Enjoy the best that Scandinavia has to offer in this Grand Tour. At Happyrail we've combined our favorite scenic train rides in Norway and Sweden with a spectacular Hurtigruten cruise and quality hotels suited for your holiday by rail. 

You can choose a 10-day itinerary with one day on board the Hurtigruten cruise, or a 14-day itinerary with an extended 5 day-cruise with a comfortable cabin included. Both trips can be started from any major train station or airport in Scandinavia.
  

Day 1 - to Stockholm

Arrive in Stockholm from the international airport, or transfer by rail from Copenhagen or Oslo. Spend the day in the historic capital of Sweden, with a beautifully preserved historic center full of canals and waterfronts, with some excellent restaurants available. You stay in a modern hotel close to the main train station.

Day 2 - Stockholm

Enjoy a day off in Stockholm. In the evening you board the famous sleeper train for Lapland. You travel in a private sleeper cabin with bedding and breakfast included.

Day 3 - Abisko

In the late morning, you have crossed the Arctic circle and arrive in the small village of Abisko. This is one of the best places to experience Lapland’s beautiful Arctic landscape in peace and quiet. You stay at the Abisko Turiststation, from where you can take guided excursions or take the cable car up the Noulja mountain.

Day 4 - Harstad

Board the train from Abisko to Narvik, passing the huge Oforfjord. In the colorful harbour town of Narvik you transfer to the bus for Harstad, on the island of Hinnoya. The city has a great view over the surrounding Lofoten islands and mountain peaks. You stay at a Thon or Scandic hotel in the city center.

Day 5 - Hurtigruten cruise

Today you board the Hurtigruten cruise ship for a particularly beautiful journey through the Lofoten islands. The Hurtigruten is an epic cruise line traversing the whole Norwegian coast, and on this day you experience the most scenic part of the route, including the iconic Trollfjord. The ships makes a few stops along the way, where it's the only form of transport, and you disembark in the fishing town of Svolvaer, where you stay in a small-scale hotel in the town center.

Day 6 - Bodø

In the late morning you leave Svolvaer by bus for a beautiful journey across the Lofoten islands to Moskenes, where you board the ferry for a 4-hour journey across the Arctic Sea to Bodø. Here you stay in a Thon or Scandic hotel in the city center.

Day 7 - Trondheim

Today you board the express train on the Nordland-line from Bodø to Trondheim. This is one of Europe’s most scenic rail routes, with only one direct train per day. You see many different landscapes, from beautiful, lush valleys to spectacular glaciers and mountain ranges. During the ten-hour journey a dining car is available. In Trondheim you stay in a modern Thon or Scandic hotel.

Day 8 - Oslo

In the morning you have time to discover Trondheim, a colorful city with many interesting monuments and historic buildings. In the afternoon you take a scenic train ride over the Dovrefjell mountain range to Oslo. Explore this historic city with over 700 years of architecture to be discovered. Accommodation in a modern hotel close to the main train station.

Day 9 - to Stockholm/Copenhagen

You board the direct train back to Stockholm, or optionally to Copenhagen, where you end your spectacular journey to the Arctic. You stay in a hotel close to the main train station of Stockholm or Copenhagen. If you end your journey in Oslo, you take the high-speed train to Oslo international airport.

Day 10 - Return trip

By train from Stockholm/Copenhagen back to the international airport.

Itinerary with five-day Arctic Hurtigruten cruise

Days 1-4

Itinerary to Harstad as described above.

Day 5

Today you board the Hurtigruten cruise ship for a 5-day journey through the Lofoten islands.

The Hurtigruten does not have all the luxuries of an international cruise ship, but rather a more traditional Scandinavian level of comfort, with simple but comfortable cabins. Various restaurants are available, ranging from simple buffets to luxurious a la carte establishments. The ship will stop at various places where field trips organized by Hurtigruten are possible and can be booked in advance.

On day 5, in Tromsø, you have an opportunity to discover the city or take a sled-dog trip from the Tromsø Wilderness Centre.

Day 6

Optional 3-hour trip away from the ship to the Northern Cape, seeing the breathtaking nature in Norway’s tundra landscape.

Day 7

The Hurtigruten reaches its final stop at Kirkenes. After 3 hours the ship turns round and heads back South. From here, the parts of the journey that were covered at night on the way north will be covered during the day.

Day 8

Enjoy the last full day on board the Hurtigruten, as you get to see all the landscapes you missed during the night while heading North.

Day 9

Today you pass some of the most dramatic and truly breathtaking scenery of your cruise, including the iconic Trollfjord. At the end of the day, you disembark the Hurtigruten at the fishing town of Svolvaer, where you stay in a small-scale hotel in the town center.

Itinerary from Svolvaer as seen in the itinerary above.