Scandinavia in mid-March 2.5 weeks

Old Oct 27th, 2015, 12:29 AM
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Scandinavia in mid-March 2.5 weeks

We are planning on a trip to Scandinavia next year for 2.5-3 weeks and moved the travel dates from January to March instead as suggested by many. The tentative dates are March 11-30 including flights to/from Philippines. SO, here comes the hard part, we are trying to plan this smart and efficient. WE are not very familiar with the transport systems and which ones are scenic or not and which ones are okay to take during this season.

IDEALLY here are the things we would like to do:
-visit Denmark, Sweden & Norway or even Finland if time permits.
-see the Northern Lights
-explore the cities (museums, parks, churches etc.)
-see the fjords (is it even worth it to do a fjord cruise this time of year?)

I know this is quite a long shot for 3 weeks so we are willing to be flexible in the destinations we can go to that the time would allow. Our main objective is seeing the Northern Lights maybe in Kiruna/Abisko or Tromso. I know most of you here are experts in the area and the transport system and I would like to get your opinions on which to remove and which to include on the trip (e.g. what cities, or sights) and maybe possibly the best route or transportation to take.

What do you think of this draft route? Very open to all your suggestions and tips!

Manila-Copenhagen-Oslo-Flam-Kiruna(for Northern Lights)-Stockholm-Malmo-Copenhagen-Manila
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 12:41 AM
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Just noticed that Easter Holiday will coincide with our tentative dates in March 11-30. Just wanted to know if that will be a bad idea to be going around and if the businesses will be closed off whole weekend?
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 12:54 AM
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For Norway shops will be closed on Thursday, Friday March 23rd and 24th and Sunday, Monday March 27th and 28th in Norway. Public transport timetables will be affected - usually running on Sunday timetables on these holidays. Tourist attractions will generally be open - worth checking on their websites. For the other countries I don't think they have holiday on Thursday 23rd.
You are perhaps trying to include too much in only 2.5 weeks - drop Finland. Flight to Copenhagen, overnight ferry to Oslo, then train (Norway in a Nutshell route) to Bergen. Flight to Tromsø for Northern Lights (stay there at least 5 days to maximise chances) then fly to Stockholm and either fly out of Stockholm or train back to Copenhagen. Staying a couple of days (3 nights) in each of these cities will fill your time.
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 02:43 AM
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@dyoll thanks for the info. Seems like the easter holiday won't be much of a problem for our trip? Thanks for the tip. For the Northern Lights sighting, since we are staying long to have better chances, do you think Tromso is better than Kiruna/Abisko? Both in terms of attractions other than NL, and the chances of seeing NL at all.
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 06:29 AM
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Just wanted to run through a draft itinerary for our trip:

Depart Manila
Arrive Copenhagen-stay 3 days 2 nights
Depart Copenhagen via overnight train/ferry? on 3rd night to Oslo (I'm guessing we'll get a eurail Scandinavia Pass?)
Arrive Oslo morning -stay 2 nights
Depart Oslo via train in morning to Bergen (Norway in a Nutshell day trip)
Train, Oslo-Myrdal
The Flåm Railway, Myrdal-Flåm
Fjord cruise, Flåm-Gudvangen
Bus, Gudvangen-Voss
Train, Voss-Bergen
Arrive in Bergen at night - stay for 2 nights
Depart Bergen via plane to Abisko/Kiruna or Tromso (still to be discussed with my husband)
Arrive in Abisko/Kiruna or Tromso stay for 4-5 nights to catch Aurora Borealis
Depart Abisko/Kiruna or Tromso via plane to Stockholm
Arrive in Stockholm- not sure how long we still have from here but we can squeeze in a trip to nearby attractions if the time permits
Depart Stockholm via plane to Manila
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 08:42 AM
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Tromsø is a reasonable sized town/city with many other attractions/facilities. I think there are direct flights Bergen-Tromsø.
Kiruna is just a mining town and Abisko barely a village. Getting to Abisko/Kiruna from Bergen would involve a change or two.
http://www.visittromso.no/en
Forget Eurail - discount tickets ordered directly from NSB are much cheaper - you are only using rail between Oslo and Bergen? https://www.nsb.no/en/
Book ferry at http://www.dfdsseaways.no/ Note that if you can navigate the Norwegian site (open in Chrome browser)then fares may be cheaper than through UK/USA sites
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 08:44 AM
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Note that in March you do not need to book any other parts of NiN journey except Oslo-Myrdal - just follow the NiN timetable and pay as you go.
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/
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Old Oct 27th, 2015, 05:33 PM
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Should be a wonderful trip!

I'm not sure how you envision spreading your time across these areas, but FWIW, you might want to try to give Stockholm at least 3 or 4 days, if not 5! Of course, it depends on your interests, and if I'm reading correctly, how much time you can give Stockholm will depend on when you are able to see the Northern Lights.

Also, it sounds like you'll really have only 2 days in Copenhagen, once you take jet lag into account. I wanted a bit more than that, but then I also wanted a day trip to Roskilde. Since your time in that area is limited, it might be a good idea to think through your priorities in advance so you are prepared to take advantage of the time and energy you have.

Enjoy!
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 04:46 AM
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@dyoll First of all, awesome tips regarding the NiN booking and ferry booking! Def taking notes. Tromso seems like the more convienient choice in terms of getting there and the attractions and facilities to choose from. Although I heard, we would have to hire a tour guide to drive us around when searching for NL as this is not easy to see inside the city with all the lights and pollution. Whereas in Abisko, I've read that you could just step out of the lodge when the light shows. Although spending 4 days in a small village with few to see doesn't sound appealing at all. We might only have a few days, maybe 4/5 days for the Northern Lights, it's the highlight of our trip and we would like to have a fair chance of seeing it, given its unpredictable nature, but also not waste the cost of going up north.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 04:55 AM
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@kya Thank you! Me and my husband are really looking forward to this trip. I have given the arrival at Copenhagen some thought and we might stay for 3 full days at least, to be able to adjust to the jetlag too. I have not heard of Roskilde, what made you decide to visit the place?

Main priority, really is the Northern Lights. Coming from a country so close to the equator, we are dying to see the light show in the Arctic Circle. This is really what made us decide on Scandinavia. We are big city travellers and love that the rest of Scandinavia is so full of design and culture and history and the chance to go up north to see the lights was the deciding factor.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 05:43 PM
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I knew of Roskilde because it was covered in every guidebook I had for the area at the time I planned my trip -- is it not mentioned in yours? You can learn more about it by using Fodor's "Destinations" guides -- go to the top of the screen, find the "Destinations" tab to the far left of the orange bar below the Fodor's logo, then click on Europe and enter, in the search box to the right, Roskilde. Here's what you will find:
http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/d...laces/roskilde
Or do some google searches!

I chose to visit Roskilde because it offered sites of interest to me -- a cathedral that was, for centuries, the burial place of Danish royalty; a small museum featuring Viking ships that were found in the local area; thatched houses (which I had never seen at that time, but I don't know if they still exist). If it helps: I would think the cathedral in Stockholm's Gamla Stan -- sometimes called the Storkyrkan -- would offer a reasonably alternative to the Roskilde cathedral (I was glad to see both, but I'm not sure seeing both would be of interest to one and all); the Wasa Museum in Stockholm is exceptional and, IMO, far more of a "must" than the Viking ship museum in Roskilde; and as I already noted, I can't even say whether there are still any thatched houses in Roskilde.

A little research should let you decide what it now offers and whether it's of sufficient interest to you to be worth taking time from a well-planned and very full itinerary. It's always so hard to figure out what to keep and what to cut when planning an itinerary, especially when you are trying to allow some flexibility for unpredictable things!

Hope that helps!
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:15 PM
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@kja Great suggestions. We'll look into Roskilde but personally Gamla Stan was initially more appealing to us. I agree, planning an itinerary is extremely difficult when time is constrained. It is our first time travelling this far together and visiting multiple countries at that too.

Will definitely share a second draft of our itinerary once we decide on the Northern Lights homebase. Thanks for all your help.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:19 PM
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I loved Gamla Stan!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2016, 05:38 AM
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Just an update on our final itinerary, for anyone who is intrested:

Fri, Mar 11, Fly Manila to Amsterdam
Fri, Mar 11, Fly Amsterdam to Copenhagen
Sat, Mar 12, Copenhagen
Sun, Mar 13, Copenhagen
Mon, Mar 14, Copenhagen
Tue, Mar 15, Go to Oslo via DFDS
Wed, Mar 16, Oslo
Thu, Mar 17, Oslo
Fri, Mar 18, Norway in a Nutshell Part 1 Overnight in Flam
Sat, Mar 19, Norway in a Nutshell Part 2 Go to Bergen from Flam
Sun, Mar 20, Bergen Whole Day
Mon, Mar 21, Fly to Tromso (for Northern Lights)
Tue, Mar 22, Tromso
Wed, Mar 23, Tromso
Thu, Mar 24, Tromso
Fri, Mar 25, Fly to Stockholm
Sat, Mar 26, Stockholm
Sun, Mar 27, Stockholm
Mon, Mar 28, Fly to Amsterdam
Tue, Mar 29, Amsterdam
Wed, Mar 30, Fly Amsterdam to Manila
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Old Dec 13th, 2016, 06:59 PM
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merakimade , how was your trip? Any recommendations /changes based on your visit? I am planning a trip in march 2017 and have the similar itinerary in mind.
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 08:04 PM
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Hi Merakimade, I'm also planning a similar trip from Feb 27-Mar 13, coming from Manila as well. How did yours go? I was planning on going to exactly the same places ass you did but I only have 2 weeks off of work. Was wondering if it's gonna be too tight for me.
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