British travellers are used to getting a good deal. We burst through customs of foreign airports, brandishing unicorn-adorned passports like shields and living like kings thanks to the strength of the Sterling.
But when it comes to visiting Scandinavia we’re more cautious. The English spoken in Norway, Sweden and Denmark is strong – which is a plus – but the prices are too.
A trip to Scandinavia is often expensive: a mixture of high wages, economic protectionism and taxes on goods mean the exaggerations about a bottle of beer costing more than a small house aren’t far from the truth. And it’s not even an urban thing – like how New York is way more expensive than rural Wyoming – high prices (a Happy Meal for £12!) are found across the fjords and mountains as well as in the cities.
This shouldn’t put a keen traveller off exploring one of the most beautiful parts of the world this winter – a season when the peninsula is iridescent with aurora borealis and full of cosy winter cabins with tall, symmetrically-faced people eating pickled fish and getting drunk off aquavit.
Don’t forget that the high taxes that make stuff expensive, end up funding benefits – like free bikes and museums – that make a holiday worth it. So here are some things to do and places to go in Scandinavia that’ll help you hack the winter.
Get A City Pass And A Free Bike
Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm are cities designed for the cold, so exploring them during winter is a must. All offer their own version of a ‘City Pass’ – your ticket to free public transportation, admission to hundreds of museums and galleries, and even cruise tours!
The passes are available to buy in three lengths – 24, 48 and 72 hours – and become activated when you start using them, not the moment you buy them. Prices start around £25 for adults. Provided you plan ahead and know what you’re doing, it pays for itself.
If you can brace for the cold between the museums and galleries you’re getting free entrance to, you should hop on a bike scheme to get around, like Copenhagen’s Bykcyklen. The Oslo and Stockholm programmes will cost a visitor about £10 but the Copenhagen scheme is a steal, coming in at only £2.50 per day.
Stay In A Self-Service Hiking Cabin
Outside the big cities, the landscape will impress. Trekking in Scandinavia will introduce you to sublime views and endless skies that’ll make you quiver in your hiking boots, but one way to leave your wallet unscathed is to stay in a winter cabin.
Norway has some of the best public hiking cabins on offer. The Norwegian Trekking Association runs hundreds of them and if you become a member you’ll get a discounted stay.
The cheapest option is the self-service cabins – be prepared, this is austere, Norwegian living. Heat is provided by wood; candles provide light; and the pantry comes stocked with reindeer meatballs. But staying for the night can be as cheap as £20.
Use KAYAK (obviously) to Travel Within Scandinavia
Our flight search tool will find you the the best deals for any Scandinavian country and will also come in handy when you’re in the region itself. Surprisingly, flying within Scandinavia can be relatively inexpensive. There are a whole bunch of budget airlines that will take you from, say, Copenhagen to Stockholm for a measly SEVEN POUNDS. Considering it’s a one-hour flight and most airports are much closer to city centres than they are in the rest of Europe, it’s definitely worth using KAYAK to plan your flights between towns.
Find the best flight offers to Scandinavia from 100s of travel sites on KAYAK.co.uk
You Don’t Have to Pay For Nature
Scandinavia during the winter offers the most astounding scenery available within a 2-hour flight from the UK. There are the ‘Polar Nights’ of northern Norway, when the days are confined to a perpetual twilight. It might sound gloomy but it’s actually magical: the stars and reflective snow become the natural source of light. Winter is also the best time to see the Northern Lights, aka aurora borealis, an incredible array of fluorescent colours generated by electrons in space being magnetised by the Earth’s poles.
The winter nights are the best time to catch them and, to do so, you’ll want to go as far north as possible. One of the best places to see the Northern Lights is Tromsø in Norway, or the region between Bodø and the Finnish town, Rovaniemi. It’s a cliché, we know, but seeing the Northern Lights is a once in a lifetime experience. And, unlike swimming with dolphins or jumping out of a plane with a camera strapped to your head, it won’t cost you a thing.
At the end of the day, whatever your budget, you can find the best offers for flights, hotels, and rentals in Scandinavia with KAYAK.
