Copenhagen to Oslo to Amsterdam: Are we nuts?
 

HI there,
I am planning a trip to Norway coming from the US, and we MUSTto leave out of Amsterdam to return home to the states, bc of restrictions from using our frequent flier miles on this one.
Since I've heard and seen that Copenhagen is a beautiful city to visit I was hoping initially to fly into Copenhagen, spend three nights there, drive to Oslo or take the ferry, take the train to Bergen and then fly to Amsterdam and spend three nights there before we leave.
I'm wondering whats the simplest way to do this without having to switch and move our luggage around so much as we are two adults traveling with 11 and 8 year olds ( who are very experienced travelers). I'd like to simplify my plans to really go to the best of three places, and so Im thinking of skipping Copenhagen all together and flying straight into Oslo. Is this a good idea? Would we miss out terribly to just focus on Norway and Amsterdam visits? Anyone do a trip like this before. Money is not the biggest problem, we just want simplicity and to actually not be exhausted and enjoy the region properly. Thought and suggestions are greatly appreciated...

Some points to consider

Copenhagen holds much more charm than Oslo.

Oslo is a 6 hour drive from Copenhagen and I can't imagine how painful the one-way rental drop charge would be on top of the normally very dear rental car rates in the region.

There are plenty of non-stop flights from Copenhagen to Bergen (1:20) for less than $100US. Sp, there is absolutely no reason you "have" to go through Oslo to get to Bergen.

Same deal on non-stop flights from Bergen to Amsterdam.

If you want 3 different experiences (not focusing on just Norway and Amsterdam), you could fly into Copenhagen, fly on to Bergen, then fly to Amsterdam.

Personally I would fly straight to Bergen. See the fjords. I am not sure what your kids are into but you could go white water rafting and then down to Stavanger and Pulpit Rock.

That's what we did (sort of). Then to Amsterdam.

Why drive to Oslo from Copenhagen? Have you looked at the cost? It takes most of the day and unless you are bringing car back to Denmark, you get hit with a drop off charge.

Look at both Oslo-Bergen vs Bergen-Oslo. This May, I flew via AMS. I have looked at AMS-OSL train to Bergen vs. AMS-BGO train to OSL. I found out that latter worked out much better time wise in my case.

With children of that age, I think Copenhagen, Tivoli gardens especially, is not to be missed, if you are visiting there during the season.

Copenhagen has WAY more things to see and do compared to Oslo. I would give the former a 9 and the latter a 5. Also you can easily see Oslo in 2 days and Copenhagen is more like 5. Amsterdam 3 days is a minimum.

I don't see how many total days you have nor what time of year you are talking about - both of which will make a lot of difference.

If I were you I would lay the trip out day by day listing where you will start, what you will do, what travel there will be and what city you will sleep in.

If you do this and list it here people can give you much better advice.

Also, a lot depends on your interests. We're city people and while we love natural beauty we found Norway to be quite boring except for the fjords, while we loved both Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

There are some interesting museum in Oslo: the skansen, the Viking ship museum, the Kon-Tiki museum, all of which are within walking distance of each other. Facing the Kon-Tiki museum is the Norway Maritime Museum. Less interesting for young ones would be the architecture that is found in Oslo: the city hall where one of the Nobel prizes is given, the new opera house. There is the Frogner park with all its statuary.
The OP might be interested in starting in Oslo to take the Norway in a Nutshell tour on the way to Bergen.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...070576316/show

If you can fly in to Bergen, then take the Norway in a Nutshell tour by ferry and train to Oslo, Overnight ferry to Copenhagen and fly out via Amsterdam. Just get the logistics right to avoid backtracking.

<i> Copenhagen to Oslo to Amsterdam: Are we nuts?
Posted by: Anisah on Oct 22, 16 at 7:56pm</i>

That depends on what you consider nuts. I would focus on the children.

My suggestion is to drop Bergen. The fjords get boring after half an hour.

Do Copenhagen and Tivoli Garden, https://www.tivoli.dk/en/. Disney modeled his place after Tivoli.

In Oslo the Kon Tiki museum is amazing, http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...on-Tiki-Museum. That Norseman Thor Hyerdahl was nuts.

In Amsterdam the Nemo Museum is tops for kids, https://www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/en/. And the three major art museums are among the best in the world. You can also take a day trip to Haarlem, http://visithaarlem.org/. The small Frans Hals Museum is a gem. I would further suggest that you bed down in Haarlem and take day trips to Amsterdam. If you are going in August take the train over to Zandvoort on the North Sea. Our American expat group called it "Newport Beach North."

I suggest the night train from Copenhagen to Oslo, with a somewhat boring connection in Malmo.

People who proclaim that "Oslo has far less to do than Copenhagen" have clearly not been very conscious when they were in Oslo.

Apart from that, yes, you're nuts. Do Oslo and Bergen and anything else in Norway that takes your fancy, fly to Amsterdam from Bergen. When are you going? If it's around mid summer, take the opportunity to visit the Lofoten.

We enjoyed Oslo and there are quite a few sites that children would enjoy.

I guess I stand corrected. Denmark gets more than twice as many annual visitors as Norway but it would seem that Copenhagen, the most frequently visited destination in Denmark has less to do than Oslo, which is not the most frequently visited destination of visitors to Norway.

Challenge the statistics, claim that the number of visitors is no indication of popularity which is certainly not linked to having interesting and enjoyable things to do. Or, maybe all those people really are unconscious. At a minimum, they just haven't figured out how to appreciate Oslo the way that those "in the know" have.

Large number of visitors = easily accessible with more direct flights. Copenhagen is a major flight hub.
But basically there is plenty to do in both capitals - check out the tourist information and decide what you are interested in. Don't assume you can cover more than 2 or 3 attractions in one day, perhaps only 1, and allow enough time for your visit.
No indication of how long you are going to spend on this trip. With 3 weeks you could easily cover all of your itinerary and enjoy the region properly, with 3 days you are nuts.
You also need to decide balance between cities and countryside/scenery.