Scandinavia on my own

We just visited all three of those cities and I think that they would be perfect for a solo trip but as Harold suggested, a week might not be long enough for all. I'd pick two. Helsinki and Stockholm are expensive - Tallinn is more reasonable for hotels and restaurants. They are all pretty wonderful to visit!

Yes, traveling on your own is fine. You'll be nervous until you do it; then you'll realize it's perfectly safe. I've never been to Tallinn, but Stockholm and Helsinki are clean and safe. If you can handle Sydney, you can handle these places (I believe metropolitan Sydney has about 4 million people; I don't think the other three all put together have that many). In Helsinki and Stockholm, almost everyone speaks fluent English, making them very good places to get your bearings about solo travel. I'd strongly recommend that you get Rick Steves Scandinavia, for advice on how to get around and what to see in each place. Remember to figure in the time and money it takes to get from place to place. If you don't have time or money to see all three, that's OK too (you said you only have a week).

Another thing that will make Scandinavia easy for you is that - at least in our experience - it seems that everyone there speaks English. As one lady in Stockholm explained to us, "Outside of Sweden, nobody speaks Swedish, so you have to learn a second language if you want to go anywhere."

I've visted all those cities on my own. In Tallinn and Helsinki I was with a Rick Steves group, but I had 2 extra nights before the trip in Tallinn on my own; and in Stockholm I was completely on my own for four nights. I understand your nervousness and I felt the same, but I had NO problems at all! Almost everyone I encountered in those countries spoke at least some English and many spoke VERY good english! and the rare times I encountered someone who didn't speak English there was someone nearby who did. I was in a Stockholm hamburger shop (kind of a small Swedish version of McDonalds), and when it was my turn to order, the guy at the counter spoke no English at all, and was asking me some question, I'd ordered a "#1" since I could see the signs and thought that was safe, but I had no idea what he was asking; but someone behind me in line said, "he wants to know if you want the full meal deal or just the sandwich"!!.. In Tallinn I even navigated the local bus system from the airport into town, and out to the Estonian Folklife Museum which was a few miles west of Tallinn. All three cities are pretty compact, and work well for walking and/or navigating on your own, but they also have good transit systems that are easy to use. I was hesitant before my first solo trips, but in many ways the freedom is very nice, you can do absolutely whatever you want, no hassles with trying to accommodate multiple schedules or multiple interests, if you want to sleep till noon you can or you can get up and hit the trail at 5AM! Travel adventures are often more fun when shared with partners, but I think a solo trip is much preferable to traveling with partners that have conflicting interests and desires.

Thank you for the advice! Feel far better about going now :) - I'll check out the book and look at maybe just doing Tallinn and Helsinki.

I think you could visit all 3. You'd just get a taste of each, but I think Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it would be a shame to miss it. For example, you could start with 3 nights in Stockholm. Spend 1 night on the ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki. Spend 2 nights in Helsinki and then take the boat to Tallinn for your last night.

I think that visiting Helsinki and Tallinn make a lot sense both logistically and cost-wise. I also like Stockholm very much! When you get the Scandinavia guidebook (Tallinn is included), you'll have a better idea and about the sites in each city, hotel costs, logistics, and which might be best suited for you!

Stockholm! Stockholm! Stockholm! I urge you to check it out, is my favorite European city. I especially like the Hotel Rival in Sodermalm neighborhood, www.rival.se.

It would be a busy week but I think you could do all three. One difficulty is that the ferry trip takes up a significant amount of time. Another possible option would be to fly between Stockholm and Tallin or Helsinki. Its only about a 1 or 2 hour flight from Stockholm to Tallinn. Maybe 3 nights Stockholm, 2 nights each in Tallinn and Helsinki? But if you take the ferry then that takes up two nights on the ferry? Or maybe take the ferry one direction and then fly the other?
Stockholm 3 nights, 1 night ferry to Helsinki, 2 nights Helsinki, 1 night Tallinn, then fly Tallinn to Stockholm. I think all three cities are great, and I'd have a hard time choosing one to drop. But if it was me I wouldn't drop Stockholm.. Like I said its a hard choice, but if it was me I think I'd drop Helsinki, but I wouldn't be happy about it! :-)

If you're looking to drop one city, my recommendation is skipping Helsinki. I haven't been to Tallinn, as I said before, but I found Helsinki quite uninspiring. To me, it was so unimpressive that I'd even recommend dropping it if you have plenty of time. Obviously, others disagree - that's just my opinion and experience. I LOVED Stockholm, and would never consider dropping it. You won't know how feel about each place until you see it, so do some of your own research and see the places that call to you. You can see Rick's videos about these cities on Hulu or YouTube, in addition to seeing what he has in his guidebook (yes, Tallinn is in the book even though it's not part of "Scandinavia"). I just realized that in my first post, I assumed you were in Sydney, Australia. If you're in another Sydney, ignore my comment about already being used to handling big cities.

I just saw all three and vote 4 days Stockholm and 2 or 3 in Tallinn. Helsinki did not grab me like the other two, tho it was pleasant enough. A boat ride through the islands around Stockholm is beautiful. I felt very safe.

I have been to Scandinavia many times and it is completely safe which would be the issue for feeling nervous. Everyone is extremely helpful and friendly. Stockholm and Tallin are not to be missed. Both are beautiful, interesting and will be a life long memory. Many people agree that Helsinki, while safe and clean, isn't really memorable. I think there's a ferry from Stockholm to Tallin which would work out perfectly! Tallin is very cool and historic...and inexpensive!

Wow, I'm really surprised to hear people say they didn't like Helsinki. I thought it was fascinating - it has some really interesting architecture and much more Russian influence than the rest of Scandinavia. It's beautifully sited right on the Baltic. I really liked it. Stockholm is one of the most gorgeous cities I've ever seen, so again, I am surprised to hear someone didn't like it. Oh well, to each his own. Normally I am not a fan of trying to do three cities for a week, but in this case, with the overnight ferries, I think it's a great idea. I found that both Helskinki and Tallinn worked really well as day trips, and the cost of the ferry is roughly comparable to what you would spend for a hotel, so very economical travel. It's really nice sailing through the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos too.