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Itinerary help for family trip

We will be heading to Sweden at the end of February 2024 for a week to pick up a Volvo with our 11 and 8 yos. The time of year isn’t ideal but was the only thing we could do between work and kid’s vacations. We’ll more than likely start in Gothenburg and be there 2.5-3 days. We also intend to spend at least 2-3 days in Copenhagen, as my daughter’s best friend is moving there this summer.

My original thought was a simple GOT-CPH-GOT route, driving down via the bridge, then back via the ferry and do Kronburg. This will be my kids’ first international trip and probably won’t be back to Europe for a while, so my question is, do we push and add another major destination to this trip (such as Stockholm, Hamburg, or also open to other ideas)? Or is a few days each in Gothenburg and Copenhagen - with maybe a quick side trip to something small - going to be plenty where we won’t feel like we’re missing out by not also going to [x], particularly considering the time of year?

Thanks for any advice!!

Posted by
6872 posts

February is not the best time to visit the west coast, but if that is what you can do there is not that much to do about it. How much winter driving experience do you have?

Gothenburg and Copenhagen is not a bad combination. But to be honest, it's easier to do by train. You can add Stockholm as well, but if you only have 6 days in total you won't have time. And going to Stockholm, the train is a much better option. As always in Europe, cars are a horrible idea when visiting cities. But they can be useful when visiting rural areas, so that might be an option.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks Badger! That’s basically what I figured (on the time of year front and the itinerary/timing). We may have closer to 7 full days, but it still felt like it could be hard to add in another spot. We’re from the northeast and lived in MN for a while so we’re fine with winter driving, but will think through if we’d rather just do this route via train instead. Appreciate the thoughts!

Posted by
161 posts

I guess you won't drive the car home. Consider an open-jaw air ticket, arrive in Copenhagen and depart from Gothenburg or vice versa. Train between Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Kronborg is an easy day trip from Copenhagen. A lot of the rural areas are dead tourist-wise in February, and a car will just be a problem in the cities. Do Stockholm another time, preferably in the spring or summer.