Day 1: Arrival in Stockholm
Arrive at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, and transfer to your hotel in connection with your flight arrival. Dinner and accommodation at the Clarion Hotel Sign, a new first class hotel centrally located. Your tour escort will meet you at 19.45 (before dinner) in the hotel lobby.
Day 2: Stockholm
After your first Scandinavian buffet breakfast, start the 4 hour guided tour of Stockholm. Famous sights on the tour include the Royal Palace, the Parliament Buildings, the island of Djurgården and the Old Town (Gamla Stan), with its narrow cobbled streets and numerous antique shops. The highlight of the tour is a visit to City Hall, with its famous Blue and Golden Rooms, where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each year. Afternoon free to explore Stockholm. We can recommend a visit to the impressive Wasa Museum or one of the popular canal tours. Accommodation at the Clarion Hotel Sign. Please note that dinner is not included today because our experience shows that whilst in Stockholm guests prefer to eat out at a restaurant of their own choice. Your tour escort will gladly assist you with table reservations.
Day 3: Stockholm - Helsinki
Morning free in Stockholm to explore the beautiful city, which is often called the 'Venice of the North' due to its many canals and waterways. We can recommend the 2 hour boat tour “Under the Bridges of Stockholm”. Afternoon coach transfer for embarkment on a luxurious cruise ferry, the Silja Line. At 17:00 you start your cruise to Helsinki, sailing slowly down the Stockholm archipelago past numerous small islands. Buffet dinner on board. There is a wide choice of entertainment, with shops, a casino, and bars. Accommodation is in 2-bed outside cabins (seaside) with shower/WC. We recommend bringing an overnight bag for this cruise, to avoid having to carry suitcases to and from the cabin.
Day 4: Helsinki - Stockholm
Enjoy your buffet breakfast as you sail into Helsinki. You retain your cabin on the ship. In the morning there is a 3 hour guided tour of the Finnish capital. Famous sights include the Senate Square, Uspenskij Cathedral, Parliament House, Finlandia Hall, New Opera House, Sibelius Park & Monument, Underground Temple, etc. The afternoon is free for shopping or simply exploring this bustling city on the Baltic. At 17:00, embarkment on Silja Line ferry for return cruise to Stockholm. Dinner and accommodation on board.
Day 5: Stockholm - Copenhagen
After a delicious buffet breakfast on board, arrive back in Stockholm. The tour continues by coach through the pleasant countryside of Southern Sweden to Granna near Lake Vättern. Stop for lunch at local restaurant. After lunch continue through the provinces of Småland and Skåne to the city of Malmö. Cross over the new Øresund Bridge to arrive in wonderful Copenhagen during the early evening. Dinner and accommodation at Admiral Hotel, wonderfully located in the centre close to Nyhavn and Strøget.
Day 6: Copenhagen
The day starts with a 3 hour guided tour of the city. During the tour you will see Amalienborg Palace, Christiansborg Palace (seat of the Danish Parliament and famous due to the Danish TV-series 'Borgen'), Hans Christian Andersen’s statue, the Gefion Fountain, the old harbour of Nyhavn, the famous Little Mermaid statue, and many other popular sights. You have the afternoon free in Copenhagen. We can recommend a tour down the popular pedestrian shopping street, Strøget, the longest pedestrian street in Europe, or a visit to Rosenborg Palace. Your tour escort will provide you with entrance tickets to the famous Tivoli Gardens. Accommodation at Admiral Hotel. Dinner is not included tonight.
Day 7: Copenhagen - Oslo
After a tasty Danish buffet breakfast, the morning is free in Copenhagen for shopping and sightseeing. Afternoon transfer by coach to DFDS Seaways terminal for your overnight ferry Copenhagen to Oslo, departing at 16.30. Enjoy a delicious Scandinavian buffet dinner as you cruise gently up the Kattegat on your way to Oslo. There is dancing and entertainment on board, however you may prefer to sit out on deck and watch a Scandinavian sunset. Accommodation is in 2-bed outside cabins with shower/WC. We recommend bringing an overnight bag for this cruise, to avoid having to carry suitcases to and from the cabin.
Day 8: Oslo
Scandinavian buffet breakfast is served on board as you sail up the exciting Oslo Fjord to reach the Norwegian capital at 09:30. After disembarkment, this morning’s 3 hours guided tour of the Norwegien capital takes you to see the amazing Vigeland Sculpture Park and other famous sights. Afternoon free in Oslo. We can recommend a visit to the Munch Museum, the Viking Museum, or a stroll along the Karl Johan shopping boulevard. Dinner and accommodation at Thon Hotel Opera Oslo, ideally situated close to the Karl Johans Gate.
Day 9: Oslo departure
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Oslo Gardermoen Airport for your flight back home.
If you are keen to explore Norway in more detail, ask us about a tour extension to the Majestic Fjords.
Visas
For your holidays to Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Ukraine, you will not need a visa if you have a valid passport from any EU country, Australia, Canada, USA, Japan (there are more, so check with us to make sure). Please note that your passport should be valid for at least six months after the date of your return.
However, if you plan to travel to Russia, you will need a visa, which we can help organise for you.
Insurance
Travel insurance is required and also advisable. If you do not have a valid policy, please check our Insurance link on the bottom of our homepage or http://www.baltictravelcompany.com/insurance. We can offer quotes for all nationalities.
Our recommended partner is FS Ball who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Language
You will be able to communicate quite well with the locals, as most people in the service industry are quite adept at speaking English. If English doesn't work, then try Russian (if you can), or German. The further you go from the major cities, the less English you will hear. However, do not let the language barrier keep you from exploring the beauty of the country side. We can always arrange English speaking guides to accompany you wherever you wish to go.
The Estonian language is similar to Finnish and is unrelated to Latvian, Lithuanian or Russian. Latvian and Lithuanian are two of the oldest languages, with roots traceable to Sanskrit. This makes them quite challenging to learn, but attempting a few words will put a smile on the local faces. Russians use the Cyrillic alphabet, so reading street signs and tube maps will be a challenge in St Petersburg .
Currency
You can get local currency from ATMs at the airport where you land or in the major cities. Be aware that your bank will charge you a service fee and exchange rate fee for the transaction, but this is likely to be less than exchanging money in the UK before you depart. Please note that in Russia exchange bureau's and banks will not except Scottish bank notes.
We suggest choosing the right credit card for spending abroad. Most credit cards will have an additional cost (about 3%) to the bank exchange rates. You can avoid it by obtaining a specialist overseas card that does not add this % and will give you good exchange rates that are better than money exchange bureau rates.
Credit cards charge you interest rates, but some debit cards (bank account cards) could have fees that could add up to £ 1.50 every time you spend.
We recommend checking with your bank what fees/interest rates will be applied to your card when using it abroad in order to make an educated decision on what card to use.
Most restaurants and shops will take credit/debit cards like Visa and Mastercard, however, many places will not accept AMEX.
Traveller's cheques are difficult to cash, so we recommend not to use them.
Airport or ferry terminals in most cases will have the worst money exchange rates, so if you must get it from the airport, pre-order money for pick-up to get a better rate.
The local currencies are (alphabetic order):
Denmark - Danish Kroner
Estonia - Euro
Finland - Euro
Greenland - Danish Kroner
Iceland - Icelandic Kroner
Latvia - Euro
Lithuania - Euro
Norway - Norwegian Kroner
Poland - Polish Zloty
Russia - Russian Ruble
Sweden - Swedish Kroner
Ukraine - Hryvnia
Restaurants
Dining opportunities are plenty, from ethnic to exotic. We would suggest you to try some national dishes and get a real taste of the region. Note that most traditional dishes contain meat and are fairly heavy, but very tasty.
Reservations in advance are recommended for up-market restaurants, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings.
Tipping - many of the up-market establishments will let you know how good their service is by including it on the bill. Rounding up the bill is usually sufficient, unless you feel your server deserves an extra bit of recognition.
Mobile Phones
There are several mobile operators in each Baltic country, the Nordics ( Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland incl. Iceland and Greenland as well as Poland, Ukraine and Russia. If you have an international connection, there shouldn't be any problems with your incoming and outgoing calls.
In case your phone doesn't work, please check in the local mobilephone shops and you can buy Calling cards etc. or ask in your hotel, they should be able to advise you too.
Internet Access
Internet access is available at Internet Cafés, which mostly are located in the central part of the city. Most hotels have internet access.
Postal Services
Stamps are available in the post offices and in most newspaper kiosks. Approximate price for a stamp to European Union countries will vary but between appx. £ 0.30 to £ 0.70. You'll see post boxes on the streets or you can ask hotel representative to send your post card, they'll gladly help you.
Emergency Numbers
Emergency telephone number for the police, ambulance services or fire department in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Poland - 112.
Greenland uses 911 and for mobile phones only 112.