Is it possible to see Sweden, Norway and Finland in 7 days

Tina, That's a lot of area to cover in seven days! I'd suggest picking one city with day trips for such a short period, perhaps Stockholm or Oslo. I'm assuming you've already purchased your air tickets, so you'll have to allow travel time back to your departure point (Using open-jaw tickets would have provided more travel time). The easiest and quickest method of travel from Vienna to either Stockholm or Oslo would be via budget air. Check Air Berlin for schedules and prices. It's not normally possible to buy Railpasses in Europe, so you'd need to purchase that prior to departure. For such a short period with only a few trips, I'm not sure if a Railpass is the best idea. Happy travels!

If you want to see a lot of baltic/northern european countries in a short time, take a cruise on MSC, Royal Caribbean, etc. they hit 6 countries in 7 days.

Tina - I'm guessing that you'll be ending RS's GAS tour in Vienna. I took the tour last year and it's a pretty intense 14 days. For me, there's a transition period to go through after traveling and interacting with 27 people on a daily basis. You may want to pick just 1 or 2 of these countries where you can wind down and relax prior to returning to the states. Hope you have a great trip!

Yes, it is possible. It is also possible to see Canada, USA and Mexico in seven days.

I think you could see 3 cities in a week - say 2 days each in Helsinki and Oslo and 3 days in Stockholm. But you'd want to fly from one to the other to save time. Flights take only 60-90 minutes and inexpensive flights are available.

No, no, no. Unless you are just going to fly over. With that standard I have seen all of Canada.

@ Paul, "But it doesn't look much different from any of the Rick Steves tours." One significant difference between this plan and a RS tour, is that all transportation, lodgings and sightseeing on the tours are very precisely pre-arranged. While that may be possible to do in this case, the cost for budget flights, Ferries, etc. and of course the travel times between locations will be an issue. If the OP has to return to Frankfurt or other location for the flight home, that will reduce the time even further. When the travel times are accounted for, there may only be about five days to see three countries. That's not realistic (IMHO). Cheers!

'There isn't much to see in Helsinki according to Rick steves' Ouch! Just because one person doesn't drool over it, doesn't mean it's a wasteland. Helsinki is a smaller city of about half a million (Paris has a couple million and London eight or so). You can't start to see all of it in a week, despite it's compact size. And no, you can't see all three countries in seven days. Pick one and spend the week there, but you still won't do it justice in that amount of time.

I think that you could see a few cities in that time period. It would certainly be busy, but I think that it can be done. My best friend and I went to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen in 12 days. We flew between Copenhagen and Stockholm, and Stockholm and Oslo, though. I would go to Stockholm for 2-3 days, fly (or overnight train) to Oslo for 2 days, take the Norway in a Nutshell trip between Oslo and Bergen, end up in Bergen for 2 nights and a day, and fly out of Bergen. I'd skip Finland on this trip (geographically).

My mother and I spent a wonderful week in Scandinavia in 2007. We met in Helsinki (I was coming from Oxford, she was coming from the US), spent a day there, took a day trip to Tallinn, took the overnight boat to Stockholm, enjoyed a day in Stockholm, took the train from Stockholm to Oslo, enjoyed a day in Oslo, did the "Norway in a Nutshell" to Bergen, spent a day in Bergen, and flew back to the US. It was a magical trip. We has so much fun! Our highlights were Oslo (Holmenkollen, Vigeland sculptures, Kon-Tiki), Bergen (Bryggen tour, funicular, just walking around), and the Vasa in Stockholm (and walking around the Old Town in Stockholm). Believe it or not, our lowlight was the "Norway in a Nutshell." It rained the entire time, and after seeing Alaska, the scenery just didn't impress me as much as I had hoped (especially for the price). We pre-arranged much of our transportation before leaving (overnight boat from Helsinki to Stockholm, train from Stockholm to Oslo, "Norway in a Nutshell") and hotels to get better prices. Scandinavia was unbelievably expensive, so a week was plenty for our pocketbooks. I hope you have a wonderful time!

If you understand that you are not seeing three countries, but rather, 3-4 cities.... If you can fly into and out of Bergen & Helsinki (either way)... And if you have 7 FULL days & not some other travel time thrown in there..... Then you CAN do it, and this is how; (Day 1) Fly into Bergen & spend the remaining time of the arrival day wandering the old town harbor area & market. (Day 2) Do the "Norway in a Nutshell" route all day - 10PM arrival in Oslo. (Day 3) All day in Oslo (Day 4) AM in Oslo, afternoon train or bus or fly (SAS) to Stockholm, dinner in Stockholm (Day 5) All day in Stockholm (Day 6) Most of the day, until 5PM in Stockholm, then catch the Silja overnight ship to Helsinki (possibly the highlight of your trip) (Day 7) 10AM arrival - rest of the day in Helsinki. Either late flight out or early the next morning. Obviously, this works in reverse, too. But if you subtract any time at all from this schedule, I wouldn't do it. You need to see a fjord (nutshell) to be in Norway. You need to have a full 24+ hours in Oslo (a city that deserves more credit than it gets). You need at least 36-48 hours in Stockholm - the jewel of Scandinavia, and you need to spend at least 8+ hours in Helsinki - a very interesting smaller city that has a unique feel.

It's tight, but somwhat "doable" b/c of some of the very helpful side-trips/excursions that Rick suggests in his excellent Scandinavia guidebook. I had much longer time to spend in Sweden and Norway, but even with more time, I didn't dedicate a hell of a lot of time in Finland. I took the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki (Silja line; great fun), spent next day in Helsinki, then back on ferry that evening for return trip. I enjoyed Helsinki; very pretty, enjoyable city, but felt 1 day was enough for the highlights. Stockholm is great; if you have 3-ish days, you can prob see most of the main sites. Don't miss the old town (Gamla Stan), the city hall (great views from tower you climb up), Vasa Museum (AWESOME!)and the Skansen open air museum. Oslo (TERRIFIC city) prob deserves solid 2-3 days and you are correct; Norway in a Nutshell will be a highlight (you get to see so much, and it's all VERY efficient). All this said, you prob want to give SOMETHING up (MAYBE skip Helsinki, MAYBE skip Bergen and return right to Oslo after "Nutshell," as many do; although I DID then go on to Bergen, spent 2 nights and loved it). Personally, I'm NOT a huge fan of "cramming" TOO much in in 1 trip (I adhere to Rick's mantra; "Assume you WILL return!"), BUT, everyone's preferences and circumstances are different. I guess the bottom line is everyone has to give SOMETHING up on a trip (less time in a particular city, skipping some places all together, etc.). Whatever you do, you are sure to love Scandinavia. Enjoy.

Hello Tina. I travelled in the Scandinavian countries, in May of 2007. I do NOT recommend travelling to Sweden and Norway and Finland in seven days. You said you definately intend to do the "Norway in a Nutshell" fjord trip. So, I recommend that you fly to Oslo, and the next day start the "Norway in a Nutshell" trip. (trains, and boat) - Travel from Oslo to Aurland at the Aurland fjord, have overnight accomodation at the guest house at Aurland. The next day continue travelling on a boat on the fjords, and bus to Voss, ride in train from Voss to Oslo. Information about all of that is in the book "Rick Steves' SCANDINAVIA". The next day : stay in Oslo. The next day: Express train from Oslo to Stockholm. (Reserve seats in the train, in advance). Stay at Stockholm two whole days.

Hi Tina- I have spent the last week planning a trip to Norway for this summer, and I have been surprised by how long it takes to get from place to place. Seven hours Oslo to Bergen; four hours Bergen to Balestrand; one hour from the airport to downtown Oslo. Night trains are efficient of course, but it is very expensive to get a sleeper car (and from Bergen to Oslo at least, you have to rent the entire couchette, not just one of the beds, to the tune of 850K). I am happy with my trip and very excited, but I wish I had anticipated all the travel time.

I think Copenhagen is a better hub than Stockholm. One option might be a seven night Baltic Cruise that allows you to see the major cities for about 10-12 hours each (not horrible since most of the Baltic Capitals are relatively compact). Transportation, lodging and food are included, you won't have to pack/unpack and get to an airport, dock or train station each day. If it sounds like something you would want to do, check out vacationstogo.com. It's an online travel agent that does mostly cruises. Their prices seem the same as all the others. I've booked several cruises through them and had no problems. If you did a cruise from Oslo you could add the quick version of Norway in a nutshell with an extra day. Having said that, the big question is would you want to. Trying to see too much is the best way to underappreciate the entire experience.

Hi. We will be going and returning to Gotenburg. What are best towns to see on way to Oslo? can you drive to Ausland and then do in a nutshell? best way to get phone for local calls there and best place to check emails back at work? any reasonable inns up the cost or near oslo? Must see: Copenhagen or Stockholm- we love nature and history...

I've lived in Stockholm in total for about 4 years and have travelled most of Scandinavia. 7 days really isn't enough to see all three. Unless you have a burning desire to see Finland, I would say drop Helsinki and focus on Stockholm/Oslo/Norway in a Nutshell. That will still be tight, but it will be much more relaxed than trying to do all three in those days (including travel).

This question was originally asked in May 2011. I assume Tina has already gone on her trip.