Scandinavia and St Petersburg itinerary
 

Hi,
we are two or three single guys in our early 30's going to Scandinavia and St Petersburg in September. We do not intend to spend many days in each city. Our proposed itinerary is as follows. We would like your helpful advice, please:

Aug 30: St Petersburg
Aug 31: St Petersburg
Sept 1: St Petersburg
Sept 2: St Petersburg-Helsinki by train.
Sept 3: Day trip Ferry to Tallinn.
Sept 4: Helsinki. Ferry at night to Stockholm.
Sept 5: Stockholm.
Sept 6 Stockholm.
Sept 7: flight to Oslo
Sept 8: Oslo
Sept 9: Norway in a nutshell. Sleep in Flam.
Sept 10: Sleep in Bergen
Sept 11: Flight to Copenhagen.
Sept 12: Copenhagen.
Sept 13: Copenhagen
Sept 14: back home early morning.

Without knowing your interests and what you want to see and do it's hard to give a lot of advice. But - from being in the area in September I can tell you that it's possible the seas will be rough and we found temps in St Pet in early Sept to be fall already (one day was high 40's and very blustery and locals had pulled out winter coats).

I found Helsinki the least interesting place, with St Pet the most, followed by Stockholm.

Our biggest question is whether this itinerary is too tight and if we should, for example, skip St. Petersburg or any other place. OUr main interest is to walk around and do some sightseeing. Not too interested in museums, for example.
Thanks

St Petersburg is not to missed. There is so much to see there. Helsinki is a wonderful city - try the Hesburger, Stockmans Dept store, the market, Sibelius monument etc. I have visited Helsinki 2 times and would go back again. We did the day trip to Tallinn - the old town was in the process of being renovated and should have many more shops etc now. It is a few minutes walking distance of the ferry landing. There is an old church there that is quite interesting to see. Finlanders take the ferry to Tallinn to buy their alcohol. It is very expensive in Finland. Also, they party on the ferries because the alcohol is cheaper.
The Silja night ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm is great. The buffet dinner is a must. Also, they party all night on the ferry if you like that. We missed all of that. Coming into Stockholm of an early morning before it is completely light is beautiful. Oslo is great - don't miss the Vigeland Statue Park
In Bergen, the Funicular to the top of the mountain gives you a spectacular view of Bergen.
We have been in Norway a couple of times - it is a beautiful country - too bad you don't have more in Helsinki, Oslo and Bergen.

Forgot to mention that the Viking Museum is quite interesting and don't miss the Hermitage Museum in St Pete. YOu said you weren't in to museums but those 2 are great.

Helsinki is a great walking town. We walked everywhere.

We were in St Pete in September and the weather was great - not cold - also Finland, Norway and Sweden were warm. but that year when we got to Paris we were freezing cold.

I think it's a good itinerary. You will enjoy the ferry to Stockholm. If you need to adjust a night, I would skip sleeping in Flam and go straight to Bergen.

Whatever you DO, do NOT scrimp on anything re St. Petersburg and see AS MUCH as you can...every palace, every museum, every church and yes, one of those cultural offerings at night, either ballet, opera, whatever...it is WORTH EVERY PENNY and you may never go back.

Yes, you CAN afford it...and you will not regret it..ever!

We stayed overnight at the Fretheim Hotel on the fjord. We had a nice hike - it is beautiful. There is a waterfall you can hike to. We liked the hotel and the buffet dinner.
http://www.fretheim-hotel.no/main_eng.htm
Guess I would spend more time in Norway and less in Copenhagen although being single guys you may find more to do in Copenhagen.
Your schedule is okay. You may like one place more than another and go back another visit.
When you go into Russia you will be asked to fill out a sheet listing your valuables and how much money you are taking into the country. When you leave on the train the custom officers will get on the train in one city and get off at the last city in Russia. You will have to fill out another form stating how much money you are taking out of the country. You may be asked to show what you purchased or what items you are taking out. We were asked a couple of questions but others had everything looked - may depend on country of origin.
They also take your passport and check it out and return it to you before they get off the train.

Would you start it in St Petersburg and end in Copenhagen or should I start the trip in Copenhagen and end it in St Pete?
Thanks

Guess I would start in St Pete. Towards the end of the trip you may start to get a little travel weary and think you could deal with the differences in St Pete at the beginning of your trip. But not sure if it makes any difference one way or the other.

We went to St Pete by train from Helsinki with a tour sponsored by the Finland Tourist Bureau. It was a good tour - the only time we have gone with a tour. Booked it through Nordicsaga.com They handled getting the VISA for Russia and it was about $100. This was a couple of years ago. Not sure what the regulations are now. You may want to check on whether you have to get a VISA.

Looks okay to me. Though, I think you could drop Helsinki if you wanted to add in some time. Also if you needed an extra day, I think 2 days in Copenhagen would be enough. Then again, if you are single guys, Copenhagen has some pretty good nightlife that lasts well into the wee hours.

Thanks for your input. I was reviewing my itinerary and still have some issues.
The big issue is if we need to skip something or adjust some or our stays in any of the cities.
The full itinerary is as follows:
Aug 30: St Petersburg (arrival around 9pm)
Aug 31: St Petersburg
Sept 1: St Petersburg
Sept 2: St Petersburg-Helsinki by train (Two options: train at 7h27 – 12h35 or 16h44-21h58)
Sept 3: Day trip Ferry to Tallinn.
Sept 4: Helsinki. Ferry at 5h30 pm to Stockholm.
Sept 5: Stockholm (arrival at 9h30)
Sept 6 Stockholm.
Sept 7: flight to Oslo in the morning
Sept 8: Oslo
Sept 9: Norway in a nutshell. Sleep in Flam.
Sept 10: Sleep in Bergen (arrival at 20h45)
Sept 11: Flight to Copenhagen around 2 pm
Sept 12: Copenhagen.
Sept 13: Copenhagen
Sept 14: back home early morning (6 am)

So far we have:
- 2 full days in St Petersburg
- 1 full day in Helsinki
- 1 full day in Tallinn
- 2 full days in Stockholm
- 2 full days in Oslo
- 2 full days for Norway in a Nutshell
- 0.5 day in Bergen
- 2.5 days in Copenhagen

Any other inputs? Thanks for your help.

I would recommend adding a day in St P and cutting a day in either Oslo, Stockholm or Copanhagan. I think starting in St P is best approach also.

Thanks. Well, we still think the itinerary may be too tight.
We have two options:
1)Adding a day on the trip.

Aug 29: St Petersburg (arrival around 9pm)
Aug 30: St Petersburg
Aug 31: St Petersburg
Sept 1: St Petersburg
Sept 2: St Petersburg-Helsinki by train 7h27 – 12h35.
Sept 3: Day trip Ferry to Tallinn.
Sept 4: Helsinki. Ferry at 5h30 pm to Stockholm.
Sept 5: Stockholm (arrival at 9h30)
Sept 6 Stockholm.
Sept 7: flight to Oslo in the morning
Sept 8: Oslo
Sept 9: Norway in a nutshell. Sleep in Flam.
Sept 10: Sleep in Bergen (arrival at 20h45)
Sept 11: Flight to Copenhagen around 2 pm
Sept 12: Copenhagen.
Sept 13: Copenhagen
Sept 14: back home early morning (6 am)

Option 2) Cutting out St Petersburg and going there in a next trip to Russia.

Aug 30: Arrival in Helsinki at night.
Aug 31: Helsinki
Sept 1: Day trip Ferry to Tallinn.
Sept 2: Helsinki. Ferry at 5h30 pm to Stockholm.
Sept 3: Stockholm (arrival at 9h30)
Sept 4: Stockholm.
Sept 5: flight to Oslo in the afternoon.
Sept 6 Oslo
Sept 7: Oslo
Sept 8: Norway in a nutshell. Sleep in Flam.
Sept 9: Sleep in Bergen (arrival at 20h45)
Sept 10: Flight to Copenhagen around 2 pm
Sept 11: Copenhagen.
Sept 12: Copenhagen
Sept 13: back home early morning (6 am)

What do you think? What would you change?

Don't miss St Petersburg. The number of days there is about right for the type of trip you are planning.

I would add one more day to Helsinki - and I would add one full day to Bergen.

We like to stay 3 weeks when we go to Europe and we like traveling around.

I like your itinerary. We aren't for staying in one or two spots - we like to keep on the move and see as much as we can. Having been to all the places you are going, adding those 2 extra days will give you a great trip.

Hi, gpm -

It really depends on what you want to see and experience, but my sense is that neither of your proposed itineraries gives you enough time in Stockholm, and 3 full days in St. Petersburg would definitely not have been enough for me. For Helsinki, I think your 2nd option is better than your first. I haven't been to Norway, so I can't comment on your time there. The good news is that you are visiting some wonderful places, so I'm sure you'll have some memorable experiences whichever choice you make. Good luck!