Scandinavia is a hugely popular holiday destination right now, and with good reason. We ourselves absolutely love the Nordic region (admittedly, a loose term in this blog including Iceland) and have developed self-diagnosed Scandimania: a love of all things Nordic. In this blog post we are giving you a whistle-stop tour of our Scandi-highlights country by country, to help you decide which gem should be your next travel-pick...
Sweden
Sweden has it all, and being the largest Scandinavian country with an area twice the size of the UK, there is a lot of it; style, quirky boutique hotels, picture perfect Stockholm and the arctic playground of Lapland- one of the best places in the world to see the magical Northern Lights. Picture perfect Stockholm is built across a series of islands and is a gateway to a majestic archipelago of nearly-deserted islands. Swedish Lapland is an Original Travel's Big Short Break favourite. Experience the thrill of dog-sledging and snow-mobiling whilst staying in a private and luxurious wood cabin enjoying the excellent Swedish hospitality.
Norway
Europe's answer to Canada, recently voted National Geographic's best destination in the world. This beautiful country is much more than just the breathtakingly stunning Fjords and Vikings. Norway does unique water-activities like no other; try skiing by boat, snorkelling with Killer Whales by Tromso and even Scuba Diving for King Crabs in the North Cape. Or, if you want to stay dry on land, try cycling up one of the country's most famous and dramatic serpentine roads; the Trollstigen Mountain Road, and admiring its Instagram-perfect landscapes. The literal icing on the Norwegian cake is Svalbard, where you can spot polar bears (!) whilst on a winter snowmobile safari. Northern Norway is also a great place to see the Northern Lights.
Finland
With 187,888 lakes across Finland and over 75% of the land being forest, in winter when it snows (and it snows A LOT), Finland becomes the ultimate Winter Wonderland. Finnish Lapland is the quintessential Christmas family adventure, visiting the home of Santa Claus and his elves in his grotto. Although, admittedly, this is often a tacky and over-busy tourist affair, there are a few exceptions where this festive experience is actually done extremely well. We at Original Travel can organise this private and tasteful family experience stress and hassle-free so that you can enjoy the magical surroundings whilst staying in idyllic snow-covered accommodation, perhaps even a glass-covered cosy igloo.
And...Iceland!
Okay, okay... we know Iceland isn't technically in Scandinavia, but it definitely qualifies in our diagnosed Scandimania: a love of all things Nordic; the beautiful varied landscapes, the cold winters, the boutique hotels and the wonderful cuisine.
Iceland is bursting with activities, making it a hugely popular and rated Original Travel adventure holiday. Iceland's stunning raw nature combined with thrill-seeking activities is what makes it such an attractive destination; from spitting geysirs to snowmobiling at top speed across glaciers; sampling the local marine cuisine whilst exploring Rekjavik to whale-watching off of the coast, bathing in the Blue Lagoon to exploring inside the Snaefellsnes volcano. This is a country packed full of unique discoveries!