My husband and I are going to Europe for next Aug/Sept. We are thinking about Scandinavia (namely Copehagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg). With all the waterways Scandinavia seems more complicated and thus I was thinking it would be best to go w/ a tour group?? Or maybe as a cruise? Any thoughts on that?
We're also in our mid-twenties...are there any upscale tour companies that travel to that region that are geared to or have a younger crowd?

We did a tour similar to that back in the last ice age - when a tour was really the only option for going to Russia. It was truly ghastly. We were in our late 30's - and with 2 exceptions everyone else was our parents age chronologically - and our grandparents age in behavior/attitude.

In addition to the usual horrors of group travel (very early starts, chronic delays by the confused, everything geared for the lowest common denominator), several of the single oldsters started to lean on us for coping with free time and restaurants - and we eventually had to make ourselves as scarce as possible to get any time alone.

I reco in the strongest possible terms that you do this yourself. It is really not that complicated - we have since been back to all those places individually - and there's nothing in any of them to overface you.

Just be sure that for St Pet you get a hotel in a good central location - so you can walk to as much as possible. (We stayed in the Astoria - which was quite interesting {they have a casino populated by the local mafiosi - which made for some unusual sights } - but is fine and a great location.)

Do it by yourself. And don't just plan on big cities, you will miss all the charms of the countryside. Because what all (except Denmark) Scandinavian countries are about, is unspoilt nature, not civilization. Well, nothing wrong about civilization either, but the best charms are in nature.

>With all the waterways Scandinavia seems more complicated .....<

Would you mind explaining what you mean?

She might be thinking of the water seperating parts of Denmark from Norway and Sweden and Sweden- Russia. But I agree Ira I still don't see how that is an issue. You either take a ferry which is nice and quick or you take a plane...
Regardless JboncaroskyHolmes do try to do this yourself, and if you have any questions for your Norway part of the trip or especially the Oslo part just ask...

Sindre

I haven't heard a good reason from you as to why you would want or need a tour. I found Scandinavia one of the easiest places to travel -- and absolutely the easiest place for language for us English speakers (well, maybe other than the UK and Ireland.)
We did a day boat trip out of Stockholm to a couple of islands and rented bikes. We took the big ferry to Turku, Finland. Also we took the Hurtigruten from Northern Norway around to the fjords. Otherwise we rented cars a couple of places and relied on efficient trains. It was easy. We spent six weeks in Scandinavia, but could have been longer.

I agree, no tour needed. I have been to Sweden two summers in a row. Some of the best memories were those of small cities. You can take a train from Stockholm down to Skovde, (pron- "Cwevda" in swedish". This area has some lovely scenery. The countryside has many old "kyras" churches which have paintings and architechture that is amazing. Not to be missed is a cisterian monastery called Varnhem, goes back to 1200. It is quite large and rivals any cathedral I have ever seen. The guide for Varnhem, Brigit is wonderful, her husband Arnie is the local historian for the area and he can show you more if you call ahead. The country is amazing and you can get a road itin. for that area though TI offices. Great cheese shop too, and a wonderful opportunity for souveneirs. Would make too long of a day trip, but overnight and the Scandic hotel in Skovde. There are two. Get the one in town. Very historic and in the square. Ask to see the ballroom upstairs. It is closed off, but can be arranged for viewing. The prices are around 120-150nt. I believe.

Another great side outing is to stay one night at an island off the archipaleago (sp?). Rent a little skiff for the day to keep at your cabin or inn. There are tons of great restaurants along the water. The further you go, the more local. It is great just looking at the wonderful houses too.

If you need any more specifics, email me back, I'd be happy to help

Jenn

I can't comment on Scandinavia, but I can tell you that Contiki is a well-known tour company that caters to 18-35 year olds exclusively.

I took one Contiki tour a few years ago when I was 22, as part of my first trip to Europe, and it was extremely well organized and a lot of fun. And there were 2 or 3 young married couples as part of our tour who just preferred to let someone else do the hotel and transportation planning for them.

After that trip, I now prefer to do my own planning and don't do tours, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Contiki if that is what someone is looking for. The tour group itself was like a traveling party (mostly Australians, who sure know how to drink), and in some of the smaller towns and rural areas, we made our own fun. But there was still plenty of free time and you could do as much or as little with the group as you wanted.