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First timer looking for inspiration

Hi All

I’ve got a 1 month pass and looking to visit Scandinavia for the most part initially, i.e Eurostar direct from London to Amsterdam, then onto to Copenhagen for a couple of days, then maybe another stop in Denmark somewhere before shifting up to Sweden, Stockholm for a day or 2, plus 2 other stops maybe, then across to Norway for 3 or 4 stops, going all the way over the top around to Finland, stopping a day or 2 somewhere before arriving in Helsinki for a day maybe 2, then a ferry across to Talinn, Estonia (no stopping unless I have to) then down to Latvia, Lithuania, Poland with a couple of days in each, then Slovenia (Ljubljana I’d like to see) for 1 may 2 days, then a non stop sleeper hopefully, direct to northern Spain and Portugal for a few days before returning to London with one stop in Cologne.

Can it be done on a reasonable budget? Will I have enough time? 
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you !
Midge

Best answer by runner.on.rails

You can keep it realistic when you stop after the baltics part. But as ralderton said, in your itinerary you’ll be basically just on trains not having time to spend somewhere.

If you want to stick to trains, I would recommend you to do some South Norway parts after Copenhagen, before Stockholm. To go all the way up in Norway youll reach a point. Where you have to book busses.

For my experience the 1.5 nights rule have proven to result in good trips. This means, staying in each place 1-2 nights (so 1.5 in average) and then move to the next one. So in a place where you spend one night only you might want to arrive early and leave late while in a 2 nights place you are ok wirh arriving late and leaving early as you have a full day in between.

 

 

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    5 replies

    ralderton
    Railmaster
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • ralderton
    • Railmaster
    • October 5, 2026

    Sure it’s achievable if you want to spend a month on trains and see nothing. I wouldn’t do it if you have any intention of visiting these cities. 

    Note that the only sleeper train to(wards) Spain is from Paris. If by north you mean the Basque Country, the sleeper goes as far as Biarritz in France. It used to go to Hendaye, and might again in the future. There are also sleepers to Latour de Carol and Cerbère. 

    runner.on.rails
    Railly clever
    Forum|alt.badge.img+6

    You can keep it realistic when you stop after the baltics part. But as ralderton said, in your itinerary you’ll be basically just on trains not having time to spend somewhere.

    If you want to stick to trains, I would recommend you to do some South Norway parts after Copenhagen, before Stockholm. To go all the way up in Norway youll reach a point. Where you have to book busses.

    For my experience the 1.5 nights rule have proven to result in good trips. This means, staying in each place 1-2 nights (so 1.5 in average) and then move to the next one. So in a place where you spend one night only you might want to arrive early and leave late while in a 2 nights place you are ok wirh arriving late and leaving early as you have a full day in between.

     

     

    runner.on.rails
    Railly clever
    Forum|alt.badge.img+6

    I did Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Baltics in 3 weeks in 2018, so I would say you can put some Norway on top and make that in 1 month, but the slowenia and spain and portugal stuff doesnt really fit into the same trip.

    • Midge
    • Author
    • Rail rookie
    • October 5, 2026

    Many thanks for your replies, guys!

    Wow … I have to start again I think. Thinking.. I could fly to Stavanger, start there and just do Scandinavia or fly to Riga and move through the Baltic states down to Greece returning via Germany? Not too fussed about Finland. I’ve also been told Norway is best seen by road? Is it ?🤷‍♀️

    ralderton
    Railmaster
    Forum|alt.badge.img+10
    • ralderton
    • Railmaster
    • October 5, 2026

    Or you could just get a Eurostar to Brussels or Amsterdam and see where the wind takes you. No time pressure, few reservations to worry about. About a week before your month of up, start looking at yours home (including flights).

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