Scandinavian itinerary

Norway in a nutshell covers some beautiful scenery. While you will see other pretty scenery on your trip, you won't see the fjords in any of the other destinations you've listed. Many people who go to Norway do so with the intent of seeing some of the fjord region and Norway in a Nutshell is an easy way to see part of that region which is why it is so popular with tourists. While I like Oslo, in my opinion it is not the highlight of Norway. I'd consider changing the order of your trip. For example, I'd take advantage of the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki where you get to cruise through the beautiful Stockholm archipelago. That might mean travelling Oslo to Copenhagen to Stockholm or Copenhagen - Oslo - Stockholm. If you fly R/T to London, you are going to lose 2 of your 14 days there. That leaves you 12 days for 6 different cities and that seems quite ambitious given the great distance between each of these cities. You will be spending a lot of time in-transit. You'd have more time if you flew into one city and home from a different city.

Thanks so much for your input. We are actually not counting the time in London in our 2 week time table. We will have a full 2 weeks for our Scandinavian travel. Do you think we can do 5 cities in this amount of time? (Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and St. Petersberg).

I think you can do your trip in two weeks. Although I too wonder why you would fly in and out of London if your trip is the Baltic region. It may be cheaper to fly into London, but if you add the hotels and the flights to and from London/Scandinavia, I have a hard time believing you won't spend more that way. But if you also really want to spend some time in London, go for it. I strongly second the suggestion to take the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. It's like a one night cruise, pretty inexpensive, and the scenary is stunning. It's best to go Stockholm to Helsinki rather than the reverse. The options to fly between the other cities are good though you might investigate travel options between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. There is a ferry now that provides a no-hassle tourist visa and there is also a train.

Hello Melanie,
About this comment: "fitting Bergen in, with the Norway in a Nutshell is a must do. According to their info it looks like a lot of pretty scenery." .............We spent a week driving through the Norwegian fjords. It is some of the most spectacular scenery in the world - the only other place we have seen that could rival it is Banff and Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Please don't miss that part of Scandinavia.

I would change the order as well. London-Oslo, overnight ferry to Copenhagen (saves some money), train to Stockholm, overnight ferry to Helsinki, to St. Petersberg. 2 weeks is certainly doable. We loved Oslo, but 2 days was plenty. We had a bit more time in Cope as we did a day trip to Roskilde. I would say 3 is good there. 2-3 in Stockholm, 1-2 in Helsinki, haven't been to St Pete but I know there is plenty to do there. You could save St. Pete for a future Russia trip, start in Bergen (which we really liked) and work your way to Oslo through the fjords. We had a day and a half in Bergen, which was enough, 2 days/nights in Balestrand. I think taking the overnight ferries between Oslo-Cope and Stock-Helsinki (and possibly others) work well as you can do your travelling at night and save on hotels. http://www.directferries.co.uk/routes.htm

Thanks to everyone for the input - sure makes planning a great trip easier! Still applying final touches.

Hello Melanie. I recommend this travel route :
Fly from an airport of London to the airport of Bergen in Norway (SAS airline). One night at Bergen. Start the "Norway in a Nutshell" trip at Bergen. That is : train from Bergen to Voss. bus from Voss to Gudvangen, boat on fjords 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. Two nights at Oslo. Train from Oslo to Copenhagen. (you might change trains at Malmo in Sweden). Two nights at Copenhagen. Train from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Three nights at Stockholm. Overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. (There are fun things on that ferry ship). One night at Helsinki. Fly from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. Four nights at St. Petersburg. I flew to Bergen, and I travelled across Norway to Oslo, exactly as I described it. In your time frame, I think one whole day at Copenhagen is sufficient time there. If you want more time at one city, for washing clothes, you might want to wash clothes at Oslo. (When I was at Oslo, I walked to a public laundry -coin operated machines - from the hotel that I slept in at Oslo). To have time for that, you could be at Oslo two whole days (three nights). And you could be at St. Petersburg three nights. I counted a total of 14 days at Europe and northern Russian, including the day of travel from England to Bergen.