Stockholm and Visby or Lund

So your plan was to go to Stockholm but things have changed and you now need a different plan instead? Or are you looking for something in addition to Stockholm?

Visby is a lovely town well worth a night or two (or three or four), late August is after the high season as well. Lund is also worth visiting but is also an easy day trip from Copenhagen and you really don't need to spend a night there. Between Visby and Copenhagen you can also add a night in Kalmar.

Our daughter is studying in Stockholm in the fall. We were originally going to just drop her off, then my husband and I were going to travel Sweden and Norway for two weeks on our own. But now her work schedule changed, so we will do a shortened version of Norway for 6 days first all together, drop her off in Stockholm, and then figure out what to do on our own after she checks into the program. I was thinking 4 more days in Stockholm, then down to Copenhagen and leave from Copenhagen.

BUT, I also don't want to do too many big ciites, and I am more of the "do something different" type of person. I usually plan a trip with months ahead of time to get my exact schedule, tours, hotels down, but now need to figure this all out differently. I have seen both Visby and Lund mentioned on this site several times. But looking at this more, Visby seems sort of a pain to get to, and not sure if it's a "natural connection" to Copenhagen. Or maybe, we just take a two day trip to Visby and skip Copenhagen all together. I'm at a loss and just need a little guidance.

"Thankfully" we have not purchased the airline tickets yet, as we were waiting on several issues revolving around her work and school. But now we have definite dates. It's just that for months, Copenhagen was not in my plans, but because of our changed route, we may add it. I'd like to finally book the tickets in the next few days. I am working on some random hotel reservations now just to have them.

Thank you.

I see, thank you for the update. If you're flying from Bergen it might be a good idea to book the Bergen-Stockholm flights soon before they get too expensive, SAS usually has one or two daily direct flights between Bergen and Stockholm. (But then again, airline pricing is hard to predict.)

From Stockholm there are several options. Copenhagen is one, but if you don't want to do more big cities, Copenhagen is a bad choice. That is up to you do decide. Getting to Visby is not a pain at all, trust me I've been there several times. But, being on an island it is a bit trickier than if it was on the mainland. A few days in Visby and skipping Copenhagen is certainly an option. Getting from Visby to Copenhagen is certainly possible but is a bit tricker than getting to Stockholm. However, if you are willing to add a night in Kalmar it is pretty easy.

Other places worth mentioning is Uppsala, close to Stockholm. Öregrund on the coast can also be a great option if you want a few days on the coast in a smaller town. Or maybe head to Dalarna for a few days?

And I'm also going to mention this old thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/sweden/and-the-most-beutiful-town-in-sweden-is

Thank you!

I actually first heard of Visby from the "most beautiful cities" list you posted a while back, so a big thank you! With our first trip, we would not have been able to go, but now that I am changing direction, Visby is high on the list. In fact, I believe will will pick this over Copenhagen.

The next question is how many days? It seems as if we need at least two full days. Would you recommend more? I saw we can go to Faro, but now I think I may be spreading myself too thin since then we would have to rent a car and do not want to do that on this trip. But will take any other suggestions.

We will definitely be going to Uppsala as a day trip from Stockholm. Darlarna looks beautiful, but I think a little too far out of the way.

One last question: I had planed to fly into Oslo, take train to Bergen, fly to Stockholm, then fly home from Stockholm. Alternatively, we can fly to Bergen, train to Oslo, and then train to Stockholm. Do you see one being the better option? I'll price it out, but if it's somewhat close, I want convenience over price since we have a lot of luggage to deal with.

Thank you.

Nice to hear that the list I posted actually had an impact on someone's plan! But I hope you did your own research as well, and not just take my word for it. Two full days in Visby is a good start, more time will allow you to explore the rest of the island as well, Fårö is not a bad choice, especially if you are a Bergman-fan. But then again, I'm very fond of Visby. And two full days in Visby are in my opinion two great days.

Regarding flights, Bergen-Oslo-Stockholm makes a bit more sense from a geographical point of view compared to Oslo-Bergen-Stockholm. On the other hand, New Orleans to Oslo is a one stop connection, New Orleans to Bergen might be a two stop trip. If you spend the last part of your trip on Gotland you can also fly home from Visby.

Thank you! I definitely did my own research on Visby, but would not have heard about it if it weren't for your post. It wasn't mentioned in my guidebooks at all. I decided to stay three nights, which should equate to two full days plus a little more. I'm shocked I found a place to stay - the choices were limited - but am happy. I have not made the flight reservation yet - debating between flying and the ferry. Any suggestions?

I also switched the trip around to start in Bergen. Believe it or not, there is one flight from New Orleans that is only one stop! My daughter will have a lot of luggage, which equates to a lot of extra luggage fees if we fly from Bergen, so we will take NIN to Oslo and use the luggage service, and then a train from Oslo to Stockholm.

Thank you!

Sounds like pretty bad guidebooks then in my opinion. Three nights on the island sounds like a good idea! Where are you staying? If you are able to stay within the city wall that would be my suggestion. From Stockholm to Visby my suggestion is the ferry, the ferries are nice and if you book in advance usually pretty cheap. Also, you get a great view of Gotland and Visby as you arrive. And there is a decent restaurant onboard so not a bad place to have lunch. While on the island, make sure you try the local speciality saffranspannkaka ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffranspannkaka ).

Congratulations on finding a one stop flight to Bergen, in that case starting in Bergen makes a lot more sense.

Badger has given good advice, but just wanted to second Visby as a great option - very unique and beautiful place. The ferry is easy and drops you right on the edge of central Visby - just keep in mind that the bus ride to/from the ferry port near Stockholm adds 1-2 hours travel time. The Visby airport is just outside the city and very tiny, but can be convenient if you connect to a flight home. As advised, I'd try to stay within the city walls. End of August is perfect - still great weather but Swedish vacation time is over so no crowds!

However, hope you can fit in Copenhagen (and day trip to Lund) on another trip, as they're also both worth visiting :)

@ Hopper - that is good advice about the ferry port timing. I will look at my two options this weekend. The airports are so busy these days (have you seen what is happening in Amsterdam?) that I wonder about the trade offs. Maybe a ferry there and a flight home, as the Visby airport won't have hours of lines! I do want to get to Copenhagen again - I was there maybe 35 years ago, but my husband has not been yet. I usually create pretty aggressive travel plans, and adding another big city just seemed like more touring vs. relaxing after about 18 days. I have planned several day trips from Stockholm, and want to concentrate in that area and stay in one place. Actually - I REALLY wanted to concentrate in the fjords of Norway, but I lost some good reservations at some relaxing places in small towns with the change of our trip plans, and could not do those trips with the amount of luggage our daughter is bringing to study abroad.

@ Badger - We are staying inside the walls. Right now, I have a reservation at Hotell Breda Blick. i also saw that Hotell St. Clemens is available too, so have been going back and forth between the two. Any thoughts on those?

Thank you so much for all of your help. I feel very relieved right now!

When you book the ferry tickets you can buy a ticket to a transfer bus that will take you from central Stockholm to the port and v.v. You can also take the commuter train to Nynäshamn that stops close to the port. My suggestion would be the ferry both ways, especially with the current airport chaos. Unless you want to end your trip in Visby, then flying home from Visby can be a good option.

Regarding the hotels, I've not stayed at any of them so I can't really give an opinion. But they both seem to be in a great location, St Clemens is a bit closer to the central parts and to the port which might be an advantage. And since the peak season has passed you don't have to worry about crowds. Note that cars are banned inside the wall until early September. I don't what the exceptions are, but I hope most of your luggage will remain with your daughter so that you can walk from the port to the hotel.