Please help with my Scandinavian itinery
 

We are two fit seventy-plus year old Australians and planning an independent tour of Scandinavia of 31 days. We fly into Helsinki on August 8 and stay 4 nights, then take the ferry to Stockholm and stay 3 nights. We plan to take the train to Goteborg for a 2 night stay. We're not sure of what to do next. Travelling by train, we have 6 nights set aside for Denmark including 3 in Copenhagen . Should we just stay in Copenhagen for the whole time and do day trips or has someone another suggestion. We want to take the overnight ferry to Oslo for a 3 night stay and then take the "NIN" route to Bergen with a stop at Flam on the way. We already have our accommodation in Flam, but how do we book the various legs of this tour in the most cost effective way? After 2 nights in Bergen we will take the Hurtigruten cruise to Kirkenes. We plan a 1 night stay at either Inari or Rovaniemi and then take the train back to Helsinki and fly home the next day.
Does in seem that a Scanrail Pass would be cost effective and what extras, if any, do we get with It?
We could change the number of days we stay in Stockholm, Copenhagen and/or Oslo. Any suggestions?
Besides the usual site seeing activities in new countries we also enjoy have an interest in parks and gardens and the great outdoors.
Many thanks in advance for any tips and advice.

I think 4 nights in Helsinki is a bit too much. 2-3 nights is sufficient, then you can add a night or two in Stockholm where there is more to do & is a far more beautiful city.
3 nights in Copenhagen is fine, you can do some day trips in North Zealand easily from Copenhagen, the rest of the time you can explore Denmark, not sure if you have time to visit Bornholm but there are other more accessible islands that are worth a visit.

Book railway Oslo - Flåm at https://www.nsb.no/en/frontpage this will include the Flåm railway (but that is not included in Scandal pass). Booking early is cheaper with non-refundable minipris ticket.
Book ferry to Gudvangen at https://www.visitflam.com/en/se-og-g...royfjord-2016/
Note that there are only 4 buses a day from Gudvangen dock that do the Stalheimskleiva road so you need to book a ferry that arrives conveniently for one of them - there is nothing in Gudvangen except an hotel and a petrol station so not worth spending time there (especially if it's raining!).
Buses depart at 11:40, 13:20 (not Sat and Sun), 15:40 and 17:45 - journey time 1 hr 15 min.
There is no booking of buses - pay the driver NOK 112 cash.
There are frequent local trains from Voss to Bergen - again most cannot be booked - buy ticket at station machine only

I'm with those who feel Stockholm deserves more time. Frankly, I found Helsinki boring (and was just there one day). However, the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm is great fun.

In Stockholm don't miss the Millesgården and the Vasa Museum.

Jennifer Anne:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Finland#
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Stockholm#
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Denmark#
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...uHk6iIgbSEgAE# These should give you a few ideas for your Scandinavian travel. I would fly from Kirkenes to Helsnki..no train and driving is a long way which can be boring and barren at times.

I would reduce your time in Helsinki - cute but not overwhelming - and add several days each to Stockholm and Copenhagen - which both have tons more to see and do. You can also do several day trips from each one - so I would allow at least 6 nights for each city (3 full days in each city plus 2 days trips is I think a minimum).

If you make a list of what you want to see in each city I'll think you'll see why so many days are needed. Michelin green guides are really good for rating sights and telling you how long it takes to see them.

Many thanks to all for your helpful replies. We have made adjustments accordingly. Helsinki is not a problem as we are planning day trips to Tallinn and Porvoo.

Booking the Naeroyfjord has proved problematical, as the website only takes Visa credit cards. Hoping to resolve it soon.

Kind regards, Jennifer

They also accept MasterCard. Surely you know someone with a Visa or MC who can help you out? Travelling in Europe you need Visa and MasterCard - Amex, Diners etc. won't get you very far. You have enough time to get yourself both a Visa and MC.

Thanks dyoll, I do have a MasterCard, but they don't seem to accept it. I emailed them but didn't get an answer. I'll try again.
Cheers
Jennifer

I'm not sure what your current itinerary is, but FWIW, a first visit to Stockholm can, IMO, easily warrant 5 full days.

If you must fly out of Helsinki, is there any chance that you could put all of your time there at the end of your trip? I can understand that you might be too tired, but if you can push on, it would save a change of hotels. If you do that, you can probably cut your time in Helsinki to just a day or two, since you wouldn't then need time there for recovery from jet lag. (I was glad to have given it a bit more, but I wouldn't sacrifice time in Stockholm or Copenhagen for Helsinki. JMO.)

Hope that helps!

I did something similar, including the Hurtigruten cruise, last year. No Helsinki or Tallinn, as I had done them earlier. You may find my TR helpful, start here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-9298373

If you have US credit cards you may have problems with on-line payment in Europe as US cards are not considered secure enough. You should get chip and pin cards before travelling to Europe (swipe and sign went out years ago) and sign up to the Verified by Visa and MasterCard equivalent.

Don't know why dyoll found it necessary to post that, especially as the OP is Australian!

No need for Americans to worry, either. My Capital One cards worked fine for online payments when they were swipe cards, and have continued to work as chip and signature cards over the last few months. True chip and PIN cards are virtually impossible to find in the US, the country is gradually switching to chip and signature. I travel with a PenFed card that is chip and signature preferred and chip and PIN secondary, but even cards like that are rare. I am not signed up for the Verified system and do not have problems. If you do, call your bank, which may be blocking foreign transactions. Certainly call them before you travel to let them know you will be out of the country.

Just got back on Wednsday from Scandinavia and did the NIN tour from Bergen to Oslo in one day.

Where ever you go ask for the senior rate.

I did Bergen to Oslo following the NIN itinerary to the letter but booked it myself to get the senior rates on trains, buses and ferry. I booked everything before I left except for the bus from Voss-Gudvangen and you pay the driver. I paid 57NOK, senior rate.

On the train, everyone is concerned about what side to sit on for best views. What you really need to do is sit at a seat with a window that opens so you can take pictures, and not through the train window but out the window.

Just posted the other day about currency on my trip as I was amazed about the use of credit cards to pay for everything. You just need enough coin for a beverage or postcard but even then you can use a credit card.

Copenhagen for 5 days so bought the 5 day Copenhagen Card and was a great deal. Loved Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, enjoyed Tallinn for one day and Helsinki, not so much. Bergen very pretty and enjoyable, with nothing much in Flam, and Gudvangen is just the bus/ferry transfer point.

At Copenhagen Airport my ATM card would only work at one out of 3 machines and would not work at the bank. Why? Who knows, just keep trying.

I was there 3 weeks and had 3 weeks of 70-75 with sun every darn day. Enjoy.

In Stockholm you should visit Skansen, Gröna Lund, take a bike ride through Djurgården, walk through Old Town, see the change of the Royal guard at noon by the castle, go to a restaurant in Södermalm. Lots to see and do there, make it your main destination for the trip!

Just an update: changing of the guard in Stockholm takes place at 1:30.

About the ScanRail Pass and extras - yes it does also include discounts at chain hotels in some of those countries and covers in part or full several key boats. For all your train travels it should be a good deal - let's you hop on any train anytime unless reservations are required and those are a snap to get IME with a Eurailpass up there.

For lots of info o9n ScanRailpass check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Copenhagen yes has some great day trips so several days there can be sweet - Arhus(and the nearby Bogman Museum) and area may be of interest for another section otherwise practically all of the country west of Arhus is so close to Copenhagen that it is best to stay there and use it as a base hub.

I was there 3 weeks and had 3 weeks of 70-75 with sun every darn day.>

You were of course extremely lucky and that nice weather makes Scandinavia and Finland all the nicer.

Warm weather is not unusual in Scandinavia during summer; certainly it has been alot better weather in Sweden this year than the UK.

I had such "nice" weather in Copenhagen and Stockholm last year I was glad of AC.