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Denmark/Norway vs Sweden/Finland for first Scandinavia trip

Posted by (Seattle) on

Hi there - I’m planning a 2 week trip for my family to Scandinavia in August 2025. We live in Seattle. I have studied Rick Steve’s recommended itineraries (https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scandinavia-itinerary) and read a lot of posts on this forum. We’d love to see it all but we tend to like a slower pace, so I’m thinking we should probably minimize the number of places we try to visit. Maybe 2-3 cities, 4 max.

I’m torn between focusing on Denmark/Norway vs Sweden/Finland. Or actually trying to fit it all in. Curious about anyone’s opinion given the following:

  • Cheapest flights from Seattle seem to be on SAS to Copenhagen, and/or home via Oslo. So that would need to be our start/end point, which makes a Denmark/Norway focus make the most sense. But I suspect that might always be the case and I do want to see Sweden/Finland at some point
  • We want to take trains/ferries/cruises around, ideally no car and no additional flights.
  • We are very into culture/art/history/food. We like to look at the outdoors but not really get out into it. We enjoy cities.
  • Where we live we are surrounded by mountains/ocean/trees. So on the one hand—that’s what we love! On the other hand, it might be good to diversify a bit. When I was in Oslo/Stavanger for work, the landscape was gorgeous but very familiar. But maybe Sweden/Finland would be too?
  • We have 4 kids (ages 10-18) so accommodations can be a bit tricky and I feel like we tend to have better luck in the bigger cities vs smaller ones
  • We could do longer than 2 weeks but we find we’re kinda maxed at that point and just want to go home
  • I could see us doing a part 2 in August 2026 …

Thanks for any advice!

Posted by
3283 posts

Finnair has nonstop flights between Seattle and Helsinki. From Helsinki you can take a direct 2h ferry to Tallinn for the day https://www.directferries.com/.
I don’t see direct overnight trains allowing you to reserve a cabin with beds between Stockholm and Oslo. This is a 5h 30m journey meaning you will lose a day traveling between the two cities. I suggest not visiting four countries in Aug.

Posted by
3093 posts

While your focus seems to ve very much on cities Scandinavia is also known for outdoor activities, e. g. hiking, kayaking, sailing or in winter skiing.

Bergen in Norway has a unique landscape behind, the western fjords. A direct train connection to Oslo with stop-over in Flam is a valid tavel option.

Lofoten, Swedish west coast, Danish North Sea shore, Gotland and other destinations are also good recommendations for outdoorsy experiences.

We are very into culture/art/history/food.

Back to the big cities I would sort Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki based on your priorities. You will find common parts in the culture but also huge differences in details. Food is a very special topic in all mentioned countries.

Often used connections are:

  • Train Copenhagen - Stockholm
  • Ferry Stockholm - Helsinki (and Tallinn)
  • Ferry Copenhagen - Oslo
  • Train Bergen - Oslo (vy.no or as travel package Norway in a Nutshell)
  • Hurtigruten and Havila postal route ships to get from Bergen to Lofoten and / or more into North.

In the far North you will not find train connections. Buses and flights are the alternatives to cars. Car travel which you excluded gives you the most freedom of travel although all mentioned metropoles car are active car traffic haters.

Be aware that in huge Scandinavia August is not the same experience. While in Denmark you still have summer the Northern parts of Scandinavia have first autumn experiences at the end of August. I recommend to also look into June as an option which allows special highlights such as Swedish Midsummer or the Midnight Sun in th far North.

Let me finally mention that Hamburg and some parts of Northern Germany culturally have more in common with Scandinavia (also partially common history) than Hamburg and Munich for example.

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