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Scandinavia Rail Pass vs Point to Point

Posted by (NY, NY) on

We 2 adults doing a slow trip through scandinavia (finland, sweden, norway, no DK) and taking the following train routes:

Stockholm-Uppsala-Stockholm (overnight)
Stockholm - Karlstad
Karlstad- Oslo
Oslo-Bergen with an overnight along the way
Flambanen, Flam - Oslo

Does it make sense to buy a scandinavia pass for this? The fares online seem quite cheap ($50 for 2nd class Olso-Bergen) but in Rick's scandinavia rail pass cost estimator, it says this route can cost $115.

I'm thinking we are doing such spread-out, short trips that it would be cheaper to just buy P-to-P.

Posted by
20289 posts

I would always check out fares on-line using advance nonrefundable pricing when I know my itinerary, and compare that with the pass cost. Rick's cost estimator is misleading as it shows the walk-up fare, which is always the highest.

Posted by
501 posts

Thanks - I'm showing that even if I were booking for tomorrow AM (Ie: last minute) the fares are pretty cheap. That may change in summer, but I'm leaving toward booking whatever I can in advance / non refundable tix / and passing on the Pass.

Posted by
5837 posts

Note that the Norwegian advance purchase "minipris" prices are demand driven and will vary with time:
https://www.nsb.no/en/our-tickets/minipris

Minipris is an offer determined by the interaction of demand and
availability. Consequently, price may vary over time and you may find
fewer Minipris tickets on the most popular departures.

Finnish railroad offers advance purchase tickets. However, if you are a pensioner (65+) fares may be better than advanced purchase tickets. (VR has simplified ticket pricing since our 2016 trip).
https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/seniors_new
https://www.vr.fi/uusihinta/en/

That said, it's spreadsheet time.

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