Scandinavia: Denmark & Sweden

Your vacation is about to begin! Spend your first night aloft and arrive ready for an unforgettable trip.

Start off your first day in Copenhagen right by having a VBT representative greet you at the airport. A complimentary car service will whisk you to your centrally located hotel. From here, you are perfectly positioned to explore this charming city at your leisure.

After an included breakfast, meet your VBT local guide at 8:45 a.m. in the lobby of The Square Hotel. Please remember NOT to pack your passport in your checked luggage and to bring the passport with you in your carry-on as you may need to present the passport to Swedish Immigration officials upon entering Sweden.

You travel with your local VBT guide to the city of Helsingör. This historic city overlooking Øre Sound, or Øresund to the locals, is called “Elsinore” in English and is known to Shakespeare readers as the site of Hamlet’s castle. Enjoy a guided tour of the Renaissance-style Elsinore castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

You will enjoy lunch on your own before boarding the ferry for the 20-minute crossing of the Öresund to the Swedish city of Helsingborg. During the ferry ride, you might snack on a local favorite, “two reds and a green”—a pair of sausages and a Tuborg beer. Upon arrival to Helsingborg, meet your trip leaders at the hotel for a bike-fitting and safety briefing. Afterwards check into your hotel, change to your cycling gear and begin your warm-up ride along the scenic southern coast of Sweden to the picturesque fishing village of Råå. The 2.5-mile-wide strait you are cycling along separates Sweden from Denmark and is one of the busiest waterways in the world, connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Later, settle into your hotel on Helsingborg’s waterfront, discovering this charming city with a bustling harbor and Hamlet’s castle in the distance across the Öresund.

This evening, step out with your group to one of Helsingborg’s oldest buildings for your festive smörgåsbord welcome dinner. Your dinner is catered by a local chef who will introduce you to the history, flavors, and etiquette of Sweden’s most famous style of dining.

Please note, Sweden has become almost entirely cashless. Most venues will not accept cash and will only accept payment using credit/debit cards. ATMs are only available in Helsingborg on the first two days of your tour for any cash needs (such as tips).

Today’s Ride Choices

Afternoon Warm-up — 14.5 km (9 miles)

What to Expect:

Cross the waterway on a ferry to Sweden between Helsingör, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden.  Cycle the flat bike path in Sweden along the Øre Sound.

Cumulative Distance Range: 4.5 km (9 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Set off from Helsingborg by bike, following a cycling route along the sea. On the outskirts of town, pedal past a castle and forest, enjoying the coastal beauty along the Kattegat—the shallow sea between Denmark and Sweden. Your morning ride follows more of the scenic Kattegattleden bike path. Coast past quaint fishing villages with cozy thatch-roofed homes and boat-filled harbors. Admire stunning vistas of shoals and grassy bluffs overlooking the Kattegat. Soon, you turn inland near the town of Arild and pass dairy farms and small vineyards presided over by a windmill atop a gentle rise. Your refreshing morning spin has several lunch options along the way: perhaps a seaside restaurant or a lovely garden café.

After lunch, you may choose to shuttle or continue riding on the lovely coastal route back to your hotel in Helsinborg. Spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening exploring Helsingborg, the oldest town in Sweden.  Always a strategic city for its location at the narrowest point on the Öresund, it changed hands from Danish to Swedish in 1658 after the Dano-Swedish War. During World War II, a sort of underground railroad here known secretly as the Elsinore Sewing Club helped Jews escape Nazi persecution. Today, Helsingborg is a picturesque seaside gem friendly to cyclists.

For dinner on your own this evening, you might venture out from your centrally located hotel to one of Helsingborg’s numerous restaurants.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Helsingborg to Skäret — 37 km (23 miles)

Afternoon Skäret to Helsingborg — 37 km (23 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart from your hotel in Helsingborg and ride to the rural town of Skäret along the Kattegattleden, a dedicated bike lane and path. Continue along the Kattegattleden bike path in the afternoon back to your hotel in Helsingborg.

Cumulative Distance Range: 37 — 74 km (23 — 60 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

This morning, you continue your cycling to Ängelholm, originally settled in 1516, this pretty town is renowned as one of the only remaining producers of clay cuckoos, a unique style of handmade wind instrument with finger holes.  Enjoy time exploring Ängelholm and having lunch at leisure.

After lunch either shuttle or cycle to your next hotel.  Your afternoon ride at times joins the ever-familiar Kattegattleden bike route. Named Europe’s Cycle Route of the Year 2018, this scenic, 242-mile (390 km) bike path stretches from Gothenburg to Helsingborg. It was Sweden’s first national bicycle route and is an inspiration to local and visiting cyclists.  Traversing Sweden’s southernmost county, Skåne County, reveals a varied landscape of forest and open shoreline meadows. Along the coast, you also spin through seaside communities such as the small village of Skepparkrogen and Torekov where you will enjoy the next two nights at your charming spa hotel.

This evening, enjoy dinner at your leisure in the hotel’s lovely restaurant or at a nearby restaurant in the village of Torekov.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Helsingborg to Ängelholm — 33 km (20 miles)

Afternoon Ängelholm to Torekov — 32 km (20 miles)

What to Expect:

The morning route follows busier bike lanes in the city of Ängelholm before joining the popular Kattegattleden bike route and country roads.

Cumulative Distance Range: 33 — 65 km (20 — 40 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you cycle through the manicured farmlands and small villages of the Bjäre Pennisula, taking in the sweeping distant views of the Kattegatt Sea. Civilization on the peninsula dates to the Bronze Age, and traces of the cultivated terraces of that time can still be found today. Picture-perfect Swedish panoramas of rolling farmland and neat red farmhouses mark your progress today toward Hovs Hallar—the steepest coastal region of the peninsula. Explore by foot the nature park with its steep, red cliffs and pebbled beaches.

Afterward, as you ride back toward your hotel, pause to savor a lovely picnic lunch at the old quarry and Viking burial grounds of Dagshög. Enjoy your sumptuous picnic while feasting your eyes on the vistas of the rugged shoreline and distant nature-reserve island of Hallands Väderö.

It is a short ride from here to your hotel, where you may spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or taking advantage of one of the spa treatments. (The spa is quite popular with the locals, so book in advance with your trip leaders when you meet them on the first day of the bike tour.)

Enjoy the evening by shuttling to the seaside town of Båstad with an included group dinner at one of the town’s lovely restaurants.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Torekov Hotell to Hovs Hallar Loop — 33 km (20 miles)

What to Expect:

Ride well-paved, narrow country lanes with little traffic, and more paved bike paths of the Kattegattleden cycle route. There is a short quarter-mile (400-meter) stretch of gravel road to/from the Dagshög picnic site. The terrain is fairly flat with occasional rolling hills.

Cumulative Distance Range: 33 km (20 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, cycle to the nearby Norrviken Gardens, chosen as Sweden’s most beautiful garden and Europe’s second-most beautiful garden in 2006. Enjoy a tour of one of the year’s specially themed gardens.  After the tour enjoy a savory lunch on your own in the estate’s villa or cycle into the charming resort town of Båstad, home to Sweden’s Tennis Open—held each summer since 1948. Explore the shops and cafés at your leisure.

In the afternoon you will shuttle from the west coast of Sweden’s scenic inland countryside to your lakefront historic countryside inn.

This evening enjoy a local folkloric group’s performance and learn about their traditional costumes and a unique Swedish musical instrument, nyckelharpa, resembling a fiddle with keys attached to the neck to control the chords. Later you may wish to enjoy a dinner prepared by your inn’s talented chef.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Torekov to Norrviken Gardens — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

Cycle to the seaside resort town of Båstad and the Norrviken Gardens. The route alternates between a cycle path and a dedicated bike lane on country roads and village streets. Traffic in Båstad can increase during the summer months, especially in July during the weeks of Sweden’s Tennis Open tournament.

Cumulative Distance Range: 27 km (17 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you cycle from your inn on country roads into the surrounding countryside. Your flat, easy bicycle route takes you through forests and meadows to quaint villages and around numerous lakes. Stop in the morning at a typical countryside home for fika, the traditional Swedish coffee break, where welcoming Swedish hosts share with you some details about their daily life.

Cycle back to the hotel and enjoy lunch and the afternoon at your lakefront inn. Take advantage of numerous activities that bring you close to this beautiful, scenic area such as hiking, rowing or paddling canoes on the lake, or simply relaxing in one of the unique eco-friendly saunas and hot tubs. Tonight enjoy a traditional Swedish Bar-B-Que farewell dinner in the hotel’s 16th century historical Swedish house.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Toftaholm Hergard loop ride to Swedish Fika — 61 km (38 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart from your hotel and ride along two-lane scenic country roads. After the Swedish Fika, ride back to the hotel.

Cumulative Distance Range: 61 km (38 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Travel from Toftaholm Herrgård to Stockholm after breakfast. Enjoy a free afternoon to explore Stockholm on your own. Your hotel is ideally located in Stockholm’s city center, and most major sites are within walking distance of the hotel. The Royal Palace, City Hall and Gamla Stan, or Old Town, are all easily accessible. VBT provides city information, including recommendations for cafés, restaurants, museums, and transportation, so you can get the most out of your stay.

In the evening continue your exploration of Stockholm and its many dining options.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After an included breakfast this morning, complimentary transportation to the Stockholm Arlanda Airport will be provided (an approximately 45 minute drive) for your departing flight.

Included Meals: Breakfast

At 8:45 a.m., meet your VBT local guide in the lobby of The Square Hotel. Please remember NOT to pack your passport in your checked luggage and to bring the passport with you in your carry-on as you may need to present the passport to Swedish Immigration officials upon entering Sweden.

You travel with your local VBT guide to the city of Helsingör. This historic city overlooking Øre Sound, or Øresund to the locals, is called “Elsinore” in English and is known to Shakespeare readers as the site of Hamlet’s castle. Enjoy a guided tour of the Renaissance-style Elsinore castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

You will enjoy lunch on your own before boarding the ferry for the 20-minute crossing of the Öresund to the Swedish city of Helsingborg. During the ferry ride, you might snack on a local favorite, “two reds and a green”—a pair of sausages and a Tuborg beer. Upon arrival to Helsingborg, meet your trip leaders at the hotel for a bike-fitting and safety briefing. Afterwards check into your hotel, change to your cycling gear and begin your warm-up ride along the scenic southern coast of Sweden to the picturesque fishing village of Råå. The 2.5-mile-wide strait you are cycling along separates Sweden from Denmark and is one of the busiest waterways in the world, connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Later, settle into your hotel on Helsingborg’s waterfront, discovering this charming city with a bustling harbor and Hamlet’s castle in the distance across the Öresund.

This evening, step out with your group to one of Helsingborg’s oldest buildings for your festive smörgåsbord welcome dinner. Your dinner is catered by a local chef who will introduce you to the history, flavors, and etiquette of Sweden’s most famous style of dining.

Today’s Ride Choices

Afternoon Warm-up — 14.5 km (9 miles)

What to Expect:

Cross the waterway on a ferry to Sweden between Helsingör, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden.  Cycle the flat bike path in Sweden along the Øre Sound.

Cumulative Distance Range: 14.5 km (9 miles)

Included Meals: Dinner

Set off from Helsingborg by bike, following a cycling route along the sea. On the outskirts of town, pedal past a castle and forest, enjoying the coastal beauty along the Kattegat—the shallow sea between Denmark and Sweden. Your morning ride follows more of the scenic Kattegattleden bike path. Coast past quaint fishing villages with cozy thatch-roofed homes and boat-filled harbors. Admire stunning vistas of shoals and grassy bluffs overlooking the Kattegat. Soon, you turn inland near the town of Arild and pass dairy farms and small vineyards presided over by a windmill atop a gentle rise. Your refreshing morning spin has several lunch options along the way: perhaps a seaside restaurant or a lovely garden café.

After lunch, you may choose to shuttle or continue riding on the lovely coastal route back to your hotel in Helsinborg. Spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening exploring Helsingborg, the oldest town in Sweden.  Always a strategic city for its location at the narrowest point on the Öresund, it changed hands from Danish to Swedish in 1658 after the Dano-Swedish War. During World War II, a sort of underground railroad here known secretly as the Elsinore Sewing Club helped Jews escape Nazi persecution. Today, Helsingborg is a picturesque seaside gem friendly to cyclists.

For dinner on your own this evening, you might venture out from your centrally located hotel to one of Helsingborg’s numerous restaurants.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Helsingborg to Skäret — 37 km (23 miles)

Afternoon Skäret to Helsingborg — 37 km (23 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart from your hotel in Helsingborg and ride to the rural town of Skäret along the Kattegattleden, a dedicated bike lane and path. Continue along the Kattegattleden bike path in the afternoon back to your hotel in Helsingborg.

Cumulative Distance Range: 37 — 74 km (23 — 60 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

This morning, you continue your cycling to Ängelholm, originally settled in 1516, this pretty town is renowned as one of the only remaining producers of clay cuckoos, a unique style of handmade wind instrument with finger holes.  Enjoy time exploring Ängelholm and having lunch at leisure.

After lunch either shuttle or cycle to your next hotel.  Your afternoon ride at times joins the ever-familiar Kattegattleden bike route. Named Europe’s Cycle Route of the Year 2018, this scenic, 242-mile (390 km) bike path stretches from Gothenburg to Helsingborg. It was Sweden’s first national bicycle route and is an inspiration to local and visiting cyclists.  Traversing Sweden’s southernmost county, Skåne County, reveals a varied landscape of forest and open shoreline meadows. Along the coast, you also spin through seaside communities such as the small village of Skepparkrogen and Torekov where you will enjoy the next two nights at your charming spa hotel.

This evening, enjoy dinner at your leisure in the hotel’s lovely restaurant or at a nearby restaurant in the village of Torekov.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Helsingborg to Ängelholm — 33 km (20 miles)

Afternoon Ängelholm to Torekov — 32 km (20 miles)

What to Expect:

The morning route follows busier bike lanes in the city of Ängelholm before joining the popular Kattegattleden bike route and country roads.

Cumulative Distance Range: 33 — 65 km (20 — 40 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you cycle through the manicured farmlands and small villages of the Bjäre Pennisula, taking in the sweeping distant views of the Kattegatt Sea. Civilization on the peninsula dates to the Bronze Age, and traces of the cultivated terraces of that time can still be found today. Picture-perfect Swedish panoramas of rolling farmland and neat red farmhouses mark your progress today toward Hovs Hallar—the steepest coastal region of the peninsula. Explore by foot the nature park with its steep, red cliffs and pebbled beaches.

Afterward, as you ride back toward your hotel, pause to savor a lovely picnic lunch at the old quarry and Viking burial grounds of Dagshög. Enjoy your sumptuous picnic while feasting your eyes on the vistas of the rugged shoreline and distant nature-reserve island of Hallands Väderö.

It is a short ride from here to your hotel, where you may spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or taking advantage of one of the spa treatments. (The spa is quite popular with the locals, so book in advance with your trip leaders when you meet them on the first day of the bike tour.)

Enjoy the evening by shuttling to the seaside town of Båstad with an included group dinner at one of the town’s lovely restaurants.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Torekov Hotell to Hovs Hallar Loop — 33 km (20 miles)

What to Expect:

Ride well-paved, narrow country lanes with little traffic, and more paved bike paths of the Kattegattleden cycle route. There is a short quarter-mile (400-meter) stretch of gravel road to/from the Dagshög picnic site. The terrain is fairly flat with occasional rolling hills.

Cumulative Distance Range: 33 km (20 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, cycle to the nearby Norrviken Gardens, chosen as Sweden’s most beautiful garden and Europe’s second-most beautiful garden in 2006. Enjoy a tour of one of the year’s specially themed gardens.  After the tour enjoy a savory lunch on your own in the estate’s villa or cycle into the charming resort town of Båstad, home to Sweden’s Tennis Open—held each summer since 1948. Explore the shops and cafés at your leisure.

In the afternoon you will shuttle from the west coast of Sweden’s scenic inland countryside to your lakefront historic countryside inn.

This evening enjoy a local folkloric group’s performance and learn about their traditional costumes and a unique Swedish musical instrument, nyckelharpa, resembling a fiddle with keys attached to the neck to control the chords. Later you may wish to enjoy a dinner prepared by your inn’s talented chef.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Torekov to Norrviken Gardens — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

Cycle to the seaside resort town of Båstad and the Norrviken Gardens. The route alternates between a cycle path and a dedicated bike lane on country roads and village streets. Traffic in Båstad can increase during the summer months, especially in July during the weeks of Sweden’s Tennis Open tournament.

Cumulative Distance Range: 27 km (17 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you cycle from your inn on country roads into the surrounding countryside. Your flat, easy bicycle route takes you through forests and meadows to quaint villages and around numerous lakes. Stop in the morning at a typical countryside home for fika, the traditional Swedish coffee break, where welcoming Swedish hosts share with you some details about their daily life.

Cycle back to the hotel and enjoy lunch and the afternoon at your lakefront inn. Take advantage of numerous activities that bring you close to this beautiful, scenic area such as hiking, rowing or paddling canoes on the lake, or simply relaxing in one of the unique eco-friendly saunas and hot tubs. Tonight enjoy a traditional Swedish Bar-B-Que farewell dinner in the hotel’s 16th century historical Swedish house.

Today’s Ride Choices

Morning Toftaholm Hergard loop ride to Swedish Fika — 61 km (38 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart from your hotel and ride along two-lane scenic country roads. After the Swedish Fika, ride back to the hotel.

Cumulative Distance Range: 61 km (38 miles)

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

After breakfast, you travel back to Stockholm, where your tour ends upon arrival at the Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza (Birger Jarlsgatan 29, 103 95 Stockholm, Sweden). It is a short stroll (approximately 15 -20 minutes) from here to Stockholm’s central train station and the Arlanda Airport Express train. The Arlanda Express train costs 300 SEK / $30 USD and takes approximately 18-20 minutes. A taxi ride to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport costs approximately SEK600/$60 USD and takes approximately 45-60 minutes.

Included Meals: Breakfast