Nordic Countries - Train from Narvik into Sweden/Finland?

I'm in the process of planning a trip centered around an extended family reunion that will take place on an island near Trondheim on July 16. Other than that, I'd like to see as much of the rest of Scandinavia as possible.

I plan to buy a rail pass, so I've been looking at rail maps, and I see that there's a train from Narvik, Norway, down into Sweden through Kiruna, terminating at Luleå. Evidently, one can take a bus into Finland and catch a train to Helskinki from there. I was thinking of then taking the ferry to Stockholm, exploring southern Sweden a bit, and ending up in Copenhagen.

Has anyone taken that journey? Is it scenic enough to be worth doing?

This is only one of the routes I am considering, so I'd like to know whether I should try it or eliminate it from consideration.

Narvik-Kiruna is scenic. It's usually considered less scenic than Oslo-Bergen, but well worth doing! But Narvik is far away from Trondheim. Which island are you visiting? Hitra or Frøya? Are you flying into Trondheim? Trondheim-Narvik can either be done by flying (to EVE; Harstad/ Narvik Evenes), or by train to Fauske (very nice trip by day), bus directly to Narvik from Fauske. Even better would be staying on the train for another hour, taking a boat to Lofoten (e.g. Moskenesferga), and take the bus along the Lofoten archipelago to Narvik. A third alternative would be to go by boat (Hurtigruten; expensive in summer) from Trondheim to Harstad, and then by bus to Narvik.

Earlier there was a train connection across the SE/SF border by way of Haparanda, and this might be restored in the future. I haven't travelled into Finland that way, so can't help you with information on the bus connections across that border

Thanks for your response. The island we're going to is a tiny one that is owned entirely by my relatives. It was the ancestral farm, and when I last visited in the 1960s, one of my father's cousins was still farming there. Even then, most of the relatives lived in Trondheim and built their sommerhytter on the island.

My thought had been to go to Narvik by a combination of train and bus, but I still have to coordinate plans with my cousins.

Not to discourage you too much, but of all possible ways to enter Finland, I suspect the bus from Lulea is quite possibly the worst. :td:

Back in '99, I was Interrailing with a Swiss guy on his first visit to Finland, and we crossed the border to Tornio, an unappealing low-rise sprawl, and continued by bus to Kemi station, the nearest railhead. It was late evening in early September, so it was dark, cold and drizzly. Kemi station is (was?) a wooden unheated shed without so much as a ticket machine in the middle of the forest, occasional Soviet-made Lada cars putputted past in the gloomy mist, and enveloping us all was the characteristic rotten-egg smell of Kemi's raison d'etre, a large pulp mill. Welcome to Finland! :o

Due to an invitation to visit an American friend who lives in Norway, I have decided to save Finland for another trip, perhaps combining it with the Baltics, where I also have relatives.

I may still do the Narvik-Sweden trip, though.

I may still do the Narvik-Sweden trip, though.

Do. There are nice contrasts along that stretch. While the Norwegian coast has a relatively moderate climate, once you cross the mountains you get into the high subarctic zone. Do a stopover in Abisko if possible.

http://www.abisko.nu/sommar/englishpages/index.asp

I may still do the Narvik-Sweden trip, though.

The Narvik-Kiruna stretch is quite scenic, I recommend it (although I grew up in the area, so I might be a bit biased ;))! I second stopping at Abisko, it's beautiful, I love hiking there.

The rest of the journey (Kiruna-Luleå) is much less scenic.
An alternative (and slower!) route to southern Sweden is to switch to Inlandsbanan (http://www.inlandsbanan.se/english/14816.start.html)in Gällivare.

Thanks for the advice, everyone, but I have decided to save exploration of the Arctic region for my next trip. You've given me some good ideas, though!