Sweden, Denmark, Norway
 

Flying in to Stockholm for 3 nights then off to explore for 2 weeks, Sweden Denmark & Norway, but need to return to Stockholm to fly to Prague.

Suggested cities Gothenburg, Granna, Malmo, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim(?)

Happy to drive and train. But not sure of best route or order, what to delete & what to keep.
Would love suggestions on other cities and what are must do's.
4 x Women - not a shopping trip.

What time of year are you travelling?
What are your interests? Scandinavia is mostly about nature - forests, lakes, the sea etc. Gränna is not really a city. What is the attraction of Gränna, is it the lake location or something else? The distances for driving in Sweden are quite big, the roads are very good but it is not a very interesting drive from say, Stockholm to Gränna and from there to Gothenburg and south to Malmö. I'd spend more time in Stockholm (assuming this is a summer trip) and take the ferry to Helsinki. That is a must do, or at least some sort of excursion around the Stockholm Archipelago. Gothenburg also has an archipelago.

From Malmö, you can go to Helsingborg and take the ferry across to Helsingoer and spend time in north zealand. Or you can take the Øresund Bridge (which is quite expensive by rental car.) There is alot to do and see in Denmark. This link might help you decide what to see. You can easily take a rental car around Scandinavia and take ferries etc but the costs shoot up if you pick it up in one country and drop off in another. Trains are convenient except they don't always go where you want. They should be booked in advance for cheaper fares.

http://www.visitdenmark.com/

Fantastic response thanks.

Swedish friend (one of the party) suggested Granna(?)and she would like to visit Gothenburg where she was born.

Begin 16 May

Lakes and nature and food are good for me, but not sure I want to waste valuable time on uninteresting driving.

Good to know. Will check link and begin the discussion...

thanks

Agree that I would focus the trip more. Stockholm is worth at least 5 days (6 nights), Copenhagen 4 and Oslo 2 or 3, then Bergen for a couple and the fjords in between.

Malmo is a cute small town but 1/2 day is plenty for that (did a meeting there once and came a day early - set up all arrangements with hotel and meeting venues and easily saw the whole town in the same day). Also saw island of Visby which was cute - but much of Sweden is very flat land covered with scrub oak.

Also was underwhelmed by countryside in Norway again flat and scrubby (but then I'm used to New York state - most of which is gorgeous - beautiful rolling countryside dotted with picturesque small farms and charming villages - many dating back to the revolution - then the Adirondaks and major lakes in the north).

If this is your itinerary, I'd spend perhaps a day in Copenhagen, 2-3 days max in Stockholm and I'd spend the rest in Norway.

Pay special attention to Norway's Alesund, Bergen, Hammerfest and Nordkap.

Much of Sweden is covered in pine forests and is very pretty with all the lakes. It is not that the countryside is uninteresting, it is that there is alot of it and if you are driving long distances, it can be a bit boring. The forests are beautiful, the ground is covered in thick moss. In May, the forests will have wild lily-of-the-valley growing in them. The Falun red wooden cottages are everywhere.

Gothenburg has alot of granite cliffs with pines growing out of the top. Some of these cliffs are lit up at night and look very dramatic. Malmö is not a cute small town, it is the 3rd largest in Sweden. The area around Malmö is worth discovering if you have a car and can get to places like Angelholm or the cliffs at Kullen.

I don't believe I have ever seen scrub oak in Sweden. Oak, beech, birch, pine, ferns etc in vast quantities, all looking beautiful in autumn colours at the moment. Scrubby is not something I can associate with Scandinavian countryside.

"not sure of best route or order, what to delete & what to keep" -- then my recommendation is that you spend some time in the nearest library, looking through guidebooks. You have LOTS of options before you, and only you and your fellow travelers can decide what you most want to see / do / experience. Enjoy!

Sorry - to a New Yorker Malmo is a cute small town. The population is about 260,000 - hardly a real city.

Will be following all that up
Thanks to all

260 000??!! I live in a town of 3000! :)

JA...perhaps you underestimate the sheer size of the Scandinavian countries. I suggest that you allot the time as follows:
Stockholm, Malmo...5 days. Denmark, including some day trips from Copenhagen...4 days...Norway, total days 5...including Oslo, Bergen, and Alesund. Very tight schedule.Lots of airports, train and bus stations. You might enjoy choosing four bases from which to meander out of on day trips. This would lessen the tiresome impact of helter-skeltering through the countries.Stockhlom, Copenhagen, Oslo and Bergen would be excellent choices in this "base" approach..

JA: Once you decide I'm sure we can all pitch in with sights to see, things to do, lodgings, reasonable food forays (laugh)etc. Guide books for all these locations would be helpful to you and also give you an appreciation for the size ot the countries. I like Rough Guide, especially for its ample city maps.

A few years back, we visited the three countries by all modes of transportation, train, bus, ship and car...but we took nearly a month to do it..did not feel rushed at all. But, your proposed schedule can certainly be covered...at what degree of comfort, satisfaction and joy?

Your surprise at Nytraveler's response tells me that you haven't dealt with many New Yorkers before. The common thought they convey is that the world is nothing but a suburb of NYC. I now live in a town of 8,000...and love it. No, we don't have a subway but we do claim a Subway sandwich joint.

Stu

Hey, hey, there are some NY'ers who know that there are forests that pre-date our Revolutionary forests that are quite beautiful. Upsate NY may be nice but we also have Herkimer and Albany.

<I>Malmö is not a cute small town, it is the 3rd largest in Sweden. </i>

It is basically a suburb of Copenhagen. Stay in Copenhagen and visit for the day if you feel compelled.

Summary - Malmo is a cute medium-sized Danish suburb of New York City.

Cool, Cold...bingo...IMDH and I knew you were lying-in-wait to respond..right on the nail hesd. So you've heard of Malmo, Conecticut!! The new Greenwich! The Swedish meatballs at The Woolworth counter is a big hit! If it were up to me, I would exile any Fodorite without a proven sense of humor. There will be a multiple choice quiz tomorrow, class.

of course its "Connecticut".

Tower the funniest people are the really serious people. They crack everyone up.

Not suggesting that the OP compare Malmo to NYC - suggest they compare it to Stockholm, Copenhagen and even Oslo and Bergen - in terms of the number of things to see/do.

Everyone had different interests - but I wouldn't give a cute town precedence over cities with numerous world class sights.

I stayed in Denmark and drove over the across Oresund Bridge and Malmo Sweden is on the other side.

this is one of the most unique bridges in the world....part of it is under water.

I follow your thinking, Cold...just read the "serious" post below yours... bah humbug.

A Malmo is what they call annual x-ray for women in Sweden.