and difficult, it’s the universe telling me to simplify.

@texastravelmom. It's true, it is getting convoluted, but such is how my trips go, and aside from sometimes being very tired at the end, we always have a great time. We did a somewhat similar itinerary in France this summer - one fewer hotel, two fewer days. That trip was a combo of rental car and trains, each of which have their own stresses.

What I am considering is reverting slightly to my original version that is more Stockholm and Copenhagen focused by taking out the extra day in Oslo/Bergen and just not worrying about missing the National Museum in Oslo. Norway originally wasn't in my itinerary at all, so I will have to live with just a taste of Norway. That'll give us substantial staying-in-one-place time in both Sweden and Denmark. I don't want to miss Tallinn, and I am unable to change my flight, so I have to fly out of Helsinki, but I think what I am going to do is more flying and less ferrying. I am not a cruise person, at all, but I thought one night might be a fun way to give my son that experience, and was thinking of the time-suck as just part of the cost of doing business. But not arriving in Tallinn until 1:15 is a bridge too far, no pun intended. Add to it my trepidation given my history of extreme seasickness, and I think it is just better to fly. Except for Oslo, most of the airports seem pretty close to the city center. Like I said, having read about the nature of the Helsinki-Tallinn ferry, I don't want to do it twice in one day. (I'm pretty surprised it is THAT bad. It is only a couple of hours, so basically, as long as we can sit it would be fine, but apparently we are not guaranteed the ability to sit!) So I think I will fly from Stockholm to Tallinn, probably later at night, sleep in Tallinn, and then ferry one-way to Helsinki at the end.

My other self-inflicted wound is my inability to travel super-light. This has mostly been an issue on trains -- stressful to get on and off in time with heavy bags, worry about them being stolen, etc. Norway In A Nutshell would be very unpleasant with bags, but there is luggage forwarding that I will happily pay for to solve that problem, and flying also is just a matter of paying to check some bags.

@everyone THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR ADVICE. And Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans among us!

I am not a cruise person, at all, but I thought one night might be a
fun way to give my son that experience, and was thinking of the
time-suck as just part of the cost of doing business.

I'm also not a cruise person, but the Baltic sea ferries are pretty nice, you get some great views along the way and there is a decent selection of restaurants and shops onboard. And when you look a bit closer at the time it takes, it really doesn't take that much longer than flying, considering that you will be sleeping for most of the time on the ship. I know you're planning a rushed trip, but the archipelago is charming and attract many tourists, so I the boat is a really good idea in my opinion.

The direct Stockholm-Tallinn boats usually arrive in Tallinn 10:45. Keep in mind that Sweden and Estonia are in different time zones, so the arrival time is 9:45 in Swedish time. And I would not be worried about sea sickness, the Baltic sea is usually very calm in the summer and the ships are large.

But if you think it won't work for you, SAS has a several daily flights between Stockholm and Tallinn, www.flysas.com

Except for Oslo, most of the airports seem pretty close to the city
center.

The airports in Stockholm and Oslo are more or less the same distance from the city centre.

Like I said, having read about the nature of the Helsinki-Tallinn
ferry, I don't want to do it twice in one day. (I'm pretty surprised
it is THAT bad.

What have you read about it?

My other self-inflicted wound is my inability to travel super-light.
This has mostly been an issue on trains -- stressful to get on and off
in time with heavy bags, worry about them being stolen, etc.

It might also be worth thinking about what you need to bring and what you can leave at home.