Norway/ Sweden

Pee

There are cheap Ryanair flights to an airport miles out of Oslo and also to Stockholm.

This has got me thinking as I would like to go to the Swedish lapland ice hotel, see the northern lights and do a train journey cross country from Oslo to Bergen.

The ice hotel is there from November to about April, i think. Northern lights I think are more likely during that time. However I think December will have less than one hour of daylight...

Anyone been who would like to share their thoughts?

My current thought is that the ice hotel for boyfriends birthday in February and the train journey to wait for the summer...

Pee

Also any money saving ideas for either place would be welcome.

dzug1

Remember the Northern Lights are only visible when it's dark. Obvious I know but sometimes people forget.

Two_Hoots_3

Hi

If you do go take lots of spending money in-laws just returned from Baltic cruise and ham roll cost £7.00 in Copenhagen, lucky for them great food on ship.:eek:

moonrakerz

dzug1 wrote: »

Remember the Northern Lights are only visible when it's dark. Obvious I know but sometimes people forget.

Like the lunar landing "conspiracists", who say the photos taken on the moon are fakes, because the stars aren't visible !!

ScottySmog

Done that Oslo - Bergen train journey (took about 8 hours if my memory serves me well) - can be quite snowy even in May but they're used to it so the line is kept open.

The train fares tend to be cheaper the earlier you book. I booked online and it all worked perfectly at the ticket office in Oslo.

More info at: http://www.nsb.no/?lang=en_US

blue_haddock

Money saving tips?

Dont go to sweden and norway!

Bengt

Living in Sweden and hating the winter this is not the kind of trip I would do myself. I prefer Spain (or more precisely Catalonia) anytime of the year (including December-January).
Anyway I think I could share some information/opinions with you.
1. Sweden may be expensive but Norway is far worse. For eating out and especially drinking in pubs and bars Norway would be almost twice the price of Sweden. In Sweden a pint costs anywhere from £4 and upwards...
2. For your specific route I would probably look more close to Norwegian's filghts. The distance from Stockholm to the ice hotel is more than 600 miles and you would probably want to fly that distance (both from a price point of view as well as time). All flights to northern Sweden leaves from Stockholm's main airport Arlanda which is 80 miles from what Ryanair call Stockholm.

So you could fly Norwegian London (I think that is Gatwick) to Oslo, Oslo to Stockholm, Stockholm to Kiruna/Luleå/Umeå, back to Stockholm, Stockholm to Bergen or Oslo, (Bergen to Oslo later) and finally Oslo to London.

Ryanair would get you far from both Oslo and Stockholm, and especially far from the northern part of Sweden. Also even though the tickets at Norwegian might be more expensive the bus transfers from the Ryanair airports are not cheap either.

Do not get me wrong I am a big fan of Ryanair, but that is because I live closer to their airport than Arlanda (Stockholm's main airport).

Pee

Thank you for all the replies. Gulp. Yes, I knew it was going to be expensive, but that is even more expensive than I expected! £8 a pint in Norway- even my boyfriend might consider a detox at those prices!

Where was that thread about picnics in hotel rooms? I'll just go find it.

So the plan is now to go September, with one night in Oslo and then the Norway in a Nutshell tour with one night in Bergen and then back to Oslo for another day and night. This should keep the costs down as much as possible and leave the ice hotel for another time.

Any do's, dont's or other tips appreciated.

cardiffforthefacup

I went to stockholm last June and was very impressed with the old and new parts of the city and it has lots of little islands. The bus journey from the airport was approx 10 pounds, I would have liked to stay for a couple more days,the underground has to be seen to be believed, all the stations have a different theme, leaves london's dilapidated system in shame. There is so much to see and each day at noon there is changing of the guard parade through the city which has a carnival type atmosphere. The hotel chain I stayed with offered a substantial breakfast and had a kitchen where you could throw together snacks and sandwiches therby reducing overall costs. The people are friendly and were happy to converse in english. I liked the way it was so clean and would recommend it for trip anytime, I am trying Gothenburg this trip and I am staying on a ship that has been converted to a hotel.

Pee

Now mostly booked up. I've gone for Oslo for the first night, then the Norway in a Nutshell tour followed by the evening and following day in Bergen with a sleeper train back to Oslo for about seven hours sightseeing there.

Everyone is warning that drinking will be very expensive and one friend pointed out there are limits as to how much you can take in, fortunately they are much higher than she remembered them being! The limits are:

Alcoholic beverages


a) 1 litre of beverages with more than 22 up to and including 60 % alcohol per volume as well as 1,5 litre with more than 2.5 up to and including 22 % alcohol per volume or 3 litres with more than 2.5 up to and including 22 % alcohol per volume.

b) 2 litres of beer with more than 2.5 or other beverages with more than 2.5 up to and including 4.75 % alcohol per volume.

This means that you may for example bring with you 5 litres of beer provided you do not have with you any other alcoholic beverages.

Only persons over the age of 18 are allowed to import alcoholic beverages. For importing alcoholic beverages with more than 22 % alcohol per volume the minimum age is 20.

Any tips on what to see and do or where to stay in Bergen would be appreciated.