BigRuss

But single-eyed wonder, that comparison is cost of LIVING, not cost of visiting. The residents of Scandinavia have so many services "paid for" through the tax system that the simple costs of traveling to X place and staying there short term are different than the costs of living in X place and experiencing whatever benefits the place grants to its residents (e.g., transport, health services, education, etc.).

Those ravens may be looking in the wrong area.

Odin

The items listed under Restaurant are the same price for visitors and for residents. Same as for transportation. I'm not aware of benefits to residents for transport for either the UK or Sweden. If a visitor rents a car, the gas price is the same as a resident. Visitors travelling on a budget and staying in an apartment might be interested to know how much food items cost.

Samantha88

Thanks everyone for your feedback, it has really been so helpful!

I am exploring the different combinations/order of events and was wondering if you thought we would have trouble getting to/finding our hotel in Bergen if we take a late flight from Stockholm and get in around midnight? I just didnt' know if it would be a good idea to get to a new city that late at night especially since we only speak English.

Any advice would be appreciated...thank you!

Michael

Language is not a problem; in our experience, most Norwegians speak English even if it was rudimentary with our taxi driver.

Samantha88

Thank you Michael! Very good to know.

PalenQ

My Norwegian experiences show me that nearly everyone speaks English and not rudimentary IME but uncannily an American English - they say garnered from American TV shows that dominate. Anyway language is no barrier here IF you speak English.

Samantha88

So my brother-in-law's assignment changed so he will be going to Sweden in a couple of months instead of February. My husband and I are still going to make the trip but are thinking of going in May since it will be better weather and are also looking at cutting the trip down to 7 nights instead of 10-12.

I am thinking we need to cut one leg of the trip to get it down to 7 nights. I definitely want to do Copenhagen so would you guys recommend doing Copenhagen/Norway OR Copenhagen/Stockholm??

Thanks for any suggestions!

Odin

Copenhagen/Stockholm, but then I am biased.

dyoll

What do you want to do, cities or scenery? For cities Copenhagen and Stockholm, for scenery include Norway and the fjords.

kja

I think it would be difficult to see both Copenhagen AND Stockholm in just one week, but it really depends on your interests. I recommend that you get a good guidebook or two, or go to your local library, Mark out what you want to see on a calendar. Be sure to block in your transportation time, with some time to either side for transportation, checking in or out, packing and unpacking. The see how things fit. Either way, you'll see some wonderful things!

PalenQ

At that time of year I'd stick to cities - dreary weather - days are still short - not the nicest time for a fjord ride but cities can be quite pleasant.

kja

@ maddieshae -- the OP's trip was scheduled for months ago. Are you here for any purpose other than advertising, which is disallowed on Fodor's?

jacketwatch

I agree. New poster with links in all her posts to same website.

PalenQ

posting on every possible thread related to their whatever - first post since Sep 14 - a year ago.

Sberg

We just came back from 2 weeks in Norway and Sweden. Yes, the food is more expensive than at home but there is no tipping which helps. Alcohol is expensive in restaurants so don't drink much. We did NOT spend 9-10 thousand maybe 5-6 including our flights.The hotels are fairly priced and look for hotels that include breakfasts. The breakfasts are very large so you will only need a snack mid day. Order only main courses at dinner and skip the apps which also keeps prices down. Liquor stores in Stockholm had comparable prices to the U.S. Norway has very limited open times for liquor stores ( we never saw one open) so buy wine in the duty free if you want it.

We loved Norway. The fjords are gorgeous. If you can stretch your time spend some time there.

manda99

Following this thread with similar questions. I just booked to fly into Stockholm on Friday morning and then fly out of Copenhagen on Sunday of the next week. So 9 or 10 days or so on the ground. I have friends in Copenhagen, so want/need to be there for a couple days. It will be just me and my 12 year old traveling. I'd originally just planned to split the trip between a pretty exhaustive tour of the Stockholm area and then a train ride down to Copenhagen. I'd really like to squeeze Norway in though - especially Bergen. I just can't quite figure out the logistics. My son has a typical 12 year old boy attention span and energy, so he won't mind hopping around quite a bit.

PalenQ

Well yes Bergen and the fabulous Norway in a Nutshell Tour will keep his attention span the whole time - thrilling mountain bus ride, boat on Norways largest and one of its most impressive fjords - good chance of seeing whales IME - and thrilling mountain train ride.

Maybe fly out of Bergen - train or boat from Copenhagen to Oslo could be a thrill as well - then one of Europe's most scenic trains - the Oslo to Bergen line to Bergen - then do the Nutshell trip - done on your own - buy all tickets for all components in Bergen - end up back in Bergen or back to Oslo if flying out of there is better.

So maybe Stockholm 4 days
Copenhagen 3 days
Oslo 1 day
Bergen 2 days

And if doing that type of travel by train and or boat check the Scan Railpass that covers nearly everything and lets you just hop on any train anytime practically. For info on Scandinavian trains check the sources I gave on Aug 29 above at 10:46 and also Man in Seat 61 who above also gave a lot of web sites relevant to this also.

kja

@ manda99 -- "fly into Stockholm on Friday morning and then fly out of Copenhagen on Sunday of the next week. So 9 or 10 days or so on the ground" -- Sounds to me more like 8 days, which, IME, would be JUST enough for Stockholm and Copenhagen. But it depends on your interests.

PalenQ

Yes sometimes less is indeed more!

PalenQ

I agree with kja - hard to do justice to three places in three separate countries that are rather far from each other.