9 Important Things To Know On A Scandinavian Trip

1.  They have different currencies.

Norway has Norwegian Krone (NOK), Iceland has Icelandic Krona (ISK), Denmark has Danish Krona (DKK), Finland accepts Euro and Sweden has Swedish Krona (SDK).  It would always be better to get these currencies from your own countries instead of exchanging them in airports and local forex.

2.  Avoid scheduling Monday tours.

As I have been used to weekdays being business-as-usual from where I came from, I didn’t bother checking when some of the tourist spots in these countries are closed.  It was unfortunate that several of them are closed on Mondays, and that was my 2^nd day of touring one of the cities.

3.  Don't be fooled by the sun.

Oslo (upper left); Helsinki (upper right);
Reykjavik (lower left); Stockholm (lower right)

As someone who comes from a tropical country, the sun is a sign of a fair and relatively warm weather.  This is not the case in all these cities, so always be ready to bring your jackets and sweaters, of course still depending on your cold temperature tolerance.

4.  You only get 1 passport stamp.

I only got one arrival and one departure stamp at my point of arrival, Oslo, as I wasn’t required to go through immigration with the rest of cities even if I travelled on air.  I guess, this is because they are all Schengen territories and have well coordinated systems eliminating such unnecessary step.

5.  Your phone cameras won't take decent 

Aurora Borealis shots.

Unfortunately, these are the best shots
my iPhone can take

Regardless where you are hunting the northern lights from, it is important to remember that to get a decent, post-worthy shot, you should have a DSLR set in the following:  2.8 aperture, ISO 800 and 15s shutter speed.  If you don’t have the patience to carry one, just download the ‘Northern Lights Photo Taker’ app (IOS) for your phones as an alternative.

6.  Don't book a Northern Lights tour without checking the weather forecast.

Whether or not a Northern Lights tour will push through or not is always dependent on the weather forecast.  Aside from safety, all tour operators don’t want to waste their customers’ time and get them disappointed if the sky is covered by clouds.  Most, if not all tour operators re-schedule these tours just like what happened to the tour a day before and after ours (I really got lucky on the date I chose). 

7.  Never bring your dog on a trip to Iceland.

One of my tour companions asked our guide why we haven’t seen anyone walking their dogs in Reykjavik (capital) and the response surprised us – they don’t consider dogs as domestic animals or pets in Iceland. 

8.  Avail a hotel drop-off airport transfer option in Iceland.

 Although hotel drop offs will cost a little more, 

take advantage of that service as navigating around the city to find your hotel can be a challenge.  

This is the view from the airport to city
coach transfer.

Unlike most cities (even capitals) in Europe, Reykjavik has no train or subway transport and the only option to travel from the airport is through a coach service.

9.  Carry on baggage weight restriction is not a big deal.

As I travelled without check-in baggage, I was so anxious about making all of my stuff fit in my baggage plus the varying limits per airline. But no need to worry as I never encountered any airline even bothering to check my baggage’s weight (I guess just as long as the baggage isn’t too bulky).

Scandinavia On A Budget (Preparation)

          After having visited the usual tourist spots in Europe (UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Paris), I’ve decided to see the Scandinavian side next. As soon as I identified the dates when to travel, I was quite strategic in choosing the places to go and the route to take by taking into consideration the flights (price and timings) and the distance between each destination.  Between Oslo in Norway, Reykjavik in Iceland, Copenhagen in Denmark, Helsinki in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden, I had to choose where to go first as it is where I will have to spend the most number of days at and to know which embassy to lodge my Schengen Visa application.  After checking some articles online and monitoring the airfare via the Skyscanner app for a couple of days, Oslo seemed to be the most ideal first destination. 

*To be able to avail of the most affordable rate, you have to book a non-refundable flight, which means that the dates should be final.  As for me, I took the risk with the possibility of my leaves not being approved as I filed them and booked my tickets 6 months in advance.

*One thing to note is that the flights from one city to another were that affordable as they were budget fares and without check-in baggage.  This was another challenge that I solved for, having to bring a hand carry baggage 7-10kilos in weight to those 5 cities.  And by the way, those airlines were not as strict in terms of the hand carry baggage weight, they didn’t even weigh mine.

          

          My roundtrip airfare to Oslo was booked through Qatar Airways for just 36,711.00 Php as it was booked 6 months in advance and non-refundable.  The next step was to book my flights throughout the trip, with the clockwise route from and to Oslo (2 nights): Reykjavik (2 nights), Copenhagen (1 night), Helsinki (1 night), Stockholm (1 night), then back to Oslo.  Again, with the help of Skyscanner, a good one week was spent searching for the best airfares from one city to another.  Through Tripsta, I found an Icelandair flight from Oslo to Reykjavik for 61.26 USD.  My flight from Reykjavik to Copenhagen through WOW Air was 62.10 GBP.  Copenhagen to Helsinki flight was through SAS (Scandinavian Air and Star Alliance) for 47.30 GBP.  Both Helsinki to Stockholm and Stockholm to Oslo were through Norwegian Air for 39.80 Euros and 53.10 Euros respectively.

          The next step in my planning was to book accommodations for all cities as those will be required for Visa processing.  Through Hotelscombined app, I searched for properties that are refundable and can be paid during the actual stay since all the embassy needed were proof of reservations.  Coincidentally, this option was available through Booking.com for all properties I chose.  Although booking Airbnb properties would be the most ideal thing to do to meet the budget, I was anxious around safety and security, so I ended up booking decent hostel rooms.  After a good 2-day search, I ended up booking the following:  Citybox Oslo for 2 nights (1,399 NOK), Arni’s Place in Reykjavik for 2 nights (140 Euros), Cabinn City in Copenhagen (560 DKK), Eurohostel in Helsinki (48.20 Euros) and Archipelago Hostel in Stockholm (600 SEK).  Another good thing about staying at hostels is that most of them have kitchens where you can cook food and save some money instead of frequently eating out.

          Another requirement was the list of day-to-day activities during the visit.  Since I haven’t been to these cities, I had to research online for help on the most ideal places to go considering the duration of my visit.  With the help of Sygic Travel, I was able to customize the sights I’d like to see in each city, everyday and every hour.  More details will be covered in my upcoming blogs.

           

          Since I already had the flight itineraries and accommodations, the next step was to prepare for the requirements so I can apply for a Schengen Visa.  This website contains the complete list of requirements - http://www.norway.ph/embassy/Back-up/visas/schengen/#.WAnOGKNh3eQ.  Part of the online application process is a payment of 60 euros, to be paid using either Visa or Mastercard, then choosing your appointment date.  The application is to be processed by VFS Global, which is the hub for document submission and passport collection located in Makati - http://www.vfsglobal.com/norway/philippines/.  During submission, all documents should be available as specified in the website and only a few questions will be asked by their staff.  Once completed, a slip for passport collection in a week’s time will be provided, then the last step is for Biometrics to be taken.  Overall, it only took 30 minutes as the volume of applicants is not as much, unless you arrive late for your schedule and be bumped off at a later time.

          In total, I just spent around 80,000 Php (1,700 USD) in the preparation stage of my trip, which covers airfare, accommodation and visa application.  That’s how affordable a 5-country European trip can be if you know how to plan and research for the best deals.