Budget scandinavian trip

[Ginfa]

My family and i (ages 12 and 15 and husband age undisclosed!) are looking at doing 10 days or so in scandinavia this summer. We are auite active and like kayaking paddleboarding etc but too much “sitting aroind relaxing” leads to sibling arguments.. we originally looked at a few days in helsinki and then a stay in a cabin but also looking at the swedish archipelgo too - we like places not too touristy ideally! Anyone been and can share their wisdom? I know its more expensive than some parts of southern europe so we are looking at the budget end

Scandinavia is a lot more expensive than the rest of Europe, not just "some parts of southern Europe". Definitely not a budget destination!

You can’t do Scandinavia budget, it cost us £25 for four soft drinks last August!

Look at the Danish west coast. A summer house in somewhere like Ringkøbing will give you access to the water and other activities. Fly UK- Billund and hire a car. As well as the west coast you can explore the lake district around Silkeborg (also an interesting museum there with Tollund Man) and if the kids are into Lego, you can visit the Lego House in Billund. Legoland is probably for smaller kids, but OK for a day out if theme parks are your thing - although Djurs Sommerland near Aarhus is better.

We live in Sweden, I screwed up the exchange rate at the weekend and paid £42 for a bottle of beer. Eating and drinking out is expensive, but airbnbs are reasonable, if you’re keen on cities get gocity passes, not only do they include museum entry, boat tours etc, they include unlimited travel on tour buses which saves on transport. In Stockholm I think the only museum it doesn’t include is the Abba museum. In Sweden supermarket prices are similar to the UK with the exception of some meats, so you could cook a decent breakfast and take a pack up out and about, rather than eating out as much.

In sweden you can do boat tours, but if you want to explore islands a bit more taking commuter ferries is a cheap and convenient option rather than paying out for a specific excursion. Grona Lund the theme park is cheap, it also includes any artists that are performing when you go.

I know a really good airbnb, but I’m biased as its ours 🤣

We've just booked flights to Sweden! My DC are the same age as yours. We are doing it pretty cheaply:

Seven nights doing a house swap - free

Four nights in a lovely looking youth hostel in Stockholm at £445 for four of us in one room with private bathroom.

Flights were about £750 for four of us in the summer holiday which I thought was pretty decent.

Gotta hire a car for the house swap bit, but prices seem similar to other hires we've done in Europe.

Will watch like a hawk for beer costing £42! 😱

If school holidays, driving could be the cheapest option - just be aware that whilst self catering sounds the budget option, food in supermarkets is much more expensive so if driving take your permitted long life food with you (and buy petrol in France if going that way)

We had a fabulous holiday camping in Sweden . We took the DFDS ferry to Gothenburg then travelled around various campsites .

The campsites were beautiful, although tents were closer than in U.K. many sites had fabulous kitchen facilities . Many of the campsites had cabins if you don't have your own tent.

The campsites are in beautiful clean areas , many have swimming pools or public pools nearby and there are a lot of segregated cycle lanes with bicycles easy to hire if you don't bring your own.

We didn't eat out much but had some very reasonable meals at lunch times when they often have a cheaper day menu . We don't drink alcohol but that is expensive to buy in Sweden.

@Lollygaggle "We took the DFDS ferry to Gothenburg ..."

That must have been many moons ago - the last UK-Gothenburg ferry sailed in 2006. Sadly the last Harwich-Esbjerg ferry was in 2014 and since then there have been no ferries from the UK to either Scandinavia or northern Germany (Cuxhaven or Hamburg).

I’d love to be able to get a boat to Scandinavia. It is now possible to get a train to Copenhagen and then Stockholm getting a Eurostar to Brussels then changing at cologne and Hamburg. Take about 48 hours and looks like a grand adventure but way more expensive than the plane. And unlike the ferry, you can’t take your car.

We went to Stockholm a few years ago which we loved but in terms of camping we went to the Netherlands this year, had a great time and it wasn't pricey. Know it isn't Scandinavia but if it's a change from southern Europe might be an option? We drove and got ferry from Newcastle

I don’t think you can do Scandinavia cheaply if you want to eat/drink out. Also, the tourist places tend to be full of Scandis in the summer which drives up prices in AirBnb, resorts etc.

Price for 6 days in Denmark in the Spring last year , about £2000 for the two of us.

Denmark is generally cheaper than Sweden (and definitely Norway). I know quite a few Swedes and some Norwegians who try to do their 'big' shopping (e.g. wedding dresses etc) in Copenhagen to save money. Copenhagen is full of Swedes at the weekend coming over from Malmo to do their shopping because it's cheaper.

I must admit we travelled to Sweden as part of a grand tour with a ferry to Holland then up to Denmark and ferry to Sweden . I thought there was still a DFDS direct service from Immingham to Gothenburg , however on looking that will no longer take leisure passengers .

Direct ferries is the website we use to book ferry travel and will come up with all the permutations .

There is also a bridge from Denmark to Sweden.

Probably the cheapest is to fly to Sweden and hire a car but I will still recommend camping as many sites have small cabins you can hire . https://camping.se/en

Ferries Denmark to Sweden are full of Swedes on booze cruises to buy cheaper alcohol. There is a saying , as drunk as a Swede.

Denmark is lovely and cheaper than Sweden .

The supermarkets on the Swedish/Norwegian border are full of Norwegians buying cheaper food and alcohol. Norway is beautiful but eye wateringly expensive

How about Poland?

In Sweden

You will find it cheaper if you go later in the summer as the schools in Scandi go back around August 20th +/- a few days - but the big holiday season for Scandis is around June 21st to early-mid August.

It is much, much cheaper to eat out at lunchtime compared to the evening as many restaurants offer lunch deals "lunchmeny" that include a main or buffet, salad, bread, soft drinks and tea/coffee. Usually in the region of £10-15 all in (unless you go to tourist traps that will fleece you). Or there are supermarket lunches - some have salad bars as well where you pay by weight. So you could mix up eating opportunities to save money.

You can also save money in Stockholm by getting an SLbiljett - public transport cards that gives 1, 2, 3, 7, a month etc travel on public transport for a fixed price. You can use the cards on the public transport island-hopping ferries - Waxholmsbolaget - from Stockholm to the archipelago.
https://sl.se/en/in-english
https://waxholmsbolaget.se/visitor-information

Also you could also mix things up by taking a mini cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki or the Finnish Åland Islands.
https://www.sales.vikingline.com/

Book accommodation in advance as the budget accommodation gets booked up fast. There are quite a lot of air b&Bs - also many campsites have "stugas" or small 4 bedded huts that you can rent - but you might need sleeping bags. Also look a Youth Hostels - if you book in advance you can get a range of room sizes - there is even one in Central Stockholm on an old sailing ship and the building next to it
https://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/boende/stf-stockholm-af-chapman-skeppsholmen-vandrarhem/

Also a thought for adventurous holiday in Sweden https://www.naturetravels.co.uk/category-canoeing.htm?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA44OtBhAOEiwAj4gpOZM8PHR4IgFQlQC4n8wua1xkLR7MMRs0YHgndjutZzgOAtqw1xUmZBoCuE0QAvD_BwE

The flip side of this is Stockholm accommodation prices fall. We stayed there in July on the waters edge a water taxi away from the centre, and took the ferry out to the islands. Lots to do in and around the city too. If you fly out second week in July and come home the third you can get flights for all four of you under £600 with Scandinavian.

It is difficult that there are no ferries from the UK to any of the Scandinavian countries anymore

If you are looking for mountain adventures - we have stayed at Idre Fjäll - in the winter it is a skiing resort and in the summer it's an outdoor resort for hiking, mountain biking plus you can rent canoes. There are activities on site such as swimming, gym, mini golf, high ropes, riding etc. Plus shops and restaurants. There is also a herd of reindeer that wander around that are herded by the indigenous Sami people. It's approx 5½-6 hours by car from Stockholm, or 4-5 hours from Oslo.
https://www.idrefjall.se/en/explore-idre-fjall/summer-at-idre-fjall/

... "the tourist places tend to be full of Scandis in the summer which drives up prices in AirBnb, resorts etc."

School holidays in Scandinavia end much earlier than UK (or at least English) school holidays - around mid-August. So the last two weeks of August are relatively uncrowded and less expensive than mid-July to mid-August.

Sweden, Norway etc are expensive countries to visit, I haven’t visited Sweden for many years, it was very expensive then. We enjoyed our trip. But it’s definitely not a budget destination.

Eating out and alcohol are the two expensive items on a Scandinavian holiday. If you are happy to self-cater and stay in hostels (which are far better than anything in the UK and which often have nice family rooms) and in log cabins on campsites then it becomes more affordable.

As pp have said, Denmark is the least expensive option - and food prices in Danish supermarkets are certainly not frightening compared with London prices. Supermarkets also often have excellent cafes serving a meal of the day for a reasonable price.

How about a canoe trip down the Gudenå river - which starts not far from Billund in Denmark? I think it's possible to do the entire river, staying in cabins or on campsites but here are a couple of sections:

The southern part : Cano trip on the Gudenaa - Denmark's Amazon. (kystlandet.com)

Further north: Canoeing and kayaking on the river Gudenåen | VisitAarhus

Thanks for all the responses! We habe been to denmark which we loved so were really keen on sweden or possibly finland cruise looks great i. Particular