The Real Deal: Seven nights' accommodations (including a cabin on an overnight cruise); breakfast daily; bus transportation; a guided tour of Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo; and hotel taxes and service charges, for $1,359 per person.
When: Departs daily May 1-Oct. 31, 2009.
The fine print: All taxes included. Based on double occupancy; single supplement is $679. Group size depends on your departure date. Note that this is not a fully escorted tour; there's some time for independent sightseeing, and you'll go on the city tours and the cruise with people not in your tour group. Read before you book any Real Deal.
Book by: No deadline; based on availability.
Contact: Continental Journeys, 800/601-4343, continentaljourneys.com.
Why it's a deal: The trip price breaks down to about $194 per person per night. For that, the tour operator includes six nights in hotels, a booking on an overnight cruise, bus transportation, and a tour of each city—all arranged for you in one booking.
Lodging: In Stockholm, you'll stay at the Quality Hotel Globe, near Södermalm, a trendy neighborhood full of shops and restaurants. The Scandic Sydhavnen, a 10-minute metro ride from the city center, will be your base in Copenhagen. Spend the final two nights in Oslo at the central, contemporary Thon Hotel Europa.
Itinerary highlights: The trip starts in Stockholm, where you'll have a city tour that includes with a stop at Nordiska Kompaniet, one of the largest department stores in Scandinavia. You'll travel by private bus for the seven-hour trip from Stockholm to Copenhagen. There's a city tour in Copenhagen that stops at the iconic Little Mermaid statue. You'll take an overnight cruise to Oslo—accommodations are in an interior cabin with a private bathroom. You'll get on the bus tour of Oslo directly after the cruise, with a stop at the Vigeland Sculpture Park. And you'll have another free day in Oslo before departing for home.
More: The First Class package allows you to upgrade to three nicer hotels and to an outside cabin with sea views on the cruise for $240 more per person; the Deluxe package is $740 more per person and includes an upgrade to even nicer hotels and the Commodore Class Cabin on the cruise, with steward service and complimentary breakfast. Extend your vacation by adding nights in any of the cities from $40 per person.
Before you go: Note that the tour begins in Stockholm and ends in Oslo. U.S. citizens will need a valid passport for travel; a visa is not required. For more ideas on what to do, visit the official tourism sites of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
