Touring Scandinavia from a Malaysian Point of View

Recently I've travelled to Scandinavian cities, namely; Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo & Copenhagen.Prior to the travel do find that there are limited information available online from South East Asian point of view to this part of the world. So I thought it would good to share some of the experiences

Scandinavian countries are belongs to +2GMT time zone with Finland being the only country that used Euro as currency whereas the other has their own currencies;

Denmark          – Danish Krone

Norway            – Norwegian NOK

Sweden            – Swedish Krone

Scandinavian countries are easily accessible via planes, cruise/ferry and land (trains or car). Just for info that Denmark, Norway & Sweden is link with each other via network of road & rails. Whereas for Finland one may have to travel via plane or cruise/ferry from other countries except Russia which is accessible via road/rails.

My visit was at the end of Spring with expectation the weather being warmer with sunshine but it turns out to be the mixture of all as in Sun, Rain(most of the time), Snow & Chilly Winds. The weather was rather unpredictable and it would be handy to have weatherproof (rain & wind) winter clothing on hand especially for those who is not used to cold weather. Foldable Umbrellas would be extremely handy in the case where long lived showers pour through whole day!

My trip was a DIY trip where all the bookings were done individually except air ticket. Information of hotels, restaurants and places of interest are easily available on the internet and with the current abundant of apps available for smartphones/tablet it certainly shift the reliant on traditional methods such as words of mouth, books, magazine and brochure. I must highlight the following apps which have been very handy & vital for period of the trip;

1.      TripAdvisor – City Guide

2.      Google Map

3.       Individual Airport App – Vantaa, Arlanda, Gardemoen & Kastrup

4.      Resrobot – Stockholm Only.

5.      City Map To Go – Paid Version

However having mentioned the shift from the traditional methods to the world of Apps/Internet, there is a down fall whereby Internet Connection(Data) is required to use the apps except TripAdvisor, Google Map & City Map To Go which could be pre cache prior travelling. As alternative, fret not where one could explore the following option to cure data hunger;

1.      Buy local sim card with data plan – Noticed that there isn’t any phone provider that has Traveller Sim in those countries which is a bit let down.

2.      If one is a subscriber of Maxis(Malaysia), just connect to the preferred mobile network provider as listed for a RM38/day unlimited data roaming services. I must warn thou, the high speed data is extremely limited which is merely suitable for map checking, emails & messaging only.

3.      Free Wifi is the sign most traveler are on the look when choosing a café to unwind and most of the cafes and hotels are equipped with free Wifi.   

Moving around was easy with the availability of metros, trams and busses. Alternative one may consider cycling with Copenhagen to me being very bicycle friendly city or otherwise on bus no. 11 (walking). With majority of the main attractions, restaurants and hotels are well within walking distant in the city of Helsinki, Stockholm(Gamla Stan), Oslo & Copenhagen. Myself being from a city that practically doesn’t have the luxury to enjoy the great public transportation except bus (still stManuck in traffic jam), I’m truly impressed with the impressive public transportation system available with some being so on time!

 Keenest in attracting tourist is very visible whereby most of the public setup are bi lingual complimenting the great effort is the tourist pass such as Helsinki Pass, Stockholm Card, Oslo Pass and Copenhagen Card. These passes/card is a one stop solution for tourists by providing UNLIMITED use of public transport, free admission to selected tourist attractions, discounts to selected restaurants and packed with great tourist information.

Shoppers be alert, major brands are available at the four(4) cities mentioned with brands such as Hermes, Luis Vutton, Chanel, Gucci and of course Hard Rock. Plenty of souvenirs shops are available at major tourist attraction with most being able to offer Tax Refund over certain amount in a specific shop with the amount eligble for tax refund differs from each countries and only applicable for Non EU Residence/PR. For Tax Refund, most shops/companies are subscribe to Global Blue Tax Refund service abd the Global Blue Card would be handy as all your personal particular is stored (minus the hassle in filling up each tax refund form especially for heavy shoppers).

Food wise, variety type of cuisine is available ranging from local traditional, Italian, French, Chinese, Indian, Arab and other Asian (Vietnam & Thailand). Travel companions in this trip has gained weights ranging from 1kg to 2.5kg with the availability of great food to be feast upon at each different location. I will be highlighting some of the great food/restaurant in the respective city post which is worthy for a mentioned, Live to Eat! However coming from Asian family some food may not to be the liking to some taste bud but I enjoyed every meal of it including the great hospitality (service).

There is plenty of lodging selection at each location ranging from the budget till the most expensive listed on TripAdvisor with review for consideration. My personal take on accommodation guide would be;

a.       Book as early as possible for the best rate or take a gamble by booking during promotion.

b.      Look for hotel/hostel/motel which is near to public transportation for travel convenient. May consider using Google Map for help.

c.       Check out the review on TripAdvisor.

d.      Room specification to your liking.

e.       Happy Booking!

Attraction wise, there is always too much too many to choose from at each location. Select those that highly interest you or your group if you are there for limited days just like me. Thou there are many more that I would like to visit but too bad, limited time! To help in selecting the right attraction, you may rely on TripAdvisor City Guide or GOOGLE for the respective city tourism website which is very informative.

Well that’s all for the summary and more to come for the respective city write up soon!