laurensf

Hi! Trying to put together a rough itinerary for our 2 week trip to Denmark, Sweden and Norway at the end of May. Traveling will be me, my husband and our 2 year old. Any suggestions/revisions would be really appreciated!! We realize it's a lot of moving around, but we would love to see as much as we can, and within reason, our toddler is a pretty good traveler

DAY 1- Arrive in Copenhagen @ 5:25pm
DAY 2- Copenhagen (full day)
DAY 3- fly Copenhagen -> Stockholm
DAY 4- Stockholm (full day)
DAY 5- Stockholm (full day)
DAY 6- ferry to Swedish Island (Vaxholm??), stay overnight
DAY 7- ferry back to Stockholm, fly to Bergen, stay in Bergen overnight
Day 8- rent car, visit Fjords (Full day)
Day 9- Fjords (Full Day)
Day 10- fly Bergen -> Bodo, ferry to Moskenes (Lofoten Islands), stay at Eliassen Rorbuer?
Day 11- Lofoten Islands
Day 12- Lofoten Islands
Day 13- ferry to Bodo-fly to OSLO
Day 14- overnight ferry OSLO to Copenhagen
Day 15- Copenhagen (full day)
Day 16- 7:15am Fly Copenhagen -> SFO

PalenQ

day trains between Copenhagen and Stockholm take 5.5 hours - flying will be a bit but not much quicker city centre to city centre plus check-in and security and luggage retrieval,etc. and you see a lot of Sweden in between rather than just seeing airports and tarmacs-

there is also an overnight train from Malmo (short train ride over the Ore Sound bridge/tunnel to Malmo) - save day time travel time and the cost of an accommodation.

For lots of great stuff on trains and night trains check www.seat61.com - good info discounted train tickets on that route - www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Overall it looks like a very very well planned and varied trip with lots of daylight at that time of year. Well done!

BigRuss

<<Overall it looks like a very very well planned and varied trip with lots of daylight at that time of year.>>

NO NO NO.

Not with a toddler it doesn't.

This has a minimum of 7 different overnight locations in 15 days with a hobbit. That is a recipe for disaster. You canNOT run around Europe with a toddler in tow as if you are going with just your hubby. And a toddler on a night train will also be difficult.

With small kids who are ambulatory, you can cover 40-60% of the ground you would normally cover by yourselves.

Rethink.

PalenQ

I failed to note the 2-year old so tend to agree with Big Russ- but if you have traveled with the kid like this before fine, if not yes slow down a bit unless kid loves boats and planes - kids always go free on trains if under 4 - and if they do not occupy their own seat or berth on a night train.

jan47ete

I am into Copenhagen, cruise, Copenhagen, fly to Bergen, fjord trip from Bergen to Oslo and out of Oslo. Unless you have already committed to your flights, can you do in CPH, out Oslo?

Day 6-can you do that in a day and stay again in Stockholm?
Day 7 sounds like a less than pleasant travel day witha 2 yr old

two full days of fjords??????

never heard of the Lofton Islands so for 2 days hope they are fabulous

BigRuss

<<I failed to note the 2-year old so tend to agree with Big Russ>>

I wondered if PalQ had clocked that you're going to have the hobbit in tow.

The Lofotens certainly look nice: http://www.lofoten.info/en

kja

Have you already booked your flights? If not, fly into Stockholm and out of Copenhagen and try to put all of your time in Copenhagen at the end. Or vice versa, or any other open-jaw (in once city, out of the other) option.

No need to stay overnight in Voxholm -- take a lovely daytime cruise there and return in the same day.

You are not giving yourselves much time for Stockholm -- are you sure you will have the time for your priorities while there?

Good luck!

nocloset

I agree it's too much moving around, and seeing as much as you can doesn't have to mean seeing things in all different locations. For example, there is much more to see in Copenhagen and vicinity than is possible in two days. Same with Stockholm.

Are you stuck with your flights in and out of Copenhagen? I assume you are since you're leaving in a month. Can you fly directly from there to Stockholm without leaving the airport, or have you already booked that flight as well? That would be much more efficient, and then you could have two consecutive days in Copenhagen at the end.

My rule of thumb for independent travel is take the number of nights total on the ground, divide by three, discard the remainder, and that's the *maximum* number of locations you should sleep in. For you, that should come to five, and it looks like you have seven (because you have to count Copenhagen twice) or maybe eight (are you staying overnight in Oslo on Day 13 and then spending Day 14 there before leaving on the overnight ferry to Copenhagen?). Changing your plan so you start in Stockholm and end in Copenhagen helps, but I think you're setting yourself up for an unpleasantly hectic trip. Especially with the toddler!

Odin

>>day trains between Copenhagen and Stockholm take 5.5 hours - flying will be a but not much quicker city centre to city centre plus check-in and security and luggage retrieval,etc.<<
There are border controls in place on trains between Denmark and Sweden so you do have to allow extra time for that. I believe the border controls take place at Copenhagen central station.

laurensf

thanks so much for everyone's input. @nocloset- great idea to fly right to Stockholm from Copenhagen. And @kja and @jan47ete- thanks for the tips on Voxholm, we will take a day cruise instead, that should save us some moving around. I'm going to work on the itinerary tonight to see how I can make it less hectic before I start buying our additional flights!

Odin

>>thanks for the tips on Voxholm<< It's Vaxholm (or even Waxholm) as per your OP. Here is a link for excursions around the archipelago.

http://www.stromma.se/en/stockholm/

hetismij2

You could fly from Evenes to Oslo rather than taking the ferry back to Bodø.
With a two year old you won't be able to do much walking, so I assume you are renting a car on Lofoten.

laurensf

Here is our tentative revised itinerary. Although maybe not the most cost-effective plan, we have decided to book flights instead of trains/ferries thinking that may be more sensible with the toddler in tow. Hopefully this looks a little less hectic with a lot less movement

DAY 1 arrive in Copenhagen at 5:30pm (stay 4 nights in Copenhagen)

DAY 5 Copenhagen -> Stockholm 11:30a (stay 3 nights in Stockholm, with day trip to Vaxholm)

DAY 8 Stockholm -> Bergen (2 hrs) (stay 3 nights in Bergen, rent car to visit Fjords)

DAY 11 Bergen 9:15am -> Svolvær 1:16pm (rent car and stay 4 nights in Lofoten Islands)

DAY 15 Svolvær 2:48p -> Copenhagen 8:00p (stay close to airport)
DAY 16 Copenhagen 7:15a -> San Francisco

kja

You might consider shifting at least 2 nights to Stockholm -- maybe one from Copenhagen and one from Lofoten?

I must admit that I'm not sure about the efficiency of flights -- train and ferry stations are often easier to reach then airports. So, for example, there are train stations right in Copenhagen and Stockholm. You'd have to get from each of those cities to their airports and vice versa, etc. I trust people with greater expertise will comment....

nytraveler

There are times when seeing more different places/towns means you are actually seeing much less.

IMHO Stockholm and Copenhagen have by far the most to see/do - a lot of it appropriate for a small child and I would put 5 days in S and 4 in C. Use the rest to visit Oslo (2 days is enough) and a fjord (whatever way seems best).

But what you have will lead to a really cranky small child and for you a VERY expensive blur of flight and trains and trekking to/fro - and I bet that by the time you have been home for a month you won;t remember half of it.

PalenQ

There are times when seeing more different places/towns means you are actually seeing much less.>

Yup my old adage "Less can indeed be more!"

ticino

Vaxholm has some pretty wood houses by the water but I don't think it's interesting enough to justify a whole day (or is the ferry very slow?). There won't be much to do in May as it will still be quite cold unless you are very lucky, and restaurants are mediocre. It's a suburb of Stockholm, you can get there both by car/bus or by ferry. If you want to see the archipelago I would consider Sandhamn instead, it's more exotic. Or take a shorter trip to Fjäderholmarna.

I like the second itinerary, but you need to be the relaxed type to do it with a 2-year old!! I would stay away from Swedish trains as they can be unreliable, and the landscape between Copenhagen and Stockholm is very monotonous, 5 hours of the same. I've never heard of anyone taking a train to Oslo from Stockholm. If I were to skip anything I'd skip one of the cities. The fjords and Loften are more unique.

PalenQ

I've never heard of anyone taking a train to Oslo from Stockholm.>

Here's one - I took a night train which I think still runs on some days of the week - no great scenery to miss at night and save on the cost of a hotel and even daytime time over flying.

dyoll

High speed train line between Copenhagen and Stockholm and Stockholm and Oslo, reliable and takes no longer than flights if you factor in airport transfers and waiting time. Very cheap as well if you book in advance. Unfortunately no longer a night train between Stockholm and Oslo.

Odin

You need to factor in border control times at Copenhagen central station and be there at least 30 mins before departure.