lanejohann

we are nature lovers ..not so much into palaces and museums
but you can get sick of the same type of scenery too...
so
if you had 10-14 days in sweden and norway in early june 2009 ...
which places would you visit and which warrant an overnight stay and which would act as a base for day trips?
have looked at brochures and it looks doable..
dont know if we will hire a car...My OH is keen to get a vehicle...and it certainly gives you the freedom but it also depends on the road conditions

Viajero2

WOW, planning your trip (10-12 days Norway-Sweden in early June 2009!) sounds like such a wonderful task!!!

Definitely a car, if anything to drive at leisure the archipielago near Stockholm. We drove around in a glorious sunny day, late June and it was very enjoyable. We found the roads in/around Stockholm just fantastic. We also drove in to Oslo from Stockholm (boring!), on to Bergen thru the Hardangervidda National Park. Visited Geilo, Vik, Flam, we explored at leisure. We even got to Undredal to see their Stave church (in a country of majestic beauty this small town is a gem!) While a lot of people will take the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo and it fits their needs very well, we just LOVED the flexibility we had with a car and no doubt saw a lot, lot more. I would definitely pick Bergen for at least a couple of days. A owrd of advice on cars; the smaller the better to manuever in/around the fjords coastal roads. We rented a Toyota Prius hybrid, which i know for a fact definitely saved us some money.

lanejohann

thanks so much viajero!
how long was your trip through sweden and norway?
what car hire company did you use? did you shop around much ? i know the deals vary
what about the price of petrol?
and any hassles with parking around the tourist sites..was it overly expensive...?
we are not on a really tight budget but want to be psychologically prepared for the onslaught..last trip was to croatia and that was cheap!
was there adequate parking around the places you stayed? did you have to pay extra to have your car parked in hotel carpark?
what about accommodation?
any reasonable well-located clean hotels or apartments that you came across? im thinking the standard will be pretty ok?
we think that we can part with about 1000 -1500 SEK a night...but will go upto 2000 if its fantastic location
i just looked up some hostel sites
and found the STF Vandrarhem Fridkemsplan quite nice in Stockholm ...it came recommended but you have to ask for a room with a double bed..'hostel extra'
most of the hostels have tiny rooms and little bunkstyle beds at 700 SEK a night with linen extra
id be interested in how others have managed their accommodation...would like to be central but then again if we have a car it might be problematic with parking around the capital cities of norway and sweden??
maybe we just do a day trip or two into the cities and stay on the outskirts
anyone heard of the Gota canal...anyone been?
thanks again!

blackduff

Hej lanejohann
I'm more positive about Stockholm. Visit the Wasa ship, if you visit this city. Some various aspects of this city which are not found elswhere.

Mora is a good place to stop. Lots of activities in the summer.

Gota Canal starts on the Baltic and crosses all of Sweden. The boat trip takes about three days. You have to really like boat travel to transit the whole trip.

Maybe it's best to drive up to the locks at the Roxen lake. There's a nice place to picnic while the boats go each direction. Again, the Gota Canal is special.

In Linkoping you can take a smaller canal trip. This would take a day's voyage and it's reasonable. This gives a lovely view of the summer of Sweden.

There are some nice villages above Gotenburg, towards Norway.

You can find a lot of castles in Sweden too. If you're driving, you can find a lot of them worth stopping.

Enjoy and Norway is nice too.

Blackduff

lanejohann

thanks Blackduff..certainly gives me some starting points for research..im using the bentours brochure at the moment ( they specialise in scandinavia and russia here in australia)
its always overwhelming when you start the research ...
so thanks for your input!

any suggestions for hotel stays ..i think wed be prepared to pay upto 2000 SEK but would prefer something cheaper without going the hostel direction ..although like i said previously..a good clean double room in a hostel would suffice if its central

blackduff

I cannot help with the hotel prices. During my travels in Sweden, it was mostly in small hotels in small villages. My wife and I were competing field trials with my dog, so mostly we sought the cheapest available.

There are Huts in Norway which are pretty basic but popular. It can be fun, in a rustic manner. Check into the books for the "Huts" and see if you would try that a few nights.

I've spent with a tent sometimes too, and this is very, very cheap. Look into the "All Man's Rights" in Sweden. This is something very unique, especially people from the US. Enjoy this option while you're in Scandinavia.

Probably the best part of this trip will meeting the Scandinavians. It will give you a good memory with the people in the Nordic countries.

Blackduff

lanejohann

thanks Blackduff..interesting you competing in dog trials...dont see that every day here on fodors!

dont mind roughing it...wouldnt stay in a tent..i have way too much stuff! its not the comforts i miss so much as having a bit of space for the gear!
if the huts arent too far away from towns thatd be ok too
thanks for the tips..will look into it

Surfergirl

Not Sweden, but Trondheim, Norway. About as close to the midnight sun without going the extra day north as you can get. Beautiful, oh, stunning, college town, great hiking, biking, things to see and do. You can even take a day trip to Hell.

lanejohann

appreciate your input surfergirl!
was wondering if i needed to do trondheim..so it seems its a must see afterall?
hell...that sounds great lol...will do some research...have seen it on some itinerary / map
was thinking whats to see in inland norway
and the southern areas

mcnyc

I found Helsingborg, Sweden, to be a good base, and it's halfway between Norway and Sweden, and easily gotten to from Copenhagen.

From Helsingborg, you can take a 25 minute ferry over to the city Helsingor, Denmark, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and have a nice walk about it.

If you have a car, Helsingborg is also a great base for the Kullaberg lighthouse, near Mölle. There is a great (but eventually steep) trail that takes you past some sea caves. This is not for those who are afraid of heights, or are afraid of getting dirty. But it is exhilarating. Look up Kullaberg Peninsula.

Kappy

Hi

I loved Stockholm. WE took the ferry from Helsinki and stayed two nights in the old section (Gamla Stan) and loved it. I know it is a city but very old and gives you the feeling of being in Paris of the north with the beautiful bridges. We passed the
archipelagos coming across from Helsinki and were told that they are a great place to visit also.
I have not been to Norway but it is more like Alaska vast with fjords. If you have a chance visit Helsinki with the old market place and the Rock Church. Not many seem to tour there. It is colorful and gives you a feeling of Russian architecture as Russia once owned it. It is quite different than the Scandanavian countries. Have fun.

lanejohann

thanks mcnyc
some great tips there ..noted
im ok with steep hikes..worried about OH who has just injured his knee in a ski trip last week

plenty of time to recover but at our age these injuries do take 'plenty of time to recover'!

id love to see the cavesand its nice that denmark can be done in a day trip..didnt think of that !!
was going to give denmark a miss because of time constraints but we may be able to swing it!
great stuff
thank you so much!

lanejohann

thats a great idea to stay in the old town ...will look into a pension there..where did you stay in Gamla Stan, KAPPY?
we stayed in the Old town in dubrovnik in croatia..loads more atmosphere than the surrounding resorts

mcnyc

Hi Lanejohann,

One caveat, the caves aren't all that exciting to explore. It's just basically a hole carved by the sea. But if you make it down (I guess rappelling down the side is out of the question), it's just beautiful.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/28zl33

Sorry, I had a surprisingly small amount of picture from that city, and I'm not sure why...

lanejohann

rapelling? have to look that one up! sounds like travelling at high speed..out of control...dangling by one leg and screaming for the gods to spare your kidneys!
thanks for the caveat...love me caveats as much as love me sea caves! cheers!