We did Stockholm first - two days in the old city. Then flew to Bergen and did two days there. Then took a boat down the fjord to stay in a wonderful B&B right on the fjord. Stayed another two days, explored a glacier, did a zip line, walked around the little village. Then took the train to Oslo and stayed another two days. We loved Oslo!! Flew home from there. Fabulous trip.

Did not see Copenhagen or Iceland, but are planning to do those this year.

While backpacking/on Eurail I followed a Rick Steves route--Copenhagen and Aero, Stockholm, then Oslo and Norway in a Nutshell. I think it was about 7 days total. Loved Stockholm and Copenhagen. Hope to see more of Sweden and Denmark on a future trip.

Anonymous wrote:8 days is too much for Iceland. The whole country's population is about 1/3 of Fairfax County. Can you keep yourself busy in Fairfax for 8 days?

Half an hour is find for Fairfax. But Iceland has natural beauty, fascinating history, and interesting people, vs the doughy bureaucrats and realtors that populate Fairfax.

Tough crowd on Iceland. I went for 12 days (road trip around the island) and I didn't get to see everything I wanted to. I wish I would've done the full 2 weeks.

Anonymous wrote:8 days is too much for Iceland. The whole country's population is about 1/3 of Fairfax County. Can you keep yourself busy in Fairfax for 8 days?

If you did 8 days you would drive around the full country (on the ring road) and could stop and see different things all along the way. I would be happy to go for 8 days. I went for 5 but did not get to see alot!

8 days is too much for Iceland. The whole country's population is about 1/3 of Fairfax County. Can you keep yourself busy in Fairfax for 8 days?

Look up Norway in a Nutshell - a tour itinerary suggested by the tourist board. We used the basic itinerary but stretched it out. And I would get yourselves to Bergen as soon as you can, and maybe skip Oslo completely. Fly into Bergen from Iceland. They're a nice hotel attached to the Bergen airport (we arrived late at night and being able to stay that that hotel was essential) Do the fjords!

Anonymous wrote:Copenhagen is amazing - I would do four days in Cope and four days in Stockholm. In Copenhagen, rent bikes and explore the city, take a boat ride, walk the pedestrian street and shop, definitely Tivoli even if you don't like the rides. In Stockholm, don't miss the ABBA museum, photography museum and Meatballs for the People.

+1 to this, Copenhagen is a particularly great city with kids because it's so family friendly and Tivoli winds up being a great centerpiece for that visit. Instead of four full days in Stockholm, I'd do a couple days at a summer house in rural Sweden and then just a day or two in Stockholm.

For Iceland I think you can do 2-4 days if you stay in/near Reykjavik or 8-10 days if you are doing the loop of the entire island.

Copenhagen is amazing - I would do four days in Cope and four days in Stockholm. In Copenhagen, rent bikes and explore the city, take a boat ride, walk the pedestrian street and shop, definitely Tivoli even if you don't like the rides. In Stockholm, don't miss the ABBA museum, photography museum and Meatballs for the People.

We've been to all four, plus Finland. We enjoyed each for different reasons, it really depends on what you plan to do and where specifically you want to go. The fjords and Bergen are great in Norway as is Tromso. Iceland is easy to navigate and just beautiful. Denmark has Copenhagen of course which we like but don't love. The Tivoli is a great amusement park in the center of town and the transportation system is amazing. Sweden has a cool vibe, you can easily do a day trip to one of the islands. Helsinki is an interesting city as well. There are endless activities in all and each is different but all rank on the happiest countries in the world lists for a reason. They pay very good attention to infrastructure, everything is well maintained, and you can just tell they care about their citizens.

I’d do Denmark. I’ve never been but that little country seems fascinating to me. Plus I love the show Borgen so that would sway me there as well.

8 days is too much for Iceland. I did 8 days and was OVER all the waterfalls after Day 4. It all stars to blend together.

Iceland is amazing and well worth a visit. You could probably get by with 4 days in Iceland and 4 days somewhere else if you want.

Iceland or Denmark or another Nordic country for August? 8 days enough for Iceland?