Duration: 12 Days
Vibrant cities, distinct cultures, and unspoiled landscapes welcome you on this Scandinavia affordable tour! You’ll visit the fascinating Nordic cities and scenic areas as well as some of its smaller and quaint towns. Experience Copenhagen, Frederikshavn, Oslo, the Telemark region, Bergen, Fagernes, Karlstad, and Stockholm. This spectacular Scandinavian tour features breathtaking scenery in Norway, known for its stunning fjords, the steep and majestic mountains, and the picturesque villages dotting the landscape.
One of the highlights of this itinerary is a cruise on the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord. Cross the Hardangerfjord by ferry and travel through Norway’s Telemark region with its lakes, winding valleys, and rugged gorges backed by towering mountains. Stop for photos at Steinsdalsfoss, where visitors can walk behind the cascading waterfall without getting wet, and enjoy a scenic drive along beautiful Lake Mjøsa. In Sweden, drive through the scenic Värmland, home to 10,000 lakes among the forested landscapes. In Denmark, drive across the Great Belt Bridge, one of the world’s longest bridges, and take a ferry from Denmark to Norway. Enjoy an orientation drive of Copenhagen and guided sightseeing excursions of Oslo and Stockholm. Visit Lillehammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, and take time for a photo stop at Sweden’s Gripsholm Castle, a fairytale castle built in 1537, set in an enchanting rural landscape on the way to Stockholm. From fascinating cities and small towns to breathtaking fjord landscapes, this value-minded Scandinavia tour has it all!
Traveller Notes
Adventure is knocking with everything you need for perfectly affordable touring. Cosmos includes hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, and seamless transportation between destinations—with value-minded travel lovers in mind. Explore with expert Cosmos Tour Directors and Local Guides, complimentary headsets, private, first-class, air-conditioned motorcoach with free Wi-Fi, a cruise on the Sognefjord and ferry crossings Hirtshals to Langesund and Utne-Kvanndal. Enhance your free time to explore like a local with your CosmosGO mobile app! Security cruise regulations require clients’ passport information at time of booking.
Please note: Itinerary is based on 2024, and is subject to change. Full details will be confirmed in 2024.
Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free to explore the Danish capital. Tonight, meet your Tour Director and travel companions. (D)
Enjoy a day at leisure in the capital of the oldest kingdom in the world. Besides many interesting landmarks and architectural masterpieces, see some of the more famous sites on your orientation drive, including the legendary Little Mermaid statue. An optional tour of Zealand's castles is also available. (B)
After breakfast, start the journey northwards, enjoying the drive across the Great Belt bridge, which will connect you to the fairytale island of Funen. Stop in Odense, Hans Christian Andersen's hometown and, via the Little Belt waterway, head for Frederikshavn on the rural Jutland Peninsula. Today's Distance: 295 mi/ 475 km (B)
Take a pleasant ferry ride from Hirtshals across the strategic Skagerrak to Kristiansand to continue by road to Oslo, Norway's capital city. Today's Distance by coach: 198 mi/ 319 km (B)
Gustav Vigeland's sculptures are among the highlights of the included Oslo sightseeing tour; also see the National Theatre, Parliament, and Akershus Castle. In the afternoon, drive through the Telemark region, where you'll spend the night. Today's Distance: 130 mi/ 210 km (B,D)
Take the scenic route for a visit to Vemork, where the heavy water plant was blown up by a commando unit of British and Norwegians known as the Heroes of Telemark. Visit the Vemork Museum, then travel along lakes, winding valleys, and rugged gorges backed by towering mountains. Ferry across the Hardangerfjord from Utne to Kvanndal with a picture stop at Steindalsfossen Waterfall On arrival in Bergen, Norway's picture-perfect Hanseatic seaport, start getting to know the city on the included orientation.
Today's Distance: 280 mi/ 450 km (B)
Built on seven hills with the fjords on one side and 1,000- foot Mount Floyen on the other, Bergen was the home of composer Edvard Grieg. Spend the day exploring at leisure or consider joining one of our optional excursions to discover the history, traditions, and breathtaking views of this beautiful port city. (B)
More spectacular scenery as you drive towards the Sognefjord, where you embark for a breathtaking cruise on one of Norway's mightiest fjords, the Naeroyfjord. On to the Fagernes area. Today's Distance: 236 mi/ 380 km (B,D)
First to Lillehammer, the mountain resort that hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics, then, a scenic drive along beautiful Lake Mjosa. Continue towards Sweden through Varmland's unspoiled wilderness of forest and lakes to Karlstad, located by Sweden's largest lake, Lake Vanern. Today's Distance: 286 mi/ 460 km (B)
Leave Karlstad and head east towards Stockholm via idyllic Mariefred. Here, view majestic Gripsholm Castle, built in an enchanting rural setting. On to the Swedish capital. Its beauty is due to its unique setting on 14 islands between Lake Maleren and the Baltic Sea. Today's Distance: 199 mi/ 320 km (B)
This is perhaps the most beautiful of the Scandinavian capitals, because the crystalline waters that flow through its intersecting canals give a luminous appearance to palaces, castles, and parks. Your city sightseeing takes in all the highlights including the City Hall. (B,D)
Your holiday ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
