Made a first attempt intenerary for our second trip.

Posted by Brendon (Auburn, Washington, USA) on 05/31/10 01:14 AM

My family and I went on our first European trip two months ago and want to go back already, so here is our first attempt:

Flying from Seattle to Endinburgh
Taking a train to Oban
Spending one day in Oban
Taking bus to Glencoe
Spending one day in Glencoe
Taking bus to Inverness
Spending two days in Inverness
Flying to Helsinki
Spending 3 days in Helsinki
Taking train to Lapland
Spending four days in lapland area
Taking fairie to Stockholm
Spending two days in Stockholm
Taking fairie to Oslo
Spending three days in Olso
Taking train to fjords
Spending 2 days in the fjords aread
Then fly back home from oslo to Seattle

This is just a very poorly done intenerary, we just did this last night! Any info will be great, thanks!!

Posted by Toni

Charlotte, NC, USA

05/31/10 07:34 AM

3428 posts

It feels a bit rushed to me. You really wind up with only 1 or 1/2 days in most places. Either lengthen the trip (make it 3-5 days in most big cities) or cut out a few places. Edinburgh needs 2 full days (not counting arrival/departure). Oban- I haven't been so can't say. Inverenss at least 2-3 full days, Helsinki- haven't been. Lapland?? Stockholm, 3 days at least and Oslo, at least 3 days. Personally I'd focus one of the regions, either the Highlands or Scandinavia. Both are lovely areas to go slow and really enjoy the culture as well as the sights.

Posted by Carroll

Pittsburgh, PA, USA

05/31/10 08:09 AM

2758 posts

I would skip Scotland altogether and had straight to Scandanavia. You aren't spending enough time in Scotland to do it justice. You are flying into Edinburgh, one of the most beautiful cities in the world (my personal favorite) and you aren't spending any time there. Oban is nice, but there is no point in going there if you don't have the time to take one of the island tours, which usually requires a whole day. Scotland is a fantastic country and deserves a lot more time.

Regarding Scandanavia, I think that part of your trip is much better planned. You are giving yourself more time in each place, which is great. I would suggest spending more time in Stockholm. It's a gorgeous city (my second favorite). With more time, you could take the overnight ferry to Tallinn, Estonia and return via ferry the following night. That's a really fun trip. Be sure to spend a day or to in Bergen, Norway. It's a really neat town and very scenic.

p.s. I have not been to Lapland, so I can't comment on that.

Posted by Roe

Reston, Virginia

05/31/10 08:17 AM

403 posts

I agree with Toni, as this is combining 2 regions that are both far apart and somewhat remote from the central core of European transportation. I plugged in an August 2 departure to Kayak for Inverness to Helsinki and it found no non-stops at all....essentially you will have to fly to Manchester, then change planes there, and even so there isn't much service and the prices are high.
Of course you may have some special reason for including Scotland, but if you could postpone the Highlands for another trip , then you could do the following:
Day 1 arrive Edinburgh. Spend day 1 and 2 in Edinburgh.
Day 3 Train Edinburgh to York. Overnight York.
Day 4 Train York to Manchester, fly late afternoon to Helsinki.
Day 5, 6 Helsinki...evening of Day 6 overnight ferry to Stockholm.
Day 7, 8 Stockholm
Day 9 Train to Copenhagen. Days 10, 11 Copenhagen.
Day 12 to Oslo (fly?) Days 13, 14 Oslo.
Day 15 fly home.
This is pretty heavy on cities, but I would think to do rural areas like Lapland and certainly to do the Scottish Highlands, you really need a rental car, and your proposed itinerary didn't mention that. In any case, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!