In the beginning phases of contemplating next summer's adventure. I've sent away for guide books and will be much more knowledgeable in my next post I hope, but some quick help in how to focus would be appreciated. I'm thinking we'll have approx 16 nights on the ground. I'd love to see the Northern Lights, and the Fjords - we do love history and art museums/sites, especially in walkable cities, but also love driving through little towns, seeing the countryside. (also foodie wannabes). It looks like we would be able to get between major cities via train or ferry - I'm open to any thoughts on how you would divide the time (in general we don't like spending less than 3 nights in any given hotel, prefer 4 or even 5. I'm thinking fly into Denmark and then out of either Sweden or Norway but am quite open to suggestions. Thanks

>>> next summer's adventure. ... I'd love to see the Northern Lights
Unless there is a major change in atmospheric condition in one year, the summer in the Northern Hemisphere is not a reliable season to see the norther lights.

I can't speak to the Northern Lights, and greg has already given you some key info.

Scandinavia is, as you know, a huge area -- you mention Norway and Sweden and Denmark, so should we assume that's the area you are contemplating?

FWIW, I thought Stockholm itself easily worth 5 full days, including a day trip by boat on the archipelago, but not counting any other day trips. I thought Copenhagen easily worth 3 full days, plus a day trip to Roskilde, and whatever other day trips you decide to take -- and you have a LOT of options!

fjord go to Norway - Bergen and do the Norway-in-a-Nutshell loop perhaps - Oslo - Copenhagen and Stockholm could do it. Trains are great - check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com for lots on trains and where to go. Copenhagen has several great day trips like Roskilde for Viking Ships- Helsingor and Hamlet's Castle and several others - Northern Lights means a long train trip up thru Norway or Sweden -may want to fly there or take boats but then that takes a lot of time for what may be very little as greg says.

One neat Copenhagen day trip is the 'Round the Sound' one where you take train over bridge/tunnel or the Ore Sound to Malmo - not a dreamy place not bad but head off to Lund for some hours - great university town - campus-like setting dotted by neat structure - then take train to Helsingorborg, Sweden and ferry to Helsingor and Hamlet's castle and the train back to Copenhagen - not that much time on trains and see some nice countryside in Sweden.

It’s HELSINGBORG in Sweden which is a pleasant town in itself. A visit & lunch at Sofiero Palace is a nice thing to do if you take the trip PQ suggests.

https://www.sofieroslottsrestaurang.se/

or lunch at

Sillen & Makrillen - Restaurang - Helsingborg


https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/cope...ound-gdk412377

Malmö is not my favourite city but it seems to be up & coming on the culinary front with some great restaurants.

Oops I make that mistake every time - thought I had it this time. And you keep correcting me!

Thanks everyone this is so helpful. It sounds like once can take the train from Copenhagen to Sweden? I love the idea of the Norway in a Nutshell loop though it sounds like a lot for one day. Has anyone stayed overnight at one of the stops? And if so which one would you recommend. Does something like 5 nights Copenhagen, 5 nights Stockholm and something like 4 nights in Norway including the nutshell loop make sense?

As you enjoy art museums, in Copenhagen, I'd recommend Glyptoteket (in addition to viewing its collection go up to its rooftop terrace), near Tivoli Gardens; and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 25 miles north of Copenhagen, but easy to get to by train and then 10 minute well-marked walk. It has a great sculpture garden and wonderful waterfront location.

In Oslo, you might want to buy an Oslo Pass, which covers public transport, admissions to its National Gallery, Munch Museum, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (contemporary art, waterfront location), and non-art museums on Bygdoy Island. Admission to Oslo's Vigeland Sculpture Park is free. In Bergen, you might enjoy Kode Museums (Kode building 3 has a Munch gallery).

In Stockholm, I loved the Moderna Museet on pretty Skeppsholmen Island. Admission to the permanent collection was free. There are also some fun kinetic sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely on the surrounding grounds. If you enjoy photography, you might want to visit Fotografiska. Stockholm's National Gallery, which was closed for renovation when I was there last year, is set to reopen on October 13, 2018.

If you make it to Helsinki, you might enjoy Atheneum.

Does something like 5 nights Copenhagen, 5 nights Stockholm and something like 4 nights in Norway including the nutshell loop make sense?>

Perfect - figure a day between each traveling.

thanks so much PalenQ and Dianmantina - this is great. The guide books arrived this evening so I'm sure after I look at them a bit I shall be back with more questions, but my takeaway so far is that it is possible to see a good deal of Scandinavia in 2 1/2 weeks and that getting around is not terribly difficult. Truly appreciate the help

Everything in Scandinavian transit wise is modern and well organized - some expert locals here say Swedish trains are often late and flying is better but taking train you also see the lay of the land in between Copenhagen and Stockholm - going over the Ore Sound bridge-tunnel is a real treat - can see for miles around. Oslo-Copenhagen can be done by overnight ferry too - something different and can be neat - get private compartment and bring any food or drink aboard. Those are modern comfy ships with many amenities.

We spent 2 weeks there this summer. 4 days each in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and the Lofoten Islands in Norway. We are not huge museum fans--enjoy palaces, castles, and street wanderings more-- so that amount of time in each place was perfect for us.
Took the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen and it was only 7minutes late. I read an article last March that stated over 90% of Swedish trains are on time (on time defined as arriving within 5 or 7 minutes of arrival time). Purchase your tickets when they release them about 90 days out and it is so much cheaper than flying. We flew from Copenhagen to the Lofoten since it was so far but had considered the overnight ferry to Oslo before we decided to head up to artic.

Years ago we did the Norway in a Nutshell from Oslo to Bergen but at Flam, we took a different smaller boat than the masses and went to Balestrand and spent a night or two at the Kvikne hotel. Then another ferry to Bergen for a few days. Definitely do not have to do it the NIN in one day.

March that stated over 90% of Swedish trains are on time (on time defined as arriving within 5 or 7 minutes of arrival time>

Probably par for course as European trains go.

For some reason I have it in my head that we should do Copenhagen - Oslo - "Norway in a Nutshell - and then end in Stockholm. Does that order make sense, transportation wise, or would another order be smoother (hoping to use as much ferry and/or train as possible - maybe one flight - last trip we took we added in too many short flights and it was a more stressful itinerary). Hoping to buy the overseas tickets soon and then work to fill in the middle bits (flying from US). thanks

Have you marked up a calendar? IME, many places are closed at least 1 or 2 days a week, so if there are things that you really want to see, it might make sense to ensure that you'll be there when they are open.

>>> Does that order make sense, transportation wise, ... Hoping to buy the overseas tickets soon and then work to fill in the middle bits (flying from US).

If you do NIN as a "loop", you will be spending time back tracking.
Hoping to fill in the middle later does not always work. It is best to lay out all the key pieces -- trans-Atlantic flight options, ground part, how you connect one place to another, accommodation situations, before hitting that non-refundable flight buy button.

One way to avoid NIN back tracking to enter or exit Bergen or Oslo as entry point from the US or way point to the next country. Oslo-Bergen-Oslo would be inefficient. The only way to make sure what works best is not to assume but actually look up transport schedules and fares and integrate them into itinerary options. Many routing that look good when mentioned can end up dead-on-arrival.

If your trans-Atlantic flight hinges on pairing with particular inter European flights, do the bookings within 24 hours, so that you can cancel your trans-Atlantic flight without penalty if the inter European flights cannot be booked as planned.

Yes try to fly into Bergen and then NIN-Oslo (train or overnight ferry to Copenhagen) - Stockholm.

Take a day away from Copenhagen and add it to Norway. Give Oslo some time too.

Copenhagen was great for day trips - so many easy ones - and a city with lots of charm itself- have spent a few weeks there off and on. Oslo left me rather cold - and fjords to me after a few were more the same - but these things are very subjective -I prefer cities to nature others the opposite.