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Post by alphamoth on May 24, 2009 4:43:44 GMT -5
Hi,
At the start of august I'll have two/three weeks to see Scandinavia..But all I Know are the fjords in Norway.. is there a good list of things to seee in these areas? My main interest is nature, and a little bit of culture, cities, etc...Mostly nature though.
Also, What would be the cheapest way of going through the sites? Train, bus? I have to get there from Germany, stuttgart, But I think I can manage to get three with a cheap flight or from mitfahrgelegenheit.de ..
Also, what kind of stuff should I pack? I have a big 70L backpack, will this be enough? Just don't want anything "planned" as of yet, just some locations to see, and then try and organise cheapest/quickest ways of getting there to fit more into my time frame.
Josh
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Post by herrbert on May 26, 2009 4:58:53 GMT -5
If you want to go to see the nature in Scandinavia I think you have to see the North (Lapland). There are a couple of cheap flights available. (for Finland, check Blue1).
Having to drive to Scandinavia when you only have 2 or 3 weeks will take up a lot of your time, so I would suggest to see if there are some cheap tickets to Oslo or Helsinki.
To see:
Well first of all the capitals: Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki. Besides them Bergen, and a daytrip from Helsinki (Turku, Tallinn, or Tampere, although this last one is to the north already, so it could be an overnighter.) I think that for Scandinavia a combination of trains and busses are the best.
If you like to see the nature of these countries, check the Karelia region in Finland and the area around Kuusamo. Further north you'll find Lapland, and it's unique scenery. The fjords is something you have to see, and the Geirangerfjord is very accessable from Oslo.
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 20, 2009 14:21:08 GMT -5
Thanks, sorry for the late reply. Would it be worth to buy a ticket from interrail or eurorail? I have been a European resident for 6 months so I can buy either. I'm probably going London > Norway >sweden> finland.. should I buy rail ticket for just 3 weeks or car pull? What would be cheaper? What are some other good options?
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 20, 2009 14:32:48 GMT -5
also. whats a good amount to spend each day to have a good idea? 30-50€?
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Post by herrbert on Jun 20, 2009 17:23:33 GMT -5
For Scandinavia I would say you are at least looking at 70-90 euros a day. It's one of the most expensive areas to travel in. with 30 euros you probably have a place to stay and breakfast (which in most places is not included in the price of the room.)
Can't help you on the rail passes, I personally never use them.
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 21, 2009 7:09:36 GMT -5
70-90€ a day!?!? I mean, Scandinavia can't be that much..I live in Stuttgart which is the most expensive city in Germany..
What is so expensive there? Just to "travel" with a train, food, or what? Or site seeing?:S
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 21, 2009 7:10:18 GMT -5
I have 2,000€ for 3 weeks.. I hope this is enough!!
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Post by herrbert on Jun 21, 2009 8:21:30 GMT -5
70-90€ a day!?!? I mean, Scandinavia can't be that much..I live in Stuttgart which is the most expensive city in Germany.. What is so expensive there? Just to "travel" with a train, food, or what? Or site seeing?:S It's a combination of all of that. To give you an idea. - Hostel: 20 euros
- Breakfast 5 or 6 euros. (if you are smart, take extra to serve as lunch.)
- Drinks and food for during the day (supermarket) 5-10 euros, depending on what you take.
- Entrance fees between 5-10 euro per sight (just a couple: Seurisaari = 6 euro, Türkü Castle 7,50, Skansen 70 SEK (6,35 EUR), Vasa museum 95 SEK (8,60 EUR)
- Dinner 10-20 euros is normal if you have dinner in a restaurant.
- If you than have some drinks in the evening, that means a big bite out of the budget. Alcohol is expensive in all these countries.
- And transport is not the cheapest in Europe. But it depends on the distance. Of course if you get a railpass, the long distance trips are covered upfront, but you still need transportation from time to time inside the cities, or to/from airports. (e.g. Arlanda express from /to Stockholm is 22 euros for a single ticket.), short trips to other places can cost easily 20 euros (2 hours, single tickets), busses are cheaper but still more expensive than in other parts of Europe.
In my opinion a budget around 30-50 euros is not feasible. Of course when you spend more days in nature, hiking, you can lower your costs. |
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 21, 2009 9:04:00 GMT -5
Mmm about the food. I won't go to restaurants and so, and 5-6€ on breakfast?!?! ridiculous !? Oats, a banana and orange and milk, enough for a few days would cost about 5€... nice and nutritious too. I don't need a buffet, just something that is rich with calories and tastes OK. 10€ to make dinner that can be used for 2 days, or to share with someone on the costs, like self made.. Won't eat a restaurant, mcdonalds maybe.
20€ for a hostel I expected.
I might drink alcohol, not every night, maybe weekends, I'm very much into health so I don't like it.
So I was thinking in my mind already-20€ at least for a hostel, 10€ food for the day(s) (will shop smart, i have done so for the last 10 months living alone in germany) and 15€ for a site or two and public transport.. i thought that sounded reasonable-- maybe i will have to rethink this ..
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Post by herrbert on Jun 21, 2009 10:41:02 GMT -5
If you want to cook your own dinner, than that will safe you a lot, but I found that hostels with kitchen are not that common in Scandinavia, so make your choice only when you are sure you can cook there.
The charge for the breakfast is what is normally charged by the hostel. If you don't take it, that of course is your charge. I have to say that I agree, it's pretty steep.
I did a 11 day trip in Scandinavia 3 years ago, and I got around with just under a 100 euros a day. (included travel, in my case tickets for planes.) Without doing weird things.
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 21, 2009 10:45:26 GMT -5
Are the main things of scandinavia do-able in just 11 days? is 2-3 weeks excessive?:S
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Post by WillTravel on Jun 21, 2009 12:24:12 GMT -5
Two hostels in Scandinavia that have kitchens are Anker Hostel in Oslo, where I did stay, and Copenhagen City hostel (where I haven't). However, I seem to recall that there may have been an issue with actually getting pots and pans.
It might seem like the breakfast is expensive, and it is, but I found that if I ate it, I could continue through without lunch, so it may actually save money. I remember once I thought that I would save money by not getting the hostel breakfast, when traveling with one child, but by the time I got the groceries, I hadn't saved any money at all, and I didn't have as much variety with the food.
If you are at all interested in nature, or even with a mixture of cities and small towns, it would be very easy to spend 2-3 weeks in Scandinavia.
In Scandinavia, it will become pretty clear to you in most places that if you sit down for a meal, the price jumps to astronomical proportions. So if you do get any restaurant food, get takeout in most instances. When I last visited Copenhagen, I saw an "all-you-can-eat" buffet, which was not a bad deal, if timed when you are starving.
I don't know if this is still available, but I wanted a caffe latte in Oslo, but they were so expensive. Then I saw a relatively reasonable one offered by the Salvation Army, when I was walking around. I think they sell them as a fundraiser, but it was a good deal in a very expensive city.
I saw you mentioned McDonald's. I don't have any special dislike for McD, but I doubt you will find it's a good deal. Better to get a falafel. More nutritious and probably cheaper, because McD is still quite expensive in Scandinavia.
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Post by herrbert on Jun 21, 2009 16:54:24 GMT -5
Are the main things of scandinavia do-able in just 11 days? is 2-3 weeks excessive?:S No, I only did a partial trip. (Helsinki - Turku - Stockholm and Copenhagen, with trips to Porvoo and Farum.) I never had really long holidays, so I have to do my travelling in max 14 days. Norway and parts of Finland are still on my list. |
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Post by alphamoth on Jun 25, 2009 4:05:57 GMT -5
Would it make more sense for me to buy an interrail pass or fly? Norway and so are pretty long fucking countries, and would take like 1 day just to get to north, than another back -_-
i can get those flights for like 50€ within norway between the main places i want to see, oslo, stavanger, bergen, oslo, tromso, stockholm, malmö(for some ancient rune) maybe copenhagen and helsinki
would it just be easier to use a plane ticket between the super long distances, and not bother with interrail?
I'd liek o fly from berlin to london, then glasgow, then over to oslo, then do the rest.. meh, i dont know if i have the money or time :S if i go to london and so i guess ill have just 2 weeks to see scandinavia. might be enough for 2 days each in the cities above, which is enough..
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