Best way to see the nordics?

[Lavenderhaze9]

Hello everyone:

I would like to go away with my husband for 4 nights between Christmas and new year. I have wanted to visit the nordics for a while so fancy there.

Please could I have you recommendations from those who have visited the best way to do it? Ie package holiday versus air bnb (or other options I’ve not thought of).

We had considered on our next holiday flying into one location, then going in somewhere else and then departing from another but probably a bit ambitious due to only having four nights (due to annual leave allowance)?

Finally what where did you go and what did you do?

I am feeling a pull to Norway but open to suggestion!

thank you

I'm from Scandinavia, and I would say it very much depends on where in the Nordics you would like to visit? It's super easy to do a triangle tour of Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen, as multiple and fairly cheap flights are available daily. But it's a bit more tricky if you plan to visit smaller cities.

You could, of course, also pick one country (you mention Norway) and explore that. In which case, definitely hire a car to get the most out of your trip!

Thank you so much x

In January we went to Tromso and got lucky with both whale watching and the northern lights.

A "triangle tour" of Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen sounds great to me, I have to look into it! I am not sure though if it's the best option for a 4-night trip, maybe two out of these three would be better, to have time to explore the cities more. Whatever you decide, I think you and your husband will have a lovely time and I wish you a safe trip!

With just 4 nights you're going to need to think about a specific area to visit. "The Nordics" doesn't exist as one place, and it is a huge area - Norway alone is over 1,100 miles from north to south. Oslo to Rome is about the same distance as Oslo to the northern tip of Norway.

You could look at just one city in one country - e.g. Copenhagen in Denmark. Or look at combining places close to each other - e.g. Copenhagen plus Malmö, Lund or Ystad (if you're into Wallender) in Sweden. You could do these as day trips from Copenhagen using the train. Or fly into one place and out of another - e,g Copenhagen, then travelling across Denmark to Aarhus or Aalborg and flying back from there. [Other people will be able to suggest similar itineraries for Norway and Sweden] Remember, 4 nights in December between Christmas and New Year is going to limit what is open (although it is traditionally the time of the winter sales in the Danish shops) and even in Denmark it can be bitterly cold at this time of year. Further north will be even colder and likely snowy, so consider this if you might think you'll drive anywhere.

I'm not aware of any package trips for just 4 days but travelling in Scandinavia is really easy to organise yourself. Assuming you're travelling from the UK, there are regular flights to all the major cities. Accommodation can be either Airbnb or a hotel booked through the usual "Booking" websites.

I really fancy southern Sweden - lakes, coast, islands and countryside. With a side trip to Gothenburg.

You could maybe fly into Oslo and out of Bergen (or the other way) and travel between the two cities by train/ferry to see cities and some fjords/small villages. Though not sure if they will be running ok at that time of year. If you check a tour called Norway in a Nutshell you'll get an idea of the route and options (though could book it all separately). Norway is beautiful.

Depends what you want to see. Do you want to go to a city or the countryside.

If cities are your thing then go to Oslo or Copenhagen/Malmo.

If you want to see the country itself then either fly to somewhere like Bergen, Tromso or Rovaniemi, hire a car and book some places to stay online. There are loads of cabins, houses in that part of the world.

I think the key factor in the OP's request is that she's going between Christmas and New Year.

Beautiful though the lakes, mountains and forests are, at that time of the year it is very cold. I spent one Christmas and New Year in Hemsedal and the temperature was minus 25, the snow was over a meter deep and the roads were like ice rinks. This is not a problem if you're going for the skiing and other winter sports activities and have the right gear, but it's not really any good for driving about, walking around or sightseeing.

I'd stick to the cities for this trip to get a feel for the Scandinavian vibe, and save the countryside and fjords for a sunnier trip.

I live in Scandinavia, and during that time of year, I'd either go to Norway and stay there. Or fly into either Malmö or Copenhagen, a few days in one country and travel by train to the other and fly back from there. As others have said, it will most likely be very cold. Possibly snow. We had the first snow in Denmark this year overnight.