Honestly, you could say the same thing about many “must sees”. I know a lot of people feel that way about the Mona Lisa but if you’re in Paris and at The Louvre, most will make the effort. I was fortunate to view it on a day with zero crowds.
We did a trip to Sweden and Denmark in the span of 8 days a couple of years ago (including travel). Flew into Stockholm and spent three nights- stayed in Gamla Stan at a charming hotel- the Victory Hotel (also has a partner hotel - the Lady Hamilton). We went to Skansen, the Vasa Museum, the Ice Bar, the Nordic Museum (not great), walked around Gamla Stan. It was during the winter so a lot of things were closed, but two whole days was enough to get a great taste. Then we rented a car and drove through Sweden and spent the night in Helsingborg (seeing some castle ruins along the way and enjoying walking around Helsingborg). The next morning we took the car on the ferry to Helsingor, Denmark to see the Helsingor Castle (Hamlet’s Castle)- VERY worthwhile and charming town. Then we drove to Frederiksborg Castle in the afternoon (also VERY worthwhile). Then continued on to Copenhagen, returned the car, and spent three nights there (two full days). Walked and ate in Nyhaven, took a canal tour (caught it there), ate at a restaurant one notch below Noma (forgot the name, got a reservation through our hotel), walked the town, went to Rosenborg Castle and saw the Danish crown jewels (highly recommend), saw the changing of the guard and the Little Mermaid. Flew out of Copenhagen. It was a GREAT trip! Hope some of that is helpful! Have a great trip!
Don’t know if you’re in the market for a new car or into Volvos in particular, but I know several people who have used Volvo’s Overseas Delivery Program. Volvo will fly you to Gothenburg at their expense, arrange for airport transfer, put you in in a nice hotel overnight, and pay for breakfast and lunch on the next day when they transport you to their factory to pick up your new car. You then get to drive it around Sweden or anywhere else in Europe for up to 2 weeks, then they ship it to your local Volvo dealer in the U.S. They’ll even pay your car insurance during that period. The price is at a small discount from MSRP. So effectively, you’re getting free airfare and free use of a car for up to 2 weeks. Obviously it only makes sense if you want to buy a new Volvo, but if you’re in the market, it sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Highways in the Nordic countries tend to be quite good, but I’m not sure I’d want to have a car in any of the major cities.
Never been to Oslo but I’ve found Stockholm delightful, Helsinki only slightly less so, and D2 gives Copenhagen rave reviews. If you’re into urban vacations, I’d opt for Copenhagen and Stockholm. If you want spectacular scenery, Norway’s fjords would be hard to beat. I’ve never heard anything about Oslo that puts it on the same plane with Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Thanks for mentioning that, @bclintonk, because my spouse and I were thinking about doing that. It’s good to know you’ve had friends with a positive experience. The insurance Volvo pays for is only for 15 days but if you are willing to fund longer insurance for yourself, you can keep the car in Europe for up to 6 months. I don’t think we’d stay anywhere near that long but would likely stay longer than 2 weeks.
Hey, doschicos and bclintonk, you guys are giving me a good idea of a way to get my husband over to Europe on a trip. We kind of need an SUV hybrid, I wonder if Volvo makes one. I don’t care much about the car, but a trip to Europe sounds like a winner!
Volvo makes a great SUV…but I don’t think it comes in a hybrid yet.
my inlaws did this with Saab years ago…not an option now!
This trip sounds so wonderful…it makes me want to plan a trip there too (not for a car).
Great and timely thread with very helpful info!
In about 2 weeks we fly to Bergen (6/24) and return from Stockholm (7/10), cruising on the Viking Star. We are looking forward to seeing many of the points of interest mentioned as it is also our first trip to Scandinavia and the Baltic regions. The biggest “buzz” from my fellow passengers on our trip is our 2-day visit to St. Petersburg.
Can’t wait to hear about it, jshain! Very jealous 
@jshain so are you saying this could be done via a Viking cruise? I think I could interest my husband in that. No changing hotels or self transporting from place to place.
Yes, thumper, but it would be a 15-day cruise AND it is very rushed.
That sounds like a great cruise, jshain. There really are all kinds of ways to see Scandinavia, depending on budget. Luxury cruises , like Viking and Seabourn , would be a great way to see Norway if that is in the budget. I enjoyed a cruise to the British Isles with my sister but it was on Celebrity, so much less costly. If I went to Scandinavia again (unlikely), I think I would look into getting around primarily by train or consider driving (if my husband was up for that). We did drive around Scotland for 17 days but that was 30 years ago and he was of course much younger then!
Bergen is wonderful, the wharf area is charming. I mentioned it many pages ago , but Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg’s home and where he is buried, is quite interesting and inspiring. Enjoy your trip!
@thumper1 , agree with jshain-it would be rushed. But still enjoyable. I really enjoyed our British Isles cruise (it was 11 days ) but, yes, it’s a little rushed. But cruising is still a great way to travel. And if you think your husband would be more agreeable to something like a Viking cruise, it’s worth looking into.
Back to the 10 day land trip for the OP.
Any other itinerary suggestions?
I agree with others that think Oslo is the least interesting of the three cities (although of course still interesting). So, I might stay one night there (as opposed to 2 or 3 nights in Copenhagen and Stockholm) and head to Bergen instead, which is the gateway to the fjords. Overnight flight to Copenhagen, stay in Copenhagen,then on to Stockholm , then to Oslo, then to Bergen . All of that could be done by train or car. Flight back from Bergen if the flight schedule would work out, rather than going back to Oslo.
Bergen has a great funicular to the top of Mount Floyen. Also an open air fish market, which is interesting to see. There is some good info on Bergen’s official website about fjord tours from Bergen. http://www.visitbergen.com Click on English version once you access the site (unless of course, you speak Norwegian! ).
A friend here just did that Viking cruise, and raved about it. Amazing service. It was his first trip to Europe. They included stops in Poland and Germany.
Anybody have any potential 10 day itineraries for Denmark and Norway only? Denmark and Sweden only?
It really depends on how much moving around you want to do. We typically like to spend a couple of days in couple of places and explore from there. If you do Stockholm (2 days, you can drive down to get the ferry out to Gotland, which is incredible and has beautiful beaches on the north of the island). I’d also recommend the area around Lake Siljan, for a couple of days, especially if you like to hike. Both of these areas are favored by vacationing Swedes, so your experience will be “authentic” but vacation-y. This plan, though, will take some driving time, which either eats into your time or allows you to explore other offbeat parts of the country – depends on your view. I’m guessing that both could be done with public transportation but you’d then miss out on fun stops along the way. That’d take up close to a week at a leisurely pace, at which point you could go to Copenhagen. Years ago, we spent a couple weeks in Sweden with rather ambitious plans and found ourselves “stuck” in these two locations because they were so lovely. You may want to look them up and see if they appeal to you enough to give up some other things. Sweden is surprisingly big, and it really depends on what you want to prioritize – you can’t do it all.
Surprised that no one has mentioned the Hurtigruten, which is the Norwegian Mail boat/cruise line that goes up and down the coast of Norway, though it does run cruises in other markets. http://www.hurtigrutencruiseline.com/login.cfm?r=81&m=0&l=58&s=0&n=1&d=0&v=0&sm=0&tm=0My dad, a very savvy traveler took me on his typical summer trip years ago at age 16, thru some of the more amazing fjord country, though we stopped before Bergen. They also go north from Bergen. They have cruises of many lengths. What we did years ago was take this very functional and smaller boat south from Trondheim through various small towns in the fjords. It was phenomenal scenery, and though well traveled, I still think of this trip as one of the more amazing things I’ve ever done.
In Oslo the Viegeland park is gorgeous. http://www.vigeland.museum.no/en/vigeland-park I also loved the Kon tiki museum, though in recent years perhaps his theories have lost credibility.
@“great lakes mom” I almost mentioned Hurtigruten but it looks like the minimum cruise length is 6 nights (?) , which doesn’t seem to fit in with the OP’s time constraints if she wants to see other things and also spend time in Denmark. But, it does sound amazing and so glad you had such a wonderful trip with your dad! Maybe your testimony will spur someone following the thread to explore that option. It sounds very special to have had that kind of experience with your dad.
I was looking at the Hurtigruten cruise last night. Not sure we’d want to be on a boat for six days. For anyone who has been to Norway – is it possible to drive from place to place and do day trips at particular fiords? The “cruises” I’ve seen seem to involve a lot of bus and train travel. We’d rather drive if it’s feasible. We are more into scenery and light hiking than city touring.
Norway in a Nutshell looks like it may have possibilities. Jshain, I really want to hear about your trip!
Has anyone taken the ferries from Denmark to Sweden?
Cruise Critic is the most comprehensive website for anyone looking at cruises.