Ruby99

I am in the planning process of a trip to Scandinavia this fall. I can fly into Copenhagen from Toronto and it looks like flying out of Stockholm is easy enough and would allow me enough time to see both cities.

In researching flights between Copenhagen and Stockholm on SAS, I found the rates very cheap (around $95 USD one way) that I thought I could also add Helsinki to give me 5 nights in Copenhagen, 4 nights in Helsinki and 5 nights in Stockholm. (rate from Helsinki to Stockholm is only $59 USD)..

Is this too good to be true? Are there fees I am not seeing? We will be checking in 1 suitcase each probably. If there are hidden fees, we will consider dropping Helsinki out of the equation and just going to Stockholm and fly back to Toronto from there. I am used to train travel in Europe (France, Belgium, Austria, Hungary) but these seem like longer rides that I am used to, so thought flying might save a bit of time (I do know we need to give ourselves enough time for security, etc)

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

kja

Don't know about the fees, so topping to see if others can help.

IMHO, 4 nights in Helsinki might be a night too much.

Enjoy!

PRLCH

I have never been to Scandinavia, but recently helped my daughter plan her trip. I believe there are several airports in Stockholm and some are quite far out. So you need to be sure you know which airport you are flying to and what you transport options / costs are getting into the city.

Ruby99

Thanks for the replies! kja, I am actually reconsidering Helsinki, I might still use it as a base to get to Tallinn for a day trip, or fly to Tallinn for 4 days and go to Helsinki for a day trip.

Any thoughts on this?

I also checked Norwegian and it seems they charge for the first piece of luggage while SAS doesn't? I hope I am reading that right....

In Stockholm, would it be Arlanda that we'd be flying in to?

Thanks for the help and advice

reddun

You’re probably aware if you fly Icelandair you can have a free stopover in Reykjavik? I loved Copenhagen and Stockholm so a week in each would be wonderful in my opinion. But perhaps you’d like a few days in Bergen, Norway? (The Norway-in-a-nutshell day trip is awesome). I enjoyed those three quite a bit more than Helsinki but my time in Helsinki was very short. I’ve heard Tallinn is nice as well. There is also the option of a ferry between Tallinn or Helsinki and Stockholm.

We’ve traveled by train from Copenhagen to Stockholm and didn’t mind the length of the journey. There were no changes and there were cheap advance purchase tickets. We’ve found it’s nice to book seats at a table for those longer trips.

This is an old Copenhagen/Stockholm trip report I did several years ago so some info might be out of date but here it is anyway:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lm-in-sept.cfm

Ruby99

reddun, thanks so much for the link to your trip report! I always enjoy reading those... Unfortunately I have been to great places but have only ever done an incomplete Paris TR in 2008... lack of time I guess

I am aware that I can fly with Icelandair and get a free stop over in Reykjavik. That will probably be the fall 2014 trip along with Oslo and/or Bergen. I just prefer to concentrate on the cities this fall, and then do the more adventurous stuff next year

PalenQ

Well you may want to look into the ScanRail Pass, valid in all those places and you may find per day it is cheaper than flying and you also see the lay of the land in between cities and not just airports and tarmacs - and passes cover also the ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki - one of the most fantastic boat rides I've every taken as the boat skirts a rocky archaplego most of the way - it goes overnight but with the long days in summer you can see a lot - you also save on a night in a hotel.

Fast trains between Copenhagen and Stockholm now do not take that long - anyway for lots of great info on Scandinavia trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sources - www.seat61.com (click on this site's commercial link to RailEurope for current prices of ScanRailpasses) and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Passes can be used on day trips from your bases as well - like the fantastic Round the Sound Loop from Copenhagen-Lund-Helsingbot/Helsingor (Hamlet's Castle) and back to Copenhagen, etc.

PalenQ

There is also a night train you could take - save day time time and money on a hotel - but it leaves from Lund, Sweden - there is a connecting train from Copenhagen - Lund is one of the very nicest towns I've seen in Scandinavia - consider it as a day trip from Copenhagen - part of the Round the Sound loop that is very popular.

kja

> I am actually reconsidering Helsinki, I might still use it as a base to get to Tallinn for a day trip, or fly to Tallinn for 4 days and go to Helsinki for a day trip. ... Any thoughts on this?

It depends on what you want to see and experience. As I recall, I spent 2 days in Helsinki, and enjoyed it very much. It's a beautiful city. I didn't make it to Talinn.

BTW, do consider visiting Roskilde from Copenhagen and consider taking a boat through part of the archipelago while in Stockholm.

PalenQ

taking a boat through part of the archipelago while in Stockholm - like the ferry between Stockholm and Turku/Helsinki - one of the most dramatically gorgeous coasts in the world!