Nordic Countries

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  • 37 days
  • 2024 Summer

The centerpiece of this trip was the Norway coastal cruise with Hurtigruten. I’ve tried to see the Norwegian fjords a couple of times and failed. And since I’ve learned about Hurtigruten, I’ve wanted to take a cruise with them. I’ve been intrigued by Iceland since I planned my first trip to Europe in 1983 and discovered Icelandair was cheap and you could do free layovers. I couldn’t fit it in then and this seemed like the right time, doing a Ring Road trip before the Norwegian fjords. I liked Copenhagen back in 1983 and have wanted to revisit Finland since I lived there. And hey, Stockholm is on the way to Helsinki. We enjoyed this trip. It was relaxing despite more hopping around at the end than we normally do. It’s an easy (though pricey) part of the world to travel. If you can only spend a short amount of time in Norway, Norway in a Nutshell is just like it sounds. If you can’t devote as much time to Iceland, a day or two in Reykjavik and a couple of days on the south coast would cover some highlights.

Food & Beverage $57 per day*

Average per person per day. Breakfast was included most places we stayed, and it was substantial enough that we only needed one more meal per day. We took advantage of duty free shopping to buy alcohol.

Lodging $118-$328 per night*

Our most expensive stay was on the south coast of Iceland. The least expensive was on the north coast. The rest were mostly in the $150-$250 per night range. Breakfast was included almost everywhere. We stayed at a mix of hostels and hotels.

Transportation $1298 per person*

Transportation includes our train, bus, and ferry fares plus nine days car rental and fuel in Iceland. We also had a couple of port shuttles. Public transportation in Oslo and Copenhagen was covered through city passes.

Entertainment $380 per person*

This includes parking at sights in Iceland, a thermal spa and glacier lagoon cruise, and a couple of museum fees in Helsinki. We bought city passes in Oslo and Copenhagen that covered sights and public transportation.

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip. Coast Express cruise costs not included.

Days 1-7: Iceland

The Plan: We can do a free layover for up to seven days so we’ll do that and take a road trip on the Ring Road, following Rick Steves’ itinerary and adding a couple of days.

We’ll fly through Iceland again on the way home so we’ll see sights closer to Reykyavik then.

The Reality: The plan worked really well. We spent a lot of time in the car but the scenery kept us captivated and it wasn’t too much driving each day. (The first day was rough but that was due to jet lag and lack of sleep.) We were pretty lucky with the weather; we didn’t run into a lot of rain. We were able to see all the things we planned on. And we got to see puffins!

  • Day 1: From Keflavik airport to Hofsós
  • Day 2: To Mývatn
    • Tröllaskagi peninsula and Siglufjorður 
    • Goðafoss
  • Day 3: Mývatn
    • Dimmuborgir
    • Pseudocraters
    • Mývatn Nature Baths
  • Day 4: To Seyðisfjörður (Dettifoss along the way)
  • Day 5: To Höfn
  • Day 6: South Coast
    • Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach
    • Skaftafell
  • Day 7: To Reykyavik
    • Dyrholaey Peninsula
    • Reynisfjara black sand beach
    • Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 8-9, 24-25: Oslo

The Plan: The first thing we booked for this trip was a 12 day coastal cruise with Hurtigruten. And we’ll spend a couple of nights in Oslo when we arrive and again before traveling onto Copenhagen.

The Reality: This worked well for us since we flew into Oslo and took an overnight ferry to Copenhagen when we left Norway. (There’s a ferry from Bergen but it doesn’t go to Copenhagen.)

  • Day 1: Fly from Reykjavik
  • Day 2: National Museum and Vigeland Park
    … Norway in a Nutshell and Coastal Cruise …
  • Day 3: Train from Bergen
  • Day 4: Bygdøy Area Museums
  • Day 5: Overnight ferry to Copenhagen

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Day 10: Norway in a Nutshell

The Plan: We’ll do the Norway-in-a-Nutshell itinerary over a couple of days on the way to Bergen to embark on our cruise. Many people do this in a single day going all the way to Bergen. We plan to spend a night on the fjord in Flåm on the way.

The Reality: There isn’t much to Flåm and we didn’t have time to do much while we were there but we may have been sated with scenery doing the entire trip in a day. This was more relaxing. If time is tight I’d do the whole trip in a day. Or with more time find a quieter village to visit.

You can book all these segments yourself and save money. We booked through Fjordtours because it was simpler that way. It walks you through the steps and offers stopovers and activities to add. 

  • Oslo to Myrdal by train
  • Myrdal to Flåm on the Flåmsbana (Flåm Railway)
  • Flåm to Gundvagen by boat
  • Gundvagen to Voss by bus
  • Voss to Bergen by train

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 11 and 23: Bergen

The Plan: We plan to spend the night in Bergen before and after the cruise. We should have time to see some of Bergen itself while we’re there. 

The Reality: Bergen is famously rainy and the weather was bad enough both times we passed through that we only ended up doing some walking around. Had the weather been better we planned on taking the funicular and/or the cable car up for some views and hiking.

  • Day 1: Arrive from Flåm by boat, bus, and train
    … Coastal Cruise …
  • Day 2: Arrive from coastal cruise

Days 12-22: Norway Coastal Cruise

The Plan: The first thing we booked for this trip was a 12 day coastal cruise (Coastal Express) with Hurtigruten. This will be my third time trying to see the fjords, dammit. (The first two were road trips and we had car trouble.) 

The Reality: The cruise was everything we hoped for and more. It was very relaxing, and the scenery and the food was great. 

We did the full 12 day cruise but you can get off at any point, for example at Trondheim, Tromsø, or Kirkenes. You can also get on the boat at any point. 

  • Day 1: Embark from Bergen
  • Days 2-11: Cruising the Norwegian coast to Kirkenes and back
  • Day 12: Disembark at Bergen

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Money and time saving tip

We saved time and money by taking overnight ferries between Oslo/Copenhagen and Stockholm/Helsinki. (And wanted to take an overnight train between Copenhagen and Stockholm.) The cost of a cabin is about what you'd pay for a hotel room on land.

Days 26-28: Copenhagen

The Plan: I spent a couple of days in Copenhagen on my first trip to Europe and really liked it so I’d like to go back. We’ll take the overnight ferry from Oslo, saving us a night’s lodging and getting us from A to B. We definitely need to visit Tivoli at night. I’d like to take a day trip to Louisiana art museum, which I missed on my first visit. 

The Reality: We lost some time Copenhagen since we couldn’t take a night train when we left. We could have hit a nearby museum the day we left but it just felt like too much effort.

  • Day 1
    • Arrive on ferry from Oslo
    • Rosenborg Slot
    • Tivoli at night
  • Day 2: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
  • Day 3: Train to Stockholm
  • Christiania
  • Museums

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 29-30: Stockholm

The Plan: I will be honest: Sweden is the most boring country I’ve visited. (Which doesn’t mean it’s bad.) Getting a train to Stockholm and then the overnight ferry to Helsinki felt like rushing too much. So we’ll take the night train and spend a night in Stockholm. I figure we should visit an outdoor folk museum on this trip; maybe it’s Skansen. Maybe Oslo?

The Reality: The night train wasn’t running so we had to take a day train and spend two nights in Stockholm. We went to the outdoor museum in Oslo so here we went to the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) then walked around Gamla Stan. Stockholm had some of the most attractive old buildings on this trip and I could see spending more time here. 

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 31-34: Helsinki

The Plan: I lived in Finland for a couple of years and have wanted to go back. Besides a couple of days in the city to see the sights I never saw because I was either (a) working or (b) socializing at the bar, I’d also like to meet up with old friends. I thought about spending a few days next to a lake but it makes more sense to come home and do that. 

We’ll take the Silja line ferry from Stockholm. THIS time we’re booking a cabin, not sleeping on the floor of the restaurant like the old days. I’m looking forward to the smorgasbord though!

The Reality: The meet up thing didn’t happen, so we had more time in Finland than we probably needed. Still, it was nice to be back and I got to sightsee. 

 

  • Day 1
    • Esplanadi
    • Senaatintori and Uspenski cathedral
  • Day 2
    • Temppeliaukio Church
    • Sibelius Monument
  • Day 3
    • Bus to the burb where I lived
    • Shopping

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 35-37: Reykyavik

The Plan: On the way over we’ll drive the Ring Road but won’t have time for much else. So on the way back we’ll see sights closer to Reykjavik.

The Reality: We had enough time to see the Golden Circle and to wander around downtown Reykjavik. I could see doing another stopover to see more. 

  • Golden Circle
  • Downtown Reykjavik (Hallgrimskirkja, Rainbow Street, Sun Voyager)
  • Blue Lagoon? We went to the Mývatn Nature Baths so we skipped this.

Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!
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ornaments

For Christmas ornaments we bought a cute reindeer ball with the Finnish flag on it, a puffin — since we saw them in Iceland — and a sparkly troll, which we bought above the Arctic Circle.