Scandinavia Itinerary Feedback
 

Hi,

Planning a 2 week Scandinavia trip (Denmark, Sweden & Norway with side trips to Helsinki and Tallin). We arrive into Copenhagen on Day 1 in the evening and fly out in the morning from Bergen on Day 15. We are traveling with our 4 year old who loves the outdoors and is generally good about traveling. Would appreciate any feedback / suggestions for the itinerary. For Norway, we have 2.5 days in Oslo, a day for the Norway in a Nutshell and a day in Bergen. Debating whether to do NIN in a day or break it out but that would cut short the time in Oslo.

Thanks!
Day 1 Arrive in Copenhagen in evening
Day 2 Copenhagen
Day 3 Copenhagen
Day 4 Copenhagen. Take train to Stockholm in the PM
Day 5 Stockholm
Day 6 Stockholm
Day 7 Stockholm. Take overnight ferry to Helsinki
Day 8 Helsinki
Day 9 Take ferry to Tallin in A.M. Tallin
Day 10 Flight to Oslo at 11 am.
Day 11 Oslo
Day 12 Oslo
Day 13 Norway in a Nutshell
Day 14 Bergen
Day 15 Return

You know your own child, but this seems like way too much traveling with a little one to me. I’d drop Denmark and Norway if it were me.

I thought the itinerary was ok until Helsinki. You’ve left no time for Helsinki or Tallinn, maybe you should drop those cities. I’d advise flying between Copenhagen and Stockholm.

for info on trains and booking your own discounted tickets in advance check www.seat61.com which has lots on doing just that - general info on trains and Sacndianvia also BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. If taking all those train and boats check out the ScanRail Pass good on trains and key ferries - kid should always travel free at that age I believe.

We took a similar trip (Copenhagen-Stockholm-Helsinki-Oslo-Bergin) some years ago when our son was 11, but we did a four country 3 week trip when our son was 4 1/2 (Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland) and kid and and us were no worse for the wear. In fact, thinking back, at that age, the kid gets restless (at least ours did) if the pace is more leisurely.

To answer your specific question, though, do NIN in one day. Take the 8:00 a.m. train to ensure the full day experience. There's space on all transportation for your luggage, no worries.

On our "similar" trip, that portion of it was 2 weeks, and we didn't take in Tallin. Rather, we took the Silja line from Stockholm to Helsinki (our first "cruise" and it was so much fun!), spent the day in Helsinki, then took the boat back to Stockholm, proceeding on from there. We had rail passes because we did all of our traveling by rail and ferry. Anyway, that would be my only suggestion unless you really need to take in Tallin, not that you asked about that.

Hi Doug, Thanks for the feedback. We are flying into Copenhagen and out of Bergen. Maybe, will skip something in the middle instead, like Tallin which others have suggested too.

Hi Odin, Thanks for the tip. Will look into flights between Copenhagen and Sweden and might skip Tallin.

Hi PalenQ ...Thank you so much for the tips. Will use those. Love Rick Steves and I am reading his Scandinavia book right now.

Hi Surgergirl,

Our 4 year old is very energetic so we are used to a fast pace with him. That is how we have managed to travel with him in the past. Thank you for the tip on doing NIN in a day. Looking into possibly skipping Tallin to avoid an extra stop!

All kids are different and only parents can know what is best.

Even for a solo adult, I think this itinerary unpleasantly rushed. Do consider adjusting it....

Exceot Helsinki and Tallinn it is fine - scrap those IMO and add in stops closer to other cities or fly home from Helsinki.

We are traveling to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Lofoten Islands at end of July. We are taking the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen. We purchased our tickets 90 days out and the cost for 2 adults, a 16 yo and a 15 yo was only $67 total. The 15 yo's ticket was only $4. (As Bradley Cooper says in Hangover 2, "how is that even possible?"). One way flights start at $60-70+ each. So to save maybe an hour extra to travel the distance, it certainly wasn't worth the cost to fly.

The suggestion of flying was because rail can be unreliable. It was not about price or saving an hour. Flying is going to be more expensive. Presumably you are not connecting with a flight, therefore if your train is delayed it won’t matter. If you spend enough time in Sweden as I do, you’ll know about rail. I’ve had more than my fair share of bad experiences on them as anyone in Sweden will tell you.
https://www.sj.se/en/traffic-info/tr...stockholm.html

Odin is obviously right about Swedish trains being often late and this rather surprises me as I thought in Sweden everything was so modern and such. Can planes be late too? Still as a tourist - not someone traveling a lot for business, etc seeing the Sweden in between by train is neat.

Hopefully the one train that a tourist takes will be on time. Not every train is late and not every flight is on time either but I do think they are more reliable on the whole.

Baltic Cruise
 

Copenhagen, helsinki, St. Petersburg, Talinin, Stockholm in June. What should I pack in terms of clothes for weather. Warm during day, cool at night?

Which June? This June has been really hot, day & night. Next June, who knows?

'really hot' is a relative term - how hot was it? Curious.