Stockholm to Oslo

Uppsala's just a nice, small city to visit. It fits into his circular driving route, during which one would always have the car available, but you might find it easier as a daytrip by train from Stockholm. Renting a car in one country and dropping in another is usually expensive, so taking the train from Stockholm to Oslo makes more sense. There may be some slower service this summer due to construction on that line, but we expect trains still to run.

With the exception of visiting Iceland, I've never driven a car in Europe. Maybe it's a reaction to my Americanized Culture of owning, driving and depending upon car travel, but I have come to like public transportation.
European cities, in general, have excellent metro systems and rail service is excellent - although not inexpensive. I have used Eurail in Scandinavia with pleasant experiences. If you choose to go that route, always make a reservation at least 24 hours prior to your first day of rail travel - and be prepared for multiple seating assignments throughout your day's journey - even if you are traveling alone.

This can be a little inconvenient, especially if you have luggage. Surprisingly, air travel can be quite inexpensive in Scandinavia. I flew from Bergen to Stockholm for $55 in July on SAS.

However, train travel, or air travel for that matter from Stockholm or Oslo to Bergen is not a good use of your travel funds if you are with a group of four or five people. Once you have secured a rental vehicle and topped up the fuel tank, five people can travel by car or van as cheaply as one. Elsewhere in this discussion format, the topic of International Driving Permits has been covered. I have one, and it netted me a slight rental discount in Iceland. Fortunately, I had no encounters with law enforcement, which is the motivation to get one.

As to an improved scenic experience - driving gives one the opportunity to select your own landscape. In this part of Europe, however, any landscape you are likely to encounter will please you.

You might check ViaMichelin.com for routes suitable to your trip. VM highlights especially scenic roads in light green. You may need to zoom in to see the green.

https://www.routesnorth.com/things-to-do-in-sweden/the-train-from-stockholm-to-oslo/

The scenery between Stockholm and Oslo

We’ll admit, this is not one of Scandinavia’s most scenic train
journeys. The route from Stockholm to Oslo passes through fairly flat,
nondescript countryside, though there are big sections of pine forest
along the way, plus plenty of pretty lakes.

Hope that someone can advise as to whether the scenery from a car would be any better. than the scenery from the train The advantage of a self driven car is that you can stop to get a better lock at the pine forests and lakes.

My memory of scenery from the car is the same along the most direct route - trees and lakes. As Blue439 mentions, it can be faster and cheaper to fly one long leg, which could be between any two of those big cities; see www.skyscanner.com.

We were in Stockholm, Uppsala, Oslo & Bergen in July. Certainly no car needed or desired in Stockholm or Oslo. We went to Uppsala as a day trip from Stockholm. It was fast and easy on the train. As Laura implies, most sights in Uppsala are close together enough that a car is not needed; unless you insist on making your own way out to the edge of town to see the ancient mounds and church at Gamala Uppsasla. Even then, there is a direct city bus that RS recommends in his Guide. We used a bus with no trouble. We took the HS train between Stockholm and Oslo. We were aware of the RS quote posted by Edgar that disses the scenery so we weren’t expecting anything great. It is pleasant but not too interesting unless you like looking at small town train stations. We used the train mostly because we wanted a “slowdown” day to catch up on emails etc. after a hectic week of racing around Stockholm. After a similar week in Oslo, we rented a car for the drive out to Bergen. Note that if your Bergen lodging is close to the tourist core, parking may be a real pain and expensive. Watch the drop-off charges in Norway if you rent in one town and return in another. Because of that charge, we elected to drive a circular route Oslo-Bergen-fjords-Oslo. Blue439 mentions International Driving Permits. As of last summer, Norway did NOT require one for US drivers as some other countries do. Be sure look at the official traffic website www.vegvesen.no/en/Home. I’d recommend you also download a picture of every Norwegian road sign you can find online. And make sure you know what they are really saying. We thought some of them were rather puzzling - a direct translation did not help. Especially become familiar the speed camera and toll signs. Have a great trip however you travel.

http://exviking.net/road/traffic.htm

The elk warning signs are very popular: Foreign tourists steal them
and local hunters (?) use them as shooting targets. You had better
take these signs seriously, though. Up to 800 kilograms of long-legged
animal through the windscreen is kind of overwhelming.

Thanks so much for all your replies! At this point I’m not sure what our decision will be but I’m going to look into the flight option as I hadn’t really considered that. Although, I have to say, being in new countries and just hopping from one large city to another by plane does seem to me like i’d be missing something. Thanks again!

If we decide to drive from Stockholm to Oslo, can anyone recommend a nice town to stay for one night instead of just driving the 6 hours in one day. We would rather just drive 3-4 hours in a day and enjoy the country instead of rushing through it. Thanks

As a follow-up to my remarks regarding International Driving Permits, it is my understanding that some European auto rental agencies require them. Most do not. However, the rationale for having one is that they are recognized by local law enforcement authorities should you ever need to interact with one. Your state issued driver license is close to meaningless to local police. Hopefully, if you rent a vehicle, you won't be stopped for speeding, DUI or be in an accident or be a witness to one. But, if you are, you will wish you had an International Driving Permit.