Scandinavian Trip - tips or recommendation welcome

[SmilingFloFrance]

Hello everyone,

I will be travelling with my 10 year old son from mid-May to August 31, 2023.

Departure: Brittany
Destination: Denmark, Sweden, Norway (I know the capitals from business trips), Finland and the Baltic States. Eventually returning via Poland.
I have friends and family on the way in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands which will allow us to take breaks on the way there and/or back.

I'm starting to think about the trip, and am therefore interested in any ideas for routes and recommendations of any kind - places to see, places to avoid, trips to make, ferries to take.

The idea is to get some fresh air, spend time with those who will be joining us, and hike, bike, kayak and paddle.
I intend to travel with bikes and inflatable kayak and paddle.

FYI, if it make a difference to your comment, I am a woman.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Niborn]

Hiya,
Nice to hear about your trip.
Definitely a beautiful trip to make. Suggest you take the ferry at North of Denmark to South Norway and drive up the west coast of Norway and go as far as the North Cape making sure you see Bergen and the towns on route via Arctic Circle to Hammerfest , make some time for the islands on Norways North west coast if you can. You could return via Finland, the landscape is a lot less interesting, although there are of course a lot of lakes, beautiful too.
I've made this trip three times and used to.live in Norway. Now living in France
If you'd like to message me for a more detailed chat about the trip we could exchange mobiles.
Best wishes

 

[SmilingFloFrance]

Hiya,
Nice to hear about your trip.
Definitely a beautiful trip to make. Suggest you take the ferry at North of Denmark to South Norway and drive up the west coast of Norway and go as far as the North Cape making sure you see Bergen and the towns on route via Arctic Circle to Hammerfest , make some time for the islands on Norways North west coast if you can. You could return via Finland, the landscape is a lot less interesting, although there are of course a lot of lakes, beautiful too.
I've made this trip three times and used to.live in Norway. Now living in France
If you'd like to message me for a more detailed chat about the trip we could exchange mobiles.
Best wishes

Thanks @Niborn I will get in touch.

 

[Amarillo]

We did that very same trip over a similar timescale: 15 May to 17 August 2017, with two toddlers aged 2 and 3.

In southern Norway Flam and the Flam mountain railway is worth a visit. We took the train up and I cycled down hauling our two boys in a trailer. I’d expect a competent ten year old to be able to cycle down solo from the waterfall station but perhaps not from the summit.

The Atlantic Highway is fun. A series of Bridges and causeways connecting a group of small islands stuck out in the Atlantic.

Avoid the E6 highway south of the Arctic Circle and take a westerly route north using ferries to cross Fjords, but expect some longish waits for the ferry. Don’t bother booking campsites in advance. Just turn up. Sometimes it is worth the extra to book a cabin for the night.

We really enjoyed Furøy Camping a few minutes from the Furøy Ferry. Local activities include “Kiss a Moose” and a glacier that reaches the sea.

We too a ferry from Bodo to A, then drove the full length of the Lofoten Islands over a number of days. A great and unforgettable part of our trip.

Nordkapp. It’s a long way to go but as you will be in the vicinity, you should visit.

Don’t forget Nuorgam, the most northerly point of the EU mainland (in Finland).

Finland is seemingly endless forests interspersed with lakes. Not as interesting as Norway, so plan your time accordingly. I’d suggest spending about 3 times longer in Norway than Finland.

Santa Claus World on the Arctic Circle just outside Rovaniemi is probably mandatory with a ten year old. Take a photo for me of yourselves outside Amarillo Restaurant, Rovaniemi town centre.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZE1xWaNEZjzNrqy76?g_st=ic

Estonia, Latvia and Estonia. My second campsite recommendation is Labirinti - Camping & Cararvan park
+371 26 320 336

https://maps.app.goo.gl/X8qhzoaLPy81C4k66?g_st=ic

A huge range of activities for a ten year old, all created by the owner.

In Lithuania we enjoyed the spa town of Druskininkai near the border with Belarus.

Krakow in Poland is good for the salt mines. You may or may not want to visit Auschwitz or another concentration camp. We felt our boys (at 2 & 3) were too young for such horrors, but at 8 & 9 now would probably visit if in the area now.

Enjoy.

Tom

 

[SmilingFloFrance]

Thanks @Amarillo for your response; Very much appreciated;

I visited 20+ years ago Krakow, the salt mines and Auschwitz. My son studied the nazists at school this year, so will consider it again if visiting that area aagain;

Can you take your own bike up the Flam moutains?

 

[Amarillo]

Thanks @Amarillo for your response; Very much appreciated;

I visited 20+ years ago Krakow, the salt mines and Auschwitz. My son studied the nazists at school this year, so will consider it again if visiting that area aagain;

Can you take your own bike up the Flam moutains?

Yes. Mine was a Brompton with a Burley trailer.

 

[De Witte]

Hello everyone

For those who have made Norway trips before, is it really necessary to book the Ferry from Hirtshals to Norway in advance?
Departure with my son 22/7 to 15/8 .
Thank you for any reply.

 

[RonB]

Hi, we completed a trip around the Baltic, between early May and end of June about three years ago, starting and finishing in Amsterdam. Attached is a map of our route showing various campsites marked with triangles.
Whole trip (from Edinburgh using Newcastle to IJmuiden ferry) was around 3750miles. It consisted of something like 10 ferries, 9 countries and 8 capital cities.
Poland and Baltic states were very interesting although choices of campsites were sometimes limited and in some instances basic.
One of the highlights was crossing from Turku in Finland to Stockholm overnight on midsummer’s night. A near empty ferry weaving through the archipelagos at both sides and arriving in a near deserted Stockholm early morning which allowed us to do some tourism with no one else around.
Overall, a fabulous trip. Good luck with your adventure, you’ll enjoy it.

 

[RonB]

Forgot to say that we took bikes with us and generally plenty of easy cycling around most of those campsites.

 

[Super Californilistic]

Hello everyone

For those who have made Norway trips before, is it really necessary to book the Ferry from Hirtshals to Norway in advance?
Departure with my son 22/7 to 15/8 .
Thank you for any reply.

Hi, we have crossed the sea between Denmark and Norway several times using differen ferries. The last time we booked 2 days in advance. We’ve never showed up at the port hoping to get a place on the boat. We thought that during the summer months there’s a risk of full ferries. Norway is very popular and right now much cheaper compared to other years because of very weak currency hence the risk is higher.
I recommend that when you are a day or two away from Hirtshals you find your tickets. If everything is booked you can always take the bridge between Denmark and Sweden.
Remember there are several companies doing the crossing. From Hirtshals you can sail to Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Langesund and Larvik.
Good luck!

 

[De Witte]

Hi, we have crossed the sea between Denmark and Norway several times using differen ferries. The last time we booked 2 days in advance. We’ve never showed up at the port hoping to get a place on the boat. We thought that during the summer months there’s a risk of full ferries. Norway is very popular and right now much cheaper compared to other years because of very weak currency hence the risk is higher.
I recommend that when you are a day or two away from Hirtshals you find your tickets. If everything is booked you can always take the bridge between Denmark and Sweden.
Remember there are several companies doing the crossing. From Hirtshals you can sail to Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Langesund and Larvik.
Good luck!

Thanks for your reply.

 

[SmilingFloFrance]

Hi, we completed a trip around the Baltic, between early May and end of June about three years ago, starting and finishing in Amsterdam. Attached is a map of our route showing various campsites marked with triangles.
Whole trip (from Edinburgh using Newcastle to IJmuiden ferry) was around 3750miles. It consisted of something like 10 ferries, 9 countries and 8 capital cities.
Poland and Baltic states were very interesting although choices of campsites were sometimes limited and in some instances basic.
One of the highlights was crossing from Turku in Finland to Stockholm overnight on midsummer’s night. A near empty ferry weaving through the archipelagos at both sides and arriving in a near deserted Stockholm early morning which allowed us to do some tourism with no one else around.
Overall, a fabulous trip. Good luck with your adventure, you’ll enjoy it.View attachment 107556

Thanks Ron for the map this helps to visualise the end of our trip