Uh… well actually Copenhagen is in Scandinavia, but I think you mean onward from there? With 4 days after Copenhagen, I would concentrate on Bergen and piece together some sort of Norway in a Nutshell side trip. Consider overnight ferry Copenhagen to Oslo, spend the morning in Oslo, onto the train to Bergen (about 6-6.5 hours). Consider taking a side trip to Flam on the way, and/or stopping over at Voss. Fly back from Bergen.

Will you be there in summer? Do you like mountain hiking?

If not, then consider compressing the Oslo-Voss/Flam-Bergen bit, fly to Stockholm for 1-2 nights, and then move on.

With limited time, I think Copenhagen and Bergen are the best snapshots of Scandinavia, with Stockholm a close 3rd in my opinion. Do not dwell in Oslo—it’s pretty boring, in my opinion, unless you have very specific reasons to linger there (if you’re a big Edvard Munch fan, for example).

I lived in Norway and Denmark for 7 years, and got to travel around a bit, so I’m happy to offer more tips if needed.

Thank you for your help, the more information i can get the better. I plan on spending a couple days in Copenhagen….What do you suggest I see in the city? im also 23 if there are any nightlife things that would be a fun experience? I purchased a Eurail global pass, will that help me on the boat trip from Copenhagen to Oslo? if not, whats your guess on how much it would cost to get over there? Ive heard a lot of people say Bergen is a great place to visit. Do you have any suggestions on things to do there? We are not planning on flying anywhere, just using our global Eurail pass to go everywhere if that is possible. Thanks.

Train only, with just 4 days for Scandinavia, that really limits you. I took a quick look at DFDS.dk for you and it looks like standard price is 900 DKK for a single cabin, minus 25% discount with the rail pass. Specials and other discounting could be better, since 25% only applies to standard fares.

You can also go from Copenhagen to Malmo, Lund (worth a stop for a couple hours), Gothenburg (also worthy of a stop for a couple-few hours) onward to Oslo. If you do this, then you should overnight in Oslo—because it’s quite enough on a train for one day. Then onward to Bergen the next day.

Where does your trip need to pick back up after Scandinavia? That will affect how I would advise you move on from Bergen.

Oh wow, I definitely did not know there was a ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen. That might be an option for me this summer/fall, but man that is a lot of money

And sorry man not to rob your thread, but Don, in your experience, how close to the time of departure can you buy tickets? Is it better to do online, or at a ticket office somewhere, and how do you inform them about your rail pass? If I did this, I’d probably be going from Oslo to Copenhagen.

You can purchase the Cph>Osl (or reverse) overnight ferry ticket just before you want to go, or in advance. Just be ready to show your pass if you purchase in person, or when you board if you’ve purchased online. It’s a pretty big boat. If they don’t have a bed, they’ll offer to sell you a chair. I guess it could sell out, but I never had a problem in summer.

There are 2 boats—1 leaving Copenhagen around 5pm and 1 leaving Oslo around the same time. Each 1 arrives next morning around 9am. Food for purchase—from sandwich shops, bars, and buffets—small cinema, nightclub, and swimming pool—all cost extra. In summer, most people lounge on the top deck and enjoy some Tuborgs or coffees.

Special fares and student discounts could be better. 900 DKK seemed like a standard fare for mid-week mid-July when I checked it, and the pass discount is only 25% off standard fare.

http://www.dfdsseawa…

What are the odds of being able to combine discounts (pass + ISIC + whatever)?

I doubt they’d let you combine, but of course would let you take the one that’s most advantageous for you. You can even ask in person if they have any specials or unadvertised student prices or last-minute prices. Heck—maybe even pick up a free newspaper when you arrive, because they often have ads with specials in those, albeit not as many in summer.

Ah yeah that’s true

What would you recommend as far as getting from Amsterdam to Copenhagen? I will have the Global Eurail pass. that should get me to Denmark, but are there cheap ferries to Copenhagen? How do you recommend getting there? Then we could possibly take the train from Copenhagen to Stockholm correct? Also, from someone who’s lived there….what would you recommend doing or seeing in Copenhagen for a couple guys in their 20s? i definitely want to see Copenhagen for the sights and beauty, but we definitely want to have a good time in the city.

Amsterdam to Copenhagen is a long train trip—about 11 hours—so consider breaking it up, maybe at Hamburg/Lubeck (5hrs, 14mins) or Berlin (6hrs, 10mins).

You can get there via Hamburg and Lubeck up the western part of Denmark (called Jylland); the train then crosses the Little Belt bridge connecting Jylland to Fyn (the big island part in the middle of DK), and then the Big Belt bridge connecting Fyn to Sjaelland (the part where Copenhagen is). Or, via Rostock or Puttgarten, Germany; the trains from Rostock and Puttgarten roll onto a ferry, the roll back off in Denmark and continue to Copenhagen. A train ticket from Amsterdam to Copenhagen will include the ferry portion—no additional payment will be requested (unless you want to get a snack on board!).

Checking trains, I do see an overnight departing 19:01 (which would count on the next day) and arriving 10:06 next morning. Otherwise, fastest connections are 11+ hours.

For Copenhagen>Stockholm, there are trains pretty much every hour during the day. It’s only about 5.5 hours. Some connect at Malmo; some stop at Malmo and continue on. It’s not bad train scenery, but in Scandinavia—and maybe in Europe—the top train trip for scenery is the Oslo-Bergen line in Norway, so don’t miss out on that one.

Copenhagen has loads of clubs and pubs, coffeebars, bars, and everything inbetween. I would not miss Tivoli—at least for a few hours in the evening, often with free concerts on weekend evenings. If you have time, also go to Carlsberg for the brewery tour and tasting. If you stay at a hostel, the staff and other travelers can fill you in, too. My personal favorites for Cph. include the canal boat tour, Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle for the crown jewels—quite impressive, the Marble Church with Amelienborg next-door during changing of the guard. Unfortunately the Little Mermaid is on loan to China this year, but from the canal boat, you can see where she normally would sit. Christiania might also be fun—to see how a hippy commune works in modern Denmark; there’s a concert pub there too (called Loppen—the flea).

Hey Don, what do you know about ferry service/discounts between Bergen and Stavanger? I hear that it’s fairly impossible to get there via rail (makes sense, what with the fjords and all) so it seems a boat is my only option.

You’re right—you can not get from Stavanger to Bergen via train (unless you go back to Oslo, and then switch to the Bergen line—you’re talking 14+ hours to do that). Think of Norway’s rail network like this: Oslo is the center, with 4 fingers—up to Trondheim, west to Bergen, southwest to Stavanger, and eastward toward Sweden (Gothenburg, and I think they run a line with Swedish Rail to Stockholm in Summer).

The best way is ferry. I’ve taken that several times. www.flaggruten.no Each time I think, “this is such a civilized way to travel!” No crowding like on an airplane, free to move around, go out and get some air, have a beer or coffee, with occasional stops at seaside Norwegian coastal villages to drop off and pick up more passengers. Ferry takes about 4-4.5 hours.

You can also take a bus. This will take closer to 6 hours. It goes through one of the longest undersea tunnels in the world at one point, and rolls on to a ferry at another point on the journey.

There are flights, too: http://www.skyscanne… … from around $53 one way on Norwegian.no, for example, but the ferry is city center to city center, so that saves you airport transfer times and expenses.

I have also driven it, but the Flaggruten ferry is the superior way, IMHO.

The Flaggruten page is in Norwegian, but their booking page is in English (click the link that says “Klikk her for å kjøpe billetter på internett eller reservere plasser”). The home page does say that they are launching a new booking system on April 19, and I could not find tickets showing available when I checked just now, so maybe wait a day or 2 to check pricing. The timetables are up. Note there’s only a couple daily all the way through between Bergen and Stavanger on Mons.-Fris.; 1 on Sat.; and 2 on Sunday.

Yeah it’s cool, I can read Scandinavian anyway, so that’s no biggie. I just didn’t know the names of the ferry operators, website info, etc etc. Thanks again man

A nice trip would be to go from Norway to Stockholm, then take the (in)famous boat to Helsinki, from there the fastferry to Tallin, then Riga, goto Krakow, Prague, and then further on. But I guess that doesn’t fit with your itenerary.

I’ve always wanted to do that, actually. In fact I might have this summer, if I weren’t staying in Salzburg for a year afterwards