My husband and I are trying to decide where to go for our annual anniversary trip. He is limited on vacation for 2019, so we have roughly 5/17-5/27 to go somewhere. We want to stick to one country and are between Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Belgium. We love small towns, being immersed in the culture, hiking, food/beer/wine, and exploring cities. We tend to always have a good balance of city and scenic in our trips. While we love history and learning about an area's history and culture, we aren't the kind of people to go to a ton of museums. Generally we choose a museum or two, depending on what we find most appealing. We know the Scandinavian countries are pricier, but since we are taking a shorter trip than normal for us, we aren't concerned about price. We are looking for possible itinerary advice that would give us a good balance between city and scenic and isn't overly touristy. We like to go off the beaten track a bit, but appreciate touristy spots to a point, since they are prime spots for a reason. Part of me feels we should save Norway for when we have a bit more time and can go in a later month so we can hike Trolltunga, which I'm finding doesn't open until mid-June. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :) Also, we are flying from Pennsylvania, in case that is a necessary piece of information.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Posted by
Berlin
2996 posts
Date of travel is perfectly for Norway. You will be before the big tourist crowd wave. Also nature will be very fresh in spring (full waterfalls, young animals, fresh colors of trees and nature).
I suggest to do a car round trip in either Fjord Norway (A) or above the polar circle (B).
A) Bergen: 1 day (w/o car), after that Lysefjord (just take Preikestolen or Kjerag if Trolltunga is still closed or one of the million other hikes), Hardangerfjord and Sognefjord may be up to Geiranger and back to Bergen. Try to avoid one-way rentals (high surcharge).
B) Tromsø: 1 day (w/o car), after that Senja, Vesteralen (whale watching), Lofoten, Hurtigruten ship to Havoysund (not Honningsvag), North Cape midnight sun and back to Tromsø --> You will never forget this tour. I did that myself two times. Just write a pm if you look for more information.
The offcical scenic routes can give you some impressions: https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes
Nothing against beloved beauty and manifold culture of Sweden and Denmark but in terms of scenic views no chance compared to Norway.
Posted by
8239 posts
Take a 7 day Norwegian Fjords cruise.
Posted by
Massachusetts
119 posts
We spent a week in Norway this past summer. Norway was incredibly beautiful. We started in Oslo and spent two days there. That was a nice amount of time and I felt that we got to enjoy the city. I highly recommend the Vigeland Park and the Nobel Peace Center. Then we did the Norway in a Nutshell over 2 days, instead of one long day. We took the scenic train to Flam and stayed overnight in Flam. The two trains from Oslo to Flam were beautiful. Then we took the boat from Flam to Gudvangen. Bus to Voss and then the train from Voss to Bergen. Bergen was fun. We spent a few days there. It's a nice little city. There is a great hike from Ulriken to Mt. Floyen, if you're into longish hikes. Even though it was only one week, we felt that we got to see a variety of this beautiful country. The fjords are just amazing. The best part for me was the scenic boat ride on the fjords from Flam to Gudvangen, if you're into dramatic scenery.
Have a great trip!