mocha_dolce

We had originally planned on 2 nights in Visby (Gotland) to supplement our time in Stockholm but found out that there is a big political event there when we would be going, so we scratched that from the itinerary. That leaves us 8 nights in Sweden. The final one, we will spend at an airport hotel to catch an early flight, giving us 7 nights in Stockholm or elsewhere.

Is there another small town or rural area nearby that would be worth doing a day trip or overnight? Will we find plenty to do in Stockholm for a week? My list includes Skansen, ABBA Museum, Vasa Museum, Drottningholm Palace, Gamla Stan. I guess we'll be able to include a lot more, so I will go back and "mine" the guidebooks in Stockholm but would appreciate any recommendations for a smaller town/village to visit?

Also, is there an archipelago tour that you can recommend? Should we take time from Stockholm to go north, or is that not a good use of time? What about Helsinki?

GIven our plans so far, where is the best area to stay? Budget ~$400 a night. Are there any nice serviced apartments?

spaarne

<i> Stockholm: Are 8 nights too many?
Posted by: mocha_dolce on Sep 5, 13 at 3:07pm
Also, is there an archipelago tour that you can recommend? Should we take time from Stockholm to go north, or is that not a good use of time? What about Helsinki?</i>

I suggest a day trip to Uppsala.

The Silja Line ferry to Helsinki and back is one heck of a good party. It is an overnight trip so you could spend a day in Helsinki and go back to Stockholm. The buffet on the Silja ferries is really great. Take the second seating unless you have kids with you.

kja

Much as I loved Stockholm, I must admit that 8 nights would have been a bit too many for me, although it really depends on your pace of travel and when you will be going. (I was there near the summer solstice, and so had very long days in which to enjoy it.) I visited most of the places you mentioned, and some other places, in about half that time. I would have liked more time in Skansen (I gave it about 3 hours as I recall) and in Uppsala (which I gave about 1/2 day) and I traveled at fairly hard pace (up early, no lunch, kept going until after sunset), so I can imagine spreading it over 5 or 6 days. BTW, do consider visiting the City Hall, too.

Helsinki is an interesting option to consider. You would probably want to give it 2 or maybe 3 days.

It's a beautiful part of the world - enjoy!

nytraveler

Without knowing where else you will be going and for how long it' hard to say.

I think 5 days is good to see a lot - plus a day at Upppsala.

Might you want to add a day to where you will be before Stockholm?

Also - what time of yea will you be there?

mocha_dolce

We'll be there late June/early July, so we should have some long days. Thinking about a day trip to Uppsala and/or Gavle. (Visby would have been perfect but we're NOT going there in the middle of the Swedish version of the Democratic/Republican convention.) Might consider a Helsinki "day" trip by plane if reasonable. And it wouldn't be a terrible hardship to have time to slow down a bit. Already booked the flight from Oslo, so we're committed to spending the last eight nights in Sweden. Looking forward to settling in to the perfect accommodation for our week and prefer not to pack/unpack again A cute little apartment would be nice!

kja

> Already booked the flight from Oslo, so we're committed to spending the last eight nights in Sweden.

I'm not questioning you, just noting that decisions based on sunk costs don't always make as much sense as they seem to at first glance. IME, it's always worth costing out the alternatives.