10 day trip - very initial thinking
 

Hi all,

We are a family of 3 including a 8 year old. We are looking to do some parts of north/western europe and the countries we had in mind are Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. I know, its too much to cover in 10 days (probably even a month).

So, what do we want from the trip? Outdoors, beautiful drives, a few hikes, drives, maybe some cycling. We are not too much into museums and cities...We also prefer a reasonably hectic trip. We drove a 15 day driving trip in our last visit to Europe covering a good stretch across Czech republic, Austria, Black forest and the northern part of the Italian alps - so you get the idea :)

We are more than happy dropping a few countries or zeroing in on just 1-2 places across a few countries.

Thanks for your inputs.

10 days including arrival and departure days? leaves you with 8 whole days and you want to fit in 4 countries, with travel days in between? A driving trip would hardly be relaxing with the huge distances involved. Assuming you are planning this for summer. Best to cut out Netherlands at least. Perhaps drive from Copenhagen to north Denmark, ferry to Bergen, drive over amazing fjord scenery and mountains to Oslo, then drive back to Copenhagen with a night or two in Gothenburg, Sweden.

A few thoughts.

Certainly I'd look at touring the Netherlands by train (just so easy to get about using public transport compared with the oldfashioned car.

Denmark is probably the core cycling centre you can visit, for instance most journeys are now taken by bike and public transport with cars taking up just a few people (and you can see it in the town scape). But the real glories of Denmark are the islands. So after a car free city/bike visit (you may find your hotel gives free bikes) you can get out in the countryside with a beloved car.

Note that, unless you are bike racing there is no need to wear bike helmets in either Holland or Denmark.

For me that would be enough for 8 days, but if you have time over go drive around the Fjords of Norway and along the "Troll Road" this latter is the only bit that I think makes sense in a car.

If you decide on the Netherlands there is every reason to rent a car if you want more than the usual tourist trail.

However with only 8, or even 10 full days I would suggest concentrating on a couple of Scandinavian countries. Maybe drive, or ride the daisy route in Denmark, or visit southern Sweden and go rafting, or tour southern Norway.

That's useful insights on how much to plan for. Let me rework the plans and come back for feedback.

Thanks.