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SCANDINAVIA
14 DAYS FROM $5,990 US
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Experience a Nordic world of fjords, castles, glaciers, and the legacy of the Vikings on this comprehensive Scandinavia tour. Travel by train, ferry, coach and air through Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Traverse the Swedish countryside along the Yellow Roads... enjoy an included flight from Stockholm to Bergen... cruise through Norway's dramatic fjords... see glaciers up close... visit a traditional wooden stave church... ride the Flåmsbana, one of the world's steepest railway lines... tour castles and palaces... have fun at Tivoli Gardens. Discover the capitals of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo; see the Danish Crown Jewels, royal Viking ships, well-preserved medieval ports, and the warship Vasa, rescued after more than 300 years on the bottom of Stockholm harbor. Our two-week Scandinavia tour has it all!
Day 1 Arrive in Copenhagen
Meals D
Your Scandinavia tour begins at 1:00 PM at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen. A transfer is included from Copenhagen Airport to the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen in the heart of this historic city. Gather this afternoon for a city tour that includes a visit to Rosenborg Palace, built in Dutch Renaissance style, where you'll see the Danish Crown Jewels. Tall towers and red brick masonry define this “petite” 16th-century castle, in use by Danish regents as a royal “summer house” until about 1710. Meet all of your traveling companions at this evening's welcome reception at the hotel, followed by dinner at a local restaurant in celebrated Tivoli Gardens.
Lodging Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen
Day 2 North Zealand, Frederiksborg Palace & more of wonderful Copenhagen
Meals B,L
Head out from the city this morning to North Zealand, a region of woodlands, villages, lakes, royal parks and castles. You'll enjoy this early-entry, private visit to 17th-century Frederiksborg Palace, built atop three islands in a small lake, and considered one of the finest examples of Dutch Renaissance architecture. After a Danish family-style lunch in a local restaurant in North Zealand, return to "wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen." The afternoon and evening are free to explore as you wish, perhaps discovering the historic Nyhavn area and strolling along the Stroget, Copenhagen's main street, and enjoying dinner on your own. We've included admission to the famous Tivoli Gardens amusement park, which you can visit at your leisure this evening. This city-center 160+-year-old amusement park is set within a 20-acre garden; from thousands of blooms to a lakeside beer garden, fireworks, a roller coaster and evening music, it’s a Danish experience unto its own.
Lodging Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen
Day 3 From Copenhagen to Toftaholm in Sweden
Meals B, L, D
Departing Copenhagen, your Scandinavia tour takes you along the Yellow Roads from Denmark into Sweden today, past idyllic meadows, forests, and lakes. In Helsingborg, enjoy a guided visit of Sofiero Slott, for a taste of the former royal Swedish life. A majestic castle built in 1865 as one of the Swedish royal family's country mansions and later donated to the city of Helsingborg, today it's a museum with a magnificent heritage of flowering beds and kitchen gardens. Continue on to lovely Toftaholm, where your lodging is a family-run manor house hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Vidostern that gets you away from it all; enjoy dinner at the hotel tonight.
Lodging Toftaholm Herrgård
Day 4 Across the Swedish Countryside to Stockholm
Meals B, L, D
Drive northward today from Toftaholm through southern Sweden and the Lake Vattern area, passing through the city of Linkoping. Stop for lunch at Loftstad Slott, a manor house in Norrkoping once owned by the family of Axel von Fersen the Younger, a Swedish count who served with French forces in the American Revolution, and was involved in attempts to save his close friend Marie Antoinette and her royal family from the French Revolution. Continue on to Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. After a city orientation tour and check-in at your hotel, enjoy a guided tour of the Swedish Royal Opera House, followed by drinks and dinner.
Lodging Sheraton Stockholm Hotel
Day 5 Discover Stockholm and the Vasa Museum
Meals B
Begin today's discovery of Sweden's capital with sightseeing including a guided visit to Stockholm's iconic City Hall, where the annual Nobel Prize award festivities take place. You'll see the Council Chamber; the Gold Room, whose walls are sparkling with 18 million pieces of gold mosaic and glass depicting events in Swedish and world history; and the famous Blue Room, misnamed because the architect changed his mind and left its beautiful red-brick walls intact. Stockholm sightseeing continues with a panoramic lakeside drive over bridges that crisscross between Stockholm’s small islands, offering views of Gamla Stan (Old Town) and a skyline of 17th- and 18th-century buildings, the Baltic Sea, Lake Malaren, the elegant Strandvagen waterfront, the inner harbor, the Royal Palace, the Cathedral and Parliament. Next, visit the Vasa Museum, featuring the impressive Vasa, an ornate royal warship that sank in Stockholm's harbor following its launch in 1628 and was raised in 1961. The rest of the day is free – perhaps take a canal tour, or walk through the cobbled streets of medieval Gamla Stan.
Lodging Sheraton Stockholm Hotel
Day 6 Fly across Sweden and Norway to Bergen
Meals B, L, D
Travel to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport and have lunch before boarding a flight to Bergen on Norway's west coast. After becoming familiar with the city on an orientation tour, settle into your hotel, then join us aboard a private boat for a ride to a local restaurant whose owner entertains you with stories over dinner; return by boat to your hotel on Bergen's historic Bryggen waterfront.
Lodging Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Bryggen
Day 7 Discover Bergen & Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg's musical inspiration
Meals B
A local guide introduces you to mountain-encircled Bergen and its centuries-old maritime legacy on a city tour; centered around busy Vågen Harbor, colorful wood plank buildings hug the hillsides in its historic core. Modern Bergen is also an important hub for the arts. Get a feel for this heritage on an excursion to Troldhaugen, the beloved composer Edvard Grieg’s former lakeside villa, today a living museum and concert center; Norway's foremost composer is perhaps best known for his musical score for the play Peer Gynt. Return to the city to spend the afternoon and evening at your leisure, and enjoy lunch and dinner on your own. Your hotel is set close to Bryggen, the city's old wharf district, featuring traditional wooden buildings and a medieval atmosphere; founded in 1070 during the days of the Hanseatic League, it was one of the oldest large trading ports in Northern Europe and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Lodging Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Bryggen
Day 8 Via Oppedal & Lavik to Loen
Meals B, L, D
Journey northward today along the Norwegian coast, through photo-worthy landscapes that vary from wide-open fjords to green hills, icy glaciers and massive mountain ranges, as you set out from Bergen, ferry across part of the Songefjord from Oppedal to Lavik, and wind your way through the countryside to Loen, from which you'll explore Norway's inspiring fjordlands during a three-night stay at the venerable Hotel Alexandra, operated since 1884 by five generations of the Loen family. Enjoy a barbecue dinner tonight at the hotel.
Lodging Hotel Alexandra
Day 9 All about Glaciers at Brikadal
Meals B, L, D
Travel today to one of Norway’s most inspirational natural wonders – Briksdal Glacier, set at the end of one of the Nordfjord's three branches. Meltwater from the glacier has created three emerald-green lakes in the valley; a ride on a "Troll Car" past thundering waterfalls and a short hike to the foot of the glacier lead to views of absolutely stunning scenery – it's a Scandinavia tour highlight! Dig into a family-style lunch, then return to your resort to take advantage of its many amenities or explore Loen as you please. A local fjord guide gives a lecture at the hotel this evening prior to dinner.
Lodging Hotel Alexandra
Day 10 Cruising the Geirangerfjord
Meals B, L, D
Your Scandinavia tour continues with a morning of unforgettable views as you drive to Dalsnibba (weather permitting), the region's highest point reached by road, for delightful views of towering cliffs and waterfalls. Then take a cruise from Geiranger to Hellesylt on Geirangerfjord, one of the longest, deepest, and most scenic fjords in the world. It was recently designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site; you'll see the sheer, crystalline rock walls rising 4,500 feet from the water, with waterfalls with names like the Seven Sisters and Bridal Veil cascading over the edge. After disembarking in Hellesylt, a remote country drive brings you to a serene alpine village and lunch at the Hotel Union Oye, in operation since 1891 and a favorite retreat among the elite for decades. Arrive back in Loen late afternoon to spend the evening as you please, and have dinner at the Hotel Alexandra
Lodging Hotel Alexandra
Day 11 Glaciers, a ferry cruise & beer tasting in Flåm
Meals B, L, D
After departing Loen and the Hotel Alexendra, begin the day's discoveries with a visit to the Norwegian Glacier Center, where you'll learn all about these fantasy-like landscapes and their impact on those who have called them home through history. Following lunch, travel to Slinde where you'll board a ferry cruise along the Naeroyfjord, one of Norway's narrowest fjords and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to Flåm, whose name translates to "little place between steep mountains." During the 19th century, Flåm was a popular destination for ships carrying English and German travelers eager to experience Norway's fjords, mountains and waterfalls; with the establishment of the Bergensbanen railway in the early 1900s, it became a crossroads for passengers, mail and freight between the railroad and steamships on the fjords. Settle in at your countryside hotel in Flåm, then enjoy a beer tasting at the hotel's brewery and regional cuisine at dinner tonight.
Lodging Flåmsbrygga Hotel
Day 12 Flåm Railway, a stave church & on to Oslo
Meals B, L
This morning, embark on a journey from Flåm on the Norwegian Railway System to Myrdal, for the spectacular descent to Flåm aboard the Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway). A masterpiece of Norwegian engineering, the Flåmsbana is one of the world’s steepest railway lines on normal gauge; you'll descend some 2,600 feet through the mountains, past waterfalls, rivers, ravines and sheer cliffs – it's quite a memorable journey! Then depart Flåm via the second-longest land tunnel in Europe and continue on to Laerdal for a guided visit to the Borgund Stave Church. In 1180, the locals here helped to slot posts (staves) into the ground to support some 2,000 skillfully crafted timber parts of their new church. Dedicated to the apostle Andrew, it is one of the country's finest, best-preserved examples of a traditional and iconic Norwegian wooden stave church; with its lavishly carved portals and dragons' heads roof carvings, it looks very much as it did when built over 800 years ago! After lunch, continue on through the stunning Norwegian countryside to the capital city of Oslo for a two-night stay; enjoy dinner on your own in Oslo this evening.
Lodging Hotel Bristol Oslo
Day 13 Oslo, Vigeland sculptures and Viking ships
Meals B, D
A city orientation tour of Oslo offers views of the city's striking modern opera house and downtown City Hall. With a local guide, take in the Vigeland Sculpture Park, with its 212 life-sized granite and bronze sculptures by famed Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943), who devoted his career to the project; spotlighting many works that carry a humanistic message, the park is a popular Oslo destination. Next up, view skillful Norwegian works of a mariner’s kind during a guided visit to the nearby Viking Ship Museum, featuring three well-preserved Viking ships dating to 800 AD, found in royal burial mounds with fascinating artifacts – representing some of the best-preserved Viking ships in the world. Following a free afternoon in Oslo and lunch on your own, please join us this evening for a farewell reception and dinner at your landmark hotel in the heart of the city.
Lodging Hotel Bristol Oslo
Day 14 Homeward bound
Meals B
Your Scandinavia tour ends in Oslo, Norway. Fly home anytime. A transfer from Hotel Bristol to Oslo Airport is included. Please allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in at the airport.
Travelling Well Includes:
* In contrast to the fjords of Norway, your journey across southern Sweden from Toftaholm to Stockholm takes you through forests and farmland
* An included flight from Stockholm, Sweden to Bergen, Norway
* Privately guided tour of the Swedish Royal Opera House, followed by dinner at a restaurant in the Opera House
* Ferry cruises on the waters of the Naeroyfjord, one of Norway’s narrowest fjords, and the Geirangerfjord, one of the longest and deepest fjords in the world
* A thrilling scenic rail journey to Flåm on the Flåmsbana, one of the world’s steepest railway lines
* Exclusive early-entry private visit to Denmark's historic Frederiksborg Palace
* Guided visits to Vasa Museum, Sofiero Slott, Rosenborg Palace, Stockholm City Hall and Borgund Stave Church
* Admission to Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens amusement park
* A ride aboard a “Troll Car” at Briksdal Glacier
* Airport transfers upon arrival and departure
* 31 meals (13 breakfasts, 9 lunches & 9 dinners), service charges, gratuities to local guides, admission fees, taxes and porterage
DEPARTURE DATES
May - September
PRICES
From approx $5,990 US
per person double occupancy
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