InMiami

I am starting the preliminary planning for our 16 night trip to Scandinavia in July 2010. We fly with points requiring reservations to be made around 10 months advance. Besides, my main hobby is planning our yearly trip to Europe! We enjoy all aspects of travel such as nature, architecture, and museums. Our trip last month to northern Spain included 10 days of driving. For this trip I would like to avoid the headache of renting a car.

Bergen, arrive at noon, Saturday, July 9, stay 2 nights

Norway in a Nutshell tour to Oslo, spend 3 nights in Oslo.

5 nights in Stockholm.

5 nights in Copenhagen with day trips to Frederiksborg and Roskilde.

JulieVikmanis

I think you are going in July 2011 not 2010, right?

The allotment of time looks good to me. Will you fly between cities? We were in Stockholm and Copenhagen last year, 5 days former and 4 latter. We liked it so much we will return this summer allotting a similar amount of time to each city. Go to
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-new-world.cfm to see my trip report.

InMiami

JulieVikmanis, yes, we are going in 2011. Great trip report! Combining a cruise with personal time seems to give one the best of both worlds!

I plan to fly from Oslo to Stockholm and then fly from Stockholm to Copenhagen. I have also read that the express 5.5 hour train from Stockholm to Copenhagen is recommended.

I don’t think we will have time to visit Helsinki. What is your suggestion?

bratsandbeer

I would definitely take the overnight Silja Line Ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki and plan to stay in Helsinki at least 3 nights. You can take a day trip on a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn Estonia. The Old Town in Estonia is great for a day trip.

Take one day from Oslo, one from Stockhom and one from Copenhagen.
I have been to Oslo twice and love it but 2 nights there would be enough unless you are planning day trips out of the city.

InMiami

Bratsandbeer, I was originally planning on visiting Helsinki and Tallinn certainly sounds exotic.

We just returned from Northern Spain where my itinerary was just too ambitious. We ended up racing from town to cathedral to mountains in an effort to visit the major sites from Santiago to Bilbao.

On this trip I am trying to simplify; the reason for dropping Helsinki. Do you think the addition of another city will make for too demanding a vacation?

kja

I thoroughly enjoyed Helsinki and think bratsandbeer is right that you could fit it in by adjusting your time in other locations. On the other hand, I think your original plan for allocating your time made for a pace that would allow you to see each of your destinations in some depth without being too rushed. The good news is that you have two wonderful options!

InMiami

kja,how did you travel to Helsinki? The boat ride is quite long, would it be better to fly from Stockholm?

bratsandbeer

InMiami - I don't think adding Helsinki would be too exhausting.

You could fly from Stockholm to Helsinki, however the ferry leaves Stockholm around 5pm and arrives in Helsinki in the morning. On the ferry, there is a wonderful buffet that you wouldn't want to miss. Also,shops, casino etc. You would make a reservation for a room with private bath etc. We had a cheap room - not one of the expensive rooms. You would arrive in Helsinki in the morning ready for the day.

You could then fly from Helsinki to Copenhagen.

People in Finland speak mostly 3 languages, Swedish, Finnish and English so language is no problem. There is much to see in Helsinki - think you would like it.

Palenque

If taking trains Oslo-Bergen and back and then to Stockholm and to Copenhagen then investigate the ScanRailPass - the fare between Stockholm and Copenhagen may pay for much of the pass - ditto for Oslo to Bergen and back and Oslo to Stockholm. For loads of info on Scandainavian trains and the pass i always spotlight these info-laden sources: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com. The pass is also valid on the Stockholm to Helsinki ferries and it may even include a free berth of some kind.

kja

> how did you travel to Helsinki?

I visited Helsinki on a different trip than the one during which I visited Stockholm and Copenhagen. I'm no help to you there!

iris1745

If you are considering going to Helsinki from Stockholm and have time constraints, take a one hour flight. Richard www.blue1.com

Palenque

If you do not have time constraints then by all means take the overnight ferry - in summer the days are so long you will not miss the incredible gorgeous IMO coastline - a rocky archepelago the ship seems to follow forever. I remember being mesmerized by that

Plus these ships have lots of amenities and are really dirt cheap compared to other such overnight ships IME

JulieVikmanis

How long did you spend in Northern Spain that stressed you so much for time? We are currently here, spending 3 nights in Ribadesella, 5 in Getaria and 3 in Logrono. Last year spent 4 in Santander, 3 in Ribadesella, 1 in Ribadeo and 3 in Santiago, then 3 on Galician coast. Pace seemed/seems similar to what we did in Copenhagen and Stockholm. This time we are going by ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki (I think) 2 days in Helsinki would probably be fine but you could add a 3rd and do a day trip by boat to Tallinn, ok, but not critical given your concerns about spreading yourself too thin. Helsinki is pretty neat. Enjoy.

Palenque

If going round trip by ferry Stock-Helsinki you can also go via Turku - a few hours by train from Helsinki and see that unique town as well - some boats dock at Turku before Stockholm or perhaps terminate at Turku.

bratsandbeer

Palenque - the train ride to Turku was not exciting - mostly farmland. Our relatives go to Abo university in Turku - we visited them. The Turku Cathedral is worth a visit.

Palenque

brats - what did you think of the city of Turku - modern like many Scandinavian towns or with some character? I have not been there but heard, as a major port, it had a unique feel and look?

As a city - worth a look?

thanks for your input

bratsandbeer

Pal - We took the train to Turku one day - stayed overnight and came back the next day. Our relative met us at the hotel and showed us around Turku. We didn't see a whole lot of Turku - the cathedral was interesting. We went to Abo University to see where our relative was doing a lot of research - associate professor. He showed us some buildings from the 1700s - if I remember correctly a lot of the town burned down at one time.

I probably didn't see enough of Turku as a tourist so it would be hard for me to recommend spending a couple of days in Turku.
We did visit over breakfast with some American guys who stayed at our hotel - they were employed as shipbulders - building a new cruise ship - think it was for Royal Caribbean.
Ship building in Turku is part of Finland's history.

My grandfather came from Finland - he graduated from the university in Vaasa in 1880. His brother started the Suomi Insurance Company in 1890 which is a large company today. His son wrote textbooks for the schools, was editor of Mikkeli newspaper etc.

Have been in Finland twice now and I want to go back to Finland to Jakobstad, Vassa and Rovanemi.

Palenque

brats - thanks for you comments! We have lots of Finns in northern Michigan - in Duh U P - they came as miners to work in the copper and iron ore mines - there is a Suomi College in Houghton/Hancock.

Of course Finland is not technically in Scandinavia but a Slovish stocked country i believe - more Russian than Swede!

elina

>>>Slovish stocked country i believe - more Russian than Swede!<<<

Cannot it just be Finnish? Certainly there is nothing Russian, even the Orthodox church is Finnish Orthodox, and Swedish is just a native language for 5 % of Finns, they are not Swedes.

There is an old saying: We are not Swedes and we don´t want to become Russians, so lets be Finns.

bratsandbeer

elina "they are not Swedes" They are Finns is correct but they relate to Sweden more than Finland and consider themselves Swedes. My ggrandmother was a "Swede" and my ggrandfather was a "Finn" who came from Russia when the Russians ruled Finland. Both lived in Finland and married.

The Swedes were the educated class, professors, pastors, teachers,landowners, etc. - the more wealthy class. The Finns were laborers and foot soldiers. Many worked for the Swedes on the farms.

To this day there is a distinction between the Swedish speaking Finns and the Finnish speaking Fins. We were told by our relatives that if a Swedish speaking person goes to southern Finland and speaks Swedish they could be in some trouble with the Finnish speaking Finns.

The history of Finland is very interesting with many wars and changes in government. That is why they like peace now.