Planning a trip to scandinavia on August... Advices?

[ruicardoso]

Hello All,

 

I shoot mainly landscape (and some street) and I'll be going on

holydays to scandinavia on August. I was only able to decide when

and where to go a couple of days ago, so now I'm spending the most I

can searching the web and reading all the guides I can get in order

to plan my trip.

 

I'll be flying in and out from Stockholm, from there I'm thinking

about hiring a car, spending some time in the High Coast

(Skuleskogen) area, then going up to Lapland (maybe Abisko) and

passing by Rovaniemi (Finland) on the way up (my girlfriend want's

to go to Santa's house...)

 

From Abisko, and if I have the time, I'd like to cross the border to

Norway (maybe to the Lofoten area), and then drive back to Stockholm

(I still did not have the time to plan this segment of the trip, I

don't even know if I'll be able to make it).

 

If you could give me some advice regarding nice places to explore in

this time of the year, I'd really appreciate it!

 

I'm also having some trouble in understanding the dificulties and

timings for driving large distances up there, is it feasible to

drive 400 to 600 kms in a day, or is it too much?

 

Best Regards,

 

-Rui Cardoso

[neal_shields]

You used to be able to buy a Eurail pass in the US for a given period of time say one week or two weeks. They were very economical and allowed unlimited travel for that time period.

 

I have made 15 trips in my life to Sweden and spent from one to two weeks each time.

 

Ride the trains.

 

Neal

[jimh]

600 km is no problem in Sweden and Finland. There is not much traffic on the roads except for near the bigger cities like Stockholm and Helsinki. Most roads have only two lanes though, so trucks and caravans can sometimes be hard to pass. I have a house 650 km north of Stockholm (where I live). That drive usually takes about 8 hours, and I have at least <i>some</i> energy left when I get there.

<p>

If I wanted to stop and see things along the way and perhaps have a couple of cups of coffee as well, then I'd say 600 km is the upper limit for one day. You can drive farther, but then you won't be doing anything else than driving that day.

<p>

I think your travel plans look very good (providing you have enough time). The nature of the High coast has nothing in common with Stockholm and Lapland has nothing in common with the High coast, so you will have lots of experiences. If I were to choose I'd give Norway higher priority than Rovaniemi. You will be able to experience the Finnish type of nature in Sweden, but the Norwegian coast is a totally different matter. I have never been to northern Norway but it is very high on my list of things I want to do.

[primoz]

I'm up there usually about every 2 years (my wife is Finn so... :) It depends what you are used to and what you want to see. For example for me personally southwest coast of Norway is not even half so impressive then Finland with it's lakes. I'm living here in middle of Alps so Norway is not so much different then this here. On other side Sweden and Finland are completely different with those flat endless forests and lakes. And as someone else wrote you will have a lot of different nature on your trip so it's nothing like "I saw south Sweden so it's useless to see Lapland".<br>

Driving upthere is just fine, but they don't have highways and even though normal roads are wide and almost completely empty (except for some reindeers and moose which are not all that common on main roads as people might imagine) they have some "ridiculous" speed limis :), and since fines are huge you better drive as speed limit is. So in my opinion 500-600km/day should do fine, but sometimes it really feels like you need to stop behind every corner and take a look around or take photos, because it's really nice, so then even 600km might be quite a lot for 1 day :)<br>

I hope this helps at least a bit. Have nice trip upthere!

[bonsignore_ezio]

I do realise that your schedule is already quite busy, but two things IMHO you should try and squeeze into are: 1) Take the 2/3 day cruise along the "Blue Band" Canal in Central/Southern Sweden. This would be a completely different experience that driving and driving and driving; 2) or/and, take part of the postal boast cruise along the Norwegian coast, the northern the better (the whole cruise up to North Cape is a long holyday in itself). The Norwegian coast with its fjords is truly spectacular but you cannot drive along it, and by far the best way to see it is from the sea.

[ilkka_nissila]

If you go to Norway, you should budget a lot of time for that part of the trip, because driving the coastal roads takes a lot of time, particularly since you'll want to stop all the time to take pictures. It's also expensive to stay there and eat.

 

To me Sweden looks different from Finland, but they are more similar to each other than Norway, which is quite unique in this part of the world. Driving in Sweden and Finland is a bit more boring experience and the landscapes take a bit more time to find. Eastern Finland has a really nice lake area (actually quite a large part of the country) which is perhaps the most beautiful part of the country. But it is far away from your primary destination so I'd just save it for another trip.

 

My list of best areas of landscape photography in these countries is: 1. Northern Norway, 2. Western Norway (the southwest coast of the country, starting south from Trondheim), 3. Eastern Finland (the lake district) and finally, 4. the Finnish and Swedish Lapland.

 

In 2-3 weeks, you can cover quite a lot. :-)

[ilkka_nissila]

To add, 500 km is definitely a _long_ day drive in Norway, but a piece of cake in Sweden or Finland.

[ruicardoso]

Thanks for the answer's, they've been very helpfull!!!

 

BTW, I'm from Portugal, so I guess that any of the countries will be quite different from what I'm used to...

 

I have almost 3 weeks for my vacation...

 

Another thing I was trying to understand is how easy is it to find accomodation in the northern part of the three countries. I usually don't book anything in advance when I'm traveling in order to be able to change plans if needed, I'm just wondering if I should pre-book some of the hotels for this trip.

 

Thanks all!

 

-Rui Cardoso

[ilkka_nissila]

It's not necessary to book in advance. You can sleep in a hotel or someone's little cabin, and there will be places in / near any major town.

[ilkka_nissila]

However, it's a good idea to figure out an approximate plan on where you plan to stay each night, and locate hotels in advance.

[primoz]

What about camps? Unless if we are there in winter, we always go with tent. Camps are not that rare and far from being expensive and if nothing else you can always put tent in forrest too (btw. check regulations since they have some rules where you can camp, but basicaly it is allowed).

[ruicardoso]

Camping would be my 1'st choice for several reasons... But my girlfriend is not compatible with tents and sleeping bags :( ...

[raymond___k_osmotherly]

I have just returned to Australia having driven to the North Cape (most northern part of Europe at the top of Norway). I hired a car in Lille, Northern France and clocked up 11 000 km Lille to the North Cape and back to Lille. Of course you won't do this distance hiring in Stockholm.

How far you drive in a day depends on which country and how often you stop for sight-seeing/photographs.

From Helsinki I drove to Savonlinna in one day (330km) (max speed in Finland 110k/h or 120 km/h -can't remember.)

I stayed a day and had a look at the castle (Ovalinna)

The following day I drove from Savonlinna to Oulou -585 km the greatest distance I drove anywhere in Scandinavia. For the most you are driving on a two (occasionally three) lane road through forest. It is fairly boring as after the first 100km the beauty of the forest becomes a bit ho-hum. Finland apparently is about 80% forest. The forest comes right to the edge of the road and is very thick and you can't see through.I found the lakes area frustrating because I knew the lakes were there but unless you go off the main road you see very little of them through the trees. Driving in Finland is very easy as the main road is good with little traffic. Roveniemi is an attractive modern town.For Santa Claus you have to go to what appears to be a mini Disneyland I didn't visit it From there I drove to Inari There is a Saami museum. From Inari I drove in one day to the North Cape.

Norway is very beautiful -high rocky peaks with snow, huge waterfalls everywhere. Don't miss Lofoten- very beautiful. See Viking Chieftan's House (replica)-fascinating.

Driving in Norway is frustrating -excellent roads but windy and very narrow with lots of campervans. There is no edge on the roads so it is very difficult to pull off for photographs - I missed many great shots because of this.Maximum speed anywhere in Norway is 80km/h.You will have to use ferries in some places and these don't always go when you want them to. Camping is no problem. All seem to have good facilities including kitchens. In Sweden you will need a camping carnet-purchase at first camp. I'd be happy to answer any questions if I can. Please contact me at rayosm@apex.net.au

 

 

 

Ray

[ruicardoso]

By the way Ray, how long did all that take?

 

It sound's like an amaizing trip. I've been dreaming about doing the "Raid Paris - Cap Nord" for some time, that's almost the same trip you did!!!...

[ilkka_nissila]

Yeah, it's true that the forest is everywhere in Finland. But seeing the lakes is worth it even if you have to go on foot to see them ... having a cottage and small boat is a nice thing for this kind of stuff ;-)

[primoz]

Rui just my really personaly opinion about Nord cap. I have no idea what's so special with Nord cap, but personally I would never bother go there. It's just a spot to say "Ok I was on most northern part of Europe". And that's it. It's lot of driving for nothing much. Especially if you don't have enough time to see really interesting things on way there, because you have to come all the way up. And you can pretty much imagine how it is there, if you step on rock laying on beach when it's foggy and windy. :)

[ilkka_nissila]

Well, if you have any fear of heights at all, standing at nordkapp feels quite a bit different from standing on any rock. :-) However, I agree that it is not a highlight of this kind of a trip. However, northern Norway is full of magnificent scenery, much of which is accessible by car (though naturally not all).

[gerard taillefer]

Taking pictures from the car window is ok. I remember - what was his name? Eugene Smith I think - taking pictures in Japan from taxi and train windows... Very good pictures actually. But if I were you I would stay a couple of days at the youth hostel of Abisko, I would get out of the car and do some walking/hiking/photography in the Abisko National Park.

 

Finnish Lappland is great to SEE but it may be hard to capture with a camera. I recommend the road that is closest to Lake Inari. That way you'll arrive (sooner or later) in Northern Norway and the Varanger fjord. Turn right to reach the genuine Norwegian town of Kirkenes in the Varanger fjord. This Varanger fjord is so exotic that you may want to stay there (in Kirkenes or Vadsö) a couple of days, in order to have time to take pictures. Lots of pictures. (Have gloves with you, temperature will be around +10 C.)

 

There's is no point in getting to the North Cape. There's is nothing to see there, nothing to photograph, except other tourists of course.

 

You might like to draw a straight line from there to Kiruna in the north of Sweden and just drive. I have no personal experience from this route. I don't know of any places there that you MUST see.

 

Two places nobody else has mentionned yet are the islands of Gotland and Öland, two large islands in the Baltic sea, south of Stockholm.

[raymond___k_osmotherly]

In reply to Rui's question- if I had not gone on to see some of Germany at the end of the Scandinavian trip I would have taken 25 days France to France.I had been to southern Norway a couple of times before so didn't include that part of the country. Trondheim was as far south as I got and then cut across through central Sweden past Lake Siljan and then south to Malmo/Trelleborg and the ferry to Germany.

The North Cape was an experience I'm glad I included but it's somewhat over-rated. There is a 20km drive from the accommodation on a winding road over bare rocky countryside with pockets of snow along the way and snow on the surrounding peaks. Driving this road at just before midnight and returning an hour or so later with the new day's sun shining on the snow was an experience.The midnight sun for me was not as on the postcards as the sea-mist rose at the crucial time making the sun a hazy glow through the mist. After the sun began to rise again the mist cleared. In some ways this may have been more interesting than the clear midnight sun - very dramatic and somewhat weird atmosphere.

Rui, make sure you have some good road maps of each country.I had only basic maps and got lost quite a few times. The problem in Norway was that in many places the E 6 looks the same in each direction - (road,pine forest on each side) and if you detour from it and return to it, it is very easy to go in the wrong direction as I did a number of times (record:16km the wrong way!) -at least you will have someone to help navigate.A compass would be a great asset.Quite often the road signs give you the name of the next town and not the major town you want to drive to.

There are a few sites on the internet where people have published their day to day diaries on such a trip. Search "Drive Northern Norway/Sweden/ Finland"

Hope you have a great trip.

 

Ray.

[ruicardoso]

You've all been quite helpfull, I'll be fliyng to Stockolm next monday... I'll le you know how it went when I get back.

 

Regards,

 

-Rui