I'm going to be in both cities in May, flying into CPH on a Saturday and out of ARN a week later on Sunday. I've never been to either, but Sweden (for no particular reason) is my focus on this trip, and I'm planning about 2 days in CPH then the rest in Sweden.

Here's my question: should I take the train directly from CPH to ARN, or is there someplace cool to stop along the way? If stopping I'd prefer it to be worth a night's stay, but that's not critical as long as the train stations have luggage storage. I also don't want to travel way out of the way since this is a short trip, and I don't want to spend a lot of time on transportation.

Thanks!

Besides cities, what kind of things interest you?

I'd definitely stop in Malmo to check it out and go for a hop around Lund en route to Stockholm, if the train ticket allowing such is not too expensive. (You may need multiple tickets or some kind of pass to do that, but I've never taken a train from Copenhagen to Stockholm and stopped en-route so I cannot help you with that aspect of visiting Sweden.)

Going along the eastern coast I like much better than going straight through the middle of the country. The area around Karlskrona and especially the Navel Museum there is good. Ystaad was cute. Visiting Kalmar and Oland or Gotland may not be a bad idea if time permits. (With only a week, it may not work to get to Oland and Gotland.)

If sticking to the center of the country en route to Stockholm, then heading toward Lake Vattern and the island of Visingso in it makes for a nice stop as there is a Renaissance fair of sorts there in the summer on certain days. (I don't know how close the train gets to there besides going by Jonkoping.)

It might make sense to just do Malmo, Lund and then head to Stockholm to do the city and neighboring archipelago there. Alternatively one could do something like CPH-Malmo-Lund-Kristiandstadt-Karlskrona-Kalmar-[Jonkoping]-Stockholm.

Thanks for the advice!

I'm probably going to stick mainly with cities since I'll be relying on public transport to get around. Outside of them I'd be interested in nature-oriented outdoor activities (hiking, rafting, kayaking, etc.) and the exact opposite activity of complete relaxation: I can sit in a cafe by the water and alternately read and stare at the water for hours. But again, on a short trip, I don't want to end up zig-zagging all over the place.

It looks like Malmo is very close to Copenhagen, with frequent train service. I may consider seeing Malmo as a day trip from CPH, and then doing the train directly to Stockholm, sparing me a hotel switch.

BTW, GUWonder, is there any place you haven't been? :D

Thanks for the advice!

I'm probably going to stick mainly with cities since I'll be relying on public transport to get around. Outside of them I'd be interested in nature-oriented outdoor activities (hiking, rafting, kayaking, etc.) and the exact opposite activity of complete relaxation: I can sit in a cafe by the water and alternately read and stare at the water for hours. But again, on a short trip, I don't want to end up zig-zagging all over the place.

It looks like Malmo is very close to Copenhagen, with frequent train service. I may consider seeing Malmo as a day trip from CPH, and then doing the train directly to Stockholm, sparing me a hotel switch.

BTW, GUWonder, is there any place you haven't been? :D

Trains between CPH and Malmo run every twenty minutes (at least) until the latest hours of the night .... and then it's once an hour for a few hours. You could do Malmo and Lund on the same day .... perhaps heading up to Lund early and then buying a ticket back to Malmo after spending an hour or so in Lund and then a separate one from Malmo back to Copenhagen.

There are outdoor activities -- like kayaking and boating that can be done from outside Karlskrona right into the sea itself -- but that's a bit out of the way if relying upon public transport. Best to stick to cities and try to do some outdoorsy stuff around Stockholm.

I get around a bit; but I get to some places far more than other places (and Denmark and Sweden are certainly up there). For example, I rarely get to islands in the Caribbean or South Pacific and I have only visited a handful in those places. :D

I visit Malmo a couple of times per year. I second the suggestion of visiting Malmo and Lund, then heading up to Stockholm. You can easily see both of Malmo and Lund in a day, and then catch an evening train to Stockholm. The ride was about four hours if I remember correctly, and wasn't that interesting.

just to add that we experienced some of the most enjoyable kayaking ever in the waters around the outer islands of the stockholm archipelago (and i'm a novice) followed by some incredible fresh seafood dinners. if you like nature, i wholly recommend a night or two on one of those islands.

btw, this sounds like an excellent itinerary (and thanks GUWonder for some more good ideas) !

Loran: You've had some good suggestions. However, if you are planning to stay just two days in CPH, it probably would be shortchanging yourself to use one of those days to visit Malmo. CPH is a wonderful city which merits at least the two full days you have budgeted for it. For myself (and this choice is also the choice of most Swedes that I know), I would spend rather more time in CPH than in STO, even though both cities are very pretty Scandinavian cities. I do think that CPH tends to be more urban and lively than STO if that is important to you. Just my thoughts!

As a city, I like Stockholm much better than Copenhagen -- way more, and I don't have a horse in the intra-regional race. :D (Copenhagen does need 1.5 days at a minimum and 2 is sufficient.)

... and what Swedes prefer in terms of city selection, I would discount. Why? Because, for a majority of Swedes, a trip abroad is most always more valued than a trip intra-country.

Malmo doesn't require a whole day for a vist. It needs a few hours at the start or end of a day. (I'd do the start of the day at Lund, jump back to Malmo for a couple of hours, and get back from Malmo to CPH because Malmo becomes sleepy earlier. :D )

One word of warning: Sundays in Scandinavia can be very boring so Sunday is generally a good travel day unless doing outdoorsy things.

Thanks for all the advice!

I ended up with 2 and a half days in Copenhagen, and then I used Copenhagen as a base for a full day trip to Malmo and Lund. I did this mainly out of my desire to not have to pack up for just 1 night in a hotel (in Malmo), and the trains between these cities were very easy and frequent. I also didn't have a hotel reservation for Stockholm and didn't want to arrive there late at night. My only disappointment was that the train goes on the lower level of the Denmark-Sweden bridge, so I really couldn't see much. I was able to get a hazy view of it though through the drizzle in Malmo.

For others to follow I would definitely second the advice to work in a trip to Malmo and Lund. They're both very nice towns with a great character to them, and there's enough to do in both to fill up a day.

And I'll second GUWonder's opinion that Stockholm is better than Copenhagen. I can't really pinpoint why I feel that way, but I felt Stockholm to be more cosmopolitan and diverse, with a wider range of things to do. They're both worth a trip, but I'll be back to Stockholm way before I go back to Copenhagen.

Thanks for all the advice!

\ My only disappointment was that the train goes on the lower level of the Denmark-Sweden bridge, so I really couldn't see much. I was able to get a hazy view of it though through the drizzle in Malmo.

\. They're both worth a trip, but I'll be back to Stockholm way before I go back to Copenhagen.

Wont help you but for others that desire the topside of the bridge I occasionally take www.swebuss.com who offer service to Malmo Buss terminal (5 minutes walk to central station) on route 820 for 55 SEK. It leaves from Copenhagen center hambrosgade with a stop at CPH T3 (at the far end after the train ramps) Ticket on net, onboard even with credit card or they have had a kiosk in terminal near the rental cars.

\

Wont help you but for others that desire the topside of the bridge I occasionally take www.swebuss.com who offer service to Malmo Buss terminal (5 minutes walk to central station) on route 820 for 55 SEK. It leaves from Copenhagen center hambrosgade with a stop at CPH T3 (at the far end after the train ramps) Ticket on net, onboard even with credit card or they have had a kiosk in terminal near the rental cars.

\

Does the bus from www.graahundbus.dk operate still, besides www.swebusexpress.se, for that route?

For others it should also be noted that the bus is cheaper than the trains too but it will only save a handful of bucks.

Does the bus from www.graahundbus.dk operate still, besides www.swebusexpress.se, for that route?

For others it should also be noted that the bus is cheaper than the trains too but it will only save a handful of bucks.

Yes it does. They have more stops though and therefore takes more time, but advantage is you can get off in more central area. They are great for transfer from city centre CPH to MMX. They are also 25 SEK more expensive to city and 65 SEK more to MMX.

How is the weather in CPH in May? I just found a couple of DL SkySaver in first to CPH in May 2007, so am thinking about going for a week.

Also, do you need a res for the trains? Thanks

How is the weather in CPH in May? I just found a couple of DL SkySaver in first to CPH in May 2007, so am thinking about going for a week.

Also, do you need a res for the trains? Thanks

The weather can be anything from ok to good in May. I'd personally suggest going for the second half of May.

A reservation for which trains? From CPH to Malmo, I just buy a ticket. From CPH to other cities in the region, I suggest buying a ticket in advance just because it's often cheaper.

Thanks I changed the res to over Memorial Day.

I was thinking of taking the train up to Stockholm for a few days. Could you point to a site where I can book the trip? Thanks again.

Thanks I changed the res to over Memorial Day.

I was thinking of taking the train up to Stockholm for a few days. Could you point to a site where I can book the trip? Thanks again.
You can book the ticket on www.sj.se (the website of the Swedish Railways, SJ).
There is an English version available.

Just keep in mind that Copenhagen is spelled København in Danish (and Köpenhamn in Swedish), in case you have problems finding the city on the list.

try a meal in East, in Stockholm! My wife and I went there for New Year's, and we ate there twice. Good ambience, atmosphere.

http://www.east.se/index_en.html

There are many things to do in both cities. Stockhom has the Gamlastan (sp?), or old city, the Nobel Museum, an old Viking ship, and many parks and lovely areas to see now that it's summer. Nothing better than having a beer outside with all of the blonde Swedes. CPH also has a ton of things to see, Nyhavn (the harbor), the changing of the guard at the castle, walking the Stroget, etc. CPH seems more compact to me than Stockholm, which is more spread out over the islands.

If you're looking for an easy way to get around Europe as well from CPH or ARN, try Sterling, a LCC:

http://www.sterling.dk/flight