Scandinavia trip question … where would YOU spend more time???

You are on the right track focusing more time (and thus more $) on Norway, particularly the fjords...and we liked Bergen a lot, too, worth several nights.

I have been to "Scandinavia" twice - Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark - and I put them in order of preference there - and I hope to go back again, and I will spend at least half of my time and resources in Norway, and I will skip Denmark...

Norway was rewarding for me - I split my time 60/40 between Norway and Denmark and that was a good balance personally. However I’m not very outdoorsy and also had friends in Denmark to see, so for your group I’d lean towards Norway more.

I considered adding Sweden into that trip timeline but my plans were eating up too much time in transit between destinations and felt a little rushed so I decided to leave Sweden out.

It's hard to give a simple answer without knowing more about the trip. If the question is just about Kalmar or Balestrand it very much depends on what you are looking for and want to see and do and what your expections are.

So, what does the planned itinerary look like and what are you looking for apart from nature, outdoors, hiking and biking? For biking, Öland can be a good options. A nice place to visit and not as hilly as Norway…

I highly recommend the downhill bike trip from Myrdal train station, where you rent the bikes, then bike downhill to Flam through the most gorgeous scenery ever! I lost count at 50 waterfalls. Best bike ride I have ever done.

I went to Kalmar with the RS Best of Scandinavia tour. The tour stops there for one night in transit from Stockholm to Copenhagen. It is a beautiful town with a lot of history and of course the castle. I am not a big fan of castles, but the guided tour we had there was the best castle tour I have ever had. Full of rich history.

Having said that, I definitely wouldn't spend more than one night there. If you aren't interested in old Scandi history at all, then it is skippable.

In Oslo, don't miss the Vigeland Sculpture Park. It can't be beat!

I've been to both areas, but without a car, so no Oland for me. With that limitation, I'd rank Kalmar below the Norway areas you've mentioned. (I am not at all a castle person, which makes a difference here.)

Passenger ferries across the Sognefjord between Flam and Balestrand are very infrequent. If you don't plan to rent a car, you need to look into that carefully, because the transportation options will be very limiting. With a car of your own, you would have some other options for getting around.

I'm assuming the trip isn't for this summer. For this summer, trip planning would come down to where in fjord country you can get reservations.

To help us provide more useful information, please do specify the intended timing of the trip and whether you intend to drive or use public transportation. The number of days you'll be able to spend in Norway and the places you're arriving from and departing to would also be useful.

I did five trips to Norway in the last ten years, four of them were weeks lasting road trips. Also Sweden was part of these journeys. Some years of my life I lived near to Danish border; spending some weekends in that beautiful country.

I find Norway's landscape much more rough and spectacular than Sweden's, especially the Westfjords.
Copenhagen and Stockholm are much more interesting to me than Oslo. In my opinion Danish culture has a component which Norwegian and Swedish have only rarely; their cultures I perceive more pragmatic and functional than aesthetic.

If you do not plan to come back soon to Scandinavia I recommend to focus on the western fjords of Norway. The most of this are you will reach by a road trip; it allows you also to experience some spots off the mass tourist places. Ideas for these you will find here: https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes/

We loved Bergen, but spending more than one night there would be unnecessary.

We didn't do Oslo, but did a wonderful cruise up the coast of Norway to the North Cape. It was amazing. The fjords a special. The best fjord is Gierangerford.

@markk … ur suggesting doing the exploring the western fjords by car instead of train/bus/boat?

Others … thanks for the responses thus far. Our trip includes a 10 day motorhome excursion around the Ring Road in Iceland. Then, we go to Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We have about 14 days there. We fly into Copenhagen, then travel to Kalmar, Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen. Trying to do 2 night stays everywhere just because we don’t like jumping around so much. I’ve booked our hotels/hostels up through Oslo. Now figuring Oslo to Bergen. This is where, the more I read, I’d like to find more days to explore that area. But, I don’t really have any days to pull from. In looking at our itinerary, it seemed like Kalmar would be the best place to pull a day or two from. Either shrink our stay to one night or skip it all together. But, Kalmar looks cool too … so not sure.

At this point, we have planned to do 3 nights in Oslo (2 days really), and 2 nights in Bergen. This leaves 2 nights to get from Oslo to Bergen. Would like to gain a few more.

Thanks for help.

Yes, I recommend chosing a car for the mentioned reasons. NiN, certain bus routes or places like Geiranger and Flåm are very often overcrowded in main season. In addition in these ports you will sometimes "battle" with a few hundred of thousands of guests from cruise ships. At places you reach with car, e. g. around Hardangerfjord you will be more on your own and can explore Norway at your own pace.

Important to mention… our trip spans end of September to first week in October. Some cruises not available at that time. The Norway in a nutshell is available at that time. Had considered either driving or training. Thanks for suggestion

Important to mention… our trip spans end of September to first week in October. Some cruises not available at that time. The Norway in a nutshell is available at that time. Had considered either driving or training. Thanks for suggestion

I am no expert on it, but that is fairly late in the tourist season for much of what you want to do. At least. when I looked at a possible trip there in the same weeks about 5 years ago, I was dissuaded to pull the trigger on a trip by some of the hotels up in the fjords that I was interested in closing up for the season by then, and never pursued it further.

Having said that, I would be tempted to rely on Norway in a Nutshell in that case...

Yes … I’ve been researching and altho many things aren’t running then, there r some things still operating. And a car would allow us flexibility to move around

14 days in Scandinavia is not a lot of time. Is there any possibility you can add a few days? That would help a lot, otherwise you might want to consider removing stops from your plan. As lovely as Kalmar is, do you have time to stop there or is it better to spend that time somewhere else? If decide to keep Kalmar in the plan, here is a small inside tip: There are no direct trains from Kalmar to Stockholm, so you will need to change somewhere. When buying the tickets, you'll usually see options that include a change in Alvesta. But there is also the option of a change in Linköping, pick that one. A tad slower but more scenic. If you don't see any options via Linköping, add Hultsfred as a via-station.

You can cut Oslo to 2 nights. It will be a short stay there but you can at least see part of the city. And I'd suggest some version of the Norway in a Nutshell-route from Oslo to Bergen. October is shoulder season or low season so Flåm will probably not be crowded by cruise passengers.

@Badger … thanks for your insights.

If we keep Kalmar in the plan, we have 2 overnights to move between Oslo and Bergen (we have additional nights in each Oslo and Bergen). So, we could stay in Flam/Aurland and/or Balestrand on our way to Bergen. Had considered adding a day or two to the travel time between Oslo and Bergen but to do that, would need to steal from elsewhere in trip. That’s why I was asking about Kalmar.

Our itinerary thus far is …
Iceland … 11 nights around ring road.
Copenhagen … 3 nights after flying in from Reykjavik
Kalmar … 2 nights
Stockholm … 2 nights
Oslo … 3 nights
Transit from Oslo to Bergen … 2 nights
Bergen … 2 nights

Wondering if I should remove Kalmar and add those nights to both the transit from Oslo-to-Bergen as well as one more night in Stockholm. But, I don’t want to remove Kalmar if it’s really worth going over too.

Thanks again -

For me, 2 nights in Stockholm is painfully short. There is just no comparison between Kalmar and Stockholm.

I would take a guess that your group might like spending a night or two in fjord country, thus breaking up the trip from Oslo to Bergen. We stayed in Balestrand at the Balestrand Hotel last summer. It was a nice stay and I would highly suggest a fjord-side room if you consider a stay here . Rooms are not fancy. There is another finer hotel in the town that has a nice restaurant which the name escapes me now. The town is small and it seemed the little lobby bar/pool table area of our hotel was the most happening place around. I personally couldn't imagine spending more then 1 night here myself but if you were going to do some hikes or other outdoorsy things then maybe two nights would be okay.

As for other parts of your trip I enjoyed Oslo more then I thought I would. I preferred it over Bergen actually.

Yes, it's worth visiting Kalmar. But, you can't see everything and you need to find out what's most important to you. But you really should add more nights in Stockholm. 2 nights in Stockholm is a very short visit. Removing one night from Oslo and adding it to Stockholm would be a good start. Removing a day or two from Iceland is also not a bad option.