2 Weeks in Scandinavia in May / June 2025

To each their own, but this sounds extremely rushed. You have 12 nights in total and is trying to see 6 towns and cities, leaving you on average two days in each place, so my suggestion would be to try to focus on what's important. And probably skip Helsinki or Tallinn.

Apart from that, Copenhagen-Bergen-Oslo-Strängnäs-Stockholm seems like the logical order if flights are already booked.

I agree with you, Badger, with the original dates I posted. However, I had our arrival date incorrect - we actually fly into Copenhagen the morning of the 23rd so we have 15 nights for these travels. Keeping that in mind, do you believe we could make Helsinki or Tallinn work - and what's everyone's recommendation there?
Annie

That makes it a bit better, but still rushed. Of course you can add trip across the Baltic sea if you want to, but you will not really have much time to see the places you're visiting. When does your flights arrive and depart?

With 15 nights it might look something like this:

• Copenhagen 3 nights, fly to Bergen
• Bergen 2 nights, NiN to Oslo
• Oslo 3 nights, train to Strängnäs
• Strängnäs 1 night, train to Stockholm
• Stockholm 3 nights
• Overnight cruise to Tallinn 2 nights
• Stockholm 1 night, fly home

To me, one day would be painfully short for Tallinn. I realize many people take the quick hop from Helsinki for just a day--or have a one-day cruise stop in Tallinn--but I wonder how many of them really regret having so little time there. I have an unusual interest in 20th-century history, so I'm not the one to say how much time a typical tourist would want in Tallinn, but there's a lot to see there. Furthermore, Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania) are also fascinating destinations (as are some smaller cities in the three Baltic countries), so a separate trip to that area, including Tallinn is very recommendable.

Helsinki is less of a "wow" destination for me, but I've still spent 8 nights there in the last 2 years. Still, it makes more sense to me than Tallinn as a one-day stop. I will mention, however, that Helsinki has a great deal of Art Nouveau architecture.

I've spent 17 days in Stockholm since July 2022 and think that city can easily absorb an extra day or two if you decide not to press on to Helsinki or Tallinn.

I guess I should mention that the outbound ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki (and I assume also Tallinn) give a very good view of the Stockholm Archipelago at the time of year you'll be traveling. My personal experience in August wasn't as good; sunset was early enough that we passed through a lot of the archipelago after it got too dark to see much.

I agree that a single day is painfully short in Tallinn, but it is also painfully short in Helsinki. There is a lot to see in Tallinn, even if you're not interested in 20th century history there is a charming medieval city centre and much more. And if it is a choice between the two, Tallinn wins in my opinion.

And yes, all the large ferries to Finland and Estonia use the same route from Stockholm to Mariehamn, so the views of the archipelago are the same.

My personal experience in August wasn't as good; sunset was early
enough that we passed through a lot of the archipelago after it got
too dark to see much.

You took the Turku overnight ferry didn't you? It leaves Stockholm a few hours later so less of that trip will be in daylight.

I did. Thanks, Badger. I didn't realize the ferry departure times were different.

The Tallinn and Helsinki ships usually depart around 17 and the boats to Turku a couple of hours later.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone.
Our flight arrives in Copenhagen at 14:00 on the 23rd and we fly out of Stockholm at 0900 on the 7th.
I do think we'd love to fit a cruise to Helsinki or Tallinn (out of Stockholm) into our itinerary but still haven't made a decision as to which one we'll select. I would love to hear more about why you like one more than the other. And / or logistically - is one easier or cheaper than the other?

The travel times are very similar--between 16 and 17 hours, so you lose a big chunk of a day even though you spend the night on the ship. I don't know how the fares compare. They vary with demand; you should assume they may get rather high if you wait till near the travel date to book. In addition, the less expensive cabins can sell out. That happened to me last year, and I ended up paying nearly triple the fare I had seen originally.

I believe ferries run less frequently to Tallinn than to Helsinki. At the moment I'm only seeing sailings by Tallink Silja, and not daily in June. Tallink Silja's Stockholm port is a bit more difficult to reach than Viking's port. Both companies sail to Helsinki.

That at least gives you an evening and a bit more in Copenhagen on arrival day, but not much in Stockholm on departure day. Regarding Estonia or Finland my vote is for Tallinn as I've mentioned, but that doesn't mean that Helsinki is a bad choice, far from. The departure and arrival times are pretty similar and both routes have daily departures in the summer, but Tallinn is not daily all year so that might decide it for you. All ferries are nice with a good selection of restaurants, bars, shops and places to watch the islands pass by. But the ships to Finland might have a small edge as there are two companies competing on that route. An option for your last day in Sweden could be to continue to Uppsala after the ferry arrives and spend the last night there, you are still pretty close to the airport and get to see a bit more of Sweden.