francolf

Hello,
My name is Franco and I´m from Argentina.
I´m organising a trip to scandinavia to see the northern lights and to visit some cities and i need help about to know how many days to stay in each place. I will be 3 weeks and i have thought this:

Tromso: 4/5 days - I hope to see the northern lights here with 5 days
Oslo: 3/4 days
Stockholm: 4/5 days
Copenhague: 4/5 days
Helsinki: 4/5 days - I want to do a day trip to Tallin from here
Gothemburg: 2 days

How many days do you recommend in each city? do you recommend another place to visit??
Thank you for the help!

menachem

Gothenburg I would drop, unless you're on a ferry that docks there.

Are you flying between destinations? When are you traveling? That's important to know if you're after northern lights
You're covering a lot of distance.

francolf

I suppouse i will fly between destinations or in some cases take trains, it depends on the itinerary. I was searching for prices and the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen or viceversa isn´t very expensive and i think it´s better because you avoid the transfer to the airport. What do you recommend?

I will be travelling from march-20 until april-15. How is the weather like in this time of year? is the cold bearable?

nytraveler

Most of Scandinavia isn;t that cold - and weather in March/April should be reasonable - probably in the 40s in the capitals. But will you be able to see northern lights then?

francolf

i was told that northern lights are visible until mid april. My idea is to go to Tromso at first

menachem

It's late for northern lights and even in Tromsø it's likely you won't see them.

hetismij2

We saw the lights as late as 15 March last year. As long as there is darkness you can see them at any time, assuming there is solar activity.
Obviously earlier in the year the nights are longer but you should be fine with those dates. It will be cold in Tromso and potentially very slippery under foot as snow thaws during the day and freezes again at night. Make sure you have good footwear.
You could also still have snow at that time.
You will need to fly to Oslo from Tromso as there is no train. Look at the cheap airline Norwegian.

lanejohann

When we stayed in Helsinki we did a daytrip to Tallinn - very easy on the ferry Superstar
A day was enough to see the old town and have a walk round the modern part as well

In Stockholm we stayed right by the old city part...Gamla Stan right on the harbour which was great- highlight was a boat trip to the island Vaxholm -gorgeous!

Loved Oslo- the war museum was incredibly moving

francolf

Thank you for the answers.

I could read in the internet that the northerl lights are visible as long as there is darkness and this is possible until mid april. The northern light chasing tours are offered until this dates.

About the cities, how many days do you recommend in each of them?

nytraveler

I don;t think there is any guarantee of norther lights - depends on the specific conditions - so I wouldn;t go just for that.

As for cities 0 Stockholm has the most to see - I would sugges 5 nights in Stockholm and 4 each in Copenhagena nd Oslo - at a minimum.

PalenQ

I was searching for prices and the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen or viceversa isn´t very expensive and i think it´s better because you avoid the transfer to the airport. What do you recommend?>

I recommend taking the train between all of them - nice scenery and you can use overnight trains say for long treks like Trondheim to Oslo and the overnight ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki, etc.

If doing even half by train check out the Scan Railpass covering trains and many boats in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark - just hop on any train anytime - though some trains demand seat reservations - valid on Sweden to Finland boats as well. For lots on Scandinavian trains check out these IMO fangtastic sources - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Trains there are very modern, fast, frequent and take you right to city centres and you actually see the lay of the land in between - flying you see tarmacs and airports only.

hetismij2

Trondheim isn't in the mix, Tromso is, and that doesn't have a train, hence flying from there to Oslo.

Incedentally Franco you may find it cheaper to fly to Tromso via London Gatwick or Schiphol, rather than flying first to Oslo and then to Tromso.

francolf

Yes, that´s the idea. I´m flying from Buenos Aires and we don´t have direct flights to scandinavia from here, but we have direct flights to London so my idea is to fly to London first and take the direct flight to Tromso from Gatwick, i think that it´s on Tuesdays so i can spend a couple of days in London.

I´m not going only for northern lights, i´m going because i want to visit that countries.

What do you think about visiting Bergen and the fjords in this time of the year? is it possible?

menachem

Bergen and Fjords: totally possible. Think rain (Bergen) and hope for good weather.

But perhaps best to make a choice. Tromsø and Lofoten are impressive as well.

PalenQ

Trondheim isn't in the mix, Tromso is, and that doesn't have a train, hence flying from there to Oslo.>

Oops - yes indeedy it don't - Trondheim is one city in Norway that seemed to have some old-world romance and character vs many to me at least blah modern cookie-cutter cities - have not been to Tromso so don't know about it but Trondheim is neat. But yes no train so yes fly or take a scenic bus ride down to Trondheim poke around and hop the night train to Oslo.

Finecheapboxofwine

I think you will have to travel much further North in Sweden for Northern lights viewing.

http://www.sweden.se/eng/home/touris...thern-lights-/