The charm of Scandinavia, particularly Norway, is the dramatic scenic beauty. As for the big cities, the harbor locations of Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen are all lovely. Although it's also on the water, Helsinki does not, at least to my way of thinking, have quite the same maritime feel.

It would be hard to do justice to all four countries in 13 days, but if you're just interested in the big cities, you could spend three days in each, perhaps adding an extra day for Uppsala, north of Stockholm, home to one of Europe's oldest universities and some interesting associated museums, the gardens of Linneaus, and a 13th century cathedral. If you fly to Scandinavia on SAS, they offer relatively inexpensive flights within the region (under $100 between the capitals), and they aren't too pricey even if you're using another carrier to get to Scandinavia. There's certainly enough to do in each capital to keep you busy for three days, and flying between capitals would save some time (although you might want to consider the overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm...which in itself is a unique cultural experience).

Of course, if you can do without big cities, there's much to do in the countryside around Stockholm (spending a day on the archipelago, traveling on Lake Malaren to Mariefred and Strågnås, heading to the Dalarna region around Lake Siljan (you'll probably need a car for the latter trip). Norway offers even more lovely scenery. You can spend a couple of days doing the combination train/boat trip from Oslo to Bergen on the "Norway In A Nutshell" route. Bergen itself is worth a day or two. Back in Oslo the museums on the peninsula (Bygdøy) in Oslo harbor (Viking Ship Museum, Kon-Tiki, Fram) present a fun afternoon trip. If you spend a few days in Copenhagen, it might be worthwhile to travel north on the coast to the lovely Louisiana Museum, an impressive modern art museum in a lovely setting, and a bit further north to Kronborg Castle (aka "Hamlet's Castle") in Helsingør. If you do venture afield from the cities, you could easily use all your time in three countries, and Helsinki might be left for another trip (combined with Baltic States or St. Petersburg).

Getting further afield (you'll need to fly and ferry for the former, ferry for the latter) there are some great island adventures. You could opt for some stunning rural beauty by visiting the Lofoten Islands, off the Norwegian coast and above the Arctic Circle. The Lofoten chain has fjords, jagged mountains, quaint fishing villages, and a neat Viking museum (in Borg). You won't get the midnight sun as you would in June-July, but you should have about 14 hours of daylight in early September. The Lofoten chain is brushed by the end of the Gulf Stream, so it has surprisingly mild temperatures for a region north of the Arctic Circle (probably daytime temps in the 60's in September...it sometimes gets into the 70's in July). The other island excursion would be Gotland, a 3-5 hour ferry ride (depending on whether you take the high speed or regular speed ferry) from the Swedish coast. Gotland has the wonderfully preserved Hanseatic walled seaport of Visby, seastacks along the northwest (I think that's the right section) coastline towards Fåro (a small island a few hundred meters off the main island), and many small villages with old country churches and quiet farms. It's ideal for cycling.

There's a lot to see in this region, the folks are friendly, and English is widely spoken (which has reduced my motivation to learn more Swedish). That's why we seem to be in some part of Scandinavia every couple of years for at least a brief visit.

I would have to disagree with the above about Helsinki not having a maritime feel. In addition, Helsinki (and Finland) is unique in a way that its language is not related to the other Scandinavian (Germanic) languages and in itself will provide a different experience.

I'd definately recommend the Viking Line or Silja Line cruise from Helsinki-Stockholm or visa versa. Finland had incredible lakes especially in the central region.

Norway is by far the prettiest scenary-wise.

I don´t know what makes a "maritime feel", but Helsinki has almost 100 kilometres of shoreline and over 300 islands (and ferries between the mainland and bigger islands), so if that is not maritime I don´t know what is.

But to the question: with less than two weeks I would limit it to two countries.

I also feel that attempting to sample four countries in the very limited time you have is unwise. If your trip is from Sept 1- Sept 13, then I must assume that the first and last days are travel days, leaving more like eleven days remaining. Is that correct?

I would skip Finland and concentrate on Sweden and Norway with a brief visit to Denmark. The remaining three countries are doable by train and much better to view spectacular scenery, (particularly in Norway) as Midnightsun has mentioned, but be forewarned that point-to-point train tickets are expensive. Consider a Eurail Scandinavia Pass.

If you are flying from the U.S. East Coast, consider flying into Stockholm. The reason is that Arlanda Airport has a wonderful facility for jet lagged travelers: Rest and Fly http://en.restandfly.com/

You probably will not get a good night's sleep on your eastbound, transatlantic flight, arriving in the early morning. Rest and Fly allows you to get a few hours of sleep (in a real bed) before you resume the new day.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

I'm not sure the "charm: of the Scandinavian countries is all in the countryside. Frankly - a lot of the countryside is boring - flat with not a lot going on compared to really pretty country (like New York State). Naturally the fjords are dramatic but to me the large cities are what is most exciting aobut scandinavia.

Agree that you time won;t allow for 4 countries - 3 will be a rush.

If I had to rank cities Stockholm is clearly #1 and Copenhagen #2 - followed by Oslo - and I prefer Bergen to Helsinki. Travel by train is fine - but we rented a car to be able to do day trips form the various cities. It's too bad you can;t go in August, when it's a little warmer and hotel prices are generally lower (since business travelers are mostly on vacation.) We got some incredible rates at excellent hotels in August - including the Grand in Stockholm.

I took the train Stockholm-Oslo.
It is pretty boring countryside most of the way.
You can buy online in advance cheaply.

We found really good fares on SAS and flew bewtween the cities. The airports are so user friendly with wonderful trains into the city centers. I would rank Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen

Kay2,
Yes it is boring countryside, but it is probably faster than flying when you factor in time driving to/from and at airports. The train ride from Oslo-Bergen has scenery that is not to be missed.

It would be a great trip to fly into Helsinki. Spend 3 nights there. One day could be a day trip to Tallinn Estonia.

Take the overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. We liked the Silja Line ferry. Don't miss the buffet - it is great.

Spend 3 nights in Stockholm. Take the late afternoon train to Oslo. Spend 3 nights in Oslo. Then go on the NOrway in a Nutshell tour. You could stay in Bergen 2 nights and fly home from Bergen.