I am planning a June-July vacation to Scandinavia for 3 weeks and hope to visit at least Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and maybe, Helsinki. Here is my tentative schedule. My schedule is fairly flexible but would like to keep the prices as reasonable as possible.

Day 1 - 5 : Copenhagen (5 days)
Day 6 : Train to Oslo (8 hrs)
Day 6 - 9 : Oslo (4 days)
Day 10 : Train to Stockholm (7 hrs)
Day 10 - 15 : Stockholm (5 days)
Day 16 : Ferry to Helsinki (overnight)
Day 16 - 19 : Ferry to Helsinki (4 days)
Day 20 : Fly back to Copenhagen
Day 21 : Fly back home

Does this sound like a decent plan in terms of days at each city? I would appreciate any advise on the trip, esp. the transportation, sights, hotel suggestions, etc.

I read some comments on other's questions that Tallinn and Riga might be better choices than Helsinki because of the architecture and city attractions. So I might skip Helsinki and go to Tallinn and/or Riga instead.

You might want to read my trip reports on Norway and Stockholm; click on my name to find them.

Or add St. Petersburg to the ferry trip and skip so many days in Oslo.

Ferry Stockholm-Helsinki www.tallinksilja.com or www.vikingline.com (2 competing companies)

Train Copenhagen-Oslo is most cheaply booked Copenhagen-Gothenburg www.sj.se then Gothenburg to Oslo on the Norwegian train at www.nsb.no if you can get it to accept your credit card, as you can get minipris fares booking direct with NSB.

Oslo-Stockholm www.sj.se as SJ runs the train

I haven't been to Tallinn or Riga yet, but think you could probably fit them in by (for example) cutting a day from Helsinki and one from Copenhagen. But it really depends on what you want to see and experience.

Michael, thanks for the response. I will definitely read it.

Finecheapboxofwine, I will have to see if St. Petersburg requires a visa. I have a friend in Oslo so am staying longer than most people suggested.

Ming

As others have said go to Tallinn or Riga instead of Helsinki.

Cut 2 days off Copenhagen and 2 days off Stockholm and one day off Helsinki.

If you are sightseeing these places from morning to night ,you will see a lot.

From Helsinki take the ferry to Tallinn

Spent a few days Tallin..Riga is 175 miles away.

Hi mingtsainy,
We did a trip very similar to yours last year at the end of our six week Europe vacation. We took the overnight ferry from Helsinki to St. Pete's for a 72 hr stay. No visa is necessary if staying less than 72 hrs and arriving by boat. We returned to Helsinki from St Pete's and then took ferry to Tallinn, 2 nights in Tallinn then overnight ferry to Stockholm, 3 days Stockholm, flew Stockholm to Oslo, 2 nights Oslo, train Oslo to Voss, stayed in fjords for five days, train to Bergen for one night, flight to Copenhagen for 4 nights, visited Aero Island for two nights, flew home from Copenhagen.

I think if you take one night from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm and two nights from Helsinki you will have time for a 72 hr stay in St Pete's and two nights in Tallinn. That will still give you plenty of time to explore all the cities IMO.

Thanks for the great info, michele_d!!

I'm thinking of getting Eurail Scandinavia's "5 days within 2 months" package.

Anyone used the Eurail Scandinavia before?

Anyone used the Eurail Scandinavia before?

Well I'ver used a Eurailpass in Scandinavia but the Eurail Scandinavia pass comes in 2nd class only which is fine for this area where many trains have relatively little 1st class and the difference is not as great as in much of Europe.

Scanpass is valid on more boats and I believe some bus lines than the straight up Eurailpass but otherwise similar benefits - if taking overnight trains or ferries keep in mind the 7 pm rule!

Thanks for the info, Percy. Wish I had read your e-mail in detail before I booked my hotels. Nonetheless, I do appreciate your input.

Thanks for the info, PalenQ. And thank you for reminding me on the 7 pm rule.

After Stockholm, should I stay:
a. 4 days in Helskinki?
b. 4 days in Tallin?
c. 2 days in Helsinki & 2 days in Tallin?
d. others?

Personally, I rather stay put in one place for the entire 4 days but take day trips from Helsinki to Tallin or vice versa.

Thanks.

I think 4 days in Helsinki is too long but might be ok if you can do day trips - not sure if you can do Tallinn in a day,should be able to since the Finns like to do a booze cruise & then buy even more booze once there.
I recommend taking Silja line from Stockholm to Helsinki.
Can you get a visa so you can visit St Petersburg? I would do that over & above visiting Tallinn or Riga. Requires effort & funds to get the visa but a million times more rewarding, especially during June/July, the perfect time to visit.

the boat ride between Helsinki (or Turku) and Stockholm is one of the most dramatically scenic in the world! It skirts a gorgeous rocky archapelago most of the way and in summer days are so so long you can see lots until you sleep.

BTW on boats the 7 pm rule is changed - you can put in either the day of departure or the day of arrival - the latter would let you use the pass the whole next day in case you want to do a day trip say to Uppsala, etc.

If you have the opportunity to go to St Petersburg I would highly recommend it. You do not need a visa if you arrive on the overnight ferry from Helsinki and stay less than 72 hrs.

We took the ferry from Helsinki on a Thursday evening. Arrived St. Petes Friday morning. Were on our own Friday, Sat and Sun and took the return ferry back to Helsinki on Sunday night arriving Helsinki Monday morning. We stayed in category B room and it was more than adequate. Not luxury, but fun. we had a great buffet dinner on board both there and on the return.

It was all very easy. Here is the St Pete's ferry line.

http://www.stpeterline.ru/en/Schedule/Schedule.aspx

It stipulates that you must take a 'city tour' in order to visit St Petes visa free. This was no more than a $20 bus trip in to town with drop offs at various locations. We just got off the 'tour' bus at the stop nearest our B&B and then returned to that bus stop on Sunday afternoon for the return shuttle to the ship.

We had no problems whatsoever. I think St Petes is really trying to make this as easy as possible to encourage tourism. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

We also took the overnight ferry from Tallinn to Stockholm. This is really a neat way to travel.

I recommend taking Silja line from Stockholm to Helsinki.>

these ferries certainly have a lot of amenities on board - kind of like a cruise ship - very very comfy.

A pedantic correction: Finland isn't Scandinavia. It's no longer part of Sweden and Finns may correct you on this. Finns are ethnically closer to Estonians and Magyars.

Finns are Slavs not Norsemen - big difference to some, like Hitler.