I'm considering a trip next May, flying into Copenhagen, making my way on land and ferry to Stockholm and then Helsinki. (Then fly from Helsinki to Reykjavik for a few days in Iceland before heading back to the USA.) My question is about things to see or places to stop and stay in between Copenhagen and Stockholm. I'm planning to travel by train. Is it worth it to visit other places in Sweden on my way or slightly out of the way? And is Helsinki worth the long ferry ride? Would Oslo be a better choice as a first-time visitor to Scandinavia? I enjoy cultural sites, but my favorite activity is to explore places, neighborhoods, parks, architecture, small villages, and nature outdoors. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
524 posts
We recently returned from a Stockholm/Copenhagen trip. When planning the trip I inquired on this site about the value of including a couple of days in Helsinki. A reply I got from a Helsinkian (?) was that if I wanted to see something in Finland that was different from Stockholm or Copenhagen it should be Turku, which has the added benefit of being closer to Stockholm by boat than Helsinki. In the end, we didn't include anywhere in Finland, but some day I'll see BOTH Helsinki and Turku. You can get from Copenhagen to Stockholm via train. Takes 5 to 5.5 hours, costs about $150. We were put in a 1st class car and I didn't quite to know what to do with all the seat room. I assume you're flying IcelandAir (at least one way) and hence the stopover in Reykjavik. We were there spring of 2010 and absolutely loved it. Get out into the countryside if time allows. If it doesn't, then pay attention to the details of Reykjavik. At first glance Reykjvik is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is a very interesting city if you pay attention. I've seen frequent comments to the effect that you can "do" Reykjavik in a day or two. I disagree; each day we spent there brought new surprises. I'd go again in a heartbeat. By the way, we liked Stockholm (and daytrips therefrom) more than Copenhagen (and daytrips therefrom), but YMMV. Both cities are worth getting to know. As far as "first time visitor" places are concerned, you will do well with any of the places you mentioned. A big surprise to me was that in Stockholm almost every TV show is in English with Swedish subtitles. If I were Swedish (well, I am by descent, but you know what I mean), I'd take great offense at that. However, as a result the Swedes know English as well as we do....and some of them better than some of us....
Posted by
OP
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1817 posts
Thanks Mike! Great suggestions. I'll definitely include Turku in my itinerary. Did you see anything between Copenhagen and Stockholm that you'd recommend?
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
I've taken the train between Copenhagen and Stockholm and though the scenery is amazing, I didn't feel I missed anything by not stopping. Helsinki is a wonderful city IMO and well worth the visit. The ferry is not long, it's an overnight trip and one of the most scenic trips you may ever take (the archapelago outside Stockholm and coming into Helsinki the next morning). It also has a great smorgasbord and comfy accomodations. Have not been to Turku so cannot comment on that. But if you go to Helsinki, Tallinn, Estonia is only a 90 minute ferry and a wonderful Medieval city to explore. Makes for a great daytrip.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
If you are flying IcelandAir and have at least two weeks, I would suggest you fly into Oslo and out of Helsinki (easy to do with IcelandAir - and could be done in reverse, too) That way it would be possible to see both Oslo and Helsinki. It would be awkward to do that starting in Copenhagen. So you could go Oslo-Copenhagen-Stockholm-Helsinki easily. Of course, one of the best things about Norway are the fjords and IcelandAir also flies into Bergen. So you could even land there and do Bergen (and do "Norway-in-a-nutshell")-Oslo-Copenhagen-Stockholm-Helsinki. We took a train from Copenhagen to Stockholm stopping in Kalmar to see the castle along the way. It was interesting and a nice way to break up the trip and see something besides Stockholm. That's all we saw between the two. Rural Sweden looks so much like Minnesota that we didn't feel compelled to spend much time there. Normally, I don't promote trips that are a string of major cities. But in Scandinavia, I make an exception. If you can include minor cities or rural areas, great. But don't feel bad about going from one capital to another. They are all interesting in their own way and very easy to get a feel for in just 2-4 days. We loved Stockholm the most, but also really enjoyed Helsinki and liked Oslo more than I was led to expect. Copenhagen was fine, but less interesting than I expected. I can't say enough positive things about the Silja boat trip between Stockholm and Helsinki. The trip itself is very nice and Helsinki felt like a really intriguing new flavor.