We did similar trip in 2011 whilst picking up our new Volvo. We flew from Dulles to CPH on SAS and then went on to Goteburg, Oslo, and Stockholm.

I will be back to give you some more info, heading to market right now.

Given your interests (and thanks for letting us know what they are!), I think you might want to consider at least 3 days in Stockholm (and perhaps a 4th if you choose to travel outside the city to, say, Uppsala or the archipelago) and at least 3 days in Copenhagen (and perhaps a 4th if you choose to take a day trip to Roskilde). (And yes, I recommend those day trips!)

I haven't been to Oslo yet; I must admit that my impression is that 2 days might be enough. (But I look forward to the trip that allows me to have that time there!)

As you plan, be sure to leave time for getting from one city to the next! No need to rent a car - public transportation should work for you.

Much as I enjoy reading trip reports, I must admit that I don't find them to be a reasonable substitute for guidebooks - they can be inspiring, but I find them too intrinsically linked to the traveler's unique interests to be a good basis for trip planning. I urge you to consider investing in at least one, if not 2 or 3, good books. Although its been years, the ones I found most useful for my time in Stockholm and Copenhagen were Fodor's and Frommer's.

Scandinavia is a pricey destination, points or not. For lodging, you might want to look at options through http://www.booking.com ?
I've used it for many years without problem.

You probably already realize that the closer you get to the summer solstice, the more expensive and more crowded these cities will be. Plan accordingly!

From what you say of your interests and experiences, I think you will thoroughly enjoy your trip.

And BTW, all my trips have been solo - I treasure the freedom that gives me to do exactly what I want, whenever I want.

You are in for a memorable trip!

I can only speak about Copenhagen, you will struggle to find a cheap central hotel or just a cheap hotel. Take a look at the Wakeup Hotel Copenhagen as an example of a moderate hotel, but there are many others to choose from. Even those in the suburbs tend to be expensive, as many of the Copenhagen suburbs are quite affluent (northern suburbs) or are business districts.
3-4 nights in Copenhagen is about right, there are lots of things to see in Copenhagen as well as taking trips out to see castles or be by the sea. Public transportation is very good and you can rent bicycles and cycle around if you want to. Tivoli Gardens are a must, even for an adult. Daytrips from Copenhagen are definitely worthwhile!

Here is a useful link to the official Danish Tourist Board site:-

http://www.visitdenmark.com/en-gb/copenhagen/attractions/copenhagen

We really liked Oslo, and found two days was not enough. All easily walk-able or bus-able. Buy an Oslo card for free public transport, entry into the man museums and 20% at some pizza places and other cafés and restaurants. It makes a huge difference believe me.

We stayed at the Comfort Hotel Børsparken. http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-oslo-norway-NO020
It was a short walk from the station and a good, clean friendly hotel, with a good breakfast buffet.

A couple of notes:

scandinavia is expensive - VERY expensive - for everyhting, incluidng meals, public transit etc - so be sure you have a realistic budget. Definitely use hotel points if you can - since otherwise prices are likely to be 2 to 3 times what they are in the US.

IMHO Stockholm has by far the most to see and do and Oslo the least - so I would switch things in that direction,. Stockholm and Copenhagen both have a number of interesting day or half day trips nearby - while Oslo is cute, but small and not very city-like.

Wow, thanks so much for the great amount of info and FAST. Sounds like I'll want to consider using my high dollar Starwood points in Stockholm, then. I wonder why it's 2-3X in pricing than other countries or the US in general? What makes it so much more? I've heard of the taxes being 25% or so but still...

So - the hard part - sounds like I'll want to fly into... Copenhagen? And out of ... Oslo? Or is there a better route to take for flights?

I'll rely on a combination of your just back reports and Fodor/Frommer books.

I'm thinking 4 nights in Stockholm, 4 in Copenhage and 2 in Oslo. Getting excited (who wouldn't be?). Don't want to be there when TONS of tourist are there. Is earlier May a better time to go? I don't care about cold but I hate rainy and dark most of the time.

Thanks,

Steve R
Gaithersburg, MD.

I did find less expensive housing in Oslo and Stockholm. You might want to take a look at my trip reports on Norway and Stockholm; click on my name to find them.

We found this site to be helpful for finding places to stay.

https://www.nordicchoicehotels.com/Comfort/Low-Price-Calendar/

We stayed at -
COMFORT HOTEL XPRESS, OSLO

It was very reasonable, within walking distance to everything needed and a great price.

We stayed at Marriott Courtyard in Stockholm. It was a short metro ride into downtown area or a pleasant 20 minutes walk.

We stayed at Marriott in Copenhagen.

We spent 3 full days in Copenhagen, only A night coming and going in Oslo ( we did the Norway in a Nutshell up to Voss and the fjord) and then 5 nights in Stockholm. We took the train from Copenhagen to Goteburg, and again from Goteburg to Stockholm. Very nice, book 90 days out to get best price.

I highly recommend SAS. They have sails ,sign up for emails.

Almost all of europe is considerably more expensive than the US - even than NYC. Switz is more than that and Scandinavia is highest.

One easy way to judge costs is McDonald's pricing (not that you should be dining there). But the Big Mac Meal that is about $8 in the US is about $19 or $20 in Scandinavia - and other meal prices are similar. So take lots of $.

Almost all [my emphasis] of europe is considerably more expensive than the US - even than NYC

Europe is so varied that such an overall statement is ridiculous: just as Norway is very expensive for everyone except possibly the Swiss, other countries such as Poland, Romania, Portugal will appear inexpensive to visitors from France, the Netherlands, Germany, etc. And most of Europe, in my experience, is less expensive than places like NYC or SF.

And of the countries you're planning to visit, Norway is the most expensive, but the whole region is very pricey. Don't shortchange Oslo however, lots to see and enjoy. These are three beautiful waterfront cities. We flew on SAS between these them, cheaper than the train. There is easy train transportation from all of these airports to the city centers.

I'm currently in Sweden and had a Big Mac meal, it cost SEK70 which is about USD11. Last night we had 2 burgers and 2 pints of beer in a sportsbar, this came to SEK390 which is about USD62. A cup of coffee with a small cake (Semla) was about USD7 with free refills.
And I agree with Michael, some places in the US are more expensive, eg decent hotel accommodation in Manhattan costs $$$, we did not find Vegas cheap at all but neither expected it to be. I also agree that Scandinavia is expensive, but not perhaps as much as some posters think.

Ok, so it's expensive in Scandinavia. I definitely got that part now. Saved a bunch of money. Ready to spend it, frugally of course. Moving on ...

Great info, especially on ways to do cheaper hotels. I don't think I want to blow Starwood Points then in Stockholm and will look for cheap accommodations instead at around $80-100 a night. For the same 16000 Starwood points they want for a night in Stockholm at a medium-ly good Sheraton I can get a fairly KILLER hotel here in the US that's worth much more $'s per night. Michael: I clicked on your trip reports. Good ideas there!

So, what I REALLY, REALLY need help with is a general itinerary. I read so many of your just back reports my head is swimming. I am lost here. I don't know where to fly into from DC and out of back to DC 11 days later. Thoughts?

I'm really bad with route planning. I know I want to spend a couple days in these big cities but I'm guessing I'd love to see some Norway Fiord stuff too and could give up a day in the city to see the beautiful county. Without a car I have no idea how to plan this. I'm good about going to a city like Stockholm, planning in advance to stay 4 nights in a hotel and then doing day trips. I'm not good at planning to take multiday trips from a location leaving the first location. Can I just do these day trips from Copenhagen, Olso - maybe and Stockholm while getting back late those nights and sleeping in my original hotel?

I will get guide books but if anyone has a skeletal itinerary for me that would be great. Norway in a Nutshell sound PERFECT for a single guy like me to get a glimpse of fiords. That's really all I was looking for. So, can I sleep at my hotel in Oslo and still do all this in a day? Or do I have to check out, travel to Bergen and THEN take this day trip?

I realize this nutshell tour wouldn't appeal to all, but to get a smattering of a view of all this stuff is fine with me .

Steve

You can do Oslo-NIN-Oslo in one very long day, catching the first train out of Oslo. But Bergen is worth a visit. You would arrive in the evening, could probably visit the old town around the harbor in the morning and catch a train for Oslo in the afternoon or later (my first sentence implies a late train from Bergen to Oslo).

The pictures until no. 168 cover that part of Norway that would interest you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/sets/72157623070576316/show/

Fly from Dulles on SAS dot Copenhagen. Take the train (or fly) to Oslo and do Nutshell. Then take train or fly to Stockholm and then fly home from Stockholm. Or reverse it, starting in Stockholm and ending in CPH. Check out "Blue" for low cost local flights.

Well I have been traveling over much or europe from quiote a few years - more than 100 trips at last count. In recent years I have found that cities in western europe are more expensive than NYC (although nor horribly so) which Switz is much higher (I've paid $50 for a cab ride that would be $25 in NYC) and Scandinavia is even higher. A good part of this is a function of the value (miserable) of the dollar against many other currencies. (Locals make a LOT of money and due to government social service plans don't pay for a lot of things we have to. Yes, they pay very high taxes - but they go to social service programs and education rather than supporting a massive military industrial complex.)

Yes, there are places that are less expensive (many in central europe - esp Prague and Budapest) and Spain is fairly reasonable. I understand Portugal is the same but I haven;t been recently and it's not a favorite of mine.

Obviously we travel in different circles.

If you use MacDonald's as your baseline experience of Europe, then of course you are going to think "all" of Europe is more expensive than the US! Same if you use Starbucks or any "foreign" corporate eatery. They're importing what they serve!

Also, you really have an extremely truncated view of "Europe" if it doesn't include Greece, Portugal, most of Italy (not its tourist destinations), and ditto all of what used to be called Eastern Europe -- all much cheaper than most of the US, including NYC.

Do people who live in NYC just not know what it costs to book a decent hotel room there as compared with 75percent of Europe?

Most Americans overspend on hotels and food when they visit Europe, and few do the research to take advantage of many of very sharp discounts available on museum and transportation costs.

That said, Scandanavia is indeed quite expensive, and not because of government services but because of strong labor laws that compel everyone to get paid a truly living wage. No "working poor".

Here are some tips for Scandanavia on a budget

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/scandinavia-on-125-a-day/

No "working poor".

If one scratched the surface, one would find working poor, if only foreign laborers--I stayed right above their neighborhood when in Oslo.

Wow, just checked a flight on SAS leaving on 5/24/13 at 515pm, coming back on Jun 5 from Stockholm at 10am getting into DC at 3pm and it's only $909 - total. Not bad at all, pricewise.

I was thinking, after reading what you folks wrote, to fly into Copenhagen, do 4 nights there, then 3 nights in Oslo saving 1 day for the crazy Norway in a Nutshell tour, training over to Stockholm for 4 nights and heading back on the 12th day.

Alternately, I was thinking of getting back a day earlier so I won't feel guilty about missing work (I'm in sales and have a huge quota to hit each month or I don't make much money) and doing 3 nights in Copenhagen, 3 in Oslo and 4 in Stockholm.

I did Prague and Budapest in October and found that I can see ALOT when traveling alone, in just one day, which is why I thought shaving a day off of the Copenhagen leg might not hurt too much.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve R
Gaithersburg, MD.

We did 2 nights in both Stockholm & Copenhagen in July 2011, could do 3 to 4 nights in both. We found a very cost effective hotel where they supply a free evening snack which was more than enough for the 4 of us for an evening meal and saved $$$$ considering the high cost of eating out in Sweden
Clarion Collection Hotel Mayfair Helgolandsgade 3
1653 Kobenhavn

(free Breakfast, Afternoon Tea, Dinner Snack)

> found that I can see ALOT when traveling alone, in just one day, which is why I thought shaving a day off of the Copenhagen leg might not hurt too much.

Indeed, a solo traveler with energy can maximize the use of the available time. I was fairly young and full of energy when I visited this region, and packed a LOT in. As I recall, I had close to 2 full days in Copenhagen itself and the better part of a day for a day trip to Roskilde.

You should be able to see quite a lot in Copenhagen if you plan your trip to maximize your chance of hitting opening times and are willing to keep moving. And depending on your priorities, time might not be that big an issue for you. It certainly makes sense to think through the consequences for your work and budget!

The good news is that you'll see some wonderful things no matter what.

Thanks for your feedback. The Clarion Collection Hotel Mayfair Helgolandsgade 3 looks awesome but is totally out of my $100 a night budget, especially as a single.

And Kja: good to hear that if I shave a night off of Copenhagen, it won't be the end of the world. Will make a decision soon since I don't want to miss out on a $900 RT flight!

Steve

>>>>> Then I'll need cheap ($65-100 nt if possible) hotel recommendations for Oslo and Copenhagen too that are in great walking areas, not on the outskirts but centrally located since I won't have a car. It can be bare bones like an Ibis hotel but not seedy or awful. Can't do hostels. Too old for that now.

It's going to be hard to find a hotel in Copenhagen for $100 a night, I think I mentioned that before in my first post. A hostel or a BB is a possibility and with B&Bs, alot have shared bathrooms so check that out. End of May is a popular time to visit, seeing that there are many public holidays around Europe at that time.

Here is a link to Cabinn hotels, Copenhagen City is the most central one. Check room description carefully, some are very small & definitely bare bones.

https://www.cabinn.com/en/

Or the Wakeup Hotel, little more pricey

http://www.wakeupcopenhagen.com/prices/

Thanks for those links. I'm starting to think that a shared bathroom may not be a big deal for me, and almost strangely cool in a way, back to bones, back to my youth - since I'm traveling alone and will rarely be in my room during the day.

I bought my ticket! SO excited. It was a little scary but I'm now committed to going. Got the great rate. This will be fun, fun, fun.

Decided to do 3 nts Copenhagen, 3 in Oslo and 4 in Stockholm. All day Norway in a Nutshell trip on one of the Oslo days. If I only get a small taste of this part of the world I'll be happy. Now to find... CHEAP hotels in Stockholm and Oslo .

Unless, I should stay in Bergen one night instead, or do the Norway in a Nutshell trip over 2 days and check out of my Oslo hotel one night to do this trip differently. This seems kind of complicated so I'll probably just do it all in one hellishly whirlwind day. I have the energy to do it... and I won't have to bring any luggage with me at all or to worry about.

Right?!?

Steve R

Check out that Comfort express I have listed above for Oslo. It was pretty (relatively) inexpensive.

Comfort hotel in Stockholm is 756 SEK about $116, use that link above!

This hostel is in quite a good location, right on a bridge and you can walk to Tivoli Gardens and the Glyptotek quite easily.

http://www.danhostelcopenhagencity.dk/cphhostelscom/

Thanks. Wakeup looks a bit far from city center for me... Will keep looking. Danhostel Copenhagen looks a little to dormitory-esk for me. I would definitely need a private room. Gosh, I may be getting too old for this stuff! I'm 52 ... going on 5, though.

Will have to keep searching or increase my $$$ amount I have to spend there. The Clarion Royal Christiana is supposed to be cheap in Oslo according to a Trip Advisor review and it's $290 a nt! The Comfort Hotel in Oslo is $124 night plus tax. $371 for 3 nights. Hmmmm, more than I want to pay but I'm considering this.

I'll start cross checking Hotel.com and Trip Advisor and come up with something!

$116, $124 a night are VERY good prices for Scandanavia. For clean, well located hotels, you aren't going to find mich better.

Danhostel is definitely dorm-like. Wakeup Hotel is not that far from the city centre, it is walkable. Plus you can rent bikes and cycle around the city.

Check the Cabinn City, that one is slightly near to the Tivoli Gardens, so quite central.

Bethel Sømandshjem gets good reviews, I've not stayed there but I know it is in a great location.

http://www.hotel-bethel.dk/

Luckily, I have a really smart girlfriend that suggested I look into staying at an AIRBNB instead of a drab, tiny, depressing hotel room. Most of the hotel rooms you folks have kindly suggested I look into seem to pale in comparison to the AIRBNB rooms for rent I've seen on this site for ... are you ready for you? 1/2 the price! An awesome room in Copenhagen is going for $65 a night to $75 a night. Private bath, use of kitchen and outdoor garden, washing machine, etc, you get the picture.

Killer way to travel. Am looking forward to staying at someone's home since I'll be lonely anyway at the of the day and it'll be cool to meet these local families! Do you any downside to this?

I'm guessing not a lot of people know about this type of accommodation. It seems a huge win win.

Thx,
Steve

> Do you any downside to this?

Sounds like a great solution for you!

Not a downside per se, just something to consider: Before you go, you might want to think of some ways to gracefully disconnect from your B&B staff or owners if necessary. I have rarely come across B&B owners who seemed just a tad more interested in my company than I was in theirs, or just a bit more intent upon directing my time while in their city than felt comfortable to me. In MANY trips, I've only run into this problem a few times, so you probably won't run into it. But it might be useful to think through just in case!

Steve - I hope you choose places that have lots of reviews. AirBnB works ok most of the time, but there can be issues. I have used it to find places in US but never overseas. And we always have an entire apt, not just a room in someone's home. Wishing you good luck.

>>>I'm guessing not a lot of people know about this type of accommodation. <<<< Lots of people know about AirBNB and if you search you will find threads on here about people's experiences.
Hostels or B&B has been mentioned on this thread as an option. When you make your choice, check the address, since you felt the Wakeup Hotel was too far out (which it isn't), you might find some of the accommodation offered is not right in the centre, but you can rent a bike to get around. Everyone has a bike.

Here is a link that I have used in the past:

http://www.bedandbreakfast.dk/?country=358&state=65&city=2428&language=2

I also gave you this link to the official Danish tourism site, which lists the various accommodation options. Here it is again:-

http://www.visitdenmark.com/en-gb/a-z/6236/10955#a-z-item-10955

Thanks folks. Guess I have a bit more homework to do then... I didn't think about some of the things you mentioned. The anonymity of a hotel can be good much of the time. Renting a room in a house could end up iffy... Hmmm, back to the drawing board a bit.

I booked an AIRBNB and am psyched! Also booked one for Oslo. Both are very small apartments, for about $30 less than a hotel room. They're both near the city. I appreciate all your words of advice and caution. I'll report back after the trip... Just need a place for Stockholm, Sweden now... and I might spend 4 days in Norway now instead of 3 and do the 2 day Norway in a Nutshell tour at the end of my stay there before heading to Sweden.

That would give me 3 nts in Sweden instead of 4.

Steve

Everything is booked. 3 Copenhagen, 3 Oslo and 4 in Sweden. All AIRBNB's, for better or for worse. They all look cool and funky and I researched them to death.

Have fun!