The specific promotions described in this article have now passed, but it remains online so that the resources named will be of future use to travelers.
July 27, 2004 -- From Vikings to Volvos, Scandinavia fascinates those who visit. We at Frommer's try to get you there cheaper so that you can enjoy the fjords for less. With packages to Stockholm, hotels in Norway, and distractions in Denmark, greats summer saving are up for grabs.
Saving in Stockholm
Our old friends at Go-Today have some new packages to Stockholm, with air-inclusive packages and three-night stays as low as $499 out of New York and Newark. If you can make up your mind about taking a holiday before August 19, you can fly between September 1 and October 31, 2004 on a Stockholm Getaway deal from $799, and enjoy the end of summer there and the beginning of a gentle fall season. Included in all Stockholm deals are roundtrip airfare, three nights of hotel accommodations, daily continental breakfast, and more, they say. The Getaway package also includes hotel taxes and service charges. For the $799 price you would stay at the Arcadia Hotel, though three other lodging places are available for costs from $849 through $899. Add-on charges for departures from other cities include $80 from Boston, $120 from Washington DC, $160- from Dallas, $200 from Los Angeles, $240 from Phoenix and $280 from Seattle, for instance.
Other Go-Today packages to Sweden's capital must be purchased by July 29, 2004 to get the lowest prices, including the $499 Weekend Getaway mentioned earlier. In addition, there are other three- to six-night Stockholm packages that include London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Additional gateways are available, so just ask. Contact them at www.go-today.com or phone 425/487-9632 ($20 fee for booking on the phone).
Norway Hotel Deals
Instead of Stockholm, you can always travel north to Norway and take advantage of three great deals there.
First is an Oslo Hotel Package, in which you use your Oslo City Card to book rooms from $56 per person per night, with up to two children under 16 staying free. Your City Card also gives you free admission to many museums, use of public transport, and more. Secondly, the ScanAm World Tours website has hotel bargains throughout the country, starting at $60 per person per night.
Finally, there's a Fjell & Fjord Hotel Check system, new this year, in which you get a chance to experience lodging at 44 mostly small, cozy and privately owned two-star to four-star mountain and fjord hotels throughout the country. You pay from $74 per person per night in a double room at Category A hotels, equivalent to tourist class. Category B hotels run $84 per person, Category C $94 and Category D (deluxe) cost $118 per person. Children 15 and under in parent's room in own bed pay about $28 extra, under age three free in parents' bed. Included is full Scandinavian breakfast (usually buffet style), local taxes and service charges. This is good through September 30, 2004.
All three bargains are available at www.scandinaviantravel.com or by phoning 800/545-2204.
Danish Delights
This summer is a great time for culture vultures to visit Denmark, with at least three dance festivals, the famous Aarhus Festival and the reopening of a favorite museum all in store. The Hans Christian Andersen Museum, closed for the past two years for renovations, is open again in the town of Odense. Next year the nation celebrates the 200th anniversary of the storyteller's birth. Admission to the museum is DK50 for adults, DK20 for kids (about $8 and $3, respectively). Check it out at www.odmus.dk.
From August 27 through September 5, 2004, the city of Aarhus has its annual festival of art, music and dance, the theme this year being "love and human relations." There's a "circus opera" from France, a dance group from Spain, another troupe from Canada, and much more. Prices for some events are as low as DK90 (about $15), but the major programs range from about DK145 through DK280 ($24 to $46). Check out www.aarhusfestuge.dk/sw721.asp.
If you like dance, spend your late summer in Copenhagen. From August 10 to 15, 2004, Copenhagen Summer Dance takes place. The impressive outdoor festival features the New Danish Dance Theatre, the Norwegian National Ballet and Sweden's Gothenburg Opera Ballet. Admission is free but if you want to reserve a seat in advance, the cost is DK30 (about $5) and you can do this by mail through the web site. More at www.copenhagensummerdance.dk.
The famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from New York will give seven performances between September 14 and 19, 2004 at Tivoli Gardens. Tickets from DK265 to DK385 (about $44 to $64). More at www.tivoligardens.com. The Gran Theater for Dance in Aarhus, a resident company there, presents program also by the New Danish Dance Theatre, Norway's Jo Stromgren Company and the Contemporary Legend Theatre of Taiwan, which will perform their version of King Lear in September. Tickets to see the Gran Theater for Dance during the opening show of the Aarhus Festival range from DK155 to 235 (about $26 to $39). More at www.gran-teaterfordans.dk.
