Sweden / Denmark in Midsummer 2012
 

Hi,

I'm planning a 9-day trip to Scandinavia over Midsummer weekend in June 2012 with my wife and 8-month old daughter. We are fairly adventurous, planning to rent a car, and would like to experience some of the quaint small towns in addition to a big city or two.

We have two main options:
(1) Fly into Copenhagen and out of Gothenburg (or the reverse). Explore the Bohuslan coast, Malmo, and the southwest coast on the way.
(2) Fly into Gothenburg and out of Stockholm (or the reverse). Explore Gotland and maybe some of the inland area between Gothenburg and Stockholm.
(3) Alternately, we could fly in and out of the same city, like Stockholm, and just explore the surrounding region.

Which do you recommend? What are some of the best places to see?

Also, where is the best place to enjoy Midsummer weekend with a baby? Gothenburg? Stockholm area? A small town?

Thanks - and please let me know if you have any other recommendations!

Bump

Cost may define your choices: How much more expensive is a one-way rental compared to returning the car to the its original location?

The midsummers that I have spent in Scandinavia have been in the country at a summer cottage, although I did spent one midsummer in Helsinki but it was quiet as most had left the city. If you do decide to fly into Copenhagen, the northern suburbs are the best to see, plus many quaint villages along the north coast towards Helsingoer (example Gilleje which is a fishing village and a great place for freshly smoked herrings on rye bread), Hornbaek, Liseleje etc.

We spent last April in Scandinavia after picking up our new Volvo from the factory in Gothenburg.

We flew into Copenhagen, spent a 4 days there; took the train to Gothenburg. We drove to Oslo and beyond and then returned the car to Gothenburg [sent 2+ days there] and then took the train to Stockholm, where we spent 5 days.

In terms of things to see and do: we loved Copenhagen and Stockholm. Lots of great things to see and do from gardens, boat tours, castles, tons of history and shops and helpful, friendly locals.

We flew on SAS and it was also great. Depending on car rental, I would fly into one city and out of the other - easy to do on SAS. They have a summer airfare sale going on now.

http://www.flysas.com/en/us/

Check out car rentals at http://www.kemwel.com/

Debit - thanks for your post on this, as I'm considering the European Volvo pick-up as well. Looking at the distances, I had come up with a similar approach, given it seems like Copenhagen is more viable from Gothenberg than Stockholm. I was considering starting in Stockholm, then to Gothenberg & the factory via train, pick-up the car and end in Copenhagen. First have to decide on the car though!

The OSD buying experience is top notch. Let me know if I can help you with it or input on what we did while in Scandinavia.