DIY Scandinavian Capitals Report - Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen

You may have seen my other DIY reports from in the Italy and Greek forums from past cruises, so I thought I would continue the tradition for my recently concluded Baltic cruise.

The difference this time, is that I’m going to combine the four Scandinavian Capitals into a single report, rather than one for each. My reasoning, is that these ports are often visited together as part of a Baltic cruise so why not make it easy for folks researching their upcoming cruise by putting them all together.

We also visited St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Brugge (Zeebrugge) on this cruise and while I may also do a report on the latter two, we did not DIY in St. Petersburg due to the visa requirement so I can’t really put together anything helpful there.

As usual, much of this information was gathered here in this forum from other folks so a big thank you to the forum regulars that help people with their research.

I also don’t go into a lot of detail on the various points of interest. I recommend Wikipedia and their native websites for more information which is pointless for me to repeat here. I have included links where possible.

As usual, I will post a collection of photos in subsequent posts below.

Maps

I’ve created Google Maps for each city with all the key points of interest as well as where cruise ships normally berth, useful public transit stops, and other helpful points.

Oslo

Stockholm

Helsinki

Copenhagen

Know your Hop-on-Hop-off (HOHO) Bus Companies

Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the HOHO busses in ports of call, but on this cruise, I was still recovering from a fractured bone in my foot, so I was a little less mobile than usual. As a result, I researched the HOHO buses in every port along with walking and public transit options. Here’s what my research revealed about the HOHO buses.

There are usually three different brands of HOHO bus operating in most ports, run by two different companies.

Stromma owns the franchise for the popular “City Sightseeing” brand that uses Red buses with yellow lettering in Scandinavia. They also operate their own brand of HOHO bus (usually green but not always) that runs under the “Open Top Tours” brand. A third brand, “Red” buses, also operates in most ports.

Here’s a picture of each…

City Sightseeing (distinctive red bus with yellow lettering):

Open Top Tours (red or green buses with green logo):

Red Buses (red on white lettering):

In deciding which company to go with, generally, they all seem to run similar routes, if not identical. City Sightseeing seems to be a bit cheaper than Open Top Tours. Based on my research and some stories from fellow cruisers on our ship who got stranded for a time on a broken down bus, the last company (Red Buses) should be avoided. I would recommend City Sightseeing based on their reputation, reasonable cost, and my own personal experience with them.

I’ll provide the HOHO bus websites in my write-up for each city. Most companies offer the option to buy tickets in advance (sometimes at a slight discount) but I wouldn’t bother with that. I can’t see any real advantage in it and the savings are not enough to compensate for the risk of a potential change in plans.

Generally, I think HOHO offers reasonable value for the convenience. I won’t be so adverse to considering them in the future.

Currency:

This is a big question on most people’s minds that are going on a Baltic Cruise… What currencies do I need and how much of each? Although you can use a credit card for nearly everything these days, and ATMs are abundant, I usually take a some cash in each currency for things like bottled water, bus tickets, taxis, a coffee, or any other small thing that might pop up.

For shopping at established retailers, credit cards are great, but if you’re negotiating hard or buying from a street vendor, cash is king. In these cases, I found Euros to be fairly widely accepted across Scandinavia by vendors. You may want to take a lot more Euro or local currency than what I recommend below if you’re intent on shopping.

Here’s a summary of the currency used and my budget for each of these cities (which as you can see is on the minimal end of the scale):

Note that all the Scandinavian currencies exchange for around 5 or 6 to $1CAD or around $17 per $100CAD.

Oslo Currency: NOK (100 NOK ~ $17CAD)

HOHO Bus = 20 Euro

Viking Ship Museum = 60 NOK (although they take credit cards)

What we took: 100 NOK pp + 20 Euro pp (pp is per person)

Stockholm Currency: SEK (100 SEK ~ $16CAD)

HOHO Boat (one stop) = 40 SEK

24hr Transit Pass = 135 SEK

Vasa Museum = 130 SEK (although they take credit cards)

What we took: 300 SEK pp

Helsinki Currency: Euro

Ship Shuttle: 10-Euro

Tram: 3-Euro

What we took: 20 Euro pp

Copenhagen Currency: DKK (100 DKK ~ $18CAD)

Bus: 24DKK each way

What we took: 100 DKK pp

Oslo

(A view of downtown Oslo and City Hall from our Ship)

What to see in Oslo:

The key points of interest for a day in Oslo include (all marked on my map above):

The Opera House – The Opera House is very interesting architecturally. It’s angled surfaces are covered in white marble and are all accessible on foot. We opted to just enjoy the view as we drove by on the HOHO bus in the morning, but it looks like a great place to hang out on a sunny afternoon.

The downtown core – Includes the city hall, lots of interesting shops selling Dale of Norway sweaters and other interesting souvenirs. The downtown core is also home to the parliament building, old theater, and main pedestrian only shopping street (Karl Jones Gate). We spent the afternoon here following a visit to the Viking Ship Museum.

The Royal Palace – Not as splendid as other palaces you’ll see on a Baltic Cruise but I mention it here due to it’s close proximity to the downtown core. Guided tours are available. Their website. We didn’t visit.

Frogner Park – Home to the famous Vigeland Sculpture Arrangement and a great park. I wouldn’t say this is a must visit (it’s just a nice park with some interesting sculptures) but if you really want to see some of the key points of interest in Oslo, I suppose this would be one of them.

Many Museums – Most (All?) of which are located across the bay on Bygdoy Peninsula. I’ve listed them all below with their respective websites. The one with the most appeal to me was the Viking Ship Museum so we chose to visit there. It has the best preserved Viking ships on display anywhere. If you have any interest in Viking history, this is a must see IMHO. Admission is 60 NOK. More Info on the website below.

Here’s a full list of museums on the peninsula with their websites:

Folk Museum

Viking Ship Museum

Fram Museum

Kon-Tiki Museum

Norwegian Maritime Museum

Getting around Oslo

Our Princess cruise ship tied up next to Akershus Castle which I understand is fairly common. This pier is almost a stones-throw from downtown Oslo. It’s a very reasonable walk into town.

Your options for going further afield to Frogner Park or the Museums include the HOHO bus or public transit (specifically tram or ferry). We used the HOHO bus for maximum convenience even though it was a bit more money and found it was reliable and worked well for us. If I was perfectly mobile, I might have opted to use transit. At any rate, here’s some info on both options…

HOHO bus in Oslo:

Your choices include all three of the brands mentioned above. I would recommend the City Sightseeing operation as it’s more reasonable priced and buses were reliable (operating every 30 minutes which was great since stayed at Frogner and the Viking Ship Museum for about an hour).

Here’s the link to the City Sightseeing Oslo website

They offer departures every 30 minutes and should be on the dock right when you get off the ship.

The cost is 20-Euro, 27-USD, 17-GBP, or 150-NOK. Very reasonable. (An Oslo transit day pass will cost you about half this anyway).

We opted to ride the bus to Frogner Park and use that as our first hop-off stop. That allowed us to get there before the park was totally overrun with tourists. We stayed about an hour and then hopped on to get to the Viking Ship Museum where we stayed another hour. We then reboarded for the trip back to downtown Oslo, getting off by City Hall and walking through the downtown core, reboarding to head back to the ship later in the afternoon from Christiania Torv.

Alternative: Open Top Tours Site

Tram and Ferry:

The other option to reach some of the outlying points of interest like Frogner Park and the Bygdoy Peninsula where the Museums are located is to use pubic transit. We didn’t try this, but here’s what my research revealed.

Tram #12 leaves from Rådhusplassen right next to city hall (marked on my map) and heads to Frogner Park with a stop right on the corner of the park (also marked on the map).

The ferry (Line #91) to the museums leaves from Rådhusbrygga Ferry Terminal right in front of city hall. It leaves every 30-40 min and takes 15 min. to cross. It stops at two points across the bay on the peninsula… the first is Dronningen which is closest to the Viking Ship and Folk Museum. The ferry then continues on to Bygdøynes where the other museums are (Kon-Tiki, Fram, and Maritime museums).

You can buy 24-hour tickets using the mobile ticket app RuterBillett, at ticket machines, at Ruter's Customer Service Centre and service points and at many kiosks and shops. If you buy a 24-hour ticket at a ticket machine, the ticket is saved on the disposable Impuls ticket, so you don't need to have a travelcard. Cost is 80-NOK.

Oslo Transit Maps for buses, trams and ferries

Stockholm

(One of the many waterfront views in Stockholm – this is taken from the bridge to the Vasa Museum)

What to see in Stockholm

The major points of interest for a day in Stockholm include (all marked on my map):

Gamla Stan (Old Town) and Royal Palace – on a small island and home to many interesting shops, cafes and restaurants as well as the Stockholm Cathedral and Royal Palace. A good place to find some Swedish Meatballs if that’s on your to-do list. We spent the morning here and had lunch (more on that below) and could have lingered longer here if we had more time… it’s very nice.

Vasa Museum – an amazing display of an extremely large 17th century ship that sank on it’s maiden voyage and was recovered almost fully in tact in the 60’s. It opens at 8:30 AM and the charge is 130 SEK (credit cards accepted). We spent an hour here, but easily could have spent two. Website.

Ice Bar – a must do for drinking enthusiasts visiting Scandinavia. Book in advance on their website to save a bit of money. We spent about a half hour here. Website

Stockholm City Hall – a popular tourist attraction (apparently) although I understand you can only see it on a 45min guided tour only – so it was not a priority for us and we didn’t visit.

There’s obviously a lot more, but if you can nail off these in a day in port, I think you’re doing well and will have experienced the highlights.

In terms of order I would choose to either do the Vasa Museum first thing in the morning, or towards the end of the day (leaving a good hour or two to enjoy it in your itinerary). I understand it’s horribly busy at mid-day. We went around 2PM and it wasn’t too bad. Then I would do Gamla Stan, the cathedral, and Palace during the other half of the day. If the Ice Bar is on your to-do list, it makes perfect sense to stop there between the two (around mid-day) since it’s downtown and on your way from one to the other (unless you’re using the HOHO boats in which case the Ice Bar is not conveniently accessible).

Lunch (Swedish Meatballs anyone?):

If you’re looking to try some Swedish Meatballs, many of the restaurants and side-walk cafes in old town will have just what you want. We tried an establishment with a nice patio in a small busy square and had a great time. It’s location is marked on my map. It’s towards the southern end of old town.

Getting around Stockholm:

Unfortunately, our ship could not dock in Stockholm due to high winds (or a wimpy captain?). So we tendered in Nynashamn an hour away and had to take the commuter train into Stockholm central train station. Since that’s not likely to be the fate of most other cruisers visiting Stockholm, I’ll simply share my research on how I would have got to/from the ship had we been docked at the typical Stadsgarden pier (marked on the map).

Once in central Stockholm, you can easily walk between the main downtown core and Gamla Stan (old town) over one of the connecting bridges. The Vasa Museum is a bit too far to walk in a reasonable time, so I would not recommend trying to do that on foot. There are several options for getting to/from the ship and around town…

HOHO Boat

There are a couple of HOHO boat services that operate in the water ways around central Stockholm. One of them is run by Royal Sightseeing.

Apparently they stop right at the end of the Stadsgarden Pier. The other stops are noted on their website. The interesting thing is that they normally run clockwise around the harbor except first thing in the morning after a cruise ship arrives, they will make a special early morning run directly to the VASA museum. If you want to get to the Vasa museum before a lot of other people and then use the boats to get around later in the day, this could be a great option for a reasonable price.

HOHO Bus

Stromma offers their Open Top Tours (green) branded HOHO service as well as the City SightSeeing brand (See intro notes on HOHO). However, in Stockholm it’s one of the most expensive ports to use the HOHO at 260 SEK (Open Top) or 240 SEK (City Sightseeing) which is about $40. The other interesting thing is that although they share a common route, the two brands run in opposite directions. So be sure to investigate their route maps on their websites to make sure you pick the company that follows your desired itinerary.

Open Top Tours

Website

City Sightseeing

Website

Public Transit (Bus, Tram, Metro)

As with most European cities, Stockholm offers excellent transit services however it can be a challenge to figure it out. Hopefully my research can help a bit. If you plan to use public transit, you’ll likely use a combination of bus, tram, and metro on a day in Stockholm. A 24 hour transit pass is therefore ideal, unfortunately, I can’t offer any advice on where to buy one conveniently when disembarking in Stockholm (as I said earlier we tendered way south of Stockholm and purchased our 24 transit cards there at the train station). If you can find a vendor near the ship, it will cost you 115SEK for the day plus a 20SEK fee for the rechargeable card (which you will discard at the end of the day so it’s a bit of waste). Once you have your card in hand, transit is very convenient.

There’s a transit map here

The three key transit lines you’ll want to familiarize yourself with include the following (all stops for all lines are marked on my Google map as well as the transit map I just linked to above):

- Bus #53 runs past the cruise ship pier stopping on the main road at a stop called Londonviadukten. It passes through Gamla Stan before reaching downtown with a key stop by the central train station. This is your best transit option for getting to/from the ship. It runs every 10 minutes or so. It’s route is on the map above labeled with a red “53”

- Tram #7 is the most convenient way to get to/from the VASA museum. It runs between the museum and the main square downtown (Sergels Torg) regularly and offers some great views of the architecture and waterways along its route. It’s marked by “S” in boxes on the transit map above with a grey dotted line marking it’s route.

- The Metro is perhaps less useful on a port day but you may want to use it to get between downtown, Gamla Stan or Slussen on the south side depending on your mobility, desired itinerary, etc. It’s marked by “T” in boxes on the transit map with stations labeled in blue letters and it’s route in grey.

Helsinki

(Helsinki Cathedral with my GF on the stairs)

What to See in Helsinki

Here are the key points of interest in Helsinki (all marked on my map). Since we were here just after two intense days in St. Petersburg, we opted to sleep in and have a lazy day in Helsinki so we only saw the first three in this list which are all within the downtown core. The other three are outside the core, but would be a reasonable walk or a short Tram ride. There’s also HOHO bus service to all of these (details below).

Places we visited:

Public Market – an interesting collection of vendors along the water front selling various furs, souvenirs made out of reindeer antlers, and jewelry. My girlfriend explored it thoroughly while I sat nearby and did some people watching for awhile.

Uspenski Cathedral – another cathedral atop a small granite hill. We stopped in here for a brief look. (no charge).

Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square– A striking white domed structure overlooking a giant set of stone stairs and the large public senate square (no charge). We took various pictures here then I enjoyed a coffee and a snack at Café Engle Oy right on the square while she shopped along the adjacent street (Aleksanterinkatu).

Places we did not visit but are very popular:

Church of the Rock – An interesting church that was literally dug/blasted out of the earth. It’s perhaps one of the most popular attractions and 1km from the downtown core. (no charge) Website.

Sibelius Monument – an interesting construction of 600 steel pipes welded together in a wave like pattern to capture the essence of Sibelius’ music.

Olympic Stadium Tower – (5-Euro) Great views of Helsinki. Website.

Getting Around Helsinki:

Most ships (like Princess) dock at the West Harbour which is a ways from central Helsinki. If you’re fortunate enough to dock on the South Harbour, you’ll be a short walk from town but it looks like the South Harbour is primarily used by ferries.

Shuttle Bus Service and Wallking

When we were docked, a local company was offering a bus shuttle service from the pier to downtown Helsinki for 10-Euro ($12USD) return. This is good value in my opinion. The drop for the shuttle is marked on my Google Map. It’s a short walk from there to anywhere in the downtown core and it’s only about a 1km (15min?) walk to the Church of the Rock from there. However, if you’re not into walking and still want to see everything in Helsinki, there’s a couple of HOHO options and Trams.

HOHO Bus

There are two companies operating HOHO service in Helsinki… both charge 25-Euro, depart from Senate Square, and had frequent service from what I saw (as I sat in Senate Square having a coffee for an hour or so).

Stroma has their usual Open Top Tours brand operating in Helsinki with green buses. Link.

Red Buses has their usual red branded buses… Link

If I had to choose one, it would be the Green Open Top Tours brand just because of stories I had heard about the Red Buses company elsewhere (which is not the same as the red City Sightseeing brand). See my guide to HOHO companies in Scandinavia at the top of this thread for more.

Trams

There is Tram info and a map of routes here

Helsinki operates an extensive Tram network. The one of primary interest to visitors will be the 3T. The 3T runs in a figure-8 loop where half the loop (NE and SW) it’s the 3B and the other half (NW and SE) it’s the 3T. The part of the loop that is of interest to visitors, however, is the segment where it runs as the 3T. This is the portion that runs from the market square, through Senate Square, past the train station, by the Church of the Rock, and up past the Olympic Stadium. Key stops of interest are marked on my Google Map.

Tickets are apparently available from ticket machines and tram drivers and mobile phone. At the time of this writing, single tickets are 2.80-Euro.

More Ticket Prices

Tram #9 also comes out to the West Harbor, so depending on what berth your ship ties up at, this may be another option, however, the return bus shuttle service is really good value and probably more convenient.

Copenhagen

(Nyhavn)

What to see in Copenhagen:

The major points of interest for a day in Copenhagen include (all marked on my map):

The Little Mermaid – Personally, I don’t get the attraction to this, but I’m listing it here because I’d feel remiss if I didn’t. For some reason, it’s one of the most popular attractions. :confused: Perhaps my indifference stems from the fact we have a very similar statue on a rock here in Vancouver and people couldn’t care less about it. I dunno.

Tivoli Gardens – is a major attraction with amusement rides, beer gardens, and more. It’s a great place to spend a summer evening which I did once a few years ago when I was in Copenhagen on business. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in Copenhagen pre or post-cruise. This time we didn’t visit as it could have easily consumed our entire day and we had other things we wanted to see on this visit. It’s open from 11AM til midnight or later and it’s 95DKK to enter. Website.

Radhuspladsen (City Hall Square) – Across the street from Tivoli gardens is one of the main city squares in front of Copenhagen City Hall. The famous pedestrian only shopping street “Strøget” starts here

Stroget – The longest pedestrian only shopping street in Europe (apparently). It’s not really that long, you can walk it in about 20-30 minutes. But if you’re a shopper, you will find this to be a great way to spend some time. It runs from Radhuspladsen to Kongens Nytorv square near Nyhaven.

Rundetaarn – a 17th century tower in central Copenhagen that was built as an astronomical observatory with a long spiral ramp to the top (no lift) with great views. Due to being on crutches, we did not opt to ascend to the lookout. Admission is 25DKK… Website.

Rosenburg Castle and the Royal Treasure - This is not really a castle in my mind… maybe more of a palace? It dates from 1624 and is home to the Crown Jewels… 80DKK fee. There are more details on their website… We only visited the outside and took some pictures in the adjacent gardens.

Marble Church – There’s an interesting story and history to this place… Wikipedia entry. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this, but if you’re passing by, as we were, it’s worth a quick stop.

Amalienborg (Palace) – the winter home of the Danish Royal Family with four buildings framing a large octagonal courtyard/square. You’ll likely be passing through this on your way to/from Nyhaven.

Nyhaven – The 17th century waterfront with the famous brightly coloured buildings and historical wooden boast lined by many bars and restaurants. We spent the late afternoon here enjoying some lunch and beer at one of the many patio dining establishments. There’s also some good ice cream options and great people watching to be had here. Lots of folks were lined up for a canal boat ride (more on that in the how to get around section).

For a limited time:

Viking Exhibit at the National Museum – Thanks to Cruisemom, I was made aware of a special Viking Exhibit at the National Museum in Copenhagen before we departed. I believe it’s there until mid-November when it will move on to the British National Museum. If you’re interested in Viking exhibits, this is a great one to see (and it’s almost free – with a small online reservation fee)… it’s up there with the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo in my opinion. Details are on the website

What order to see these in?

This obviously depends on how you intend to get around, but if you do the public bus and then some walking, the most effective order is probably the order in which I listed these sites above. Start by taking the bus to Radhuspladsen which is right at Tivoli Gardens and the City Hall. From there stroll down the Stroget until you need to veer left (North) for the Rundetaarn and then from there proceed further to the Castle at which point, you can cut eastward towards the Marble Church, pass through the Palace courtyard before running south and ending up at Nyhavn for a snack, lunch or refreshment. Then you can head to Kongens Nytorv for more shopping or to catch the bus back to the ship.

If you happen to go to Copenhagen in the next few months and want to see the Viking Exhibit I mentioned above, book yourself for first thing in the morning and make that your first stop. The bus stops nearby (marked on my map) and then it’s a short walk from there to Radhuspladsen where the rest of my recommended itinerary starts.

How to get around Copenhagen:

As usual, you have a choice of HOHO or public transit.

Canal Boat Tours / HOHO Boat

There are also a variety of water tours you can take. We didn’t look into this as it wasn’t a priority for us, but I did notice that Stroma (the same company that operates a Open Top Tours HOHO buses in Copenhagen) offers a full range of canal boat tours and a HOHO boat... Link

If you want to combine the HOHO Boat and Bus, you can do that too… Link

HOHO Bus

All three companies mentioned in my introduction at the top of this thread operate here. While we opted to utilize public transit, we know several people that utilized the HOHO in Copenhagen. One couple that used the Red Buses company regretted their choice (they just hopped on the first HOHO bus they saw). They said it was run by a Russian company and they were left temporarily stranded when the bus they were on broke down. They had to wait until the next bus in circulation caught up to them. There were not impressed. Hence, I would avoid the “Red Bus” company. Use City Sightseeing (also red buses with yellow lettering) or the Open Top Tours company (green buses).

Here are their websites:

City Sightseeing (175DKK):

Open Top Tours (195DKK):

Red Bus (25 Euro)

Public Transit

City bus #26 runs between the two major cruise piers in Copenhagen (Freeport and Langelinie) and Radhuspladsen (City Hall Square) with key stops inbetween if needed. The nearest stops are marked on my map. The stop near Langelinie is called Indiakaj. The one near Freeport is called Kalkbrænderihavnsgade (LOL). Both are marked on my Google Map along with the location of the cruise piers. They are both a short walk from the ship.

You can see the stops for the downtown buses (including #26) in detail on this map (marked with dots along the route). You will see bus #26 enters the map at the top (which is right near Langeline pier) and traces a route that goes south west to the castle, then south east towards the Marble Church and Palace, and then south west again towards Tivoli and Radhusladsen.

A map covering a larger area (and a bit more unruly to view) is here

Note that although the above map shows bus #26 going along the Langeline pier, it did not do that when we were there. It’s last (terminus) stop is at the turning circle at the Indiakaj stop.

The bus costs 24DKK per person for a single trip (or about 3-Euro). You can buy tickets from the bus driver. The bus driver we had took both DKK and Euro for payment for bus tickets. They don’t carry a lot of change so don’t bring large bills. He spoke English and was happy to remind us where our desired stop was (we wanted to get off close to the National Museum).

Coming back to the ship at the end of the day, the most convenient place to catch the bus is probably at Kongens Nytorv square near Nyhavn. The bus stop is obvious and the bus number is noted on the sign. I’ve also marked a couple of other stops on the map that may be more convenient depending on where you end up. You won’t have to wait long for a bus. However, note the destination of the bus and double-check with the driver that they are going to either Langeline or Freeport as they don’t go to both (I think the buses alternate). And don’t just ask him if he’s going to the cruise ship (LOL) as the answer to that would be “yes” no matter what terminal he’s going to. I think our bus was marked Indiakaj (which is the last stop going to Langeline) or Langelindekaj (from some other account I’ve read) – I don’t recall exactly. I believe the bus going to Freeport will be marked “Færgehavn Nord” which is the last stop on that version of the route.

Photos

Here are some of my photos…

Oslo:

Oslo Opera House:

The Monument at Frogner Park:

More of Vigeland’s Sculptures:

One of the Viking Ships:

Downtown Oslo:

The Parliament Buildings:

Sailing away past Nakholmen Island with cottages from the 20’s:

Once a light house now a restaurant:

Stockholm:

Old Town:

Royal Palace Entrance:

Drinks at the Ice Bar

The length of the Vasa:

Looking up at the stern castle of the Vasa:

Central Stockholm:

The waters around Nynashamn

Helsinki:

Downtown Helsinki:

Uspenski Cathedral:

Inside Uspenski Cathedral:

Copenhagen:

Central Copenhagen:

The entrance to Tivoli Gardens:

City Hall Square (Notice how McDonalds is advertising right above a Burger King and KFC):

Colourful buildings everywhere:

Rosenburg Castle:

The Marble Church:

The Palace courtyard:

Nyhaven:

Trying on a Viking Warrior Kit at the National Museum:

That's it! If you have any questions, I'll do my best to try and answer!

Very well done summary, Virtual Rain. We leave today (really!) for 3 days each DIY in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, before beginning our Baltics cruise. So your report and photos add to our information and excitement. Looks like you had great weather, and hope we will as well.

Amazing! We are putting the final touches on our DIY city tours with help from Rick Steve's Baltic Port Guide book, Tom's Guides and threads like this. Thanks for the info

K

A little change has occured to bus 26 ind Copenhagen.

Kalkbrænderihavnsgade is not the stop to use anymore, the main gate to the freeport has been moved further north.

Now its Stubbeløbgade busstop that is to be used.

Also worth noticing is that the freeport terminal (direction Færgehavn Nord or UNICEF) is not served in the weekends.

You can however walk from Nordhavn Station through the pedestrian gate at Aarhusgade.

The new terminal that opens in 2014 (pier number 330) will however not be in walking distance from Nordhavn Station.

A solution to this issue is not made yet but it will either be a shuttle bus or a bus service (most likely route 26).

A little change has occured to bus 26 ind Copenhagen.

 

Kalkbrænderihavnsgade is not the stop to use anymore, the main gate to the freeport has been moved further north.

 

Now its Stubbeløbgade busstop that is to be used.

 

 

Also worth noticing is that the freeport terminal (direction Færgehavn Nord or UNICEF) is not served in the weekends.

 

You can however walk from Nordhavn Station through the pedestrian gate at Aarhusgade.

 

 

The new terminal that opens in 2014 (pier number 330) will however not be in walking distance from Nordhavn Station.

A solution to this issue is not made yet but it will either be a shuttle bus or a bus service (most likely route 26).

Thanks. Your helpful information was key to my research. We didn't experience the Freeport bus service first hand so this is a great addition.

Thank you for your very helpful info and beautiful photos. :)

Great review! Glad I found it. Definately want to go to the Vassa musuem now and seeing that there are HOHO boats that have a stop in the cruise harbour and at the VM we shall use those as well. We sail on Monday. Many thanks :)

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Forums mobile app

This report was everything I needed to know in a nutshell... brilliant photos too. Many thanks :)

Thanks for the great report and photos! Very helpful.

Excellent reports. Thanks for taking the time to post. I would be very interested in your notes on Tallinn and Zeebrugge....

Thanks so much for taking the time to write and post this. I had not heard of the Viking exhibition in Copenhagen at all, and now we have our tickets!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I'll try to put together a Tallinn and Zeebrugge report as well when I get time.

FYI - The tram stop for Vigelands Park in Oslo would be Vigelandsparken, one stop beyond Frogner Plass. The tram stops right in front of the park gates, so there isn't a great reason to get off a stop early. Also, your map only marks one of the cruise piers, and since more and more ships are starting to dock at Fillipstad, that might be worth mentioning.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this incredibly helpful DIY guide. We are going to the Baltics next year, and I know we'll find this very useful. And I look forward to your Tallinn report.

Thanks, and happy cruising!

FYI - The tram stop for Vigelands Park in Oslo would be Vigelandsparken, one stop beyond Frogner Plass. The tram stops right in front of the park gates, so there isn't a great reason to get off a stop early. Also, your map only marks one of the cruise piers, and since more and more ships are starting to dock at Fillipstad, that might be worth mentioning.

Thanks for your corrections/clarifications... Google Maps doesn't have the Vigelandsparken stop on their map which is probably why I overlooked it. I've updated my map with this and the other cruise dock location.

BTW, I came across your even more detailed Google map here... you should definitely promote that more, it's a fabulous resource!

THANK YOU! We may end up flying to Stockholm overnight in late October. (Ironically after a Greek Islands cruise--Crazy I know). We will land at about 5:00 pm on one day, then depart at 4:00 pm the next. Ideally we'd see some of the city (if only by bus or taxi) and visit one or two of the main sights. This review was very helpful!!!

Wow, what great info and pics!! We're taking a similar cruise in exactly one year, and because I'm already reading this, you know I'm the research guy.

Thanks for the write up. Very helpful.

You may have seen my other DIY reports from in the Italy and Greek forums from past cruises, so I thought I would continue the tradition for my recently concluded Baltic cruise.

 

The difference this time, is that I’m going to combine the four Scandinavian Capitals into a single report, rather than one for each. My reasoning, is that these ports are often visited together as part of a Baltic cruise so why not make it easy for folks researching their upcoming cruise by putting them all together.

 

We also visited St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Brugge (Zeebrugge) on this cruise and while I may also do a report on the latter two, we did not DIY in St. Petersburg due to the visa requirement so I can’t really put together anything helpful there.

 

As usual, much of this information was gathered here in this forum from other folks so a big thank you to the forum regulars that help people with their research.

 

I also don’t go into a lot of detail on the various points of interest. I recommend Wikipedia and their native websites for more information which is pointless for me to repeat here. I have included links where possible.

 

As usual, I will post a collection of photos in subsequent posts below.

 

Maps

 

I’ve created Google Maps for each city with all the key points of interest as well as where cruise ships normally berth, useful public transit stops, and other helpful points.

 

Oslo

 

Stockholm

 

Helsinki

 

Copenhagen

 

Know your Hop-on-Hop-off (HOHO) Bus Companies

 

Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the HOHO busses in ports of call, but on this cruise, I was still recovering from a fractured bone in my foot, so I was a little less mobile than usual. As a result, I researched the HOHO buses in every port along with walking and public transit options. Here’s what my research revealed about the HOHO buses.

 

There are usually three different brands of HOHO bus operating in most ports, run by two different companies.

 

Stromma owns the franchise for the popular “City Sightseeing” brand that uses Red buses with yellow lettering in Scandinavia. They also operate their own brand of HOHO bus (usually green but not always) that runs under the “Open Top Tours” brand. A third brand, “Red” buses, also operates in most ports.

 

Here’s a picture of each…

 

City Sightseeing (distinctive red bus with yellow lettering):

 

Open Top Tours (red or green buses with green logo):

 

Red Buses (red on white lettering):

 

In deciding which company to go with, generally, they all seem to run similar routes, if not identical. City Sightseeing seems to be a bit cheaper than Open Top Tours. Based on my research and some stories from fellow cruisers on our ship who got stranded for a time on a broken down bus, the last company (Red Buses) should be avoided. I would recommend City Sightseeing based on their reputation, reasonable cost, and my own personal experience with them.

 

I’ll provide the HOHO bus websites in my write-up for each city. Most companies offer the option to buy tickets in advance (sometimes at a slight discount) but I wouldn’t bother with that. I can’t see any real advantage in it and the savings are not enough to compensate for the risk of a potential change in plans.

 

Generally, I think HOHO offers reasonable value for the convenience. I won’t be so adverse to considering them in the future.

 

Currency:

 

This is a big question on most people’s minds that are going on a Baltic Cruise… What currencies do I need and how much of each? Although you can use a credit card for nearly everything these days, and ATMs are abundant, I usually take a some cash in each currency for things like bottled water, bus tickets, taxis, a coffee, or any other small thing that might pop up.

 

For shopping at established retailers, credit cards are great, but if you’re negotiating hard or buying from a street vendor, cash is king. In these cases, I found Euros to be fairly widely accepted across Scandinavia by vendors. You may want to take a lot more Euro or local currency than what I recommend below if you’re intent on shopping.

 

Here’s a summary of the currency used and my budget for each of these cities (which as you can see is on the minimal end of the scale):

 

Note that all the Scandinavian currencies exchange for around 5 or 6 to $1CAD or around $17 per $100CAD.

 

Oslo Currency: NOK (100 NOK ~ $17CAD)

HOHO Bus = 20 Euro

Viking Ship Museum = 60 NOK (although they take credit cards)

What we took: 100 NOK pp + 20 Euro pp (pp is per person)

 

Stockholm Currency: SEK (100 SEK ~ $16CAD)

HOHO Boat (one stop) = 40 SEK

24hr Transit Pass = 135 SEK

Vasa Museum = 130 SEK (although they take credit cards)

What we took: 300 SEK pp

 

Helsinki Currency: Euro

Ship Shuttle: 10-Euro

Tram: 3-Euro

What we took: 20 Euro pp

 

Copenhagen Currency: DKK (100 DKK ~ $18CAD)

Bus: 24DKK each way

What we took: 100 DKK pp

Thanks so much for posting. Doing similar itinerary next year. Question for Tallinn our port has been changed to Muuga (the commercial port for Tallinn) which is some 12km away. Did you use a taxi/transfer company to get into Tallinn? Any info on this port would be gratefully appreciated.

Carole

Thanks so much for posting. Doing similar itinerary next year. Question for Tallinn our port has been changed to Muuga (the commercial port for Tallinn) which is some 12km away. Did you use a taxi/transfer company to get into Tallinn? Any info on this port would be gratefully appreciated.

Carole

Carole -- how did you find out about this switch? (X's web site merely shows "Tallinn" under the detailed itinerary for your cruise.) We are on the Infinity the month before, now I think I should call Celebrity to check...