11-Nights Country Roads of Scandinavia - Classic Group

11 nights from: $5,108

Country Roads Of Scandinavia
Treat your senses to a tour of Scandinavia’s towering mountains, crystalline fjords and Viking history on this immersive itinerary. Admire the spires and ramparts of Akershus Castle in Oslo, the humming seaside economy of the Bergen Fish Markets and Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. Journey on the Flåm railway through the mountain pass to Myrdal and onwards to Bergen. The delights of the Fjords are front and center on the Lysefjord Cruise, with panoramic views and a close encounter with the iconic, 2000-foot tall, Pulpit Rock. Across the Jutland Peninsula on the island of Fyn, the Hans Christian Andersen House tells the story of the famous fairy-tale writer, charting his life, loves and travels.

Dining Summary

• 6 Dinner (D)
• 11 Breakfast (B)

• Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.
• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

• Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
• Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
• We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
• From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
• Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
• If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.

• Oslo: Savor local specialties with your Travel Director and fellow travelers during dinner.
• Aalborg: Savor a delightful dinner prepared with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients at a local restaurant.

• Oslo: Explore Oslo with your Local Expert, viewing the 19th-century Royal Palace and the medieval Akershus fortress that guarded the harbor. Continue through the city center to see Karl Johans gate and the Stortinget Parliament building before reaching the Opera House and Bjørvika waterfront, where former docklands have been redeveloped into a cultural district.
• Oslo: Visit Frogner Park to see Gustav Vigeland’s permanent sculpture installation, with more than 200 bronze and granite works arranged along bridges, terraces and the Monolith plateau.
• Hardangervidda: Follow the road across Hardangervidda, one of Europe’s largest mountain plateaus, with open moorland, scattered lakes and distant peaks, linking Norway’s western fjords with inland valleys.
• Flam Railway: Ride the Flåm Railway, a 20-kilometer branch line linking Flåm on Aurlandsfjord with the Bergen Railway. Built in the mid-20th century, it climbs from sea level to 866 m (2,841 ft) with gradients as steep as 1:18 and a series of tunnels, giving clear views of the valley, river and waterfalls.
• Bergen: Explore Bergen with your Local Expert, tracing its history from an 11th-century royal settlement to a key Hanseatic trading port. View the fish market, Haakon’s Hall and the timber warehouses of Bryggen, where German merchants once handled stockfish and goods moving along North Sea and Baltic routes.
• Stavanger: Fjord hop from Bergen to Stavanger.
• Kristiansand: During your orientation with your Travel Director, walk the city center and see the Dom Kirke and Nupen Fountain.
• Kristiansand: Sail across the Skagerrak as you cross from Kristiansand to Hirsthals.
• Odense: Kongernes Jelling - Home of the Viking Kings visit uses lighting, sound and imaginative special effects bringing to life Viking adventure stories from 1000 years ago.
• Copenhagen: Visit Tivoli Gardens, opened in 1843 as a public pleasure garden beside Copenhagen’s central station. Walk the landscaped paths between pavilions, theaters and restaurants and see historic rides, including one of the world’s oldest wooden roller coasters, still operating with a brakeman on board.
• Copenhagen: Join your Local Expert to understand the city through its key sites, from the Little Mermaid statue on the harbourfront to Christiansborg Palace, seat of the Danish parliament. You’ll view Rosenborg Castle and Amalienborg Palace, walk the 17th-century Nyhavn waterfront and see Copenhagen Cathedral and the Round Tower that served as an observatory.

• Lyngdal: Tour the Wild Salmon Center with a biologist guide and learn about protecting salmon populations and the local ecosystem.

• Odense: Be enchanted by the tales of Hans Christian Andersen's life when you visit the museum dedicated to his life and works.
• Odense: Visit St Canute's Cathedral and hear tales of Canute, Denmark's last Viking king and royal saint.

• Copenhagen: Dine at a Cofoco Group restaurant, which is leading the way in minimising food waste and promoting a sustainable future. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 & 12: Affordable and Clean Energy & Responsible Consumption and Producti
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Odense, on the island of Fyn (Funen in English), is often called the "Garden of Denmark" and is where Hans Christian Andersen lived. The easy drive to Odense, 90 mi/140 km southwest of Copenhagen, reveals beautiful rolling hills and blue lakes, and it takes you across the relatively new Storebaeltsbroen—at 13 mi/21 km, it's one of Europe's longest bridges. Free Odense Travel
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Andersen's childhood home is in Odense, and there's a museum with many of his letters, manuscripts and personal items. Next to the original museum, you'll find a children's activity house named Fyrtoejet (The Tinderbox), where children can engage in such activities as drawing, face painting, acting, music making and storytelling, as well as listen to fairy tales. All activities are organized around a specific theme, usually drawn from one of Andersen's stories. Every summer, the city holds a festival in his honor, which includes open-air performances of his fairy tales.

Other sights around town include Gothic-style St. Canute's Cathedral (named after King Canute, who was murdered by discontented subjects in 1086), a castle (formerly the monastery of a medieval order of chivalry), a university and a railroad museum with old engines and coaches once used by the royal family.

Much of the area looks as it did hundreds of years ago, with cobblestoned streets, shuttered windows and flower boxes. Spend some time relaxing in the outdoor cafes and watching the musicians and street performers (in summer only).

While you're on the island, spend at least a couple of hours at Den Fynske Landsby (a re-creation of an 18th-century Danish village) and visit well-preserved Egeskov Castle (moat and gardens with concerts in the summer, as well as a vintage car museum next door) and the beautiful seaport of Svendborg (walk along the harbor and eat at one of the seafood restaurants).

A number of picturesque islands and towns can be reached from Svendborg by ferry, including Aeroe, with its main town, Aeroeskoebing, and Kerteminde, a charming town northeast of Odense that was once the home of African-American painter William H. Johnson and his wife, Danish weaver Holcha Krake.

If Viking sites interest you, spend some time at Ladby Ship (a burial site 10 mi/16 km east of Odense). You can rent bicycles in Odense—the city itself is very flat. We suggest a long day, at the very least, to see everything in the area. http://www.visitodense.com.