Scandinavia - but where?

[glassn]

I know this is a ridiculously broad question! We fancy going to Scandinavia in the summer (family holiday with two young teenage kids), but it's such a vast area we just don't know where to start. Basically we're looking for a relaxing but outdoorsy holiday - visions of hiking in beautiful countryside (lakes/mountains/forests), a bit of cultural/historical sightseeing, maybe a couple of days in a city thrown in but not essential. Would like some water, but doesn't have to be coast - lake/river swimming just as appealing. I don't even know which country to look at, let alone which bit of which country!

Any recommendations very gratefully received.

This is also a trip we would like to take one day, OP. I have heard Gotland in Sweden is a good bet, as it Ockelbo. The latter of which is apparently good for wild swimming and canoeing. There's also Jutland in Denmark and I have heard around Paijanne lake in Finland is a good base for water holidays. Have not yet been to any, but I consulted my (ever-expanding!)list of places I have read about/heard good things about.

Hope you find what you're after!

What about Skåne in Southern Sweden? It has white-sand braces, hiking and biking trails, castles. Malmö is the main city but towns like Lund and Ystad are pretty and Copenhagen is only a train ride away across the Oresund Bridge.

'beaches', obvs.

Just to warn you, lakes & forest = lots of mosquitoes in summer (in Sweden at least). I personally find the coast in Sweden much more bearable for that reason. In many parts you'll find that the forest extends right to the coast, so you can mix water and forest that way. The mountains in Sweden are a long long way away from any coast though. The only place to easily get to the mountains is Norway, but then you'll have to deal with much more varied weather.

Personally i think the Höga Kusten in Sweden is very nice. You'll get forest & sea, it's not mountainous, but it is rocky & undulating. I think there is also a Via Ferrata or zipline kind of thing if you want a bit more excitement. It can easily be combined with a few days in Stoxkholm or Uppsala at the start/end of your trip. The Bohuslan coast near Gothenburg is meant to be beautiful too, but I haven't been mysf.

Final word of warning: it's not uncommon for tourist business to close for the season in mid-August already, when Swedish kids go back to school.

I would suggest Bergen Norway.. it’s beautiful. Summer in Sweden is very lovely, but one of the best summer holidays I had was when we went to Bergen. I’m from Sweden and we have many wonderful places but Norway nature is something you have to see.

This is exactly what we fancied doing, OP!

We stayed on an island called Vrango, in the archipelago off the coast from Gothenburg. It was fantastic.

Friends of ours love Denmark. Not so dramatic as Sweden or Norway but they find it friendly, easy to drive around and lots of interesting towns. Copenhagen is excellent.

I'm a Finn and will of course recommend Finland! Turku, the old historical capital of Finland is a beautiful small city where you can easily access the archipelago. kissmyturku.com/

Or alternatively go to Lapland which is stunning in summer, you will get to experience the proper midnight sun. The ski resorts offer all sorts of activities throughout the summer months too, many Finns opt to have their summer holiday in Lapland.

Also, if you stay in Turku or Helsinki, you could take one of them many cruise ship short trips to either Stockholm or Tallinn. They are a lot of fun and the antics on the boat will give you an insight into the Finnish mentality

Thank you all so much. You've made my life more difficult now . Loving the sound of Bergen, but need to check out the Swedish recommendations too. I have actually been to Helsinki and absolutely loved it, but only on a very flying visit, and not with the kids, so didn't see anything outside the city. If only Scandinavia were cheaper, I'd probably be a frequent visitor!

It would be very easy to combine the Copenhagen area with the Skåne (most southern province of Sweden) area. The train connections are great and in summer you can usually buy some form of rail card. Skåne has great coast line and wonderful lakes to swim in, with the forest coming right up to them (like someone mentioned above). Kajaking, cycling etc very nice. Copenhagen is great for city, culture and history. Lovely beaches around there too.

You could fly to Copenhagen which is fun city for young teens, take the ferry to Oslo, hire a car there and then drive to Bergen and the Fjords and then fly back from Oslo.

Tallin or Reykjavik

Bergen is beautiful, but so, so rainy. It has 2-3x as much rainfall as Stockholm, Copenhagen or Helsinki in the summer. Some people might not mind, and I've been to Bergen in super rainy weather, and still loved it, but it's not everyone's idea of a nice summer holiday.

We stayed in a wonderful place called Stenebynas a few years ago. A wooden house by a lake, with kayaks etc. There were 3 or 4 properties on the estate.