Interrail Scandinavia Summer 2015

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi Eva and Johanna,

how long are you going to travel? 22 days? One month?

The classic route through IMO would be something like this: Copenhagen/Malmö/Lund - Stockholm - night train to Östersund - Inlandsbana to Gällivare - Narvik - bus to Lofoten - ship to Bodo - Trondheim - Oslo - Flam Railway - Bergen - Oslo - Göteborg and back home.

This would cover many nice cities as well as some pretty stunning scenery (Inlandsbana, [u]https://rail.cc/blog/the-iron-ore-line-from-lulea-to-narvik/[/u] [u]https://rail.cc/blog/the-flam-railway/[/u] and Lofoten of course)

Anyway, if you have enough time, I would recommend including the daytime ferry from Stockholm to Turku - the route takes you through the Schären islands off both the Swedish and Finnish coast, really amazing! :)
And while you are in Scandinavia, it would make sense to make at least a short visit to Finland as well. You could then go from Turku to Helsinki and either continue straight to Kemi to get back to Sweden [u]https://rail.cc/blog/from-kemi-to-lulea-by-bus/[/u] or visit other places in Finland (but since I have only been to Helsinki I cant really give good advice...)

To support the free information and the forum on railcc, please be fair and buy your official Interrail pass via our railcc partner link: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Thank you! :)


Flo 8)

ntrain
Traveller
123 comments

So you are practising the english? Es gibt ja auch noch eine DE-sprach-version unten.
Alas, real spontaneous travel is a bit harder there now, as about any long-dist train needs to be reserved-and that cost money. Als f.e. in SE there are just 4-5 ticket offices resting (only the largest cities+ airport)-for the rest its online or use the fone! THis is also for the few remaining nighttrains. But it does remain very much possible and also very rewarding.
The best is to stay in Youth hostels, these are all of a very high standd and available in about any town. They also allow own cooking. If you are adventurous, you can look at couchsurfing or maybe even airbnb (that is stay for free on someones couch in the living room or so- or ''room for rent'' new style via www).
You should also be aware, that even though many landscapes are fairly nice, it often gets pretty boring all-the-same after a few hours, f.e. that Inlandsbanan.
IN landscape/views NO is simply the best, but it is also, as out of the EU and having much oil, very, very expensive. Even Norwegians now go to Sweden (EU) for cheap shopping!-though as Austrian you still wont be impressed by prices there. The most scenic views are fro the Bergensbana (from Oslo) and if you have enough money-also take the sidetrip on the Flamsbanan (from up in the mountains till down along the fjord). You can go 1 way Os-Brg overnite.
YOu can cutoff the Lofoten by using the direct bus Narvik-Fauske (change into train to Trondheim there).

johannaundeva
Traveller
4 comments

Hello,

thank's a lot for your answers, they are already really helpful for us.
We are writing in english because we want everyone who might have useful tips to understand us. But of course you can also answer in German if you want to .

I am afraid we only have 15 days to travel, maximum 22. (We want to cross Germany as quickly as possible) So we will be staying mainly in the southern parts of Norway and Sweden. Our plan is to book everything in advance, so we won't have to worry about hostels, trains etc during the trip. (We made the experience of very spontaneous traveling already last year, it was a bit stressful for us)
Have you stayed at a hostel you can recommend particularly?

@flow: Do you know how long the whole trip with the flam railway takes?

Has anyone of you been to Uppsala? We are also considering going there...


Lovely greetings, Johanna

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hej Johanna,

ok, if you only have about two weeks for travelling you could think about buying a 5in10 Interrail plus Europa Spezial tickets of Deutsche Bahn for your trip from and to Sweden. These are available from Salzburg to as far as Gothenburg and Stockholm.
If booked early, this could work out cheaper as getting a 10in22 ticket, but depends on when you book and what actual connection you want to take. Just ask if you need help looking for cheap tickets: [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]

Havent been to Uppsala...but I think it would make for an interesting destination. :)

Dont hesitate going at least as far north as Trondheim! :)

The trip with Flam Railway is just about 45 minutes from Myrdal to Flam, it should be all written in the blog article? :)


Flo 8)

johannaundeva
Traveller
4 comments

Hi Flo,

originally, we wanted to take the 15 continous ticket, but we will look up the options you mentioned.

We will try, is Trondheim worth a stop? Are there other cities in this area you could recommend visiting?
Thank you, I couldn't find this in the article - now I know. ;)

LG, Johanna

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Ah ok...well IMO the 15 continuous makes not really much sense - better take the 10in22 instead then; I doubt that you would need more than 10 travel days and could save quite a bit of money that way.

I quite liked Trondheim, yes. If you are into landscapes you might think about taking the Raumabana from Dombas to Andalsnes too; from Andalsnes you could then continue by bus to Alesund which is supposed to be quite nice.
Another option would be to make a stop at the old mining town of Roros which is one the secondary line from Storen to Hamar that branches off the Trondheim - Oslo main line.

Thanks for pointing out that I still have to work on my writing skills in the blog. ;)

ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments

Hi Eva and Johanna

Uppsala is worth a visit. It is a university town with a castle at the top of the hill. A good walk. On the way from Stockholm to Uppsala there is a town called Sigtuna based on a Viking settlement. You would need to get off the main line train and catch a bus from a station somewhere near the airport (Masta I think). My memory of the transport details is fading a bit but a bit of research should find it.

Trondheim is also most interesting, with a cathedral and port. If you are interested in historic things as I am you could spend a day there.

Flam railway is a wonderful trip and the town at the end of the line is a good place to wander around. Of you are travelling there late in the day, you could stay overnight beside the fjord. Accommodation costs may have gone up a bit in the past five years but I found a reasonable hotel beside the wharf right in the centre of own.

You may not have the time to fit it in but between Trondheim and Oslo there is a side trip from Dombas on the main line to Andalsnes. The town of Andalksnes is right on the fjord and the railway travels through some fantastic scenery.

Have fun

Richard

ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments

Hi Eva and Johanna

It appears Flo andd I were writing at the same time. I agree with his thoghts. I wa sjust going to suggest the side trip from Tronheim to Roros. It is a UNESCO Heritage sit based aroun a very old iron mining operation and often has festivals and other activities. I think the line from Tronheim connects thiugh to Sweden.

Cheers

Richard

johannaundeva
Traveller
4 comments

Hi Flo and Richard,

thanks a lot for all the helpful information, it seems to be really useful and we are about to sort our trip out. All the places you recommended appear to be really nice. :)

Actually we thought about crossing Germany to get to Copenhagen as quickly as possible and then focusing on Sweden and Norway, so we probably won't end up visiting Finland as our time is quite limited.
So I was wondering if you have any tips for Copenhagen, such as places worth to visit, Hostels etc.?


What are your experiences with prices and costs in Scandinavia? It's told to be quite expensive, do you have any suggestions about how much money could be needed in two weeks (excluding the main Interrail ticket)?

Cheers
Eva :)

ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments

Hello again Eva and Johanna
If you do not have enough time this year to go to Finland you must add it to your to-do list for another time. It is worth doing. As Flo has said, the ferry trip from Stockholm to Turku through the archipelago is quite stunning. Turku has many interesting historic buildings and the walk into town from the ferry terminals along the river front is very pleasant. There are several trains each day from Turku to Helsinki. Allow at least two days in Helsinki and use the trams to get about (There is a circle tram tourist route which you can hop on, hop off if you buy a day ticket (get the tram brochure).

From Helsinki there is another ferry to Tallinn (vist the Old Town) for a day trip. You can get back via Helsinki by direct ferry to Stockholm.

But that's for another time! :D

You asked about Copenhagen. Costs are farly high as they are generally in the whole of Scandinavia, but if you look out for the free things and walk a lot you can have a great time fairly inexpensively.
One of my favourite spots for lunch is the cafe on the roof of the Post & Tele Museum at Kobmagergade 37. The museum is free and the cafe not too expensive! It has a good view over roof tops and a free brochure points out the sights. The museum is also OK if you are intrested in postal history and the development of communications in Denmark.

Other good free things include The National Gallery of Denmark at Sølvgade 48-50, Nationalmuseet at Ny Vestergade 10 (great for a crash course in Danish history) and the Changing of Guard at Amalienborg Palace. If you buy day public transport tickets (not very cheap) they will allow you to ride on the blue and yellow harbour buses (ferries) which are a great means of transportation and a cheap alternative to the official canal tours, and give great views of the city from the water. You can walk from one of the ferry stops to Christiana a neighbourhood of the alternative life-style.

.......and of course the best things are those you will find by accident!

Have a great time.

Cheers

Richard :D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

For Scandinavia you should realistically calculate with 40€ per day for accomodation+food+extras (museums, transportation if needed, etc...).
Since accomodation usually is the most expensive item, have a look on sites such as Hostelworld (link on the right) to get an overall impression of prices. If you want you could also look for accomodation at Homestay (staying with locals who also show you around the city).
Regarding food - if you shop in the supermarket you can get away rather cheaply, cooking by yourself in the hostel kitchen. Eating in restaurants etc can be reallly expensive, even fast food is not really that cheap up there (and I would not recommend going to McDo etc on an Interrail trip anyways...).

It's been a while that I stayed in Copenhagen; 2009 we spent the night in a hostel in Malmö and visited Copenhagen during the day using the frequent Oresundtrains to get there since everything was cheaper in Malmö.

johannaundeva
Traveller
4 comments

Hi again Flo and Richard!

We are so glad that you gave us all this useful information, since we didn't really know where to start.
I think we might have enough tips by now and should be able to plan a nice trip with the best spots, thanks to you.

Hopefully you have a nice summer getaway as well,
cheers and all the best,
Eva :)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

You're welcome. :)