Scandinavia: May, June, July or September?

We were there in July and didn't find it overly crowded at all - much less so than most other European destinations. Simply put; not that many people go to Scandinavia. Daylight is nice and long and the temps are at their highest (which is not uncomfortably high). If you are looking for things to cut; 1) You might consider omitting Aero. I've heard people say it's very nice, but it's out of the way in the wrong direction. We did Copenhagen with a day trip to Frederiksbourg (sp?) and Elsingor (sp?) and felt like that was enough of a taste of Denmark. Obviously more is better, but not if you are trying to cut time... 2) You can spend 4-5 hours in Kalmar, see the castle and stroll around on your way to Stockholm. No need to spend the night. It makes for long day, but half of it is sitting in the train, so not difficult. 3) Make sure you have two FULL days PLUS your 1/2 day before the cruise in Stockholm. Anything less would be a mistake. Be sure to choose the Silja cruise line. Viking has a party reputation. 4) Do Tallinn as a day trip from Helsinki. It reduces the number of changes of hotel and 5-7 hours in Tallinn's old town is enough. If you are perhaps planning to fly IcelandAir from Seattle, look for a way to fly in & out of Helsinki/Bergen rather than Copenhagen. You can go Bergen-Oslo-Copenhagen-Stockholm-Helsinki (or in reverse). That is a much more logical route and eliminates the need for an extra flight within Scandinavia. Cheers!

Wow, your itinerary is very similar to mine, except I'm skipping Norway and adding five days in Iceland, doing 21 days total. You can see my itinerary and details if you're interested on my travel blog, http://lanegoesnordic.blogspot.com. I'm going in mid-May. I chose that date because (1) I detest traveling in hot weather, and (2) I try to avoid peak season whenever possible. That said, there seem to be tradeoffs. There are a number of places and excursions that don't open until June, in some cases mid-June. It normally isn't supposed to get that hot in Scandinavia, but I don't trust the weather these days, so who knows. I did a trip consult at the Europe Through the Back Door location in Edmonds, and that might help you, since you're in the neighborhood. But one change I made from my original thinking based on that was to cut Ærø back to just one night. However, I'm not planning on spending any time in Odense on the way there, so I expect to get there earlier in the day. Anyway, enjoy the trip, and if you're interested and not going til later in the summer, let me know and I'll be happy to share my experiences and make recommendations. (You can also follow my blog, which I expect to update throughout my trip.) Incidentally, I've gotten the same advice as the other poster provided about skipping Ærø and cutting back on Kalmar, but I'm also doing two nights in Kalmar. I may rent a car for a day to take an excursion to Öland Island.

Hi Heidi, With the exception of Iceland, I've visited all the locations on your list. If I had to cut down the time, I'd probably cut out Kalmar and head straight to Stockholm, particularly if you are doing this by train. If you go direct from Copenhagen to Stockholm on the X2000, it is just a little over 5 hours. That would give you more time in Stockholm which has far more to see than Kalmar. There is not much in Kalmar itself and if you want to explore the nearby area (the Glasriket or the island of Öland) a car works better than the bus for Kalmar. I'd also cut Tallinn down to one day if your time is limited. I'm somewhat ambivalent about Ærø; it is really cute but I'm more of a city person and I know other people love it. When I was there, I spent my time biking around the island. As far as travel months, I'd go in July without question. The Swedish summer is just glorious ... long days and often perfect weather; generally temps will be in the 70s during the day. Late June would also be ok, but you would need to plan around Midsommar when just about everything closes. Things really don't get very crowded in the summer. May or September would get you lower flight prices, but also less predictable weather and the tourist attractions generally have shorter hours.

Definitely go in July! We've been there twice in July and the weather was gorgeous, and it was not crowded at all. I would not trust other months, but who knows??

I normally avoid high season. For Scandinavia, however, it's the best time to go. We went late July/early August. I might try to go late June/early July, to be closer to the longest daylight hours. There are big festivals all over for the longest day of the year. You may want to include, or avoid, those.

I'd skip Ærø unless you like rural downtime. There is no train all the way to Aurland. You'l have to take a bus or the ferry from Flam. If you DO take the ferry, be sure to tell the crew you want to get off at Aurland. They'll often skip the dock if they don't think anyone needs to get off there. The Norway in a Nutshell route is way overcrowded in the summer. If this is a must-see for you, go in May or September.

I agree with most of Randy's comments. I haven't been to Kalmar or Aero, but those wouldn't be on the top of my lists if it meant sacrificing time in Copenhagen and Stockholm (which I think you have shortchanged). And I did love Helsingor - makes a great daytrip from Copenhagen. Tallinn can be a daytrip from Helsinki, but it'd make a nice overnight too. Just depends on how much moving around you like to do. I'd also look into flying from Copenhagen to Stockholm. It's a 5 hour trainride and beautiful country, but cost and time might make it more pratical to fly.

I have revised my itinerary based on your reccomendations and to try to cut the trip down to around 2 weeks-thank you for the guidance! It sounds like the Norway in a nutshell fjord cruise is generally overcrowded in July. Does anyone have any other suggestions on to how to see the fjords region? This is a must see for us. Also, I'm very open to any other suggestions or comments you may have. Scandinavia Itinerary Idea: Day 1: Arrive in Bergen Day 2: Bergen, sleep in Bergen Day 3: Fjord Cruise to Oslo "Norway in a nutshell" Train from Bergen to Voss, buss from Voss to Gudvangen, boat on fjords from from Gudvangen to Aurland. One night at Aurland (at Aabelheim Pension). Bus from Aurland to Flam. Train from Flam up hill to Myrdal. Railroad train from Myrdal to Oslo Day 5: Oslo, sleep in Oslo Day 6: Oslo to Copenhagen, sleep in Copenhagen Day 7: Copenhagen, sleep in Copenhagen Day 8: Train to Stockholm, stop in Kalmar, sleep in Stockholm (or fly for quicker trip) Day 9: Stockholm, sleep in Stockholm Day 10: Stockholm, sleep in Stockholm Day 11: Stockholm, night boat to Helsinki, sleep on boat Day 12: Helsinki, sleep in Helsinki Day 13: Helsinki, jet boat to Tallinn for the Day, sleep in Helsinki
Day 14: Helsinki to Iceland, sleep in Rejkavik Day 15: Blue Lagoon, explore Rejkavik, sleep

We have only done the Bergen and the fjords part and were there for the summer solstice. The white nights are beautiful.......We were happy with our itinerary. Here is what we did: fly to Bergen from Edinburgh (we spent the preceding week in Scotland), got rental car, drove to Voss, stayed at Fleischer's (one of the old historic wooden hotels).......drove to Flam (very beautiful drive), took train RT, drove to stave church, then ferry to Kvikne's Hotel in Balestrand, another old historic wooden hotel........drove to Geiranger via the glacier. There were snowbanks on this part, but no snow on the road ........While in Geiranger, we took the ferry round trip and saw all of the waterfalls.......drove back to Bergen, enjoyed the Bryggen and the train up the mountainside......flew out to London.....Our fjords trip was seven nights, but you could cut it to Voss 1, Balestrand 1, Geiranger 2, Bergen 1 or even just an afternoon and evening.......Driving gives you the advantage of looking down on the fjords from mountain tops.......Norway's roads were excellent, not scary.

Heidi, I think your revised itinerary is very good. We took the fjord cruise from the nutshell to Flöm in July and while there were plenty of people on the boat, we felt it was still worthwhile. "Busy" in Scandinavia is a relative thing. It's nothing like busy in the more popular places farther south. Your time in Oslo and Copenhagen is regrettably short, but given your time frame, I think you have chosen to divide things as well as could be expected. Promise me you'll report back after you return and give advice to others.

Heidi,
I am a little jealous of your upcoming trip! I worked in Stockholm for 2 months and absolutely loved it! I would pick the summer time if you can...we were there in September & October and the days are getting VERY short, so you would be able to get more done during the summer. By the way, the night boat to Helsinki is one of the things my friend Ann & I talk about most from our time working there. We had a great time with the ship's entertainment and our first experience with European karaoke! :)

I have been to Scandinavia in June and August. Both times the weather was perfect and the extra daylight is great. Definitely do the summer, not May or September. As noted above, Scandinavia does not get over-crowded like Rome or Paris.