pinniped

Looking for ideas / recommendations putting together an itinerary.

Finally, after sitting on 300,000 Alaska miles throughout covid, we decided to clear them out for 5 seats on Finnair. Flying into CPH and out of HEL, 13 nights total on the ground.

5 of us, all adults, all mobile enough to walk about cities or do easy/moderate trail hikes. Not averse to any form of transport - we can rent cars where it makes sense, buy short flights, or use trains/buses/trams/boats where that's a better option.

Initial very tentative plan is this:
- Copenhagen, 3 nights
- Fly to Bergen, spend a night or two there, then Norway in a Nutshell boat/train to Oslo
- Olso, 2-3 nights
- Travel to Stockholm, 2-3 nights there
- Overnight ferry to Helsinki, 1-2 nights there
- Depart from HEL

Will use hotel points where it makes sense, but are not bound by it. With 5 people we often find booking apartments or a small house is better anyway. Would always prioritize a neighborhood where we can walk to the things we want to see over a farther-flung hotel.

Interested in thoughts....especially if there are better options for the time in Norway than Bergen. I just see a lot of people online talking about Norway in a Nutshell so that seems like a pretty popular path. Trondheim also looks gorgeous but not sure if that would take a lot more travel time.

We want to take in as much of the natural beauty as possible, and also enjoy the cultural sites - art, museums, etc. We love a good street cafe and will also have a nicer meal if we're in a good foodie neighborhood. Bars/clubs aren't important to us.

Thanks in advance!

RedChili

If natural beauty is the priority, I'd say that Bergen has more to offer than the three Scandinavian capitals and Helsinki combined. Not that there's anything wrong with the capitals, but Bergen is on another level.

I'd also consider staying a night or two up in the mountains. The train from Bergen to Oslo stops in places such as Finse (the highest elevation), Haugastol and Ustaoset, which are all extremely rural locations, and Geilo, which is a skiing resort with plenty of hotels. I've previously taken one of the ski lifts in Geilo in the summer, and it's an amazing view from the top. You can also go for some really scenic walks in the mountains far above the tree line at Finse. There will still be large patches of snow at that elevation in June, so boots are recommended for hikes.

You may also want to consider doing Oslo before Bergen: taking an overnight ferry between Copenhagen-Oslo, followed by the train to Bergen, and a flight from Bergen to Stockholm.

GUWonder

Choice Privilege points provide some very good redemption value for the mentioned Norwegian and Swedish cities. And most of the hotels bootable with those points in the region include a decent enough breakfast. My stash of other points generally don�t provide as good a redemption value for hotel stays in Scandinavia as the Choice Privilege points do.

pseudoswede

Between OSL/CPH/ARN, Oslo is the least exciting of those cities. (I've actually never been to HEL.) You could probably knock out everything in OSL with a 2 day/1 night stay (and then a night train--or super cheap flight--to Stockholm). I would also skip the overnight ferry unless you'd want incorporate a stop in �land. Spend an extra day roaming the fjords in western Norway; maybe spend an extra day in Stockholm sailing around the archipelago.

GUWonder

Yep.

Visiting Visby is more to my liking than taking a cruise to/via Aland or going around islands near Stockholm.

For me, HEL is the least interesting/most boring of the mainland NPU country capitals but it’s ok for a day visit.

pinniped

I think we're going to add a day in Stockholm and shorten Oslo a bit. But just curious why you'd avoid the ferry to Helsinki: I've had multiple people recommend it, and I figure the overnight journey isn't going to cost us much time vs. taking a short flight one morning or evening.

I had visions of the overnight ferries I've taken in Europe when I was backpacking...where you sometimes just slept on the deck wherever you could find a spot...but on these ferries it appears you can book private cabins with bedding.

RedChili

I've been on Baltic ferries multiple times. It's a beautiful voyage through the Stockholm archipelago. It's far more scenic than getting a low-cost flight from one airport to another. In my personal opinion, the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony ferries are better than the Viking Line ferries.

pseudoswede

I've been told they're simply party boats that people use to buy duty-free alcohol. But, yes, if you book a cabin, you should be able to avoid much of the noise and rowdiness. However, once you add the cabin, the prices then fall in line with late evening plane tickets and a hotel room in HEL.

You may also want to consider TLL or RIX, as they are both well connected to ARN and HEL by plane (and ferry).

RedChili

I believe that's mainly the issue on the Viking Line ships between Kapellskar-Mariehamn, which I've never been on, and the 20 hour Viking Cinderella cruise to Mariehamn, that I've been on a single time and which was very noisy indeed. The relatively long (40 hours round-trip) and more expensive sailings between Stockholm-Helsinki are not so attractive for people looking for cheap alcohol.

It's worth noticing that, AFAIK, no cabin can take more than four adults. so with five adults, you'll need at least two cabins.

r2d2

The ferries between Helsinki and Stockholm have a very versatile clientele. There are always some people onboard looking for a party (and each of the ferries has at least one nightclub for that), but I'd say the vast majority are there mainly for travelling from one city to another (and maybe have a nice dinner during the trip). Pre-covid many of the pax during the summer were foreign tourists and I can understand why, because the ferry is an impressive and pretty unique experience. If you're travelling solo, the ferry is probably boring, but with some company you can spend a nice evening together.

At least Finns are fond of the buffet on the ferries. It usually costs a bit under 50 e per person and includes free-flowing beer and wine, hence the popularity. It's maybe not that special to people who are used to airline lounges

You can usually get the ferry cheaper if you book what they call a cruise. In FT terms it is a direct turnaround ticket, returning back to the city where you started from. It's usually cheaper than a one-way ticket (the ferry company assumes that people going on a cruise spend much more onboard) and you can just ditch the return part of it. The cruise tickets allow you to visit the city while the ferry stays in the harbor and no one cares if you don't come back for the return. A cruise ticket is usually cheaper on weekdays than a hotel night in Helsinki or Stockholm would be.

sydunipete

Jun 23 is midsommar afton in Sweden. (I'm not sure about Norway.) Everything will be closed but if you can track down a tourist friendly midsommar party you can dance like a little frog and enjoy plenty of food and drink.

One day is enough for Helsinki. The ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki is a good option and if you choose one that departs from Stockholm rather than from Kapellskar you will be rewarded with great views of the Stockholm archipelego. There are some bars etc on the boats but the noise has never bothered me. I'm not sure what the overnight ones are like post covid but the day boats to Mariehamn have seen large price increases for booze so I don't even take those anymore.

You could probably cut a day off Oslo and spend that in Stockholm or Bergen depending upon your interests. Stockholm is a very walkable city and if you are there mid week most restaurants and bars have dagens lunch which is often very good value, on average about $12 -$14 for a salad buffet, hot lunch, coffee and maybe cookies. (And remember you don't need to tip.) Blu Dorren is fairly traditional and is close to the Hilton, Axela is my favourite.

pinniped

Yes, we would definitely book two cabins. There actually is one that lists capacity as up to 6 but the 360-degree views of it make it obvious that would be a super uncomfortable fit. We would split up 2 and 3....even that means one of our kids goes into an upper bunk. We did a cruise once before with a similar layout and they were fine with it.

I'm guessing it's like anything else - if you book up to a midpriced category, you get higher on the boat and with an outside-facing cabin with a little less noise. The prices all seem very reasonable...the cost difference (if any) is not really a huge factor vs flying....just thought this would be a fun experience vs. another airport.

RedChili

The six berth cabins are family cabins. I believe they require at least two kids during the summer.

If you're on Silja, the A cabins are located on decks 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11. It's been a while since last time I booked, but I believe the deck is randomly assigned. Shopping and restaurants are on decks 6 and 7. If you want to be certain of a deck above the shopping, you need to book cabins that are only available on higher decks, such as promenade cabins, with views of the shopping promenade from decks 8, 9, 10 and 11.