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Norway/Sweden
Hi! I posted a earlier about somewhere to go in August that has nice cool weather, and I got some awesome responses! Thanks!! Talking to our group, it seems like we are split on possibly Norway and or Sweden OR Rio. I'd love to go to Rio, but some people in our group aren't really feeling it. My Dad suggested Norway/Sweden, and everyone in our group would enjoy that I think.
Is it possible to do Norway and or Sweden for 7k a couple (14k total for 4 adults). I was looking at airfare and it is running at about 1k pp right now. So that would leave 5k/10K for lodging, rental care, food, sightseeing etc. Is this possible, and if so, can you please share experiences, recs?
PS-I'm still researching Rio, so if anyone wants to throw out some info on Rio that would be really helpful too!!
TIA!
Re: Norway/Sweden
I have only been to the Stockholm area and it isnt' cheap but I loved it!
It is so pretty in the summer. I think you could definitely spend 3-4 days in the city and I recommend the islands off of Stockholm. I spent a night on Sandhamm and it was so nice--would definitely go back. The summer palace in Stockholm is worth going to--you take a boat over and the grounds are so beautiful.
You should see if you can rent an apartment b/c that would definitely be cheaper.
It depends on how many places you'd like to visit, how long you're planning to stay, and at what level of luxury you typically travel, but I think 5K/couple would definitely be possible.
A pension or 2-star hotel in the major cities typically starts around $150 US if you find a good deal, so I would expect to pay $250-300/night for a middle-of-the-road hotel that's centrally located.
For food, a main dish at a cheap restaurant costs around $25, and at a mid-range place it would be around $35. Plus drinks. The tap water is excellent! But if you want soda, it's around $5 in restaurants, and beer or wine is $10-15. For a cheaper option, you can pick up a take-away deli sandwich for around $8.
Sweden is slightly cheaper, but not significantly.
When it comes to sightseeing, the museums can be a little expensive, but they wouldn't blow your budget. Domestic flights are fairly inexpensive (though the airport trains and buses can be shockingly expensive in comparison) and where they're available, trains are fairly reasonable. Looking back at the day-trip I did from Oslo to Bergen (via Fl?m and N?r?yfjord), the cost of the trip was only $150-200/person depending on how far in advance we booked it.
Coincidentally, I'm dating a guy in Rio, and believe it or not, I find Rio to be expensive. From my experiences, hotels and restaurants are only slightly less than Norway! Though beer and groceries are definitely cheaper! However, you can definitely go top-end in Rio for much less than you can here. It's just that mid-range seems to be only slightly cheaper.
I really love Gothenburg in Sweden. If you book in advance you can get a train from Oslo to Gothenburg for a decent price, the ride is 5-ish hours.
I really recommend you eat out as little as possible, as GilliC mentioned the prices are ridiculous. Rely on grocery stores for the most part and reserve a few special meals for eating out and it will be more affordable. And definitely get a late night kebab.
There's one on Royal Car. that starts in Amsterdam and does the fjords in Norway (Bergen, etc) if that helps.
I haven't been to Sweden, but have been to Norway.
We have the luxury of having family in Stavanger, and they have vacation homes in Bergen and Trondheim that they've been willing to let us use, so we haven't had to pay for lodging.
I will say that food/drinks are really expensive. Even a fast food type meal can cost $40-50 per couple fairly easily. A meal for 2 at a casual restaurant can easily creep toward $100, especially if you order alcoholic drinks. A beer will be $12-15 at a restaurant, wine or a mixed drink closer to $18-20.
As for transportation, would you consider traveling by train to get between cities instead of renting a car? It will probably save money since gas is pretty expensive there. Last time we were there was in 2009, and gas was more than double the price that we were paying at home.
I've heard the train trip between Oslo and Bergen is spectacular, we plan to do that next time we go. I think it's called the Bergen Railway.
Taxis are pretty expensive (think NYC prices and then at least double it), and Norway has zero tolerance when it comes to drinking & driving. There are huge fines for any blood alcohol level ... anything above 0.00. If you plan on going out and having drinks, you might want to look for lodging within walking distance of entertainment areas (or close to public transport) so you can save on cab fares.
Have you checked Icelandair for flights? If they fly out of your airport, I would recommend them. Their prices are pretty competitive and their planes are nice and comfortable. Definitely more leg room than Delta/KLM. You have to go through Reykjavik, but it's a much smaller airport that's a lot easier to navigate than Amsterdam or other major airports in Europe. Reykjavik only has six gates, so it's a lot less hassle than the bigger airports.
Bergen is my favorite city - I would highly recommend it!
Mr. Sammy Dog
Wow! Thanks for all the great responses. I am going to need to do some more homework, but for now I am thinking fly into Oslo, do the rail tour to Bergen then fly to Stockholm. I need to research the different activities and tours to do in each area. I really like the idea of the summer palace in Stockholm. I love architecture and beautiful gardens, but I also LOVE beautiful scenery!
I thought about a cruise, but I think that might be pushing it. There are a couple 5-7 night ones that sound fun on Royal Caribbean, but the dates do line up.
Also, thanks for the tip on food. Those prices are pretty crazy! We are pretty moderate travelers and definitely don't mind doing sandwiches from a deli and nixing the drinks. That's a great tip!
How long do you have, and what kind of dates were you looking at? RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas itineraries are very reasonable in August, and cover different lengths of the Norwegian coast, starting and ending in Copenhagen. From there you could easily visit Gothenburg and then head up to Stockholm.
Also, I don't think I posted it before, but here's a summary of the Oslo-Bergen trip:
http://blog.megdesk.com/norway-in-our-own-nutshell-part-1/
We would have a week. Probably arriving on Saturday am, and departing the next Sunday. I found two RCCL itineraries that might work. Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Geiranger, Alesund, Copenhagen OR Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Estonia, Copenhagen.
The first sounds like it would really cover great areas of Norway and have awesome scenery, but I am torn because I'd really like to visit Stockholm. Then the second cruise doesn't have Norway at all, but all of the ports sound really intriguing and I think those towns would have some amazing history! I'd really love to see the beautiful Fjords and Glaciers in Norway, so leaning towards cruise #1, but it lacks Stockholm.
Having cruised both areas... If you want beautiful scenery and nature, go with the Norwegian coast. If you want to explore cities and culture, do the Baltics. However, if you do the Baltics, I highly recommend choosing an itinerary that has an overnight in St.Petersburg. Honestly, if you're choosing between those two, I would do the fjords and save the Baltics for another longer trip.
However, clearing one thing up - Norway doesn't have the same kind of glaciers that you see in Alaska. The scenic cruising is more about the dramatically steep fjords, green hills, mountains, and colorful wooden villages. The glaciers are all inland, so at best you might be able to do an excursion to one of them from Alesund or Geiranger.