Stockholm-Copenhagen-Oslo - which order?

I'd make the decision based primarily on transatlantic airfare and flight schedules. I can tell you that it's easy to get into town from the Oslo airport, and if you take the regular train, the ticket's good on city buses for two hours or so, which makes it easier to get to your hotel if it's not near the train station. The train ticket was not too expensive, but I'm a senior and there's often a substantial rail discount in Norway for seniors.

I haven't flown in or out of Copenhagen or Stockholm (well, maybe Copenhagen in 1972), so I don't know anything about airport transportation in those cities. However, Arlanda is quite far from Stockholm (about 30 miles).

Are you only visiting the capitals? Can you get a non-stop flight to any of those cities?

Prices seem comparable no matter what I pick and alas, I don’t see any non-stops for any of them.

Denmark - Copenhagen only
Sweden - Stockholm only with day trips
Norway - Oslo and Bergen for an overnight

Acraven - good to know about Arlanda. Thanks!

You might take a look at the RS Best of Scandinavia in 14 Days tour for an example of a logical and efficient itinerary. Be sure to go to the end to see the map. Here's the link:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/scandinavia

I went on that tour in 2018. How much time you have, what you want to see and do and how you plan to get around within each country or from one country or main city to another will determine the order in which you visit them. Options include flying, trains and ferries.

Keep in mind that you will be jet-lagged when you arrive if you fly directly from home to any of the main cities you list and plan accordingly.

From your post it sounds like you plan to visit only those main cities. I think that might be a mistake unless you are really limited on time, because you will miss a lot of what Scandinavia is all about.

Of the 3 major cities, I find Copenhagen the least interesting, so it might be a good arrival location for getting over jet-lag. Especially for a first trip, I'd recommend spending more time in Stockholm and Oslo than there.

For more info on the Scandinavian countries go to them individually.

Denmark basics:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/denmark

Denmark forum:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/denmark

Sweden basics:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/sweden

Sweden forum (where you posted your question):
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/sweden

Norway basics:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/norway

Norway forum:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/norway

One final note. Take warm clothes. You'll need them even in summer.

About the flights...

Have you checked into flying through Amsterdam to any of the cities? For that RS tour, I did that, spending my couple of jet-lagged days there then flying to Stockholm for the start of the tour. I flew back to Amsterdam from Bergen for one night before flying back to the US. Amsterdam has very good connections to Scandinavia.

Another reasonable option would likely be going through Iceland with its Scandinavian heritage and easy stopover possibilities.

Google Flights is your friend to explore ways to get to and back from Scandinavia with 1 stop or fewer.

Thanks Lo - We spent several days in Amsterdam this past summer. All of our options include layovers but we’ve gotten fairly good at handling jet lag.

From Seattle or PDX look at Icelandair, flying into Bergen or Trondheim, then home from Stockholm or Copenhagen. It's greatly advantageous if wanting to see Norway to not fly into Oslo, as looping out to the fjords/coast from Oslo and back is a waste of time/expense when it's so easy to start on the coast.

Delta also has slick connections at AMS for Bergen, Trondheim, or Alesund, all great starting points for moving across Norway to Oslo.

Re-reading your post of course you can end on the Norwegian coast, also.

Noting that primarily seeing the 3 capitals is missing a lot, especially for Norway which is one of Europe's most scenic countries, but all three of the countrysides are nice.

A fine point but getting into the cities from either Oslo or Arlanda airports can be an expensive train ticket, for CPH it's a cheap metro or train ride.

We flew from Copenhagen over to Oslo--1 hr. Then took the Norway in a Nutshell train/fast ferry trip out to Bergen. We loved Bergen on a beautiful Summer day.

We flew back to Oslo from Bergen where we made a connecting flight back to the U.S.

Stockholm-Copenhagen-Oslo is my vote.

It is not that important in my opinion, it depends on what kind of flights you can find and at what price.

Things to consider:

• There is an overnight ferry between Copenhagen to Oslo. Traveling while sleeping is a good way to save time, and it seems popular among at least some travellers. The trip through the Oslo fjord is also a bit scenic.
• Exactly when are you planning this trip? There are some maintenance works planned on the rail line between Stockholm and Oslo next summer.
• Adding Bergen to the mix makes it a bit different, and Stockholm-Copenhagen-Oslo-Bergen is a popular route.

The distance between central Stockholm and Arlanda is almost exactly the same as the distance between central Oslo and Gardermoen. Kastrup is much closer to central Copenhagen. If that matters.

And adding an extra stop or two is not a bad idea. There is a lot more to the countries than the capitals.

I believe there are non-stop flights from Bergen to Copenhagen and to Stockholm, so you should be able to avoid making a round trip between Oslo and Bergen.

I believe there are non-stop flights from Bergen to Copenhagen and to
Stockholm

That is correct.

I believe there are non-stop flights from Bergen to Copenhagen and to
Stockholm

This may be true but it is unlikely to save time or money. I would look at staging the trip from either Reykjavik on Icelandair or Amsterdam with SkyTeam (Delta, KLM). Or a combination.

Ooh. Thanks everyone. I hadn’t thought Bergen would be a possibility to fly into. I’ll have to check that out. It would be nice to not have to backtrack that portion. The overnight ferry might be a fun option from Oslo to Copenhagen. We’ll be there just 16-30. Short

Icelandair flies to Bergen. So if they fly to an airport close to you they can be a good option. In that case I'd suggest you start in Stockholm and fly home from Bergen.

All three capitals have an easy rail connection into the city from their respective airports.

We flew to Stockholm then train via Gothenburg and Aarhus to Copenhagen
Flew Copenhagen to Bergen, bus to Stavanger, then flew to Oslo. Then finished in Barcelona for a week before flying back to Australia as the multi city ticket with Japan airlines was less expensive than a return.

Flights within Scandinavia were with SAS who have very frequent schedule and good pricing.

Stockholm, Copenhage, Oslo: I would start in Stockholm then take the train to Copenhagen. Then there is a lovely overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo. It leaves Copenhagen around 4:30 in the afternoon and arrives in Oslo around 8:00 AM.
Or you could do Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. The same ferry line departs Oslo at 4:30 PM and heads to Copenhagen, arriving in the morning in Copenhagen.
We took the overnight ferry a few years ago and it was excellent. I highly recommend it. It has great views while traveling and tables and chairs out on the deck. Plus there is a pool and hot tub on the boat. Since you travel overnight, you don't waste too much valuable day time. The rooms were pretty comfortable. Not 5-star hotel comfort, but a good basic hotel quality room.