Please help with 8 days itinerary through Norway and Sweden in August. We are flying into Copenhagen and after spending 2 days in Denmark planning to drive + ferry to Norway and Sweden. Definitely want to see Bergen and fjords. Prefer car over trains, more freedom and flexibility. Our last stop is Stockholm. What would be the best way to go? Where to stop?
Thank you!

Looks like you have 6 days to cover enormous, sometimes boring distances on flat roads. Consider the many new bargain air possibilities.

We are considering flying option. I thought there is no flat boring roads in Norway. Could someone advise road trip and stops, please.

There are lots of very flat, very boring roads in Norway - many surrounded by not even bushes and trees but just sort of flat heathery stuff. Doing all that driving would IMHO at least seem interminable.

Driving southern Sweden is much more boring. Makes even the most dull Norwegian stretches seem like heaven.,
Bjorn, Oslo

Lots of mainland Europeans drive through Sweden for their summer vacations. I'd guess it's because they come from cities so driving for miles on end with only little red barns and a few scattered houses is appealing.

That's what a lot of Sweden is like. Swedish holidays seem like a good way to relax and "get back to nature". If you're more interested in doing things then stick to the cities.

I haven't been to Norway, but I have been all over Sweden. Stockholm is a nice city. I'd suggest you take a boat out to one of the many islands. There are companies that run ferries right out of downtown. It's a good way to see the city from the water and get a different perspective on the archipelago. The one that we took had a stop in Vaxholm right next to a fortress on the water.

The Vasa Museum in Stockholm should be on your "must see" list! It's this huge wooden war ship that sunk on its first voyage. They brought it up and put it together in a big building.

One thing I learned is that in Sweden they call every big house a castle/slott so don't get too excited when you see all the signs. Drottningholm is the actual one where the royal family lives and is close to Stockholm so it's a nice one to visit.

You can also find viking rune stones if you want. There are a LOT around the university in Uppsala (not too far from Stockholm). Uppsala has a castle too.
Sigtuna is a really cute little town between Stockholm and Uppsala. I'd put it on my list of stops. It also has some church ruins.

One area that I always wanted to visit is Dalarna. It isn't too far north west of Stockholm. You can visit the factories where they make the dala horses.

Northern Sweden has lots of nature and a few really cute church towns, but I wouldn't say it's worth the long trip up there. Stick to the south where it's more populated, and there's more to do.

Honestly, when my boyfriend lived in northern Sweden we TRIED to find stuff to do and see. We actually spent a day tracking down a huge rock that was on the town's "list of things to see". It was just a big rock in the middle of a dense stand of trees with a LOT of flies and mosquitos.

I have some pics at www.pbase.com/indigo997/sweden .
You can also check out www.amerikanska.com and ask questions in the forum. It's a site for Americans living in Sweden so they can tell you what they've enjoyed seeing and doing.

Thanks everybody!
I am trying to find a ferry from Copenhagen to Bergen. Would 4 days be enough to make Bergen -Oslo trip and then head to Stokholm?

If not flying, the sensible thing to do is take the very enjoyable overnight ferry to Oslo, then the train towards Bergen but stopping short such as Voss or Flam or whatever. There you can take convenient public transport or if you must there are places to rent a car. Stockholm is a long ways away.

Another option is: After spending your two days in Copenhagen, don?t miss Nyhavn, a beautiful fisherman village in the center of Copenhagen; take the ?new? bridge from Copenhagen to Malmö Sweden. Drive north about one hour to Helsingborg, Sweden. There you can take the ferry (more like a small cruse ship with restaurants and nightclub) to Begern, Norway. You can even bring the car, which you perhaps rented in Copenhagen. Just make sure that they allow you to travel between the different Scandinavian countries with the rental car. The ferry trip is absolutely beautiful as you leave Helsingborg late afternoon and arrive thru the fjords in Norway very early the next morning. You can always take the ferry back to Copenhagen from Oslo, no reason to backtrack. I am born and raised in Sweden and this is one of my number one recommendations.

Hello -
I spent 2 weeks in Norway last summer. Haven't been to Sweden.

For your Norway leg - look into the very popular 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour.
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

From Oslo you can take public transport to Bergen and stop along the way (as another person has suggested). Parts of this route you cannot even do by car - the Flam railway, for instance. Coastal Steamers through the fjords were fun, too, and a very fast and economical way to move along the coast. Locals use them as well.

Possible stops along the way:

Geilo - Dr. Holms Hotel (very nice, at train station)

Balestrand - Kvikne's Hotel (very nice, at dock)

Bergen - Skansen Pensonjat (lower priced - they have a couple of apartments with kitchens, in case you are tired of paying BIG BUCKS for every meal!)

Oslo itself is a nice place to stay for a few days, so don't miss it in your hurry to the fjords and mountains.

I agree with other's comments that driving would eat up a large amount of your time - Wideroe, Braathens, and SAS airlines have some very reasonable fares (sometimes, at least).

If you don't do that, then at least go by train over the longest distances so you can sleep and not burn sightseeing days just trying to get somewhere!

Hope that helps some.
Helen

A trip that we have done a couple of times and absolutely loved which fits in with suggestions on other posts is catching the train from Bergen to Voss. From there pick up the bus to Gudvangen. Scenery on the bus ride is lovely with some excellent waterfalls. From Gudvangen we caught the ferry which travels along the fiord to Flam. Time wise we left Bergen on 7.30am train and were in Flam by lunch time. Spend a day or two in Flam. It's a beautfiul area. However it depends how much you are into nature and scenery. If you don't like doing some walking there is not a lot else available in Flam so one night would do it. The next day catch the train from Flam to Oslo. It's a wonderful train trip, especially the sector on the Flam line. Once you are in Oslo you could then pick up a car and drive to Sweden. Have driven from Oslo to Stockholm once and other posts are right that there can be some rather boring and flat roads, but overall we still quite enjoyed it. Went past a lot of beautiful lakes.
I know the first part of my post might make you think fancy hauling your luggage around from train, to bus and then ferry in such a short period of time but I can't recall it being any problem at all - and you wouldn't believe how much photographic gear my husband takes. It was well worth it in our opinion, especially with the opportunity of travelling along the fiord by ferry - better still than the time we did the whole thing by train (Oslo-Flam-Bergen). Have a great time, it is one of our favourite parts of Europe.