21 Day Scandinavia & Russia Tour with Cruise and Flights

Copenhagen

Upon arrival in Copenhagen, you will be transferred to the hotel. Welcome to the start of your Scandinavian adventure! Your tour leader will be waiting for you at our starting hotel in Copenhagen during the afternoon. After everyone's checked in, we'll meet up with an expert local guide who will show you the highlights of the Danish capital on a driving and walking tour, including the famous Nyhavn waterfront, Rosenborg castle and the famous little mermaid statue. To round off the first day of the tour we'll enjoy an included dinner, where you can get to know your fellow travellers and learn a bit more from your tour leader about what incredible experiences the next 11 days will bring!

Accommodation: Park Inn or similar, Copenhagen

Meals included: inflight only

Copenhagen

Enjoy a free day to explore Copenhagen at your own pace. Options include the Tivoli Gardens, a famous amusement park and pleasure garden, and the Rundetaarn, an astronomical observatory that offers fantastic views of the city, and is known worldwide for its unique equestrian staircase leading to the top. You could also return to Nyhavn and enjoy a drink on the canal side, and visit Freetown Christiania, a commune in the east of the city that was established by squatters in 1971 and attracts nonconformists from around the world.

Accommodation: Park Inn or similar, Copenhagen

Meals included: breakfast

Copenhagen Odense Frederikshavn

Today you have more opportunity to admire the natural beauty of the Danish countryside. Leave from Copenhagen and stopover in Odense, the third-largest city in Denmark and birthplace of the fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen. Take an orientation tour around the town before making your way to the coastal town of Frederikshavn and the hotel accommodation for the night. After arriving, you have the option to join an excursion to the Grenen sandbar peninsula, the northmost point of Denmark, and Skagen and Den Tilsandede Kirke (sand church). Dinner is served at the hotel later this evening.

Accommodation: City Hotel or similar, Odense

Meals included: breakfast and dinner

Oslo

Today we’ll take a ferry and then make our way through southern Norway to Oslo. On arrival in the Norwegian capital tonight we’ll enjoy a walking tour with an expert local guide, who will show you sights including Akershus Castle, Oslo Opera House, the Parliament building and the Royal Palace.

Accommodation: Park Inn by Radisson or similar, Oslo

Meals included: breakfast

Bergen

As we travel from Oslo to the west coast we’ll journey through the heart of Norway, witnessing the incredible scenery changing from emerald green landscapes to cobalt blue fjords to white snow-clad mountains. Along the way, we'll make a quick stop at Vøringfossen, which is probably the most famous waterfall in the country and has a total drop of 182 meters.

This evening we’ll arrive in Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city and known as “the city among the seven mountains”. The beautiful Unesco World Heritage-listed Bryggen quay is the highlight, while Norway’s famous fjords are just a short journey away. Upon arrival, your tour leader will take you on an orientation walking tour of Bergen, introducing you to the highlights of Norway’s first capital and former seat of royalty, including the old Hanseatic wharf Bryggen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Bergen Fortress.

Accommodation: Ibis Mons Centre Gare or similar, Bergen

Meals included: breakfast

Bergen

Enjoy a free day to explore the beautiful Norwegian city of Bergen and the surrounding area. You could take the Fløibanen, the Bergen funicular railway which will hoist you one thousand feet up Floyen mountain for amazing views of the city, or return to Bryggen to spend some more time exploring the classic medieval architecture, markets and warehouses. You can also join our optional excursions to Bergen's aquarium, one of Norway's top tourist attractions, and the Magic Ice Bar, a unique winter wonderland with incredible ice sculptures.

Accommodation: Ibis Mons Centre Gare or similar, Bergen

Meals included: breakfast

Norwegian Fjords and Lillehammer

There are more than a thousand fjords in Norway, with most concentrated on the west coast, so we’ll be perfectly located today as we explore the scenic heartland of Norway on our way to Lillehammer. We’ll take a stop off along the way in Gudvangen, a village located at the end of Nærøyfjord, arguably Norway’s most famous fjord. You’ll have the option to visit a viking village, and then take a cruise along the Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjorden fjords to Flam - still blue water is framed by towering cliffs and dramatic waterfalls - the easiest picture-postcard photo’s you will ever take. Late evening we'll arrive in Lillehammer, a ski resort town in southern Norway, where we'll enjoy an included dinner.

Accommodation: Turistsenter Hotel or similar, Lillehammer

Meals included: breakfast and dinner

Lillehammer Dalarna area

Today we’ll continue on our journey and cross into Sweden, where the stunning natural landscapes keep coming as we take a scenic drive through the mountains and deep forests to the Dalarna area in central Sweden - keep an eye out for elk and moose! Dalarna is famous for the Dalecarlian horse, a traditional Swedish hand-painted wooden horse statuette painted in bright colours. We'll visit a workshop that produces these iconic ornaments, which uses wood from the slow-growing pine forests around the nearby Lake Siljan.

Accommodation: Hotel Saga or similar, Dalarna

Meals included: breakfast

Dalarna Uppsala Stockholm

As we make our way through the Swedish countryside, we'll take a lunch stop in Uppsala. Sweden's fourth-largest city is the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, and home to Scandinavia's largest cathedral - the striking Uppsala Cathedral. On arrival in Stockholm we’ll enjoy a walking tour with an expert local guide. You’ll be introduced to the highlights of Sweden’s capital including the Royal Palace, Gamla Stan (the old town and heart of the city) and the AF Chapman ship. This evening enjoy an included dinner.

Accommodation: IBIS Styles Stockholm Jarva or similar, Stockholm

Meals included: breakfast and dinner

Stockholm

Enjoy the day exploring more of Stockholm! Gamla Stan is the old town, comprised of red, orange and terracotta-coloured buildings overlooking narrow cobblestone streets. The numerous islands that make up the town offer fascinating walks, especially through the Djurgården, where you can visit Skansen, the open-air Swedish history museum.

Accommodation: IBIS Styles Stockholm Jarva or similar, Stockholm

Meals included: breakfast

Stockholm  Copenhagen

Today you are on the final leg of your Scandinavian tour, look out for lakes, forests and rolling fields as we drive through the Swedish countryside. Just before we get to Copenhagen, we will stop at the town of Helsingør. This town is home to Kronborg Castle, known to many as 'Elsinore' and the setting for Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. We'll see the castle from the water as we take a short ferry from Sweden back to Denmark.

Accommodation: Park Inn or similar, Copenhagen

Meals included: breakfast

Baltic Cruise (boarding) 

Today, our tour concludes after breakfast. Transfer to Copenhagen cruise dock to check-in for your Baltic Cruise on MSC MERAVIGLIA. The cruise will depart at approximately 6pm.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast and dinner

Baltic Cruise (At Sea)

Enjoy the ship’s facilities as your cruise north.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Baltic Cruise (Helsinki)

Arrive into port at about 12 pm and depart at approximately 6 pm.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Baltic Cruise (St Petersburg)

Arrive into port at about 7 am and depart at approximately 9 pm.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Baltic Cruise (Tallinn)

Arrive into port at about 9 am and depart at approximately 6 pm.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Baltic Cruise (At Sea)

Enjoy the ship’s facilities as your cruise back south.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Baltic Cruise (Kiel, Germany)

Arrive into port at about 7 am and depart at approximately 7 pm.

Accommodation: MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in an Inside Cabin^ on a twinshare basis with private bathroom facilities

Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Copenhagen Australia

Arrive into port at about 9 am. Transfer to the airport for your flight home to Australia.

Meals included: breakfast and inflight

Australia

Arrive home today

Meals included: inflight only