Getting around Nordic countries and traveling between each one is easier than you might think. Whether you want to travel by plane, train, or automobile, you have various great options. You could explore the old-fashioned charm of Denmark, the deep-blue archipelagos and vibrant cities of Sweden, the winter magic of Finland, the sparsely-populated Iceland, or the magnificent glaciers and fjords of Norway. Maybe you could even hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh to get to Greenland.
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By Car
Driving around the Nordic countries in a rental car is a great way of exploring and viewing the cities and natural areas at your own pace, especially from May to September when the daylight lasts long into the evenings.
In Denmark, the distances between the cities are short, and if you want to explore the country’s beautiful nature, you can take the 2,237-mile Marguerite Route. In Sweden, there are well-maintained roads and highways. Also, traffic jams are rare in Sweden, even in city centers. Not all roads are ideal in Norway, as rural ones can be dirt or gravel tracks, but you can still get around Norway easily by car, and most mountain roads are open from May to September. As for Finland, driving is a dream because the Finns rarely get stressed when driving and there are lots of gas stations close to one another. However, be aware that roads can get slippery in the winter. Also, snow tires are legally required in Finland from December to February.
By Train
If you’re worried about things like driving on slippery roads in Finland, a train could be a better option. On a train, you can read a book or play casino games on your phone instead of trying to navigate challenging foreign roads. Furthermore, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway all have efficient rail networks with comfortable trains, although the less-populated Nordic countries of Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and Faroe Islands do not have any trains.
When traveling between the most popular Nordic countries, journey times are fairly short, no matter where you are traveling from and to. For instance, going from Stockholm in Sweden to Copenhagen in Denmark takes around five hours and fifteen minutes, and Oslo in Norway to Gothenburg in Sweden takes around three hours and fifty-five minutes.
By Plane
The countries of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Greenland all have international airports, and each Nordic country has local airports where you can easily fly domestically and between the countries. If you want to travel between Nordic countries quickly, flying is your best option.
Norway has more than fifty airports that provide regular routes, including remote places like the Lofoten Islands and the North Cape. Denmark has fewer domestic flights than the other main Nordic countries, but you can still find daily flights from Copenhagen to other Danish cities and the other Nordic capitals. Sweden’s main airport is Stockholm Arlanda International Airport, from which you can travel to most of the country’s other airports. As for Finland, the country has twenty-seven airports with regular domestic and international flights.
By Ferry of Cruise Ship
Another option for traveling domestically is to take ferry rides. For example, you can travel between Flåm to Bergen in Norway in five hours and ten minutes or from Nynäshamn to Gotland in Sweden in three hours and fifteen minutes.
You also have the option of journeying from one Nordic country to another via a cruise. You can take overnight cruises between the major Nordic capital cities, and take advantage of tax-free shopping! You could board a cruise from Helsinki in Finland to Stockholm in Sweden or from Copenhagen in Denmark to Oslo in Norway.
Whichever travel methods you choose, one thing is for sure: you’ll have a whale of a time exploring the beauty and vibrancy of the Nordic countries. If you’re lucky, you might even get a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
