Surprise trip for my wife - suggested Itinerary for 17 days in Scandinavia
 

Hi everyone,

I am planning a surprise trip to Scandinavia for my wife in the first 3 weeks of September (20 full days excluding flight time). Initially, I was deliberating between Central Europe (Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg and Prague) and Scandinavia, and decided on the latter as she has always wanted to see the Nordic countries and the Northern Lights. It will be our first time visiting.

I have just started reading guide books and researching online and have come up with a preliminary list of places we would like to visit.

I am unsure about the best order to do them in and whether it is realistic to cover them all in 16-17 full days. I plan to fly to Paris for the last 2-3 days of the trip before flying out of Paris to Melbourne.
In order of preference:
- Tromsø (Northern Lights) 4 days
- Norway in a Nutshell tour (Oslo to Bergen) 1 day
- Fjords 2 day
- Stockholm 4 days
- Oslo 3 days
- Copenhagen 2 days

For Norway, I have read suggested itinerary such as: Oslo – Stavanger – Bergen – Trondheim (by boat) – Lofoten – Tromso – Nordkapp but I am not sure if it would be realistic for us to fit this in.
If we had to take out a few places out, then they would be Copenhagen and Oslo.

My wife and I love exploring cities, taking in the culture, visiting museum and seeing natural scenery, and am sure these will be offered in abundance. We like outdoor activities but are not experienced hikers.

I understand 17 days is not enough to see everything, but our aim is to see a snippet of everything as I’m sure we will fall in love and return.

Questions:
1) We can either fly into Oslo (Gardermoen), Stockholm (Arlanda) or Copenhagan. Which would you suggest to start and end our trip (before flying to Paris)?
2) Would early September be too cold for any of the above places (especially Fjords)? I have read that August is usually the rain season for Norway.
3) Would flights be the best mode of transport between each of the above places? Are there any routes where a scenic train ride is recommended?
4) Should we go to Tromso for the Northern Lights first or leave that to last?
5) How many days for each place would you recommend on spending?
6) Would you recommend cutting out some of the time in Oslo, Stockholm or even taking out Copenhagen to fit in Lofoten or Trolltunga?

I would really appreciate if you could let me know your thoughts on the above or suggest an itinerary that would allow us to see as many of the places on the list.

Thanks in advance.

TravellingWombat

One piece of information I forgot to add is that we don't to drive on this trip.

In Scandinavia, it can still be pretty light out in September so you might have a harder time seeing the lights.

I haven't been to Norway so will let others advise you about that.

2 days (which is 1 night's hotel stay) in Copenhagen is not worth it IMO. You need minimum 3 nights (4 days) to see the city and an excursion or two out of the city. So do as you say which is cut out either Copenhagen or Oslo. BTW Most posters have another way of calculating number of nights = so many no of days, I do it the same way as travel agents/tour operators.

Since you like natural scenery, when in Stockholm, if you have time, take a trip through the Stockholm archipelago.

TTT, I'm interested in the replies, too.

Well I have a completely different POV, IMHO Stockholm is #1, Copenhagen #2 and Oslo is #3 (can be done in a day if necessary - while the other 2 deserve at least 4 and 3 days to see much of anything). While the fjords are beautiful we found much of Norway to be boring in terms of scenery (lots of scrub/brush and ground cover but not very pretty countryside).

So I would completely refocus the list unless you are determined to do a lot of hiking in flat, dull countryside just to be outdoors.

when one looks at a world map, more often than not he/she thinks of the Scandinavian countries as "small"...not so. There's one heckuva lot of real estate up there. Meaning, that the 17-day time factor is not in your favor.

My suggestion is to concentrate just on Norway, leaving Sweden for another visit (in combination with Denmark and Germany or Netherlands it would make a more comfortable trip).

As usual, obviously I do not agree with NYT's assessment of Norway...we spent a month there and loved it. we have agreed to disagree with NYT on this matter a few times. But that's what this forum is for. Still luv ya NYT. Your 100+ trips to Europe have made valuable contributions to Fodors.


Fly to Oslo(one hour flight from many other European airports (visit the Bygdoy museum complex next day:
with travel...3 nights)

Take the 8:30 a.m. Norway in a Nutshell train-boat-bus trip the next day, to Bergen. (total nights... 3 nights in Bergen)

Consider taking the Hurtigruten (coastal cruise)from Bergen, 3 nights, book discount price for passage from Bergen to Bodo. Suggest taking the option to the Svarteisen (Black ice glacier..see pics) which will deliver you by bus to Bodo.. 1 overnight in Bodo.

Next morning...take the Lofoten ferry to Moskenes and rent a car or check on busses that travel the spine to Svolvaer, to get a feel for the Lofotens.(Overnight in Svolvaer)

You can go choose to drive to Tromso.(Or fly from Narvik- Harstad airport You can spend about four nights chasing the lights...we were not so succesful with that during an August visit. Going on to Nordkapp would add another night two nights.

Fly from one of those stops, to Oslo and on to Paris...spend a few leisurely fun days in Paris...and you're still at 17 days.

Photos of Norway in next post below.

Wombat
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...gbSEgAE#Wombat, I'm not a very good photographer, but these should give you some idea. Enjoy your trip. My guess is you will love it. Please signify if you decide on Denmark and Sweden, too. I have pics.

Wombat..sorry for adddress error..try this please
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...uHk6iIgbSEgAE# Enjoy your trip

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies and suggestions.

Odin, I agree with you which is why I have decided to leave out Copenhagen and spending 2 days in Oslo.

How do posters or travel agents calculate the number of nights = so many number of days?

Thanks for Stockholm Archipelago, I have reserved one full day for it.

Nytraveler, thanks for your suggestions. Ultimately I wanted to plan a balanced trip, with slightly more emphasis on the beautiful natural scenery in Norway. My concern with traveling from one place to another in Norway is carrying our luggage around.

Out of interest, when month did you visit Norway and were there any parts of the Norway trip involving outdoor events and natural scenery that you enjoyed?

Thanks Tower for the suggestions and sharing your photos.

The 17 days does not include Paris, it is purely for Norway and Sweden (have decided to take out Copenhagen).

I agree, Norway is not a small country and there is considerable travel between each city/location. I am thinking about flying in to Stockholm (arrive 7am local time) and spending 4 days there before flying either to Oslo and working our way up to Tromso or vice versa.

I am not sure when our next Europe trip will be and there are still so many countries in Europe we haven't been to, so I am tempted to do a few days of Stockholm.

For the itinerary you have suggested, how easy or difficult would it be with having 2 large suitcases (31 x 19inches) when taking trains, bus, ferry and boats? We intend to pack as light as possible, so hopefully weight won't be an issue.

I noticed in your suggested itinerary, the only flight is into Oslo, the rest of the travel is done by bus, boat, ferry- will this take up a lot of travel time? Would it be more efficient to travel between each of the places by plane?

It looks like you have suggested the itinerary based on 17 days including Paris, but we actually have 20 full days including Paris, so hopefully the extra few days will allow us to fit in Stockholm as well. Would love to see photos of your Stockholm trip.

Did you visit Tromso for Northern Lights? Any advice or suggestions for Tromos?

I fully admit that we are much more city people (want to see every museum, cathedral, palace and historic sight) and while we appreciate the outdoors it needs to be something spectacular like the fjords (well worth it) or the Alps - magnificent peaks, glaciers, pristine lakes with steamers - or upper NY state in leaf season, with gorgeous rolling hills covered in brilliant yellows, vibrant oranges and blazing reds along with beautiful lakes and waterfalls.

Quiet countryside - just like the beach - bores us stiff.

But obviously this is all a mater of taste.

But I do stand by your giving short shrift to these cities - think you should cut them and do on another trip.

Look at Hurtigruten ships for visiting fjords and the Norwegian coastal towns.
We enjoyed Oslo, and Stockholm a lot, Copenhagen a little less.

Tower, when you mentioned "Consider taking the Hurtigruten (coastal cruise)from Bergen, 3 nights, book discount price for passage from Bergen to Bodo. Suggest taking the option to the Svarteisen (Black ice glacier..see pics) which will deliver you by bus to Bodo.. 1 overnight in Bodo."

How do I book the discount price for passage? I don't see any discount fares on the Hurtigruten website. Also, how can I select which option or path to take?

Do you suggest taking the Hurtigruten from Lofoten to Tromso? Would this be better than driving to Narvik airport and then taking a 6 hour flight to Tromos (the flights I checked all stop on Oslo).

Wombat, you just turn up at the local Hurtigruten office and book a passage.

also, google-translate the norwegian Hurtigruten site at

https://www.hurtigruten.no/

instead of the global site that sells cruise packages for the entire Bergen - Kirkenes stretch.

you can book individual stretches at the Norwegian site.

I think you might want to focus in Norway. North Norway and Lofoten are gorgeous!. I think you might want to fly Oslo - Tromsø and take the Moskenes ferry from there, and indeed the Hurtigruten.

Are there any routes where a scenic train ride is recommended?>

Oslo to Bergen is ubiquitously listed amongst Europe's most scenic trains and IME it deserves the ranking - fits in with the NIN tour too. Bergen is a nice old Hanseatic Port - lots of old wooden buildings down by the waterfront.

Going by train and ship - check out the ScanRailpass - also valid on some key buses and boats - for lots of details on Scandinavia trains check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

<<as she has always wanted to see the Nordic countries and the Northern Lights. >>

Seriously wondering if you're going at the right time of year. . . Aren't the lights usually between the equinoxes from autumnal to vernal?

September would be very early, even up north. I highly doubt they'll show.

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Stockholm#
Wombat, Stockholm pics...beautiful city to spend a few days in/ When you tell the Hurtigruten people you want to break up the trip and go as a dsy passenger, the discounts kick in if I recall. So, what I suggest is 2 nights Bergen to Trondheim, one night Trondheim to Bodo...then make your way to Tromso by rental car...more independence and very light traffic. Your Bodo car an be turned into Narvik upon returning from Tromso if you rent from the BMW dealer in Bodo...at least that's what we were able to do.