Visiting Scandinavia alone: advisable or not?

So Im leaving university after this semester (so in about a week) and taking some time off to figure out what I really want to do with life. Lately Ive been particularly fascinated with Scandinavia so Ive been thinking of saving up money to go on a tour. Unfortunately, I will most likely have nobody to go with as all my friends are in school and most dont really want to go to Scandinavia for some odd reason.

Ive been looking at various touring options but nothing really seems to satisfy me completely, and the ones that do are for groups only. I might want to plan a trip myself but Im not even sure where to start.

Any suggestions? And is touring alone even a good idea to start with?

Keep in mind that Scandinavia is incredibly expensive, and there isn't all that much to see and do. Frankly, it's rather boring.

Tivoli (coolest attraction park ever, positioned in the heart of Copenhagen) and café Europa in Copenhagen are a must see, so is the museum Lousiana

Well Im the kind of sap who enjoys mountains and fjords and considering the pictures Ive seen I dont think Ill be bored.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

Keep in mind that Scandinavia is incredibly expensive...

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Scandinavia always struck me afjordable. On that note, I'm Finnished. :hide:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Well Im the kind of sap who enjoys mountains and fjords and considering the pictures Ive seen I dont think Ill be bored.

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If you are an outdoor kind off guy you will probably love it then. But again, everything is expensive, don't be surprised if a bad pizza costs you the same amount of money that would buy you a King's meal somewhere else.

I hear that. I dont plan for it to be a long trip, probably a week at most.

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

I hear that. I dont plan for it to be a long trip, probably a week at most.

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Well if you go to the utmost north of Norway you can claim you have been in the artics. It's a beautifull country. Bring good outdoor-shoes with lots of profile in the soles, you are going to need them it's a rough place.

I think Scandinavia is quite safe in terms of crime, etc. If you're off hiking in the wilderness by yourself you face the same dangers as you would hiking solo anywhere in the world - with the added complication of potential communication difficulties.

There's probably some international hiking forums out there with info on Scandinavia. For general travel guides to Scandinavia you can get guidebooks like Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, and Let's Go! (which focuses on student travel). All of these will include information on hiking and the like. They may not be focused on hiking, but they will likely have more than enough info to get started planning.

If your main aim is hiking with gorgeous views, don't limit yourself to looking at just Scandinavia, though.

CR

Stay away from red-haired, bearded men with horned helmets. It's a very dangerous place where the manners are rough and strangers have to prove themselves in brutal duels. It's so rough that their pee is a pasty, sugary mass that they turn into alcoholic beverage before they ride on dragons to loot villages. If you get caught by some, it may help to tell them you know @Sigurd the Dragonslayer.

Also don't forget that their alcoholic beverages are taxed very high because they are pinko-liberal nancies living in a nanny state who believe in redistribution of fairness. A sales tax of 30% or 40% is not unusual there, which is partially responsible for the high prices Fragony mentions.

I cannot give you more than this advice that I mostly got from travelling guides from the middle ages, but I hope you have a nice trip and come back to tell us about it!

I got not much to say. Safety wise: Crime wise Scandinavia is safe outside certain neighbourhoods by night. Hiking alone in the wildernes depends on where you are. The most popular zones got working cell phones nowadays.

If you are after the mountain- water combination, it's Norway that counts. Sweden got the höga kusten (high coast) that's a good alternative, but it's more high hills -water combination, but is closer to major cities.

Time of year? I do recommend may-july (july is vastly superior if you want to reach a mountain peak) if you're coming to the northern parts. Even below the polar circle, you'll get "white nights", so it's not really dark at any point for months. The farther south you go, the closer to midsummer you'll need to be. I know it doesn't really exist in Stockholm and I heard that you can experience it in Sundsvall. I'm from further up, so I've been experienced it for about 2 months.

Winter season is best februari-mars, up to april if you go far north and up to the mountains. You want to avoid the darkness and the worst cold.

Im not totally sure I will want to do any serious hiking since I will be alone and Ive seen 127 Hours and I would very much like to have both of my hands.

Kidding aside, Im not the most experienced hiker and going alone would probably be a bad idea. Though Im sure there are daily tours going to the Fjords and other places like that.

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Im not totally sure I will want to do any serious hiking since I will be alone and Ive seen 127 Hours and I would very much like to have both of my hands.

Kidding aside, Im not the most experienced hiker and going alone would probably be a bad idea. Though Im sure there are daily tours going to the Fjords and other places like that.

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Narvik and Lofoten is worth checking out I think.

Daily tour range of a major settlement I think. Even if it's possible to day travel from a central tourism center in the middle of nowhere, food and room costs a bit more there.

In general, hiking by following established paths that doesn't contain climbing is pretty safe. Just to not scare of any completely unexperienced hikers here with the safety talk. Saying, "I want to literary climb that steep mountain" and then trying to do so, is significantly less safe.

Denmark is technically Scandinavia, so:

*Local politicians will work summers as tour-guides
*They are hot
*Seriously, the men tend to be very attractive
*Visit the construction sites in summer, you will see some rockin' (male) bodies
*The Danish Royal Arsenal is probably one of the best-designed museums I've ever seen

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Originally Posted by Montmorency

*Seriously, the men tend to be very attractive
*Visit the construction sites in summer, you will see some rockin' (male) bodies

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So, yeah... I dont really roll that way.
:creep:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

So, yeah... I dont really roll that way.
:creep:

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Well the women are pretty goodlooking as well. But Scandinavians are an attractive bunch whatever you fancy. Healthy and confident people.

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Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube

Can I kill Dragons and learn the Thu'um?

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Yes, until you take an arrow to the knee.

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Originally Posted by Husar

Stay away from red-haired, bearded men with horned helmets. It's a very dangerous place where the manners are rough and strangers have to prove themselves in brutal duels. It's so rough that their pee is a pasty, sugary mass that they turn into alcoholic beverage before they ride on dragons to loot villages. If you get caught by some, it may help to tell them you know @Sigurd the Dragonslayer.

Also don't forget that their alcoholic beverages are taxed very high because they are pinko-liberal nancies living in a nanny state who believe in redistribution of fairness. A sales tax of 30% or 40% is not unusual there, which is partially responsible for the high prices Fragony mentions.

I cannot give you more than this advice that I mostly got from travelling guides from the middle ages, but I hope you have a nice trip and come back to tell us about it!

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my advice exactly! also, don't let yourself be taken prisoner by them! :clown:

in all seriousness though: the constant winter darkness in the Northern parts (where the scenery really shines) makes it inadvisable (as if the inevitable snow drifts aren't bad enough): wait till the middle of the Summer. I'm told by some who've been there that is is amazing in the summer.

beyond that, what everyone else here said.

If you come by Stockholm I can offer a comfy coach to crash on, as well as some hints as to what to see :)

Does that count for me as well, I will be in Denmark, the ferry to Sweden is close. Everything can be destroyed by two alpha-males on a mission. Beers on me.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

Does that count for me as well, I will be in Denmark, the ferry to Sweden is close. Everything can be destroyed by two alpha-males on a mission. Beers on me.

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Plus he'll finally achieve the objective of sleeping with you, in a manner of speaking. ~;)