Sweden and Norway not cruise

[Citygirlrurallife]

have decided we’ll try for Scandinavia next summer and aware that because it’s so expensive we need to start saving immediately and probably plan and book early and would love anyone’s thoughts on where to start?

we’d love to get there by train rather than fly so probably via Copenhagen and stay there for a few days. I’d mainly like to go to Sweden to see a dear friend of mine but should we also therefore check out Stockholm while we’re there or just see her and head straight to Norway?

And I’m a bit overwhelmed with where to start in Norway, we’ll have 13&16 yr olds with us and would love to book some kayaking in the Fjords - there are so many fjords and various travel guides say some get extremely busy in the summer which we’d prefer to avoid. Would it be easier to rent a car once we’re in Norway? Any recommendations for which part of the fjords to go to would be ace. We don’t want to cruise but wouldn’t be averse so small boat trips

thanks so much!

Oh sorry Hurtigruten

You can book Hurtigruten direct or with a travel agent. In my experience better to book direct as communication was better . Some people had problems using travel agent with the exception of trailfinders .

I’m definitely going to check out Hurtigruten. It seems small and like you can arrange what you want to do and see and where to get off - I just don’t want to do one of those big cruises and have read a fair few of them go to Norway. I’m not interested for a variety of reasons not least I’m always horribly sick on big ferries but tend to be fine on small boats - I think the bigger the boat the more it messes with my brain and the sicker I am. I spent the whole 8 hours of the overnight ferry from Morocco to Spain on deck as fresh air was the only way to curb the nausea

Ooof I’ve looked at the photos and not sure actually. Will check out timetables etc but those boats look prime to set off my sea sickness

I don't think I'd be interested in a cruise anywhere except Norway.

If you're prone to seasickness then it's worth noting that the fjords are much more sheltered than the coastal waters, which are (in places) sheltered to some extent by islands vs the open sea. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think Hurtigruten mainly goes around the coast rather than deep into the fjords so it might not suit you.

If you get seasick, then Hurtigruten isn't for you. The fjords can be very windy! I spent 4 years using a daily boat to cross the Trondheim fjord for work. There were many, many times it was cancelled due to high winds and rough seas.
Once we were without a boat crossing for nearly 2 months as the landing platform was ripped up from the seabed by the force of the winds.
Trains are a great way of exploring here, but if you really want to get out and experience Norway, I really recommend a car.

I would say you want to base yourself in Bergen, and do a day trip to Flåm that includes kayaking (or Flåm for a fjord rib boat tour then Voss for kayaking). There are also lots of little boat trips you can do from Bergen.

Definitely don't hire a car. The Bergen to Oslo train journey is glorious, but don't spend too much of your holiday on the train travelling between Oslo / Stockholm / Copenhagen... it could end up a little bit country boxticking, especially if you're travelling only by train to start your holiday... how long are you planning to be away?

Hurtigruten warn you that timetables may change because weather can mean you can’t get into some ports at all. Lofoten Islands that happens quite a lot, North Cape as well.

Although it is coastal sailing weather can make sea conditions challenging and you do have to be flexible as you may not get into all the ports scheduled or may have to stay in a port longer than scheduled.

However they do try to avoid bad weather if at all possible.

I'm eyeing this up. It's not cheap but it does include a fair amount of food and excursions

https://www.greatrail.com/tours/arctic-circle-express/

Great idea, we did a variation of this and also stopped in Finse for a couple of nights. There's a hotel right next to the train station, which is the highest station in Norway. You can walk or hire bikes to go along the trails and see the glacier, even in summer. The landscape was incredible.

We were moored with Hurtigruten in two fjords so yes they do go into some.

I think that ship was called the Richard With,? Something like that! It was a long time ago now!

Oooh this sounds amazing!

@skilpadde I’d like to do 3 weeks total which includes getting there and back. I know what you mean about box ticking though I imagine we’ll have to go through Copenhagen regardless so may as well stop there too.

It was. We stayed here. It was quite expensive and the rooms were quite basic, but we had views of the glacier from ours. But the breakfast and dinner were excellent, you could make a packed lunch from the breakfast buffet and they filled up your flasks with coffee to take out for the day.

Forgot the link: www.hotelfinse1222.no/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_qG5BhDTARIsAA0UHSL01VqBJsl_5wJwgXbVA4K0is59FaaXSQVaVRTj_nWaWmC8ORv9gS4aAsmSEALw_wcB

Looks like they might have renovated the rooms since we were there 5 years ago too.

Oh, 3 weeks makes it much more feasible to see lots of places without feeling like you’re spending most of your time travelling. Given the choice though, I’d probably still fly into Bergen, fly home from Stockholm, unless you’re planning a nice stop at Bremen or Hamburg to break up the getting there / getting home journey a bit.

If you've got 3 weeks, I'd also recommend this hike which you can reach on a boat trip from Stavanger: preikestolen365.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_qG5BhDTARIsAA0UHSI3T6figk-aZtutAH6OIh6IMfR9buSOf2BiQgHG8Ek09mGvkSSE0pYaAlVIEALw_wcB

We also had almost 3 weeks and did a loop from Oslo, going around the south coast to Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, Utne in Hardengerfjord, Finse and back to Oslo. We bought discounted train tickets online in advance, which made the travel very reasonable.

We also stayed in quite a few Thon hotels where a buffet breakfast and a light buffet evening meal was included, which made it more affordable. The breakfast was amazing and the evening meals were fine. It would have cost a fortune to eat out in restaurants every day for 3 weeks. www.thonhotels.com/our-hotels/hotels-for-every-occasion/evening-meals/

Yeah we’ll break it up. Avoiding flying for a few reasons at the moment

Not sure of your timings next summer but whatever you do, don't go to Gothenburg from the 12th to 20th July - it will literally be overrun with footballers!
There is a huge football tournament that pretty much takes over the city - every tram or bus you go on will have at least one team in my experience. Last year there were about 1900 teams from all over the world.
We go as my daughter plays in the tournament but it's definitely something to avoid if you're not there for the football!

What months are you planning? Could help to advise weather wise.

School summer hols so late July - early September

Danish schools go back mid-August. Timetables change from summer hols to school term-time ones so make sure you check any trains/buses for the correct dates to get correct timetables. Accommodation will be cheaper and much more available once schools go back.

Not sure about the other countries but I'd check their term dates too.

Schools go back mid August in Norway. Weather can be better in Bergen August- September (can either be hot or very rainy in July)

Thanks all - we’ll look at tail end of the summer holidays the