Scandavian Trip - Looking for itinerary input

I will be tough to get many responses here as Scandinavia is probably less visited than any other country on Rick Steves list. People who do go (like us) tend to focus on the cities and the fjords with only brief stops anywhere else, if at all. The reason for this (I would guess) is that the Scandinavian culture of rural building did not often use stone or other long-lasting material. Many of the wood structures either decayed or burned. So driving around rural Scandinavia only feels about as "historic" as driving around New England in the USA. Of course, that's not a bad thing - it's just not what most Americans envision when they picture a trip to Europe in their minds. But good for you for wanting to devote a significant period of time for the trip. This will give you a real chance to soak in the culture. If I were to want to see a bit of everything primarily by car, I think I would do it this way; 1) Start in Copenhagen. 2) After 3-5 days there (including easy day trips nearby by train), rent car and head west, doing a circuit of Denmark for another 4-6 days. Return car to Copenhagen. 3) Take the train to Stockholm. 4) After 3-5 days there, rent a car and head north toward the Lofoten Islands in Norway, above the arctic circle. Good roads, some tolls, not that cold - highs in the 50s to low 60s in summer. Spend a night somewhere along the way. 5) Stay 2-4 days on the islands. 6) Drive south along the coast with stops in Trondheim and Andalsnes. Take the Trollstiegen road to Geiranger & cruise the fjord. Meander south across several fjords and valleys toward Bergen. (maybe 5-7 days total) (continued...)

(continued...) 7) 2-3 days in Bergen 8) 2-3 days between Bergen and Oslo 9) 2-3 days in Oslo 10) 2-3 days between Oslo and Stockholm 11) Return the car in Stockholm and fly home from there. I think that adds up to about 5 weeks give or take. You can do your own research for what appeals to you outside of the cities. My only two definite suggestions there based on personal experience are the Lofoten Islands and Geirangerfjord. The reason I would suggest breaking up the car rental is because Denmark is physically separated from Sweden & Norway so it would require a lot of backtracking to do Denmark with the same car you use to do Sweden-Norway. Sounds like a great trip. Start saving your money....

I think Randy's advice is really good. My first thought too was to rent 2-3 cars and use trains or planes to connect the longer distances. You also don't need a car while in the major cities. With a car, you'll be able to see a lot more rural landscapes and small towns than most tourists do in Scandinavia. So there may not be many here that can help. Invest in some good guidebooks of that region and use other online resources for places to see and visit. I'm not so sure about Randy's description of Scandinavian towns not being as charming as other parts of Europe (or as historic). My (admitedly limited) experience is that there are quite a few charming historic towns and sites. You just have to know where to look. Be sure to drive up the coast from Copenhagen to Helsingor, stopping at the Louisiana Museum. There is also a charming national park along the way (slightly more inland). Have you seen the archipelago outside of Stockholm? If not, be sure to take a boat cruise to see it. Or arrange an overnight trip to an island. The wood churches are generally only accessible by car, so plan where those are and be sure to see a few. I know most people here claim Scandinavia is sooooo expensive but really it is no worse than Paris or London and can be affordable with some smart planning. You mention staying in hostels, but also check into hotels for major cities if you can set your itinerary for them. Many hotels will give substaintial discounts for pre-booking in summer. There are no refunds but the costs could be equitable to hostels.

"There is also a charming national park along the way (slightly more inland)." Sorry to highjack this thread, but "inland" on Jutland or Zealand? I'm taking a brief driving tour of Denmark in about 10 days, and if it's not out of my way, I might visit...

Hello Jd. I travelled at Denmark and Norway and Sweden, by railroad train, and one airline flight (between Copenhagen and Bergen). My first suggestion to you is to not drive a car in Norway. Very long distances, and I think driving a car around a Fjord would not be enjoyable, not scenic. If you will be at the Scandinavian countries, 4 weeks or longer, I recommend including Trondheim (3 nights) in your itinerary. And Lillehammer (2 nights) for the atmosphere (environment) there. It is usually recommended that tourists in Norway go to only one big Fjord. I agree with that. Some Americans liked travelling at the Hardanger Fjord, they liked being at small villages located to the south and east of it. But that area is geographically isolated from other parts of Norway. I think a more practical choice for travellers is to ride on a fast boat (north) from Bergen to Balestrand at the Sognefjord, be at a hotel there, two nights. It is a good place for relaxing, if there is not rain. If I had much time in Norway during the summer, I would travel from Balestrand, north, to Lom and to Trondheim. That trip includes a bus ride north across a wilderness area to Lom. (the bus ride is during the summer months only). For more details about that, I could communicate with you via Private Message. And then ride in a railway train from Trondheim south to Lillehammer, and to Oslo. (Edit) I think the best travel guide book on Norway is the Rough Guide book on NORWAY written by Phil Lee. I also recommend reading the book "Rick Steves' SCANDINAVIA". And, I think driving a car in Sweden would not be of advantage, compared with riding in railway trains in Sweden.

Tom - I looked it up and it's the old Royal Hunting grounds that are now the Danish equivalent of a National Forest. Due north of Copenhagen on your way to Helsingor. I think it may be called Jaegersborg Hegn. Particularly scenic is the little hamlet of Radvad. Also be sure to drive the coastal road on your way to or from Helsingor.

Had a lovely holiday in Gothenburg recently - very relaxed city. West coast nearby is pretty on a sunny day. Lots sailing.

We spent a week in the Norwegian fjords, June of 2005. We flew into Bergen, picked up a rental car, drove to Voss for 2 nights, Balestrand for 2 nights, Geiranger for 2 nights, and then one night in Bergen......Driving in Norway was just as easy as driving in the United States. Roads were excellent, when they get way up in the mountains they tended to go through a tunnel. You don't drive around fjords, the roads go over the mountains, down to a fjord where a ferry goes back and forth - sort of like a moveable bridge. The scenery is gorgeous - the only place we have been which could compete on a scenery scale is Banff / Jasper..........That was the year the Euro was $1.60 and the British pound was $2.00, so everything was pricey. Norway was maybe 20% higher than Scotland and Cornwall where we spent the other two weeks on that trip. The main thing I remember was expensive was beer / wine, I think because it is highly taxed. Hotel prices were similar to the ones in Britain. If you want more detail, send me a P.M.

Check out "RS Scandinavia Tour in 14 Days" for some suggestions. We took his Scandinavia tour some years ago and loved it. Whenever we travel, I always go into McDonalds and price their BigMac sandwich for a comparison
of costs in different countries. The price in Bergen has been the highest I have ever found. I was surprised at the high prices in Norway which I found to be much more expensive than here in Hawaii. Happy travels.

In Sweden, a city that I think is a good place for seeing and talking with Swedish people is Goteborg, at Sweden's west coast. Goteborg is not considered to be a major destination for tourists, but it does have an old place that can be of interest to tourists. I think a good travel route in the Scandinavian countries is : fly to Bergen in Norway from an airport in England. When the travel in Norway is completed, travel in a train from Oslo south to Goteborg in Sweden. Trains from Goteborg south to Copenhagen in Norway. Trains from Copenhagen to Kalmar in Sweden (at Sweden's east coast) for visiting the medieval castle there. And trains from Kalmar to Stockholm. Fly from Stockholm to the U.S.A. Travelling long distances in those countries, travel in railroad trains is more desirable than driving a car.

Be sure to go to Roskild. It is a half hour west of Copenhaven. They have a wonderful Viking museum there.

Renting a car here and there is going to be expensive - - you'll do a lot better just getting one and keeping it the whole time. Also renting a car in Copenhagen as a starting point will be twice as expensive as renting one in Frankfurt. You'd have to add a day each way to get back and forth, but it would be worth it. My first stop in Denmark would be Ribe. Then cut over to Copenhagen across the islands. From there, I'd drive up and take the ferry from Helsingor since the trek north after the Malmo bridge is not especially interesting. After that, on up the west coast to Gothenborg and then across the country to Stockholm. The rest of the Norway track would be Trondheim (or further north if that interests you) then hug the coast as closly as you can down through Bergen and Stavanger to Kristisansand for the ferry back onto the Jutland peninsual to hit at least Aalborg and Aarhus before making you way back down the west coast. That gets the best scenery in about thirty-five hundred miles. Some days are a bit long driving, but the average is not so bad. I did essentially that route once from Paris in less than five weeks and another variant from somewhere (maybe Frankfurt ?) in six weeks, but drove all the way up to the Arctic Circle in western Norway (don't bother). I've also spent a good bit of other time in Norway and Denmark and would rate both higher than Sweden - - Norway for the scenery and Denmark for the interesting towns. Nothing in any of the three countries beats the museum at Roskilde. I'm not about to get into the business of where to make your stops and deviations.

Bring a couple of pocketbooks. We find that Scandanavia is a bit more than twice as expensive as the rest of Europe (except Switzerland) and actually rivals urban Honshu as one of the most expensive areas we've ever visited (ex: two beers and two small pizzas in Bergen were eighty bucks and that was the best deal we could find). Since you're driving, look for places in the countryside that have 'camping' signs - - they usually also have a few small cabins that are spotless and at least have a sink - - the rest of the pumbing is in another building, but equally pristine.

Yes, Scandinavia has a legendary reputation for being expensive. But we have done trips of a similar style and scope in four different areas of Europe. Scandinavia ran about 30% more than the others - not "over twice as much". Part of that 30% more was due to a lot of ground transport costs and the only time we ever used a train pass - an expensive one. Even with gas at close to $10/gal in Scandinavia, renting a car might have been cheaper for us. A couple of small pizzas and a "couple" of beers might, indeed have been 80 bucks. But the beers were at least $10 each. Try not drinking alcohol. Groceries only cost a bit more than groceries anywhere else in Europe. It's much more about the individual choices you make, not a legendary reputation a place has for being expensive.

In response to Randy: 1. If I want a beer I'll have one. Using your numbers, the shrimpy pizzas were thirty bucks each. More precisely, a 'couple' of beers equals two people who had one beer each. 2. For actual numbers, we have never averaged over a hundred bucks per person per day (including all transportation and pretty good suppers) in the rest of Europe. The last Scandanavian trip was just short of $225 each - - and we were scrimping. We have to figure close to $250 for central Honshu.

My experience is that Denmark and Sweden (I haven't been to Norway) are about as expensive as London or Paris. Dining out and alchohol are expensive, especially in Sweden due to taxes. But there are ways of eating economically. Have lunch at food stalls in the local markets or eat street food. And yes, limit your alchohol intake. If lots of high end eating and drinking on your trips is important to you, it may not be the place for you. I spent between $30 and $60 per person for dinner in Stockholm ranging from nice but simple meals to a fancier dinner. Each with desert and one drink. That's on par with Paris. Denmark was about $5 cheaper per meal. Hotels can be had for good prices if you book ahead during the summer months. Think the $120 range.

I think I'll restructure my opinion on prices. We wander eight or nine months out of the year. We're not exactly paupers, but we're not loaded, either. To keep up this pace we need to watch our wallets; thus we work on the low end of what most people spend. Essentially, at this low end, in Scandanavia we wind up spending twice what we do for the rest of Europe. Probably in the mid-range it's only one point something as much and, at the top, it's probably on a par with anything else. Bergen must have been over the top since that trip was six or seven years ago and it still sticks in my craw - - as does thirty-eight bucks for three cokes and two coffees in Venice in the mid-eighties. I honestly couldn't say what anything else cost, just that the total was within pennies of $225 per person for the average day - - but we probably drove over five thousand miles on that trip too.