We are trying to plan our next year's trip. Went to Portugal this year (fantastic). We were thinking of doing a Scandinavian trip for two weeks. Looking for some thoughts.
My wife and I, in our early 70's, travel usually by ourselves. We like to stay in B & B's and visiting not only the main cities but also out of the way places. I usually rent a car to get around but not oppose to rail.
Our other thought is Sicily and northern Italy. So many places to visit!!!
Thanks,
Steve
Also, we would probably go in May/June or September time frame.
June and September would be probably be quite warm in Sicily. I don't know about May.
I was in Norway, Sweden and Finland (the latter not being part of Scandinavia, I realize) from mid-June till late August this year and was very pleased with the weather. I had a very few days when it went over 80F. There was some rain, especially in Norway, but that was expected. I'd recommend doing some weather research on timeanddate.com to see how recent temperatures and rainfall levels fit in with your idea of good sightseeing weather.
Two weeks won't go very far in Scandinavia if you want to go beyond the capital cities. It's a very large area. I'd stick to one country if I had just two weeks. Think about it this way: What capital city doesn't deserve at least 4 full days (five nights)? Isn't the second city (Bergen in Norway, Gothenburg is Sweden) likely to be worth 3 days (4 nights)? That's well over one week for a single country and you've only seen two cities. You can add a day in Norway and do the Norway in a Nutshell route between Oslo and Bergen without spending the night anywhere along the way, but that's a long, tiring day.
I saw a lot Norway and Sweden (less of Finland due to lack of time) via public transportation, but with a rental car you'd have more flexibility in fjord country. I'd still want to take the Flamsbana from Myrdal to Flam (or vice versa) and the ferry through the Naeroyfjord, but there's much more available if you are willing to explore in your own car.
I don't see a question here, but my thought is that is sounds like a good idea! Two weeks will let you see a part of Scandinavia.
Hi Steve, Agree with acraven, 2 weeks in Scandinavia means it would be best to focus on either Norway or Sweden, especially as you'd like to visit smaller cities. May/June or September both have good weather, had you thought any more about which country to visit? Frankly, a car is rarely needed between larger cities, rail service is excellent. Unless you really want to get off the beaten track, sometimes we rent a car to go exploring into smaller villages. My H & I spent 10 days in Norway, using the "Norway in a nutshell" site to plan our trip - https://www.norwaynutshell.com/.And here's a link to a traveler on RS who wanted to visit smaller cities between Copenhagen & Oslo - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/sweden/villages-towns-to-visit-between-copenhagen-gothenburg-oslo. I personally like DK Eyewitness guide books to research new destinations, but maybe start with RS videos to get an idea of what places would interest you the most? The more details you provide, the more information the forum will be able to offer!
