scigirl

I'm in the very early stages of planning a trip for this summer to the Netherlands and some portion of Scandinavia. I plan to visit family in the Netherlands and to see Floriade - so that part of the trip is figured out. After leaving the Netherlands I will have 10-14 days to travel. I'd really like to see some of Scandinavia, since it is a part of Europe I haven't visited before. I've been reading about the possible destinations (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) and they all sound great - I'm having trouble narrowing my scope.<BR><BR>Here is what I need help with:<BR><BR>1. In my time frame I can only reasonably see 2 other countries (maybe only one). Which countries would you recommend, and why?<BR>2. Is train travel/boat a reasonable way to get to more remote areas or is it neccesary to rent a car. (Since I'll be traveling alone I don't plan to rent a car.)<BR>3. How much time would be needed to make a trip from Finland to St. Petersburg? (Is this a 2 day or 3 day trip?)<BR><BR><BR>Any advice, opinions, thoughts, suggested itineraries, etc. would be most appreciated. <BR><BR>Thanks!<BR><BR>Anneke

john

<BR>Annecke,<BR>Take a look at a ferry from Amsterdam to Goteborg, train to Oslo, then Stockholm, Kobenhavn (glass works along the way), and back to A'dam. You may need to go by way of Newcastle for Amsterdam to Goteborg.<BR>About 2 or 3 days in each city plus travel time should eat up your calendar. Everything you want to see up there is remote but it's all connected by tracks so don't rent a car, although driving in Scandinavia is extremely pleasant. Finland and St. Petersburg are a reach in this time frame; do them on your next visit, or on this visit and skip the rest.<BR>www.enjoy-europe.com<BR>

Sandy

One way to do it would be to take a cruise. For example, Holland America Lines' Prisendam is doing a 14-day cruise from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, visiting Esbjerg, Stavanger, Vik, Flam, Bergen, Kristiansand, Gdansk, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Karlskrona, Copenhagen. This would be the way to go. You just hang your clothes int he closet in your stateroom, and the ship is your hotel. You can cover a lot of ground and not wear yourself out taking planes and trains and buses, etc. Scandinavia is very expensive, so a cruise is a good idea because your expenses are fixed up front. Other cruise lines do shorter cruises, and there's even a coastal voyage north from Bergen that goes in and out of all the Norwegian fjords. Whatever you do, it will be beautiful! Feel free to email me for more info.

Davidx

It depends what you want. Scenically you will find it hard to beat Norway but Stockholm and Helsinki are both impressive in their different ways.<BR>If it were me, I should stick to Norway on the first visit - you might like to look at some photos on<BR>http://travel.roughguides.com/<BR>Go to 'read journals as well as photos - or to<BR>http://www.virtualtourist.com/?s=P&<BR>

Geoff

I think we need to have a better idea of what you are looking to get out of the trip in order to help. I did 14 days three years ago but managed Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. But that's because I split the time between Norway and Denmark with the time in Sweden only the Oresund area. (Malmo/Lund/Helsinborg)<BR><BR>I can definitely see you having enough time for two countries like Norway/Sweden if you only do the southern areas of those countries. Finland is more isolated to Finland combined with some of Russia and/or Baltics. (Estonia/Lithuania/Latvia is very possible)<BR><BR>But with the mention of "remote areas" then it sounds like you're after scenery and the Norwegian coast is a real winner there. Best done by boat, whether a big cruise line or smaller boats. Then from Bergen take the Norway in a Nutshell thing to see some country side and Oslo. That would be a good trip in itself. Depending on how much time you wanted up in the Norwegian coast area, you might consider from Oslo instead of back to Bergen, get off at Kristiansand where you can get ferries to Denmark for a couple of days. (maybe a 10 day/4 day split?)<BR><BR>HTH<BR><BR>

mpprh

hi<BR><BR>Just a note of caution.<BR>When I tried to book the Amsterdam - Gothenburg boat a couple of years it was no longer running.<BR>Perhaps it has started again.<BR><BR>Otherwise Gothenburg makes a good base for -<BR><BR>Skagen & Aarhus, Denmark<BR>Oslo, Norway<BR>Lake Vannern<BR>Swedish west coast archipelago<BR>Dalarna<BR>Gothenburg itself<BR><BR>By car you can take a ferry to Frederikshavn,Denmark and explore Skaagen.<BR>Then take another ferry to Kristiansand, Norway and drive to Stavanger, then drive back to Gothenburg via Oslo.<BR><BR>Peter<BR>

b

I'd go for a Denmark/Norway roundtrip. Don't know wether Amsterdam-Kristiansand ferry is still sailing. But why not check out some open-jaw flights? KLM and the Norwegian company Braathens cooperate. A dream tour would be getting as far as Tromso and then make your way south along the coast.<BR>Maybe with the Oslo-CPH or Oslo-Fredrikshavn for a final.<BR>Drop Finland, it's to far. And scenerywise it is like Sweden. Meaning: Drop Sweden too.<BR>Bjorn, Oslo

Elizabeth

No authoritative views from me, as I have only visited St P & Sweden, and loved both. In Sweden Carl Larsson's house is one of them loveliest places I have ever been in the world, and I also liked Anders Zorn's house nearby.