<p>I am thinking about taking a trip to Scandinavia, 12 days starting in Denmark. Is there much life Dec-Feb?</p>
<p>The biggest con for me would be that it gets dark very, very early - before 3pm in Sweden, Norway. Denmark it would be a little later, but still.</p>
<p>Take a flashlight if you want to see anything!</p>
<p>I have been to Denmark, Sweden and Norway in the winter months more often than warmer months. It does get dark very early, and even when it is sunlight hours , it always looks sort of dim.
I can live with that since the Scandinavians have their ways of making their homes warm with special lights and a lot of flowering plants.
The one thing that I don’t care for is the road mess…it always seems muddy and the cars get so dirty and so do your shoes or boots …and be very careful not to brush up against a car or the mess will end up on you ;)</p>
<p>The last time we were there in the winter, we took an overnight ferry trip from Copenhagen to Oslo Norway. It was the closest thing to a cruise this lady will ever take. We loved it and coming into the city in the morning was so pretty ! I hope to do this again one day, maybe to another city</p>
<p>The ferry ride sounds wonderful. Is there any chance we get to see aurora?</p>
<p>Waterproof boots, a nice warm scarf, gloves, and a hooded jacket that is long enough to cover the rear will make your travel much more enjoyable. 
lje is absolutely right about the road mess - do not wear anything that needs dry cleaning or special care.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read winter is the best time for auroras, and of course having more nighttime helps too. I haven’t been as far north as Scandanavia in Europe, but I always felt that snow was a lot less sloppy there than here in NY. More real snow, less sleet, and it stays clean longer when it does snow. In addition if you are into cross country skiing you can find groomed trails everywhere. As for the sights - things lit up at night can be pretty too!</p>
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<p>Yes, there is much life. It’s a great time to go.</p>
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<p>Denmark does have electricity. ;)</p>
<p>The early darkness is actually a very good thing.
It will be much easier to get over the jet lag.
I traveled to Scandinavia in the summer and hated it.
It never got dark and it was very hard to get some sleep at night (unless you have very thick curtains) but the birds started chirping at 1:00 in the morning anyway.</p>
<p>Technically it isn’t Scandinavia, but when my D1 was in Helsinki, Finland, there were about 6 hours of daylight a day around Christmas. I have heard that you can take a nice cross country skiing vacation in March in Scandinavia, but I can’t really see doing it in Dec/January myself.</p>
<p>There may be more life in December than in February, even though it is darker that month. Christmas is a big deal and so is Sta. Lucia Day (December 13th?). There will be lots of indoor and outdoor festivities and markets to celebrate the season.</p>
<p>Fly Icelandic or SAS or Finnair ~ a carrier that is use to the snow, a lot of snow, and ice. I have never felt more safe than when we took-off in a heavy snow storm out of Toronto on Finnair - these guys knew what they were doing.</p>
<p>We flew incelandic once. How’s their price? I have a vague memory that they were a bit higher than other carriers.</p>
<p>We have flown Icelandair a few times because their prices were better. If you choose them, I would consider what they promote, which is a night or two in Iceland. It’s a great way to break into the time change, and Iceland is like no place on earth. </p>
<p>I didn’t get to see any Aurora because the night sky was never clear enough. One day …
My husband prefers SAS , but their service has really declined , and they were pretty uncooperative and less than helpful when my husband was robbed in the Copenhagen airport in May.
I have only been to Scandinavia in the spring once and like Golfather says, the daylight is too much for me…I need my sleep and the sun coming up at 2AM and not setting until 11pm was rough</p>
<p>^I did that once, stopped at Reykjavik. Pretty desolate landscape.</p>