GreenDragon

OK, I've traveled a lot to the UK and to Ireland, but now we're finally branching out. We're planning a late May trip for two weeks (16 days) to Iceland, Denmark, and either Norway or Sweden. I'm not certain what at this point, but here's what we like:

We are in our 40s. We can walk for a while, but we're not in great shape. I love walking through woods, though, and photographing waterfalls, landscapes, historical things, crumbling stuff.

We are both fans of history, especially of the Vikings and such. Husband is very much into the Vikings show, but we've been into that period of history for a long time. Places used in filming the show as well as true historical places would be great. Longships, stave churches, etc. are all good.

I was born in Copenhagen, and have never been back, so that's a definite.

Iceland - we would love to see a glacier, waterfall, volcano, etc. I've heard of the Golden Circle tour, which sounds pretty cool, though we're not much for group tours. We prefer going on our own to the sites a tour would normally go. However, I realize in Iceland this is 4-wheel drive territory, and going on our own probably isn't wise.

Yes, I know we're trying to do 3 countries in 2 weeks, and that's BAD. However, my current job doesn't give more than two weeks a year for vacation, so I've got to work with what I've got. I am thinking 3 days each in Iceland and Denmark, and the rest in Norway and/or Sweden.

No need to go super far north for the midnight sun, though it might be cool if there are other reasons to go north.

I've read through many of the suggestions already here, but the majority are about NiN, and I'm not that interested in NiN - it seems to be nothing more than a service to help you arrange transport? I can do that myself

Thanks!

GreenDragon

And yes, I'm well familiar with this thread

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-september.cfm

Ruby99

Last year we did 4 nights in Copenhagen, 3 in Helsinki, 2 in Tallinn, 1 overnight ferry ride, and 4 in Stockholm.. yes, it was a lot of moving around, but for us, we like the adventure of discovering a whole new country every few days. I think you will be able to scratch the surface in each country and will be pleasantly surprised at all you can see if you plan well.

I would suggest checking out SAS to fly... We just paid US$65 from Copenhagen to Helsinki which to me is a great bargain. We were able to check in one suitcase with no extra fees, as well as bring in our carryons.

Have a great trip!! I want to go and do Iceland and Norway next maybe in 2016...

astein12

Enjoy the trip, whatever you decide. We've traveled to Iceland (2 weeks), Norway (10 days), and Denmark (10 days)... but haven't seen Sweden yet.

I really do think that you'll be stretching yourself really thin by trying to do all of these countries in a 2 week period.

There is plenty to see in each country to spend your entire vacation. My suggestion would be either 2 weeks in Iceland (this gives you time to do the entire ring road) or split your time between Denmark and Norway.

You could do the cities (Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen) plus some of the smaller towns/wilderness in 2 weeks, but travel will eat into so much of the two weeks, I'd recommend against it.

astein12

and, yes, I'd skip NIN and do it myself...

kja

> I am thinking 3 days each in Iceland and Denmark, and the rest in Norway and/or Sweden.

If you are REALLY committed to visiting all 4 countries in one 2 week period (and of course an alternative is to skip one for now), then Copenhagen and Stockholm might be the two that merit at least 4 days each - and even then, you might need to skip some very worthy sites just to see your highest priorities.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation and block out some time on either side (for getting to/from the airport or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, obtaining currency, and getting oriented). Then see how things fit together. You might end up deciding to cut a destination or two....

LBird

If you have the time, there is a viking museum (The Viking Ship Museum) in Roskilde, the train ride is between 20 and 30 minutes depending on which train and then a short bus ride.
Other than that Viking stuff in Denmark is a bit further away from Copenhagen. The same with picturesque woods and nature, you can find that with a 20 minute train ride to for example Klampenborg Station and see Dyrehaven, a forest/nature park. I May I think the deers are out with their little new ones. And there are a lot of them. You could bring a picnic of go in to Dyrehavsbakken, a small amusement park bordering a corner of the forest.

Copenhagen itself has a lot of spots for history fans and you can walk around to most of it. I personally would go to Stockholm if I had to choose between Sweden and Norway, I have always loved Stockholm, and I think they have great sights that would probably interest you too. But Norway is great as well, a lot of the older parts of Oslo and smaller towns around are so idyllic

GreenDragon

I'm not a fan of hopping from one place to another a lot, so I'm hearing you!

How about this instead:

5 days in Iceland (I've had time to do the research on just that one so far).
3 days in Copenhagen (must return to my place of spawning!)
A week in either Sweden or Norway.

The Iceland itinerary so far:
2 nights in Akranes
2 nights in Vik
1 night in Reykjavik
This gives me a good exploration of the south coast, for the most part, and a little in the interior near Borganes for day trips. We'd rent a car and go exploring.

For someone who loves the history of the Vikings, would you recommend Sweden or Norway?

astein12

I like your new plan better.

You'll get a good overview of Iceland in that amount of time, but leave plenty of things to see for a return visit!

We spent 1 1/2 days in Copenhagen and did a whirlwind walk thru the city. We didn't get to any of the museums, but did see a lot of castles, fortifications, crown jewels, etc. Then we spent the evening at Tivoli (highly recommended to go at night). In 3 days, you should get a good glimpse of the city. There is a Copenhagen museum pass that covers a lot of the sights (and Tivoli) that is worthwhile.

I can't comment on Sweden but, in a week in Norway, I'd probably do an Oslo, Flam (NIN on your own), Bergen, Balestrand, Oslo loop (we had a few more days, so went up to Geiranger). You could also skip going north (to Balestrand) and do a more southern loop (Stavanger).

GreenDragon

Sounds like a good plan, thank you astein. My husband prefers Norway, so we'll likely do that.

Definitely must visit Tivoli. My mom lived in Copenhagen when I was born (in February) and she said the place lit up like a fairy's dream in the winter. I was planning on going to Roskilde and Fredericksbourg as well.

astein12

Good plan... we liked Fredericksbourg (did it at the need of our loop of the country).

I'm not an amusement park guy, but really did enjoy Tivoli (didn't ride the rides, but saw some musical shows, had dessert, etc.). Just a great place to spend a couple of hours on a nice night.

We only had 1/2 a day in Oslo on our Norway trip, but really liked that city as well. We basically walked from our hotel to Akershus Fortress and then across the city to Vigeland Park (go here around sunset) making stops along the way.

And, as much as we loved Denmark and Norway, Iceland was definitely our favorite. Just a great place to visit if you like the outdoors.

Ruby99

We arrived in Copenhagen on the last night Tivoli would be open for the season (on a Sunday, September 23rd or so) and we paid half price admission. It was drizzly (and even raining quite a bit at moments) but we thoroughly enjoyed our evening... it was magical at times... the orchestra, the light show over the lake, then the beautiful fireworks...

GreenDragon

Pricing out cars - yikes! But I knew this would be an expensive trip...

mikeyred242

For your 5 days in Iceland I would recommend heading out on Route 1 along the South coast towards Vik/Kirkjubæjarklaustur and staying around there. Akranes and surrounding area is very nice too, but you only have 5 days and I personally think you are trying to spread yourself too thinly in such a short space of time...

In terms of car hire you could try these...

http://www.carsiceland.com/

http://www.islandiacar.com/

And for an excellent blog about Iceland that is constantly updated with news and events..

http://www.iceland24.blogspot.com/

GreenDragon

Thanks, mikeyred!

Odin

Car rental is not hugely expensive in Denmark or Sweden. I find economycarrentals.com very reasonable for Denmark and Autoeurope for Sweden.

colduphere

We visited Stockholm, Norway and Iceland in 17 days last summer. Your schedule looks fine to me.

I am far from an expert on Iceland having spent most of our time on a spectacular hike. But take a look at Porsmork, which you could reach by bus from the main highway. The bus ride itself is quite the experience. The scenery is amazing.

http://www.volcanohuts.com/how-to-ge...cano-huts/map/

GreenDragon

Odin - they don't appear to allow renting in one country and dropping in another, which is what I was finding so expensive

Thanks, Colduphere, I'll check that out.

Odin

Yes that would be expensive. You can drive your rental car between Scandinavian countries but one way drop offs will be expensive.

GreenDragon

Exactly. I'm trying to figure out the best mix between cost, time, and enjoying the countryside. Get a car in Copenhagen, we have that part down. Return it in Copenhagen - ferry, plane, fly? Then we miss so much. Drive up the Swedish coast and return in in Bergen? Costly, but more interesting scenery. Drive up the coast, through Oslo to Bergen, come back and return it in Oslo? Lest costly, but backtracking a bit. (I'm thinking the latter)