How to see Scandinavia in 8 days: ITINERARY
I’ve always been obsessed with the Scandi way of life – from their impeccable style to their embracement of the Hygge concept, it’s always been at the top of my bucket list. When the opportunity arose to travel with my sister for 9 days throughout the Nordic countries, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
The main questions that plagued us were where to go, what to see and how to do it in such a short amount of time. We had 8 days to explore as much or as little of Scandinavia we wanted to see, and we were both determined to make this a jam-packed trip to really get the most out of it.
We knew we wanted to give ourselves the best chance possible to see the Northern lights, sleep in an ice hotel and really experience arctic conditions – a foreign concept for most Australians. The below itinerary is exactly what we did, but feel free to chop and change as you wish. If we’d had more time, I would have opted for the Hrutigren cruise, which goes along Northern Norway and is a cheaper alternative to flying everywhere.
This is a very ad-hoc itinerary put together as it happened, but it's very truthful about what we did, and by following it, you'll re-live our trip... which was BRILLIANT! Also, remember that Scandinavia is ridiculously expensive, and even with a healthy budget you'll watch your money be spent in a flash - be prepared to spend more than you've budgeted for!
DAY ONE: Copenhagen
Flew with Norwegian Air (small planes, easy flight)
Arrived and caught the metro (easy and only around 36DKK = £4.50)
Checked into D’Anglettere and spoke to concierge about what to do for the day
Explore Nyhvan
Little Mermaid Statue
Checked out the light installations for the Festival of Light
Amalienborg Palace (fancy shmancy)
Look at the Kastellet church
KFC for dinner (too poor for anything else)
Hot dog for lunch
DAY TWO: Copenhagen
Walked through the shopping district to the Nimb Hotel and checked in
Explored Tivoli Gardens (roller coaster and the drop are an absolute must)
Went up the round tower - feels like forever, but beautiful views at the top
Botanical Gardens
Take a stroll along the bridge (frozen lake)
Wandered through the hip street of Jægersborggade, where we visited Kaktus and looked at GRUB
Got cake and wine in Cakenhagen in Tivoli Gardens
Saw the peacocks
Had dinner at NOVA – two free shots and prosecco. Highly recommend any of the pizza and the goats cheese salad!
End the day with a bath in Nimb hotel room... super special!
DAY THREE: Oslo
Arrived at central station and stored bags in Central Lockers (80DKK for 24 hours for a big locker)
Went to the opera house and climbed to the top – extremely slippery and a little scary. Views well worth it.
Went inside to admire the architecture (stunning)
Lunch at Irentmel (£30 a pizza but worth it!)
Stopped at the Scotsman pub for a beer
Checked into very centrally located Airbnb
Wandered through the statue park
DAY FOUR: Kirkenes
Arrived at the airport and picked up by Snow Hotel staff
Tour of Snowhotel as well as shown all the facilities
Relax in the customers-only den up the top of the restaurant
King Crab Safari
Eat the crab you catch
Welcome dinner
Reindeer feeding
Ice bar drinks
Sleep in -4 degree igloo
DAY FIVE: Tromso
Pat all 200 huskies on site
Explore the rooms one last time
Catch a taxi to Kirkenes aiport
Fly to Tromso airport
DAY SIX: Tromso
Husky sledding adventure with Tromso Villmassenter
Reindeer soup for lunch
Pat every single dog and see puppies
Come back and relax, have some downtime
Walk down the main street and look for place to eat
Dinner at O’Leary’s diner
DAY SEVEN + EIGHT: Stockholm
Wander through the narrow streets of Gamla Stan, the medieval Old Town
Have a hot chocolate and cinnamon bun at Chokladkoppen
Ice skate on a natural frozen lake
See the latest exhibition at Fotografiska, the most incredible photography gallery ever
Go upstairs from Fotografiska and eat at the restaurant (it’s superb)
We stayed with family, but there are plenty of beautiful places to stay!
Wherever you end up going in Scandinavia, I truly hope you enjoy your trip. It's one of my favourite places in the world, and I'm already planning my next trip back! E x