Spectacular Scandinavia: Stockholm to Bergen (Self-Launched)

Land at Arlanda and take the Arlanda Express (about £28, 20 min) or the cheaper Flygbussarna coach (about £10, 45 min) into the city. Check into a hostel or budget hotel around Norrmalm/Gamla Stan. Skip the Collette overnight flight day and just arrive fresh: pick up a 72-hour SL public transport card (about £24) or use contactless tap-and-go, grab a supermarket dinner and walk the waterfront at sunset to shake off the jet lag.

🚌Arlanda Express ~£28 or Flygbussarna coach ~£10

🛏Hostel/budget hotel, Norrmalm or Gamla Stan (dorm £30–40, private double £75–95)

• →Arlanda Express or Flygbussarna transfer
• →Evening wander around Gamla Stan

Self-launched version of Collette's guided Stockholm day. Do a free walking tour of Gamla Stan (tip-based, ~£5–8 tip) covering the Old Town, Riddarholm Church, the Royal Palace exterior and Parliament. Book Stockholm City Hall entry directly online (about £11, guided slot included). In the afternoon take the tram/bus to Djurgården for the Vasa Museum (about £16, book a timed slot on GetYourGuide or directly). Swap the Royal Palace interior for the changing of the guard (free, daily in season) if you're watching the budget.

🚌SL tram/bus/metro day pass ~£9

🛏Same hostel/budget hotel, Stockholm

• →Free walking tour of Gamla Stan (tips)
• →Stockholm City Hall guided entry
• →Vasa Museum
• →Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace

Book a SJ high-speed train Stockholm–Gothenburg (about 3h, £35–55 if booked 60+ days out; slower regional services can be cheaper). Drop bags and do a self-guided walking loop of the city: Haga old town and its cinnamon buns, the Fish Church (Feskekôrka), Gustav Adolfs Torg and the canal-side Kungsparken. Free walking tours run from Gustaf Adolfs Torg in summer if you want the guided version for a tip.

🚌SJ train Stockholm–Gothenburg ~£35–55

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, central Gothenburg (dorm £28–38, private £70–90)

• →Self-guided Haga & canal walk
• →Optional free walking tour (tips)
• →Feskekôrka food market

Take the Öresundståg train Gothenburg–Helsingborg (about 2h, £20–28), leave bags at the station and bus out to Sofiero Palace (about £4 local bus + £12 palace/garden entry; gardens are free in some seasons). It's the same garden Collette visits, minus the set lunch — eat at the palace café or grab a supermarket picnic. Continue by Öresundståg across the bridge to Copenhagen (about 1h50 from Helsingborg, £15–22). Check into a hostel around Vesterbro or Nørreport.

🚌Öresundståg Gothenburg–Helsingborg ~£24, local bus ~£4, Helsingborg–Copenhagen ~£18

🛏Hostel/budget hotel, Vesterbro or Nørreport, Copenhagen (dorm £28–38, private £75–100)

• →Sofiero Palace and gardens
• →Öresund bridge crossing by train

Do Copenhagen on foot plus the metro. A tip-based free walking tour (start at City Hall) covers Nyhavn, Amalienborg Palace (catch the guard change at noon) and the Little Mermaid statue in about 2.5–3 hours — basically Collette's guided walk, self-booked and pay-what-you-want. In the afternoon buy a Tivoli Gardens entry ticket online (about £20; ride wristbands extra, or skip and just enjoy the gardens). Consider the Copenhagen Card only if you're doing 3+ paid attractions, otherwise pay as you go.

🚌Metro/walk, day ticket ~£8

🛏Same hostel/budget hotel, Copenhagen

• →Free walking tour of Copenhagen (tips)
• →Nyhavn & Amalienborg
• →Little Mermaid statue
• →Tivoli Gardens entry

Collette leaves this day open — so do the optional extras yourself. Home of Carlsberg brewery tour (about £20, book direct) and the National Museum of Denmark (free entry, audio guide ~£6, or free with the Copenhagen Card). Afternoon: rent a bike (about £12/day) and ride to Christiania and the lakes, or take a harbour bus (covered by the metro ticket) for a cheap canal-style ride.

🚌Harbour bus/metro ~£8, optional bike hire ~£12

🛏Same hostel/budget hotel, Copenhagen

• →Home of Carlsberg tour
• →National Museum of Denmark
• →Bike hire around Christianshavn

Two good options. Overnight DFDS ferry Copenhagen–Oslo (about 17h, from £55 in a shared cabin — departs late afternoon, arrives Oslo next morning), or the daytime train via Gothenburg (about 8h, £45–70 booked early). The ferry saves a night's accommodation and is the classic backpacker move. Either way, arrive Oslo, pick up an Ruter 7-day or 72-hour pass (about £28/£22) and settle into a hostel in Grünerløkka or near Karl Johans gate.

🚌DFDS ferry from ~£55 or train ~£45–70

🛏Ferry cabin (if sailing) or Oslo hostel (dorm £32–42, private £85–110)

• →DFDS Copenhagen–Oslo ferry crossing or scenic rail via Gothenburg

Replace Collette's motorcoach tour with the Ruter tram and your own two feet. Morning: Akershus Fortress, the Opera House roof walk (free), Karl Johans gate and the Royal Palace park. Afternoon: Vigeland Sculpture Park (free, tram 12) and the Munch Museum or the new National Museum (about £15 each, or the Oslo Pass if doing several). Eat at Grünerløkka food halls or Mathallen to keep costs sane.

🚌Ruter pass ~£8/day

🛏Oslo hostel, Grünerløkka or city centre

• →Opera House roof walk
• →Akershus Fortress
• →Vigeland Sculpture Park
• →Munch Museum or National Museum

Rail day. Oslo–Myrdal on the Bergen Line (about 5h, £30–50 booked early — sit on the left for the best views), then the famous Flåm Railway down to Flåm (about 1h, £40 one-way; book on vy.no or the Flåmsbana site well ahead). To fit Borgund Stave Church, take the local bus/tour from Flåm or hire a bike and ride the Rallarvegen/valley roads — the church is about 30km away, best done via the Flåm–Borgund express bus in summer (about £15 return) or as a small-group tour (about £55). Alternatively visit the free Flåm Railway Museum in the village.

🚌Bergen Line ~£40 + Flåm Railway ~£40 + local bus ~£15

🛏Flåm hostel/guesthouse or campsite cabin (dorm £35–45, cabin £80–100)

• →Bergen Line train Oslo–Myrdal
• →Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana)
• →Borgund Stave Church (bus or small-group tour)
• →Flåm Railway Museum

Morning fjord time: a self-booked 2-hour Aurlandsfjord/Nærøyfjord cruise (about £45–60 on GetYourGuide or direct with the fjord cruise operators) beats the coach window. Afterwards take the bus/train combo Flåm–Myrdal–Bergen–Stryn/Loen, or in summer the direct Flåm–Sogndal–Stryn express bus, then local bus to Loen (total about £35–50, 5–6h). Base in Loen or Olden — guesthouses and cabins here are the cheapest beds in fjord Norway.

🚌Fjord cruise ~£50, buses ~£45

🛏Loen/Olden guesthouse or cabin (private £70–95, dorm £30–40)

• →Aurlandsfjord / Nærøyfjord cruise
• →Scenic bus through Sognefjord to Nordfjord

Take the local bus or the summer fjord shuttle from Loen/Olden to Geiranger (about £12–20 each way, or a combined boat-bus ticket). Book a Geirangerfjord sightseeing cruise (about £40–55, 1.5h) to see the Seven Sisters, Bridal Veil and Suitor waterfalls — book on GetYourGuide or directly with the Geiranger fjord cruise operators. Add the Eagles' Bend viewpoint and the Norwegian Fjord Centre if time allows (about £15). Back to Loen for the night.

🚌Local bus/shuttle Loen–Geiranger ~£30 return

🛏Same Loen/Olden guesthouse

• →Geirangerfjord sightseeing cruise
• →Eagles' Bend viewpoint
• →Norwegian Fjord Centre (optional)

Bus day: Loen–Stryn–Sogndal or the express along the Nordfjord, then on to Bergen via Førde (about 6–7h, £40–55; check the NOR-WAY/En-tur app). Break the journey at the Sunnfjord Museum at Movika (about £8 entry, 11am–5pm in summer) — the open-air farm buildings Collette visits, easily reached from Førde bus station. Arrive Bergen, check into a hostel in the city centre or on Bryggen's edge.

🚌Express buses ~£48

🛏Bergen hostel (dorm £30–42, private £80–110)

• →Sunnfjord Museum, Movika
• →Nordfjord & Sunnfjord coastal bus journey

Do Collette's Bergen day yourself: a free walking tour from the fish market (tips) covers Bryggen's Hanseatic wharf, the wooden alleyways and the fortress. Ride the Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen (about £13 return, or walk up free in 45 min) for the city panorama. Afternoon: KODE art museums (about £15), the fish market for a cheap-ish seafood lunch, and a wander around Nordnes. Farewell dinner substitute: a supermarket picnic on the Bryggen quayside or a reasonably priced fish soup in a locals' café.

🚌Walk + Fløibanen ~£13

🛏Same Bergen hostel

• →Free walking tour of Bryggen (tips)
• →Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen
• →KODE art museums (optional)

Keep a flexible day for weather — this is Bergen, after all. Options: the Norway in a Nutshell-style self-assembled round trip (Bergen–Voss train, bus to Gudvangen, fjord cruise to Flåm, train back — about £90 if booked piecemeal, cheaper than the package), a hike up Ulriken (cable car ~£20 or hike free), or a rainy-day fix in the Bergen University Museum and the Leprosy Museum (about £10). Reconfirm your onward transport and pack up.

🚌Local transport ~£10, optional day trip ~£90

🛏Same Bergen hostel

• →Optional self-built Norway in a Nutshell day
• →Mount Ulriken hike or cable car
• →Bergen museums

Fly out from Bergen Flesland (Bergen light rail from the city centre ~£4, 45 min) or take the Hurtigruten/ferry onward if you're continuing north. If you're flying budget carriers back to the UK, book 6–10 weeks ahead for fares around £60–120 one way via Oslo or Copenhagen. Trip ends — but the fjord photos don't.

🚌Bybanen light rail ~£4

🛏—

• →Bybanen light rail to Bergen Airport