Scandinavia by train

You should also consider planes. SAS has very reasonable flights between Scandanavian cities if you fly with them from the US. This was our itinerary: - First week in Stockholm (we have friends there) including an overnight ferry to Helsinki for the day. (On a second trip we did the overnight ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. We loved them both. - Flew to Copenhagen and stayed three nights. Took a train to Roskilde one day. - Flew to Bergen and stayed for two nights. - Took the ferry to Balestrand and stayed overnight. - Took the train to Oslo and stayed three nights. The Bergen-Oslo trip was essentially the Norway in a Nutshell tour with an overnight in the fjords.

I've toured Scandinavia multiple times using various modes of transportation (train, plane, ferries, bus, rental car). Mode of transportation depends on what you are connecting. If you are primarily visiting the major cities, would suggest train, ferry, or flight. It depends on what you are connecting. For example, if you are connecting Copenhagen to Oslo, the overnight ferry is a good option. If you are connecting Stockholm to Bergen, flying is quickest. If you are connecting Copenhagen to Stockholm, I think the train is best (about 5 hours), but a flight is ok too. If you want to visit the Fjords in Norway, you could do the Norway in a Nutshell tour (train, boats) between Oslo and Bergen. Alternatively, if you want to see other fjords (e.g. Geirangerfjord, etc.) a car works better. If you want to visit Helsinki, the overnight ferry from Stockholm is your best option. I would suggest that you identify the places that you want to see first and then post those. People can help you with the best options for connecting.

Yes, in order to answer we need to know where you want to go and preferably in what order. We used rail passes because we wanted to cover some long runs including above the arctic circle. But we also took the ship from Stockholm to Helsinki (I hope you have the time to include this leg). Oddly, the only flight we took was a 100-mile hop from Ålesund to Bergen along the Norway coast. There was no rail option there and it was almost the same price as the 10-hour bus trip across or around several fjords. You do not need to use SAS to cross the atlantic in order to use them for short flights within Scandinavia. They have some very good bargain price deals - check the web site. But remember that you need to add about 4 hours and $40 to the price and time you see posted once you factor in transport to & from airports plus time spent doing that plus checking in/out and waiting.

Thank you Randy, Laura and Carroll for your responses.
I will try to prepare a draft itinerary and post it in the following days, and ask for your comments.