is July a good time to go?

Well, at least it won;t snow.

The AStoria is a hoot. A full city block in size it has a range of rooms that have to be seen to be believed. Also, there is a casino ont he ground floor that is favored by the local mafiosi. A taxi driver taking me back to the hotel one night circled it so I could seen them. Not the mafiosi but their cars and bodyguards outside. the cars are universally black with very dark tinted windows - either a gigantic Mercedes or a huge American SUV. And each seemed to have 2 bodyguards (you could tell they were wearing guns under their incredibly tight suits).

we did finland tallinn russia sweden and norway last year

ill just comment on the places that youve decided on
we had a car in norway so we didnt do norway in a nutshell
we stayed in flam for three nights and used it as a base to explore..we went to voss one day
compared to flam voss is HUGE lol
but we still prefer flam..flam after hours is very quiet and private...a really nice base to come home to ( even though you have that 11km tunnel to drive through each time if youre going out west)
dont know if voss is worth an overnighter ...maybe stay in bergen for that night...more to see..not that we have been to bergen but others here will fill you in on how to spend time in bergen
oslo is lovely
wish we had more than two nights there cos it is really worth exploring...loved vigeland park and the war resistance museum over at bygdoy island ( easy to get to )

balestrand is beautiful
we stayed at the balestrand hotel and visited kviknes...nice but we didnt want to spend the money...balestrand was nice enough...smaller of course and family run
but we had a glorious view of the fjord
have a walk up through balestrand and check out the viking mound..not far to walk...just ask a local

in stockholm we stayed at first hotel reisen and had a harbour view.....great breakfasts! this is right next to gamla stan so we could also go there to get groceries ...we had our suppers in our room overlooking the harbour

in helsinki we stayed at the sokos chain called hotel helsinki...reasonable rates ...good room and superb breakfasts...the best weve had i reckon in europe...
this hotel is a few mins walk from the railway station and we could get to tallinn easily by bus and ferry

we stayed in apartments in russia so i wont go into... we had an amazing time in moscow in late may...but it was hot...26 degrees and then st petes ( we caught night train from moscow) was very cold for us and it rained nonstop so we didnt get a great impression of it..hermitage was closed tooo..cos of some convention
if youre not touring with a guide it might be hard to get round russia without language...we had enough trouble and i have considerable command of the language lol!
we used city realty in moscow and st petes ...to get the apartment and i know they can organise drivers and guides too...at least i know they exist and are reliable

Hola! My husband was born and raised in Mexico City....

We did a very similiar trip in May 2007, minus Russia. We took the boat from Copenhagen to Oslo - it was a hoot! Oslo itself is kind of boring - one night is sufficient - I would save more time for Stockholm. We also recommend the Balestrand Hotel. Stockholm is beautiful - we stayed at the ordic Light and got a great rate on their website. I think there is a boat from Stockholm to Tallinn - I might go to Tallin for longer than a day and then head to Helsinki.

Thanks for your insight I also think that a guide in Russia is a must, The trip to the fjords in Norway by car sounds interesting should we try it instead of the train?

Maybe instead of the Stockholm Oslo Ferry we could rent a car and cross the bridge? Do any of you know how long does it take to go from Stockholm to Oslo?

We have driven around Norway with no problems. The trains are great but having a car and being able to stop anywhere you want is fun too.

We took the train from Helsinki To St Pete. Leaves Helsini around 7:30 am. Enjoyed seeing some of Finland and Russia. Was interesting crossing the border into Russia. The custom agents come on board and you must declare all money and possessions of value. You then do this again before leaving Russia.

So definitely by train to Sn Pete?

We took boat trips around Sognefjord and Nordfjord - a little hard to figure out and a bit expensive but nonetheless magnificient. We took a combination of boats from Balestrand to Maaloy.

We went from Oslo to Stockholm by night train. It took six hours.

Forum member rhkkmk (Bob) on the Asia board recommends a guide named "Alex" for St Petersburg. Look up rhkkmk's trip report
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rhkkmks-off-to-helsinki-st-petersburg-and-tallinn-via-jfk.cfm

Thank for your replies I think we will cross from Copenhagen to Oslo by car and from Stockholm to Helsinki by Ferry.
We are still trying to decide between flying to Sn Petes or taking the train.

Here is some info about the Sibelius train to St pete. If you search Sibelius Train Helsinki to St Petersburg you will find more information.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g298507-i707-k1801644-Sibelius_train_Helsinki_St_Petersburg-St_Petersburg_North_West_Russia.html