Scandinavian Explorer

12 days
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4.9/5 Excellent
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Group Tour
Explorer Sweden and the culture and history of Scandinavian. Have chance to visit the major attractive cities. Enjoy your 12 day trip with SmarTours.

Overview

Trip type
Group Tour
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Visit Stockholm Town Hall
    • Explore Gamla Stan (Medieval Town)
    • Visit Bergen Markets
    • See the spectacular Fjords
    • Visit the Voeringfoss Waterfall (Norway)
    • Enjoy Copenhagen City Tour
    • Visit Helsinki’s Senate Square
    • St. Petersburg Extension

What's this trip about?

    Explorer Sweden and the culture and history of Scandinavian. Have chance to visit the major attractive cities. Enjoy your 12 day trip with SmarTours.

Compare to similar trips

Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeStandard Group - 25 + people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportN/A
Start CityStockholm
End CityHelsinki

Travel Themes

  • Cultural

Destinations

  • Europe
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Norway
  • Sweden

Attractions

  • Bergen
  • Copenhagen
  • Helsinki
  • Scandinavia
  • Stockholm

Activities

  • Culture
  • Historic sightseeing
  • History
  • Nature
  • Short Cruise
  • Trains & Rail

Trip includes

    • Round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) via Finnair
    • Airfare taxes, fees & fuel surcharges
    • All intra-Scandinavia flights, ground and sea transportation
    • Accommodations at Superior First Class hotels
    • 15 meals: 10 full buffet breakfasts (B) and 5 dinners (D)
    • Sightseeing tours including admission fees as per itinerary
    • Experienced English speaking Tour Director and local guide Your extension includes: High Speed Train journey from Helsinki to St. Petersburg
    • Accommodations at superior first class hotel in St. Petersburg with private bath
    • Daily full buffet breakfasts (B)
    • Farewell dinner (D)
    • Comprehensive sightseeing tours including admission fees as specified in itinerary
    • Experienced English speaking local guide

View Similar Trips

Itinerary

Travel Map
Day 1: Depart USA.
Your fascinating voyage on your Scandinavian tours begin as you depart New York this evening on your overnight flight.

Day 2: Arrive Stockholm (Sweden).
Meals: Dinner Accommodation: Clarion Hotel Sign Stockholm Today, arrive in Stockholm, the beautiful capital of Sweden that was founded in the 13th century and built on fourteen islands that are connected by dozens of bridges. You’ll embark on a guided tour to see the...
Day 3: Stockholm.
Meals: Breakfast Today is at leisure to enjoy beautiful Stockholm at your own pace. Explore the narrow streets of Gamla Stan or visit the Vasa Museum, where you may view the restored warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. Your hotel is ideally located for independent exploration.

Day 4: Stockholm/Bergen (Norway).
Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel This morning embark on a short flight to Bergen, the capital of Norway’s majestic fjord region. Join your tour director for a walk from your harbor side hotel to the colorful open-air fish and flower market and...
Day 5: Bergen/Flam/Lofthus: “Norway in a Nutshell”.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Accommodation: Ullensvang Hotel Over the next few days venture into the heart of Norway’s Fjord region and admire some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery. A day of scenic splendors begins with a drive to Voss where you’ll embark on a...
Day 6: Hardangerfjord.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Lofthus is located on the shores of the Hardangerfjord, in a region that is blessed with stunning natural beauty and is surrounded by snowcapped mountains and pristine fjords. The day is at leisure to explore at your own pace from your ideally located resort hotel, or perhaps you may wish to the charming Hardanger Folk Museum optional excursion.

Day 7: Lofthus/Oslo.
Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Thon Opera Hotel Today journey though Norway’s scenic countryside with a stop to view the mighty Voeringfoss Waterfall cascading 600ft. Later arrive in Oslo where you’ll enjoy a guided tour of this old Viking capital. You’ll visit Vigeland Sculpture Park where impressive bronze sculptures can be viewed. You’ll also see City Hall, the waterfront and the Holmenkollen Ski Jump.

Day 8: Oslo/Overnight Cruise.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Accommodation: DFDS Line Cruise Enjoy a morning at leisure to explore at your own pace. You may visit the Viking Ship Museum where you can see the remains of well-preserved old wooden ships. Later, transfer to the pier located on the Oslo ...
Day 9: Copenhagen (Denmark).
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Accommodation: Copenhagen Island Hotel or Imperial Hotel Enjoy the splendid early morning scenery as you sail into port to start your Copenhagen travel in Denmark’s capital and delightful cultural center. An included guided city tour featu...
Day 10: Copenhagen.
Meals: Breakfast Today is at leisure for independent exploration. Your hotel is centrally located in the lively and colorful city center, bustling with parks, cafes, restaurants and shops. You may also join an optional “Castle of North Zealand” tour. This evening we suggest a visit to renowned Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s famous amusement park.

Day 11: Copenhagen/Helsinki (Finland).
Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Scandic Grand Marina Hotel Today fly to the charming harbor city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. On an included guided afternoon tour see Senate Square surrounded by 19-century classical buildings and the colorful Market Square.

Day 12: Helsinki/USA or St. Petersburg.
Meals: Breakfast Morning at leisure to explore independently. Later today, fly back to the USA or continue your exciting journey with an extension to St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $3,999
Price per day$333
Single supplement (single occupancy)$849
Last Updated: 4/3/2019

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with SmarTours.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

SmarTours Reviews & Ratings

4.9/5  Excellent
Excellent
996
Great
111
Average
1
Disappointing
2
Terrible
5
S

Sue

Mar 2020

Written on

Everything else was great

Everyone on this tour, including my sister and I had travelled with smartours before. Thre's a reason....a lot of bang for your buck. The accommodations on this trip...

D

Delores

Mar 2020

Written on

I thought it was great

I thought it was great. One problem was the long layover in Helsinki before going on Sweden. It was over 5 hours. Also, the process for getting a VISA for Russia was...

D

Deborah

Mar 2020

Written on

Fantastic Trip

This was my 6th fantastic trip with smarTours. You get a lot of "bang for your buck" with smarTours. We had an EXCELLENT guide with Wenche. She was funny, gave us pr...

G

George Good

Oct 2016

Written on

Enjoyable trip

Our 8/25/2016 trip was very enjoyable. The hotels were all 4 star and well located. Good food and a nice group of people. Pear (spelling?) our main guide made us fee...

S

Sue Holloway

Oct 2015

Written on

Very Very Good Trip

Everyone on this tour, including my sister and I had travelled with smartours before. Thre's a reason....a lot of bang for your buck. The accommodations on this trip...

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traveled with Smartours to Japan on a 12 day trip in May 2 024. This was the tour guide’s first trip working for Smartours. She spoke unintelligible English. Smartou...

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smarTours was founded in 1996 with one goal in mind: to provide high quality, exciting group tour packages to some of the most fascinating countries in the world at the lowest possible price.  The team at smarTours believes deeply that high quality international travel should be affordable, and we work tirelessly to deliver affordability.

At smarTours, most of our travelers in any given year are repeat customers – they had such great experiences with us before that they decided to travel with us again.  And many of our customers are so happy with smarTours that they have made traveling with us an annual tradition, reaching 5, 10, even 15 trips with smarTours!  In other words, we must be doing at least a few things right.

Unbeatable Value: We provide exceptional value for your money, and it does not take that much time visiting our website to figure that out.  However, it can be difficult to compare the value provided by different tour operators because the tours are so intricate and multifaceted.  If you take the time to really peel back onion and evaluate the tours offered by smarTours, we are confident that you would come to the conclusion that our loyal customers have – that smarTours provides unbeatable value.

Phenomenal Tour Guides: If you ask anyone who has been on an escorted tour, they will tell you that the tour guides are an essential ingredient to making the trip a success.  The importance of tour guides is not lost on us at smarTours, which is why we are relentless in our pursuit and retention of the very best tour guides.  We are proud to say with confidence that our tour guides are phenomenal, and many of them have become celebrity-like figures within the smarTours community.

smarTours Price Protection: We have had a price protection policy since we started in 1996, and we thought it was time to share it with you.  If you reserve a spot on a tour and we later lower the price, we will make up the difference for you!  We do not penalize you for booking early, so you can reserve your spot with confidence that the price will not get any better (lower) for that particular date.  Also, to be clear, if you reserve a spot on a tour and we later increase the price, we will not raise your price to match the new price!

Focus: Unlike most of our competitors, we focus exclusively on providing affordable group tours to foreign, largely exotic destinations.  In the travel business, it is particularly easy to get distracted by new trends and themes, but we have chosen to focus on what we do best.  We are extremely deliberate in introducing new tours because we have set a standard that our loyal customers have come to rely on, and we are committed to meeting and exceeding your expectations.

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Logistics

Accommodation

St. Petersburg: Sokos Vasilievsky Hotel Helsinki: Scandic Grand Marina Hotel Copenhagen: Imperial Hotel Copenhagen: Copenhagen Island Hotel Oslo: Thon Hotel Opera Lofthus: Hotel Ullensvang Bergen: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Stockholm: Clarion Hotel Sign DFDS Line Cruise

Transportation & Flights

Round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) via Finnair,

Transportation & flights

Round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) via Finnair
Cancellation policy
Full Payment due 75 days before departure. Failure to make final payment on time may result in automatic cancellation of reservation and loss of deposit.   Changes to the original reservation will result in a $150 change fee per person per change. No changes allowed within 75 days of departure.   Cancellation charges per person are:   Up to 75 days before departure: $300 74-45 days before departure: $600 44-30 days before departure: $1000 29-10 days before departure: $1500 9 days or less before departure: No refund. All cancellations must be received in writing.   We recommend the purchase of Travel Insurance. Insurance premium is non-refundable and cannot be transferred from one departure to another in the event of a reservation change.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included
10 Breakfasts and 5 Dinners
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Optional Activities
Scandinavian Explorer Provides Extended tours below are the details: St. Petersburg from approx. $979 per person Helsinki/st. Petersburg (russia) St. Petersburg: Hermitage/peterhof palace St. Petersburg St. Petersburg/new york Optional Tours Utne: Open-air hardanger folk museum excursion from approx. $55 per person Copenhagen: Excursion to the castles of north Zealand from approx. $126 per person St. Petersburg: Evening folklore performance at nikolaevsky from approx. $123 per person Tsarskoe selo: Catherine palace excursion from approx. $88 per person
Additional Information
Day 12 Extension: Helsinki/St. Petersburg (Russia). Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Sokos Vasiliev sky Hotel This morning board a high-speed train for the comfortable 3.5 hour ride through the scenic Finnish countryside en route to St. Petersburg, Russia. One of Europe’s most magnificent cities, St. Petersburg, the former capital of Czarist Russia, was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. Its architecture, natural beauty and rich culture are unparalleled! After arriving at the city-center train station, you’ll be met by a local expert and enjoy a guided city tour. Drive along the famous Nevsky Prospect and see Peter and Paul’s Fortress, St. Issac Cathedral and other highlights. End your day with a spectacular boat ride along the Neve River and canal. Day 13 Extension: St. Petersburg: Hermitage/Peterhof Palace. Meals: Breakfast This morning enjoy an included guided excursion outside the city to visit Peterhof Palace, the summer residence of the Czar. It was built to rival Versailles and is surrounded by magnificent gardens. Upon returning to St. Petersburg this afternoon discover one of its most celebrated treasures, the famous Hermitage, located at the Winter Palace. A local expert will guide you through the Hermitage’s priceless art collection. The evening is free and you may wish to attend a cultural performance. Day 14 Extension: St. Petersburg. Meals: Breakfast and Dinner Today is at leisure to explore at your own pace from your conveniently located upscale hotel. This evening join your fellow travelers for a festive farewell dinner. Day 15 Extension: St. Petersburg/New York. Meals: Breakfast Morning transfer to the airport for your flight back to the USA. Your memorable journey concludes as you arrive New York later today.
Trip ID
smartours-smartours-SC

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