Highlights of Scandinavia – 11 nights – 12 days

Detailed Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVE IN COPENHAGEN

You’re in for a whole lot of hygge when you hit the colourful, character-filled streets of Copenhagen, kick-starting your journey across Scandinavia. This cool capital manages to mix fairy tale with function, as you’ll come to discover.

Spend your day soaking up the atmosphere in 17th-century Nyhavn or rubbing shoulders with the fun-loving locals in Tivoli Gardens, Europe’s second-oldest amusement park. Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner at your hotel.

DAY 2: COPENHAGEN

Discover why Copenhagen earns its status as one of the world’s most liveable cities – a place where work and play are perfectly balanced. Your Local Guide will take you on a sightseeing tour to the heart of the city, through lively streets, squares, and along canals, revealing many of the city’s highlights, from Christiansborg Palace to Nyhavn.

Snap a selfie with Copenhagen’s demure Little Mermaid, then spend the rest of the day exploring Copenhagen your way, or join a Choice Experience to the Danish Riviera past ancient fishing villages to the 17th-century Frederiksborg Castle. This evening, join a Choice Experience visit to the village of Dragør with its tiny thatched cottages.

Optional Experiences:

1. North Zealand Riviera and Castle Tour
2. Green Hills and Hygge

DAY 3: COPENHAGEN – HELSINGBORG – GOTHENBURG - OSLO

The next leg of your journey is filled with eye-catching landscapes that demand to be captured on camera. Your scenic drive from Denmark to Norway will see you cross the Øresund by ferry, then skirt the Swedish coastline north past glittering blue bays and lush pine and spruce forests. Stop in Gothenburg before continuing your journey to Oslo, the Norwegian capital.

Norway wears its pioneering past with subtlety. This city could claim great Viking victories. Instead, you’ll encounter a modest, waterfront Oslo, where contemporary meets comfortable, and the Norwegian philosophy of friluftsliv is palpable in its lush parks, flower-lined boulevards, and bustling waterways.

DAY 4: OSLO - VRADAL

Your Local Guide will reveal all the highlights of Oslo this morning, including the medieval Akershus fortress, the City Hall, and the Royal Palace.

Visit the bronze, granite, and cast iron fantasy-land left behind by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland in Frogner Park, home to the world’s largest sculpture exhibition by a single artist. Later, take the chance to explore Oslo at leisure before we travel to Norway’s Telemark region, renowned for its distinctive skiing technique. Tonight, join your travel companions for dinner at your hotel.

Optional Experiences:

1. The Fram Museum

DAY 5: VRADAL - BERGEN

Witness Mother Nature’s magic touch on Norway as you wind your way through spectacular mountains and past Hardangerfjord, the ‘Queen of the Fjords’, to Bergen. The city’s Hanseatic heritage is only second to the spectacular natural landscape that surrounds this enchanting coastal city, which is famously fringed by seven hills and seven fjords.

The former capital of Norway has been a trading centre since the 13th century, as you will come to discover on your orientation tour of the city’s highlights, including the fish market and the 13th-century Haakon’s Hall, a former Royal residence. Consider joining a Choice Experience to visit the villa of famed composer Edvard Grieg, where he found inspiration for his masterpieces, or explore Sandviken and Gamle Bergen with a Local Guide to admire medieval-style buildings before enjoying breathtaking views of Bergen from the funicular railway.

Optional Experiences:

1. Grieg and Bergen Insights
2. Panoramic Bergen and Local Insights

DAY 6: BERGEN

Nowhere is Norway’s seafaring heritage more apparent than in Bergen, which was once the cod capital of the world and a lively port for traders seeking to spread its salty delights across Europe. You’ll have some time to explore the harbour and the colourful wooden warehouses of UNESCO-listed Bryggen, the centre of Bergen’s Hanseatic trade for centuries.

Consider joining a Choice Experience to delve into Norway’s World War II history during a visit to the lost village of Telavåg, whose ties to the resistance saw it destroyed by German forces, or spend the evening venturing to another corner of Paradis.

Optional Experiences:

1. Telavåg’s Heroic Past
2. An Evening in Paradis

DAY 7: BERGEN - SOGNEFORD

Norway’s fjord country takes centre stage today as you head to the ‘King of the Fjords’, Sognefjord. You’ll have a scenic drive before arriving at the world’s longest and deepest fjord.

You’ll have a rare opportunity as part of a Choice Experience to journey on the world-famous Flåm Railway. After, for nature lovers, there’s a Choice Experience to board a cruise on the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord, whose stunning landscape has inspired painters for centuries. Tonight, join your travel companions for dinner at your hotel.

Optional Experiences:

1. Flam Railway Journey
2. Fjords and Mountains

DAY 8: SOGNEFORD - LILLEHAMMER

Enjoy a scenic drive through the mountains to Lillehammer, in the heart of Norway.

You’ll discover what’s great about the great outdoors as you see how this Norwegian ski jumping centre, turned Winter Olympics hub, has become popular amongst adrenaline junkies.

 Optional Experiences:

1. Treasures of Lillehammer

DAY 9: LILLEHAMMER – KARLSTAD - OREBRO

Travel through Norway’s lush forest landscapes, through the cottage countryside of Sweden, bound for Lake Vänern, to visit Karlstad, surrounded by forests, fields, and lakes.

Take a deep breath and embrace the simplicity of your surroundings before continuing to the lively university town of Örebro, where you’ll stay tonight. View the 13th-century castle on the banks of the Svartån River during your orientation.

Optional Experiences:

1. Swedish Fika and More

DAY 10: OREBRO - STOCKHOLM

Continue to stylish Stockholm (Solna), which locals refer to as ‘beauty on water’. The beautiful blue jostles for your attention amidst lush green parks and a modern city where style and substance coexist effortlessly. Get your bearings and explore Stockholm (Solna) your way.

 Optional Experiences:

1. Old Town and Dinner

DAY 11: STOCKHOLM

Let this elegant city show you a good time as you explore this morning with a Local Guide. View the medieval Storkyrkan, the Swedish Parliament, and the Royal Palace.

A Choice Experience could see you visit Stockholm’s City Hall and delve into the story of the Vasa, a 17th-century warship that sank on her maiden voyage. This afternoon, another Choice Experience shakes things up, from the polished grounds of Drottningholm Palace to Stockholm’s underground stations, where bold art turns an ordinary metro ride into something much more interesting. Later, get your cameras ready for a ‘pano’ worthy of framing when you head to Södermalm on a Choice Experience, which includes a visit to the world’s first Ice Bar. Say skål in glasses made of pure river ice, then join your fellow travellers later for dinner to celebrate the end of your Scandinavian adventure.

 Optional Experiences:

1. Stockholm Bucket-List
2. The Cool Capital

DAY 12: STOCKHOLM

Your epic journey, worthy of a Viking voyage, has sadly come to an end. Say a fond farväl to new friends and close the curtain on a holiday filled with Scandinavian style, the majesty of Mother Nature, and a whole lot of lek as you prepare to return home.