This 14-day tour combines the best of the capital cities of Scandinavia with a scenic road trip in the countryside of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Starting in Finland, you will get to explore the culture and history of Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo including castles, palaces and museums. On the road, you will get to see picturesque towns like Kalmar, Ystad and Örebro, while soaking in the landscape along the way.
Just a few of the majestic sights you’ll take in during your trip.
A day-by-day plan to guide your journey.
When you arrive at Helsinki Airport, make your way to city centre. Many travellers opt to take public transportation, but we also offer direct private transfers. Take advantage of this first day on your own to discover this Nordic gem at your own pace, and eat at one of the many gourmet restaurants. We recommend visiting Senate Square, Uspenski Cathedral, and the Old Market Hall to become acquainted with Finnish history and culture.
Spend the night in Helsinki.
Today, continue exploring Helsinki before boarding a cruise to Sweden. Helsinki is known for its creativity and, in 2012, was awarded the UNESCO “City of Design” title, boasting its very own design district and “design tram route” (Line 6). Some notable city landmarks to see or visit include Sibelius Park, Finlandia Hall, the Finnish National Opera House, and Parliament House, the seat of Parliament in Finland.
Spend the night in Helsinki.
Start your morning with a tasty breakfast at the hotel, followed by a day to explore the Finnish capital. It is recommended to visit Helsinki’s Market Square and the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress to get a taste of the history and culture of the capital.
In the afternoon, you will board the cruise to Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. During your time at sea, take full advantage of the on-board amenities including cafes, restaurants, and shops and spend the night in one of the cruises’ comfortable cabins.
Spend the night on the cruise.
Savour the maritime scenery during breakfast as the ship navigates through Sweden’s Archipelago, a collection of over 30,000 islands and inlets. Upon your arrival in Stockholm, make your way to the hotel and then enjoy some time exploring city centre. We recommend enjoying some shopping on the well-known pedestrian street Drottninggatan and taking a stroll in the surrounding area of Östermalm. There you will find numerous shops, cafés, and restaurants for a perfect introduction to Swedish culture.
Spend the night in Stockholm.
Today you will pick up your rental car from Arlanda Airport and kick off your road trip to the south of Sweden. First you will stop by the picturesque town of Söderköping before reaching the city of Kalmar, a medieval city with a rich history, making it a perfect stop for history buffs. The town features well-preserved 17th and 18th century buildings and you can visit the Kalmar Castle, which dates back over 800 years.
Spend the night in Kalmar.
*Please note limited opening hours of the car rental during Sundays and public holidays. See tour information for further details.
Driving distance: 410 km / 255 miles
Estimated driving duration: 4 hours and 45 minutes (without stops)
From Kalmar, drive south along the coast to Skåne where we recommend a visit to Kiviks Musteri and the apple orchards. It is also recommended to stop for coffee in the picturesque town of Simrishamn. Continue to the popular attraction Ales Stenar stone ship monument, which consists of 59 massive boulders arranged in a 67-metre-long outline with a picturesque view of the Baltic Sea. You will continue your drive to the charming town of Ystad where you will spend the night.
Spend the night in Ystad.
Driving distance: 290 km / 180 miles
Estimated driving duration: 4 hours (without stops)
From Ystad, drive to Smygehuk, the southernmost point in Sweden. Here you will find cosy cafés, eclectic craft shops and fish smokeries. Continue along the south coast to the old towns of Skanör and Falsterbo, located on the Falsterbo peninsula, where you will encounter long stretches of white sand beaches. Next, cross the famous Öresund Bridge and arrive in the charming capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen. You can explore the beautiful harbour area of Nyhavn and have fun at the amusement park Tivoli Gardens.
Spend the night in Copenhagen.
Driving distance: 130 km / 80 miles
Estimated driving duration: 2 hours and 20 min (without stops)
Spend the morning touring Copenhagen. We recommend seeing the city by foot, visiting landmarks including Amalienborg Palace, Christiansborg Palace, and the famous Little Mermaid statue. An optional boat tour from the harbour is also highly recommended as you can appreciate the architecture and beauty of the city by water. Next, stroll Ströget street for some shopping and grab something to eat.
In the early afternoon, it’s time to drive to the port and board your cruise to Oslo. You can enjoy dinner in one of the restaurants, check out the entertainment on board or just relax and watch the sunset from the deck.
Spend the night in one of the ship’s comfortable cabins.
Sailing up the scenic Oslo Fjord, you will reach the Norwegian capital in the morning. After you disembark from the ship, get ready for a day of adventure in Oslo. We recommend exploring Oslo by foot, spending the afternoon at sights including the historical Royal Palace and the mighty Akershus Fortress, along with the modern Oslo Opera House, and the Aker Brygge area along the harbour.
Spend the night in Oslo.
This morning, have an early start to explore the Norwegian capital at your own pace. Highlights include driving to the beautiful Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the Holmenkollen ski jump which played a large role in the 1952 winter Olympics in the city.
Other options include visits to the Kon-Tiki Museum and Fram Polar Ship Museum, as well as strolling the popular Karl Johans Street. You will then have the rest of the day to explore at your own leisure.
Spend the night in Oslo.
From Oslo, you will drive east in your rental car to Örebro. Along the way, make a stop at Karlstad, which is known as the city of sunshine. Karlstad is a beautiful place as it lies on the river delta where the Klara River and the mighty Lake Vänern meet. On your way to Örebro we also recommend a stop in Kristinehamn where you find a 15-metre-tall Picasso sculpture which was donated to the city by the artist in 1964. Other sights here include the Kristinenhamn church and the Järsberg Runestone.
Spend the night in Örebro.
Driving distance: 325 km / 202 miles
Estimated driving duration: 4 hours (without stops)
This morning, visit the 14th-century Örebro Castle and walk through the Wadköping open-air museum, with buildings that date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. After a proper dose of history in Örebro, continue to the town of Eskilstuna, where you can visit the charming open-air museum Rademachersmedjorna. This area is famous for its many castles and manor houses, including the 16th-century Gripsholm Castle. After a day of sightseeing, continue east to return to Stockholm, where you will drop off your rental car at the airport. Make your way to your accommodation and spend the evening at your leisure in the Swedish capital.
Spend the night in Stockholm.
Driving distance: 197 km / 122 miles
Estimated driving duration: 2 hours 16 minutes (without stops)
Today you will explore the heart of scenic Stockholm. We recommend exploring the capital by foot, visiting attractions such as the Old Town (Gamla Stan), where you will find the Royal Palace, the parliament, old churces, beautiful cobble stone streets and medieval houses.
After some time at Gamla Stan, you can take a short ferry ride to the nearby island Djurgården, a cultural oasis with something for everyone. Here you will find the kitschy Abba Museum, the Nordic Museum, the Gröna Lund amusement park, and the Skansen open-air museum. It is ideal to spend the afternoon here, exploring the grounds and many attractions.
Spend the night in Stockholm.
Enjoy one last Scandinavian breakfast before checking out of your hotel. If you have time today, you could go for some last-minute shopping or to visit a museum or two that you may have missed earlier in the trip. Make your way to the airport in time for your departure flight.
Customise your adventure with these Optional Extras.
We recommend adding your extra activities to the tour now for the best booking experience and to secure your spot, as activities are likely to sell out.
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Here’s a map of your travel route, to help put things in perspective.
Don’t worry, we’ve got this covered.
These should tide you over until you arrive.
We don’t like to brag, so we’ll let our happy customers do it for us.
The tour was great and very well planned. We had enough time to explore the cities and the Swedish countryside. It was fun to drive and take the ferries as well.
We were able to see a lot of the area (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and a half-day in Tallinn). A lot of ground to cover and we liked the opportunity to see what we were interested in. Still, we were in 10 hotels on the trip which means a lot of baggage handling and back strain. The hotels were all very well located and parking at the hotels was better than I expected. Were I to change things, I would allow more time at the one-night hotels and maybe stay 2 nights so that we had more time to explore. But if you are looking to see a lot of Scandinavia with the idea of coming back later for a deeper look at certain areas, this is a great trip.
Sleep soundly, in the accommodation type of your choice, and wake up ready to enjoy another day of exploration.
Two Drivers Free GPS
Our best price per person when booking for two.
We recommend that all our travellers read through the following information about driving in Scandinavia, what the tour includes, accommodation and other useful information for your travels.
ABOUT OUR SELF-DRIVE TOURS
This is a self-drive tour, which means you will follow a detailed and personalised itinerary during your road trip in Scandinavia. No dedicated driver or tour guide is included. All accommodation, rental vehicle, and other planned activities or added services will be pre-booked by Nordic Visitor (as specified in the itinerary). As this is a self-drive tour, you are welcome to stop when and where you choose on your drive. Except for accommodation and booked activities, other highlights we’ve listed in the itinerary are suggestions based on Nordic Visitor favourites.
For inexperienced drivers who still want to explore and discover Scandinavia, we recommend one of our guided small group tours, where you travel with a local, experienced tour leader.
ACCOMMODATION
Our team of local travel experts carefully select hotels around the country based on excellent ratings, personal experience and comfort. Please note, that in Scandinavia our room types are based on European standard sizes. For instance, a double bed often consists of two single beds pushed together. Triple rooms include a double bed along with an extra bed, a rollaway or a sofa bed, and a single room is often smaller than the standard double.
VIKING LINE CRUISE
The overnight cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm includes cabin accommodation (comfort or quality cabin with windows) with private facilities, and breakfast is included. There are two ships operating the route, Mariella or Gabriella, and each ship can accommodate approximately 2.450 passengers. On board you will find restaurants, bars and on-board activities.
DFDS CRUISE
The overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo includes cabin accommodation (comfort or quality cabin with windows) with private facilities, car space and breakfast is included. There are two ships operating on the route, Pearl Seaways and Crown Seaways, and each ship can accommodate approximately 1.800 passengers. On board you find restaurants, bars and activities.
DRIVING IN SCANDINAVIA
For information on driving in Scandinavia we recommend that you take a look at our travel guide for driving in Norway. It is very similar for the rest of our Nordic countries. There you will find handy information on tolls, ferry routes, tunnels and more! In general, the roads in Scandinavia are of high standard and are well-maintained. Rural roads are generally two lanes and can be narrow and winding, particularly in mountainous areas. Scandinavians drive on the right side of the road.
PARKING IN THE CAPITALS OF SCANDINAVIA
Parking and overnight parking at hotels (most hotels in small towns and the countryside have free parking), fees for parking meters or parking garages, fines for parking violations or towing charges are not included in the package price. Parking fees in Scandinavia are typically between EUR 10 and EUR 50 per night, depending on the type of parking. We always recommend that you inquire about the best parking option when you check in at your hotels.
CURRENCY RATE
All bookings are charged in Euros (EUR). Prices displayed in other currencies are indicative only and based on the daily exchange rate. Therefore, conversions from EUR to other currencies will fluctuate from day to day.
AFTER BOOKING WITH NORDIC VISITOR
After booking your package with Nordic Visitor, you will be contacted within two working days by one of our travel consultants, who will serve as your dedicated contact person for all your travel needs before, during and even after your holiday. Your travel consultant will provide you with details about your booking and your remaining payment (if not paid in full). You will also receive more information about what to expect during your holiday.
CARBON OFFSETTING YOUR TOUR
Nordic Visitor is working on offsetting the estimated carbon footprint of your package. We’ve partnered with an environmental fund in Iceland to carbon offset all our tours. Carbon offsetting your international flights is not included, but we highly recommend you look into possibilities with your airline or directly through a local environment fund.
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