scandinavia with iceland and st. petersberg
 

hi.. we are a family with two couples and 3 kids aged between 2-7. we are looking at travelling to the northern capitals-copenhagen, stockholm, helsinki and oslo (along with bergen) in the 1st week of july for 15 days.

can we include iceland (reykjavik) and st. petersberg to these places in 15 days? we are travelling from india so want to cover as many places as we can that side.

maybe spend 2 nights in each place?

is this too ambitious or is it doable?
also, how do we travel from place to place. ant itinerery suggestions?

thanks
aarti

<<is this too ambitious or is it doable?>>

With three kids aged 7 and under, it's completely nuts. Even the all-capitals tour you want is probably too much because it hits five cities in 15 days (Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Bergen). You may want to skip Helsinki. It's not Scandinavian anyway.

How are you travelling?
It would be possible to travel Copenhagen - Stockholm by train, Stockholm - Helsinki by ferry, Helsinki - Bergen by flying, Bergen - Oslo by train (take the scenic Norway in a Nutshell route). Then Oslo back to Copenhagen by overnight ferry. Not exactly a friendly holiday with small children. Sit down with pen and paper and figure out how long you'll get in each city. Save your time in Copenhagen to the end - travel straight to Stockholm - or better get an open jaw ticket arriving Stockholm and departing Copenhagen.

You already have too much on your plate, esp with 3 small kids. In 15 days the MOST I would do is 4 cities - so you have at least 2.5 to 3 days in each place.

You need to deduct from the 15 days the day you arrive - 1/2 day jetlagged and the last day you depart so no time then. Plus it takes you 1/2 day to travel from one city to another - and 2 nights in a city gives you only 1 day sightseeing there.

Plus with kids that age you will need to find a park or a playground each day so they have a chance to run around and just be kids. Or else they will be cranky the whole time.

If you are seriously interested in this you need to get at least one guide book and read what there is to see/do since in the limited time you have you will need to choose carefully among the many major sights.

With kids you do not want to miss:

Copenhagen - Tivoli Garden, a very old and charming amusement area with beautiful gardens, bands and all sorts of rides and activities

Stockholm - Skansen - a combination zoo and recreation of Swedish country life with docents demonstrating a of lot traditional activities

Sorry - St Petersburg is a very large and beautiful city with a ton of historic sights/palaces/cathedrals and museums and spending less than 3 or 4 days there would really be a waste.

Take a Baltic Cruise. You'll get a taste of many of the Scandinavian capitals, you won't have to lug around baggage, your kids will enjoy the ship activities and you'll all have a lovely time.

Cruises are fine if you want to have only 7 or 8 hours in each port - are wiling to pay the fares for 7 people and they have plenty of activities for little ones.

Having done the cruise myself, I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to quickly see the main cities.

Because we started in Stockholm, we had plenty of time to see the city.

Helsinki: 7 hours is enough to see the city
St. Petersburg: You'll get a taste of it without going through the visa hassle.
Riga: Our favourite city. 15 minute walk from the ship to the town. Easily seen within 7 hours.
Gdansk: This took a one hour train ride to get there.
Visby: Quaint, lovely old town.

The evenings were filled with shows and good food. I personally think a Baltic Sea cruise is a fantastic way to see the main sights with kids in tow.

wow... thank you so much everyone... looks like we will have to reevaluate.
no one has said anything about iceland? is that way too ambitious? thanks.

Yes, way too ambitious. Have you even looked to see where Iceland is - and the travel times involved?