Golden Sweden Tour - 9 Days

Welcome to Scandinavia! As this exciting itinerary will have you traveling north at a relaxing pace, we actually recommend that you fly to Copenhagen, Denmark for your starting point. A local assistant will greet your group inside the airport terminal's arrival hall and accompany it to a private coach that will transfer your group directly to its hotel in Copenhagen, a former Viking fishing village that eventually grew to become the spectacularly-beautiful capital city of Denmark.

After arriving to the hotel, the remainder of the day is at your leisure. You can either take it easy to adjust to the time change, or begin exploring this fantastic city on your own. (Please note that should your group happen to arrive before the group's official check-in time generally 3:00 pm it is more than welcome to store its luggage with the hotel's reception staff.)

After breakfast and checkout, your group will meet a local Danish guide for an exciting city tour of Copenhagen by private coach featuring Copenhagen's best attractions and famous landmarks. At the conclusion of your city tour of Copenhagen, your group will meet its professional Tour Escort, who will accompany your group on its journey through Sweden and the Kingdom of Crystal. Your journey will begin with a drive from Copenhagen to Kastrup where you will cross the Oeresund bridge to enter Malmoe (also spelled "Malmo"), Sweden. Continue through Karlshamn and Karlskrona as you travel along the scenic coastline to Kalmar, one of the oldest cities in Sweden. Upon arrival, your group will check in to its hotel in Kalmar.

This afternoon enjoy a guided two-hour walking tour of this historic Swedish city. Explore Kalmar's medieval Old Town, which is home to many well-preserved 17th and 18th-century buildings. The city suffered a devastating fire in 1647 and as a result the city council decided to move the center where it stands today. From the Old Town continue to Kalmar Castle, a structure that stretches back over 800 years and has played a fundamental role in Kalmar's history. Kalmar Castle was also the meeting place for the signing of the Union of Kalmar in 1397. The tour will end back at the hotel and your group has the remainder of the day at leisure.

After breakfast and check-out you will discover the Kingdom of Crystal. You will learn all about these impressive works of art, and included in your tour is Glasriket Pass, which offers visitors numerous benefits, particularly if you would like to try your hand at glassblowing, engraving or glass painting. (The pass also gives you an exclusive discount of 10% on purchases over SEK 500 in the factory shops.)

Your first visit today is Maaleraas, which is very famous around the world for its inhouse glass artist and master engraver, Mats Jonasson, whose highly-realistic animal carving in full-lead crystal contain unimaginably-detailed representations that make his visual art truly unique. You will have a guided factory tour of the glasswork, whose designers are Mats Jonasson, Erika Hoeglund, Klas-Goeran Tinbaeck and Robert Ljubez.

This afternoon, your next visit is to Kosta Glasswork, which is the oldest glass factory in Sweden still producing handmade glass. With characteristic cra'smanship and good design, Kosta has become one of the leading glasshouses in the world. Today Kosta produces a broad range of crystal pieces, glass tableware and art glass, and along with Boda and Aarfors, Kosta forms part of the famous crystal brand of Kosta Boda.

After exploring the museum, exhibition hall, glassblowing and glassworks shops, enjoy a traditional evening of Hyttsill in the Kingdom of Crystal. Dining in Hyttsill will transport you back to the days of traditional fare of the early Smaaland glassblowers, an era when locals often gathered after a hard day working in the blowing room to cook salt herring and other delicacies directly in the furnaces. Tonight's traditional feast will give you a memorable, magical evening in the glow of the furnaces!

After an unforgettable evening, board your coach and travel west a short distance to the city of Vaxjo where your group will overnight.

After breakfast and checkout, you and your fellow travelers will depart Vaxjo and travel by private coach to Vadstena, one of Sweden's most charming and historically-significant towns. The city is located on the beautiful shores of Lake Vaettern. While here you will tour Vadstena Castle, a castle full of life all year round. The castle was originally a fortress built in the mid-16th century to protect Stockholm from its southern enemies. Years later the fortress was rebuilt into a magnificent castle for the Swedish prince, Magnus Vasa. After your sightseeing in Vadstena, your group will drive to Motala to visit the Gota Canal Museum. Learn all about the origins of the canal by touring the exhibitions titled "The People and the Technology," and "the Constructions of the Canal" which contain interesting information about the people who made it possible to construct the canal along with details on the technology they used.

Afterwards, proceed to the city of Linkoping, which will serve as your home for the evening. Picturesque Linkoeping has more canal locks (in a limited area) than anywhere else in Sweden, and it is home to a refreshing small-town ambience.

After checking into the hotel, enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure to explore Linkoping.

After breakfast and checkout, your group will board its private coach and drive a short distance from Linkoeping to Berg. Here you will cruise down one of Sweden's best attractions, the Gota Canal. During your journey to Borensberg enjoy the beautiful landscapes and unique canal atmosphere. The Carl Johan lock stairway in Berg is the longest on the canal with its seven interconnected locks. It can raise or lower the boats 60 feet between Lake Roxan and the harbor. The total length of the Gota Canal is 118 miles (with 54 miles of the canal being entirely manmade), and in total there are 58 locks including two which are manually operated. Your tour on the Gota Canal will end in Borensberg where your group will re-board its coach and drive north to orebro, the seventh largest city in Stockholm with 120,000 residents.

After checking into the hotel, enjoy some time to freshened up or explore orebro before tonight's group dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

After breakfast and checkout, your group will travel to north into Dalarna, the Swedish province commonly called the "Land of Folklore." The heart of Dalarna is Lake Siljan, which was created by a meteorite thousands of years ago. Around its calm waters are villages of traditional wooden houses, often painted in red, which is quite typical in Sweden. Continue on to Mora, a relatively small city with a compact town center. This is the largest municipality in the Siljan region, and the surrounding area is famous for its beautiful nature and landscape, formed by a massive meteorite crashing into Earth more than 360 million years ago. This is one of the largest craters created by a meteorite in the world history; and the largest one in Europe. Also noteworthy: the famous 55-mile Swedish ski race, Vasaloppet, ends in Mora.

From Mora, you will continue on to Nusnas to visit Nils Olsson's Hemsjoyd and the Dala Horse Factory, where the world-renown Dalecarlian wooden horse is produced. This brightly-painted, carved wooden horse has become an iconic symbol of Sweden. While here your group will visit the factory to see how these famous horse sculptures are made. Even today, the horses are still hand painted with a special technique. After, you will have time to visit the small shop before proceeding to the small and picturesque village of Taellberg, which is filled with traditional Swedish homes and is located on the scenic shores of Lake Siljan. This evening your group will dine together and overnight in this quaintly-beautiful village.

After breakfast and checkout, you might want to pay a visit to Klockargardan Handicra' (nice souvenirs) before your group departs Taellberg this morning. Today you will begin your journey by traveling to the city of Falun to visit the Falun Copper Mine and Museum. The Copper Mountain is Sweden's oldest and most important mine. Having been excavated and chiseled throughout centuries by thousands of miners, it is now an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Falun your group will drive to Sundborn to see where the famous painter Carl Larsson lived and worked, and while here you will visit his home which today is an interesting museum. After your visit, proceed to the hotel in Stockholm, the Royal Capital of Sweden.

Discover a city like no other; a city whose well-preserved medieval buildings stand alongside modern architecture; a city built upon 14 islands and surrounded by an archipelago of 24 000 islands! You will soon see that when in Stockholm, you are never far from beautiful views. Once your group arrives to its hotel in Stockholm, it will have free time to explore and fresh up before tonight's dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

After breakfast at the hotel, your guide will lead your group on an exciting morning city tour of Stockholm. During the tour you will see Stockholm's best attractions including an inside tour of the impressive Vasa Museum. This outstanding museum, which houses eight exhibitions, is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions because of its beautifully preserved ship from 1628. A portion of your Stockholm sightseeing tour will be on foot when you visit the city's historic Old Town. The tour will end there, so that you and your traveling companions can have the rest of the day to enjoy this sparklingly Scandinavian capital city. (Note: your professional tour escort would be happy to make suggestions of where you can spend this afternoon and evening.)

After breakfast and checkout, your group will transfer to the Stockholm Arlanda Airport for its return flight back to the US or Canada.