Norway and Sweden for 2 weeks

Dots1982

Flying into Oslo and out of Stockholm 2 weeks later. Renting a car so we can go as far north as we want. What would people recommend we see or do in this time, anything we should watch out for? Any restaurant/Hotel recommendations?

Three men on the trip, one over retirement age but still extremely active. I personally have no interest in Museums or historical sites but if one is truly deserving to be checked out then please let me know.

Thanks for any replies.

swe_fi

Hi

I am from Sweden, used to live in Norway. Could you give an indication of what you would be interested in seeing / doing as there is a lot to choose from, and what dates you are going? What is your budget (roughly) total / per day?

I assume if you have a rental, you are picking and dropping that in Norway, so how do you get to Sweden?

In Norway, you should probably head up along the west coast - spectacular drives. I would then head down again and when going over to Sweden, I would probably head down the Swedish West coast and then through Malmo, possibly drop over to Copenhagen for a day as well.

After this, drive up along the East coast. You can go up North in Sweden as well, if you really really like trees :-). Don't get me wrong, I love the forest but in all honesty you will be looking at a lot of forest. I can give a more detailed route if you let me know a bit more about your preferences.

You may know this but Norway is a lot more expensive than Sweden for everything.

Dots1982

Thanks for your assistance.

We'll probably only be driving in Norway because we will be there most of the time.

Is there much to do in Oslo? What other cities are best to visit, we might do the circle along the coast from Oslo to Stavenger to Bergen to Molde to Trondheim if this is worth doing.

we'd be interested in hiking, boating and the outdoors.

We're not too constricted by budget. 150 euro to 200 a day max I'd reckon roughly.

If there is anything we should sample when it comes to food or drink or sights.

Are cities very quiet during the week?, I presume things stay open up to 12 or thereabouts.

what are the main differences between here and Norway/sweden?

I presume most people speak English.

Is there any festivals on at this time of year?

Any kind of internet sites I can visit that give a good rundown for tourists?

Any info you can provide I'd be very grateful..thanks again.

swe_fi

Travelling around:
The places you suggested / that route is good. You are talking 1500 km / 1000 miles roughly one way so leave yourself time. Also if you have booked a small car - upgrade to a bigger one if you can like a Volvo or something with decent ground clearance if you want to take a detour / some side road. Cities / towns can be VERY quiet especially during the week, its not like here that you have a bustling local pub, people like their homes!

This is pretty cool, shows the elevation on the route you are proposing, and distance.
http://www.bikemap.net/en/route/847463-trondheim-bergen-stavanger-oslo/

This is also very good, shows things worth seeing, places to stay etc
http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/VN/Map/?aid=3&articlex=null&articley=null&source=arti

From this site
http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/

Accomodation:
I personally would stay in B&B / Cabin to experience the "real" Norway - will keep costs down as well.

B&Bs
http://www.bbnorway.com/index2.htm

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Norway?guests=3

Oslo
I personally think there is nothing special about Oslo and would not waste my time hanging around there.

Festivals & Events
Check August here
http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/What-to-do/Whats-on/Concerts-and-festivals/Summer-festivals-and-events-in-Norway/

Difference Between Sweden & Norway
Where to begin....:-) I can't stress enough how expensive Norway is. People say that Sweden is expensive too but it does not have a patch on Norway. This may not be a problem for you, but eating out will be 2 times the price of back here, at least. Just keep an eye on this and maybe look at the menu before you sit down somewhere. Alcohol is sold (as in Sweden) in State run shops that are only open certain times of day. You can get low alc% beer in most supermarkets (and in Bars of course). People are really friendly in both countries but like to keep a bit of a distance initially, although they speak very good English (in general) and tend to be interested to speak to foreign visitors once you have "broken the ice".

Foods
Seafood (Prawns) & Fish (salmon). The Swedish / Norwegian cuisine is very international these days of course. I personally love Meatballs with potatoes & Brown Sauce. Norwegian & Swedish Kebab is excellent (this may sound weird, but try it). There are also a lot of different kind of sausages that are nice to eat just thrown on the barbie with buns, ketchup and Mustard and pickled chopped cucumber. I would suggest you stay outside of the centers on occasion and try to barbecue your own stuff, this may even be organized on camp sites etc.

Thats what i can think of right now - i'm better with Sweden than Norway.

Dots1982

Thats brilliant info, would have taken me ages to find all that. Good ideas about accommodation as well. We're getting an Audi with a TD engine. We kind of knew we would have to have something with a bit of grunt for the hills.

If the Distance is too much, we can just cut Trondheim from the trip or do some other adjustments.

I dont think I'll make it as far as Sweden but my other two travellers will so if you are able to give a few general tips on touring Sweden or what to see in Stockholm. Please don't go to the same trouble you did as for your tips for Norway. I really appreciate your help.

crockholm

Honestly,driving in Sweden can be a bore,you can go from Kalmar to Sundsvall (approx 800km) and it,s pretty much the same(apart from Stockholm,and outside Gävle there is a giant medieval Chinese castle,for some reason) Rocks,water and pine trees.

Stockholm is seriously funky though, great bars and a whole island as a park.Great veiws at kaknästornet (69,69k busses) Gamla stan and södermalm for just walking around.

Coast road in Norway,and you can't go wrong either-absolutely amazing

mel.b

When I was in Norway I did a trip to Jostedalen glacier with icetroll. www.icetroll.com

There are a couple of different trips - one you can kayak to the glacier and the other a quick speedboat trip and then you go for a guided walk. Because i was time limited I did the speedboat trip. It was amazing walking on the glacier & not a hard as I thought. I highly recommend it as something different to do

swe_fi

Sorry i forgot about this thread, glad to help.

About Sweden, i personally would go down the west coast of Sweden from Oslo. There are many nice seaside towns, nothing spectacular like but nice. Maybe travel down as far as Malmo and then take the east coast up to Stockholm.

On the East coast the road is quite boring at times, but in Kalmar, you can go over to the Island of Öland. Ronneby County before Kalmar is also nice.
http://www.olandsturist.se/sv/

As a swede, the thing that is nice about Sweden i think is the nature, just being able to stop anywhere and go for a walk around the forest / lake.

This is quite a trip though so it would take a few days. You can also go across the country to Stockholm, that takes about 5-6 hours is memory serves me right, you go Oslo - Karlstad- Örebro- Eskilstuna-Stockholm, prepare to see a LOT of trees!) Orebro is actually quite a nice little town to stop in, nice castle, bars and restaurants.

Try to ditch the rental car when you arrive in Stockholm, you wont need it, transport is excellent and you can get a 7 day pass for like 30 Euro i think + parking is mental expensive.

Stockholm is one of my favorite places on this earth, in the summer at least! In Stockholm there is loads to do, just walking about town is awesome. The main things i recommend is Djurgarden (an island where the amusement park is) -you'll also find the Wasa museeum on this island and it is amazing. Gamla stan (old town) and taking a boat out the archipelago - you can go as far out as you like but a trip to Waxholm is good. There are plenty of nice cafes on the Islands, and you'll see some spectacular houses on the way out.

There is a part of town called "sÖder" which means "Southern" (part of town) - there is a square up there with nice pubs and restaurants. Again, shop around before you sit down anywhere. I usually walk around looking at peoples plates :-) so that if you are paying a bit more at least you get some quality stuff.

I'll post more when i think of it.

Dots1982

thanks a lot for your help guys..sounds like quite a lot to see spread around a large area. Flight's tomorrow. Thanks again.