Summer Family Trip to Scandinavia? Other Ideas?
 

I am trying to come up with a family vacation for this coming summer (August 2004) and I am considering Scandinavia. We have already taken the kids to London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice. The kids will be 16 and 13 this summer,they love travel, history, castles and museums. Does Scandinavia sound like a good place? If so, any ideas on a 10-12 day itinerary? Any other ideas?

Topping...

Well-worded question with a well-worded header - - and no answers in now nearly 24 hours. Pity.

And I cannot really help you. I once helped my mother plan a "fairly typical" trip from Stockholm, to two country castles, to Oslo, the fjords and Bergen... but I did not go on that trip myself.

My travels have been limited to Denmark - - Ribe and Odense.

I think you could make a good trip for your family. I also think that Scandinavia is clearly in the "more expensive half" of European destinations.

Best wishes,

Rex

Thank you Rex,
Do you have any other suggestions for our trip? I did not realize that Scandinavia would be more expensive than other places in Europe. I would like to keep the cost down. We usually travel in February, (which definitely keeps costs down) but this year our vacation has to be in mid August.
I would appreciate any suggestions.
Susan

I think Scandinavia would be a fabulous family vacation. A friend and I were there for in June and we went to Goteborg (2), Oslo (3), Bergen and Norway in a Nutshell (3), Stockholm (2) and Copenhagen (1). I would have preferred to do 2 days in Copenhagen or more rural Norway as we found we really only needed 2 in Oslo. We loved Bergen especially and the trip through the fjords was really breathtaking. I would say this trip would be more expensive that the other ones but it is definitely worth it to see an entirely different view of Europe. The people speak English perfectly for the most part (we would have sworn that some Norwegians we were talking to were British) and we found them all to be very friendly and approachable rather than reserved as we expected. Goteborg in Sweden seemed to have a ton of young people and I think your high schoolers would love it. Stockholm has a wonderful National Museum.

If you're looking for some other country you have not yet visited as an alternatives to Scandinavia, I'd suggest parts of France. Or, if you might like more of Italy or more of UK, there is still plenty that you haven't yet visited in those countries. Spain, especially Andalucia, is also a possibility, or parts of Spain and Portugal.

I just saw an article about Cesky Krumlov and the castle area in the Czech Republic in the Chicago Tribune and think it would be a great vacation with the qualifications you've listed. Spend a few days in Prague and then spend the rest driving through the Czech countryside.

Another idea might be Bavaria in Germany which is home to one of my favorite castles, Neuschwanstein. You can follow the Romantic Road from Frankfurt down through Bavaria and see all of crazy King Ludwig's castles-Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee, and Neuschwanstein. You can stop in several places along the way,including several delightful walled cities.

We spent 10 days in Poland earlier this year and barely scratched the surface. There is a wonderful castle in Krakow, several royal palaces in Warsaw and lots of places in the country we didn't get to.

Russia might be too much of an undertaking for a family but I can't think of a place that has more fabulous palaces and museums than St. Petersburg and with such an interesting history-the Hermitage, Peterhof, Catherine's Palace with the fabulous amber room. It's a more expensive destination as well, esp. with the $100 visa.

My 16-year-old son and I went to London, Aarhus, Copenhagen (with day trips to Malmo, Roskilde, and Helsingor), Gothenburg, Oslo, and back to London in 17 days this summer.
<P>With 12 days and an open-jaw ticket, you could do something like Copenhagen (with day trips), Stockholm, and Oslo. Our experience, though, is that we do not want to stay any less than 3 nights in each place. We did not do Norway in a Nutshell. I'm sure it's beautiful, but we find cities more interesting.
<P>If interested, I will go into more detail of what we found interesting.

I spent two weeks touring Scandinavia in mid-June of 2002. I stayed 1 night in Sandefjord after a cheap, late flight from London Stansted. Then 4 nights in Oslo, 2 in Orebro, Sweden, 3 in Stockholm, 1 night cruising to Finland, 2 nights in Turku, Finland and the final 3 nights in Helsinki. This was all done with trains and a boat ride.

Some of the best things were the Munches, art deco, fortress, Bygdoy peninsula museums and Vigeland sculpture park in Oslo. The WWII Resistance Museum near the fortress was incredibly moving.

Orebro was a nice break. It has a beautiful, stout old castle and an interesting living heritage village.

Stockholm was spectacular. The Vasa Museum is stunning and Gamla Stan is pretty to walk around. One of the highlights was sailing out of Stockholm through the Archipelago and watching the sun set. Well, it hardly set. Being June it dipped below the horizon around 11:00pm, was twilight for 5 hours and came back up at 4:00am. Talk about bonus sight seeing time.

Turku was one of my favorite cities. It's laid out along a river and has a lot of historic boating stuff and a stodgy, old castle that has some interesting collections in it. A few pretty churches and another living heritage village.

Helsinki has Suomenlinna. It's a fortress 20 minutes by boat off the Helsinki harbor that has 4 or 5 museums, a lot of boating and pretty island to walk around. I liked the art museum, the two gorgeous churches I went into and strolling the city.

Another positive is that virtually everyone spoke English. It was amazing. Even in the small towns, people spoke English. It makes it really easy to visit. It's cooler further north so your August time frame would be a help. I don't like the heat much and have never been in Europe in July or August. When those poor people in Europe were miserable this summer with the record heat I was feeling for them.

One of the (very few) down sides was the cost. The US dollar was stronger then and it was costing 5 or 6 USD to drink a beer at a side walk cafe in Oslo. I lucked into the itinerary. It got cheaper as I went east. It would have been tougher going the other way. I had to work really, really hard to keep my average hotel cost for a double room to 70USD a night. The only way I managed was by staying at hotels in Oslo and Stockholm that had the bathroom at the end of the hall. My friend and I aren't high maintenance so it wasn't a problem for us.

Another advantage for August is a lot of the hotels cater to business people who are vacationing with their families in July and August. So the Scandinavian hotels start offering some discounts in July and August.

If keeping costs down is important, you really should see Prague and the Czech Republic next. It is fantastic anyway and cheaper to boot! JMHO

Hi Susan,

Scandinavia in the Summer is a great idea.

I suggest at least one week in Denmark. In addition to Copenhagen, you can visit Roskilde, Aarhus, Odense, The Louisiana Museum of Art, the Atlantic beaches on Jutland, and Hamlet's Castle (Helsingor).

I think that your kids will love the Tivoli Gardens.

PS,

Forgot the Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.

http://wictor.dk/wictor/frederiksborg/frbSlotGB.html

Hi Susan,
I live in Stockholm and can tell you with two teenagers, Scandinavia in August is beautiful, but expensive. If you are used to travelling in the off-season to save -- you might re-consider. You can have a similar experience, and a truly unique one, if you travel to Croatia instead. It's not a terribly large country, but the coast is incredible and they are warm to Americans. The other option (to keep prices low) would be Poland which has history that your children will be studying in HS (WWII) and could make the trip twice as interesting. I love Stockholm and Copenhagen, but August is tourist season and the crowds can take away from the joy of visiting the more unique spots. Good luck.

I think it's a great idea, provided (a) your budget is adequate, (b) the kids aren't bored by a lot of driving, and (c) you limit yourselves to a fairly compact agenda, because the region is enormous and watery, requiring occasional ferries, detours around/through fjords, and all that.

A couple of rather high-end and you might think off-the-wall ideas, but hey, imagining is free: (1) the Norwegian coastal ferry - 12 days RT or 6 OW up the Norwegian coast past the arctic circle, stopping in all sorts of interesting towns. All-inclusive (meaning cabin, transport, food) so while the ticket prices are high, there's no rental car, nightly hotel costs, restaurant hunting, etc., so in the end it's not that awful. See http://www.coastalvoyage.com/

Other cruise-based vacations might also be interesting - several that circle the Baltic - Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, N. Germany or the Baltic states. Again, you see a lot with minimal hassle - unpack once, lots of shipboard activities for the kids, umpteen shore-based sights to see (if your kids like history and museums, do think about St Petersburg - nirvana, and definitely something they can brag about later.)

Of course there's not much "independence" in cruises, but in August you're going to find every destination out there full of people - from Warsaw to the West End - that's just the way it is when the whole flippin' continent seems to go on holiday simultaneously.

The (2) other (very) high end idea would be thus: If by any chance you happen to need a new car and can handle a Volvo, Saab or BMW, pick up one through the companies' overseas delivery programs. The money you'll save on the car will go a long way to offset the vacation cost, your transport in Europe will be way cool, and your souvenir will come off the boat at home a few weeks later. And most years, Volvo throws in a couple of plane tickets to Göteborg in the deal along with a hotel for a night or two (no planes but similar deals through the others). The cars have N. America specs, and shipping home is included. The prices and financing are surprisingly good. Check it out.

Susan: Scandinavi is a wonderful part of the World to visit and has many of the items of interest you mention for your kids; a few castles, much history, many museums (especially the outdoor living museums called Skansens which your children will love), and the very interesting and entertaining Viking sites. Sounds perfect and it is. But, Scandinavia is vast and these sites are some distance from each other. In addition, Scandinavia is one of the more expensive European Areas to visit. With 10 to 12 days, you could focus on the area around Copenhagen and Stockholm and see some of the above. And, if you do your research and are careful, you can hold prices down. I can help you with the itinerary, but I would strongly suggest you get a copy of Rick Steves' Scandinavia as he will have budget lodgings and restaurants to consider.
As an alternative (particularly with your childrens' interests), I would suggest Belgium, Hungary or Poland; much less expensive (particularly Hungary and Poland) and many more castles (particularly Belgium and Poland) and as many museums, as much history and places your children will love. I can help you with itineraries for these as well. Given its size, you could do a very creditable job of "seeing" Belgium in 10 to 12 days and it probably has more castles, fortresses and citidals per square mile than any other Country in Europe. By the way, Belgium is delightful.

My 13 year old daughter went with a school group to Scandinavia this past summer - loved it. They did a lot of outdoorsy type things - day bike tours, glacier hiking, kayaking. However, Scandinavia is much more expensive than many other European destinations.

For less money, we all went to Egypt 2 years ago. Our then-15-year-old suggested it (we were considering London) and after we finished telling him he was crazy, we actually did it. Travel was by Nile cruise, domestic flights within Egypt. No castles, just pyramids instead. Plenty of history.

Downside is the heat of August and issue of whether you would feel safe in the Middle East at this time. Don't know from where you would be traveling, but it is a 12-hour non-stop flight from NY.

Hi Susan!
We have 1 kid, and travelled there the summer before last. Didn't find it all that expensive (except alcoholic beverages in Norway). Try the Radisson Summer Magic programs -- rooms are great, not expensive, grand buffet breakfast included. Here's our itinerary, for what it's worth:
Eurail saver pass (for families).
Copenhagen: Radisson SAS -- the one by the Tivoli Gardens (you will need adjoining rooms -- you get the whole side of the building, incredible). Aside from walking the Stroget, Tivoli Gardens (Weds & Sat. fireworks), for an out of the way locals only amusement park, there's Bakken located on the outskirts in a deer park; Nyhavn; and a zillion places to enjoy.

Train to Stockholm. Great city for kids and adults. Gamla Stan (old town), Vsa Ship museum, Skansen folk musum, Tivoli, Millesgarden, just walking around, at 11 p.m. the sun is set, but the sky is still this crazy dark blue.

If you have the time, take the night boat to Helsinki, spend the day there, then back to Stockholm (we took the Silja line -- had the best time ever!).

We then took the night train to Trondheim, Norway; room for 3 cost us $114. It's as close to the midnight sun as you'll get without venturing up to Bodo. If you arrive at the beginning of August, you'll hit the Olav festival at Nidaros Cathedral. Trondheim is a wonderful, magical town, a lot like Carmel or Monterey.

Oslo to Bergen, on the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Has that Yosemite/Niagara feel to it, and a wonderful adventure. In Bergen, you could take the funicular to the top of the hill and see all of the town below.

We loved Oslo. Great tram rides and in summer you take these boats to the viking ship museum. The national art gallery is great -- small, with wonderul art that even your kids will like.

We then took the overnight boat back to Copenhagen and ended our Scandinavia adventure there.

Our kid (who was then 13) was not bored one minute. Also, these are places where you wouldn't fee uncomfortable letting your children walk around on their own for a few hours.

You will love it!

We spent a week in Scandanavia this past August. I agree with surfergirl that we certainly did not find it that expensive.

The highlight of the trip was the overnight ferry to Helsinki. We had a blast - there is so much to do on the ship and so many folks from all over the world. It was not expensive, and we had our own comfortable room.

From Helsinki you can also take a 3 hour ferry ride to Tallinn, Estonia. This is a walled medieval city that the kids would enjoy.
We used only public transportation, and it was a snap.

We also did not find Scandinavia terribly expensive, although I'm sure eastern Europe is cheaper, of course. We stayed in hostels (where we had ensuite private rooms) or the cheapest possible hotel rooms that were conveniently located (either obtained through Priceline or conventionally). We had a wonderful breakfast where we stayed nearly every day (this was included at most places). We got the 3-day Copenhagen Card, 2-day Oslo Card, and 1-day Gothenburg Card. I think all were pretty good deals, although you have to look at your particular travel plans to determine that.

Queenie,
That overnight boat trip WAS good, wasn't it! Few Americans, and the karaoke was awesome! Couldn't believe the Swedish and Finnish travelers could sing American tunes better than the Americans! And the glow sticks in the drinks. What a trip!

Hi Surfergirl -
This is too funny because we took the Viking line vs. the Silja line and had the exact same experience.

I was unaware of any other Americans (probably were some as the ship capacity is 2500). But what I found so interesting is that everyone just spoke English as it is the only common language - although not the first language of practically anyone on that ship (Swedes, Finns, Russians, Japanese, etc).

Did you take the Sauna? Magnificent.

If you want to keep your cost down while in Scandinavia, take a Baltic detour to Tallin (Estonia) from Helsinki. It's only 1.5 hours by hydrofoil but a million miles away as far as sights and cost of living are concerned. It would remind you of Prague but without the tacky commercialism. 2 days would cover you there. And if you want to continue your quest for history, castles etc. take a bus (6 hrs.)right down to Riga (Latvia)for another 2/3 days. From there I think you should be able to get a ferry to Sweden. So then you'll have had the best of both worlds. I think 10/12 days in Scandinavia alone could leave a big hole in your pocket.

We've returned from a Grand Circle Tour for senior travelers to in August to four Scandinavian countries, putting us in several locations for several nights. Traveling on your own with a 13 and a 16 year old, however, is quite different and might be quite a challenge. What to see? It surely depends on your kids, but since you said they are OK with history and castles and museums that helps. Thinking of my own adults kids and their kids, I am aware that they may get bored easily.

I do think that Scandinavia is expensive, especially Norway and Denmark, which is why we sometimes snacked for one meal in our hotel or park. So we grabbed open faced sandwiches, fruit, etc in markets, borrowed some grub from our elaborate breakfast smorgasbord, and even took some peanut butter and such from home.

What to see? There is plenty to see, of course. As to sggestions thus far, I would recommend fjord trips, including the Norway in a Nutshell, Bergen is a good place, Stockholm also because of the museums mentioned such as Vasa, also certainly Vigeland Park in Oslo, and also Bygdoy with several sites, yes also to Tivolli Gardens and Stroget and other pedestrian walkways, etc. Yes, English is very comon.

Glad to give more details.
Bill Longman [email protected]

I want to correct a wrong impression I just gave about our traveling with kids. I think it's great you have done so with your two so that you have engendered an appreciation for history and culture. We went many places on camping vacations (couldn't afford overseas travel on a preacher's salary) and it may have encouraged a daughter working in a history museum, a son as a prof. of political science, and even our aeronautics engineer son who does enjoy history and politics even though more tied down with family. We focused on historic and scenic sights and made fun of the TTs.

As others have mentioned, there are many great places to explore such as Egypt, Spain, Greece , Ireland and others mentioned which we haven't yet seen. But there is much to see and do in Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden.
Good luck in your planning, In fact, I think the reading up and advance planning with the kids might be a big part of the adventure.
Bill in Missouri [email protected]

If you go to Sweden:

Carl Larsson's house is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen. It is the most-visited place in Sweden, mostly by Swedes I guess. As you may know his life and work had a lot to do with his large family, so it is full of child-related things.

Near it in Dalarna, a beautiful district (and not expensive) is also the house of Anders Zorn, another Swedish artist.

Bronholm.... Danish school children take a visit there, why shouldn't you? It's lovely.

OOPS Meant Bornholm... :)

Hi

I live in Stavanger on the south west coast of Norway. It is a nice place to start if you want a taste of the Norwegian fjords and mountain. The two most popular places is Kjerag and Preikestolen (the pulpit rock). Kjerag is located deep in the Lyse fjord and when you are at the top you are 1000 meters above the sea level and the view is amazing. I have posted some pictures from the place on this page: http://www.gardkarlsen.com/kjerag.htm

Preikestolen is also located in Lyse fjord but it is a bit smaller than Kjerag (about 600 meters) but it can also offer a great view. Here are some pictures: http://www.gardkarlsen.com/preikestolen.htm

Apart from that I will recommend Oslo. Nice museums, a bit of history, the amazing Vigelands park etc.

Good luck with your planning :-)

Regards
Gard
www.gardkarlsen.com

Hey, Gard...great picts you have as a world traveler. I could browse for quite awhile. Tried to contact you at your www but couldn't.
Bill in Missouri
[email protected]