Scandinavia
Norway, Denmark, Sweden
Oslo, Gothenburg, Helsingborg (Elsinore),
Copenhagen
Folk Dancing, Folk Music, Culture, Art, History, Adventure!
When: June 10-24, 2025
Led by Lee Otterholt
Featuring
★ See all three Scandinavian countries
★ Dance with local folk dance groups
★ Learn folk dancing with locals
★ For dancers, non-dancers, and anyone
with a love of travel and culture.
★ Ferries from Sweden to Denmark and from Skjælland to the Jutland Peninsula. Cruise from Denmark to Norway!
★ Midsummer festivities in Sweden!
★ Price includes city tours, hotels, breakfasts, 4 dinners, all dance events!
Find out 29 Reasons Norway is the Most Beautiful
Norway in a Nutshell extension
I can’t wait to go! Reserve my place with my $200 deposit per person.
Land Only: $4995
(To see our 3 choices of payment method, click here.)
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Download Scandinavia 2025 itinerary pdf
Our Itinerary
Day 0: Tuesday, June 10: Fly to Oslo on airline of your choice.
Day 1: Wednesday, June 11:
Arrive Oslo. Take train to “Oslo S” (The main train station in Oslo.) Walk approx. 3 blocks to Comfort Hotel Børsparken, Tollbugate 4, Oslo and check in. The tour starts when we meet in lobby at 6pm to get to know each other and go out to eat a Welcome Dinner at an historic restaurant in Oslo. Short walking tour of central Oslo.
Day 2: Thursday, June 12:
Sightseeing in Oslo including new Opera House, Folk Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum, Akerhus Fortress and Norwegian Resistance Museum. Possible meeting with Norwegian folk dance group. Overnight at Comfort Hotel Børsparken .
Day 3: Friday, June 13:
Train to Drammen. Begin weekend workshop at Danvikfolkehøgskole (”college”): Join 50-70 other international folk dancers from all over Norway in a weekend of dancing, live music and instruction, led by Lee Otterholt. Dinner and overnight at Danvik.
Day 4: Saturday June 14:
Weekend Workshop continues. All meals included from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch.
Day 5: Sunday, June 15:
Weekend Workshop concludes with lunch at Danvik. After tearful farewell to new folk dance friends, drive through picturesque towns on the south coast of Norway to Kragerø (birthplace of Thor Heyerdahl). Ferry to Denmark. Overnight in Plesner Hotel in beautiful Skagen.
Borgund Stave Church – oldest preserved timber buildings. Wonderful tourist attraction of Norway
Day 6: Monday, June 16:
Explore picturesque Skagen at the very tip of the Jutland peninsula. Nature walk to where the Skagerrak meets the Kattegat Straight. (You can stand with a foot in each sea!) or visit museum of famous local artists. Meeting with local Danish folk dance group in Hjørring in the evening. Overnight Plesner Hotel.
Day 7: Tuesday, June 17:
Drive down Jutland peninsula to Århus and take ferry to Sjælland (the island that Copenhagen is on.) Check in to hotel in central Copenhagen.
Day 8: Wednesday, June 18:
Guided city tour in the morning. Free in theafternoon. (Visit Tivoli?) Overnight same hotel in central Copenhagen.
Day 9: Thursday, June 19:
Drive to Helsingør and visit Hamlet’s castle, “Elsinor” (actual name: Kronborg Castle). Ferry to Sweden then drive up Swedish West Coast to Nääs Palace. Overnight in the historic buildings of the Nääs Palace!
Day 10: Friday, June 20:
Drive in to Gothenburg to celebrate Midsummer’s Eve there during the day, then drive to back to Nääs where we will be guests at a dance party with live music and many Swedish dancers in the “Lekhuset” (“Playhouse”) on the grounds, then witness a dramatic recreation of a Medieval Torch Dance Ceremony at midnight.
Day 11: Saturday June 21: Morning free to explore the Nääs Palace and grounds,m then witness the recreation of a 19th Century “bondbröllop” “farmer’s wedding”) at Nääs in theafternoon. Overnight again at Nääs.
Day 12: Sunday, June 22: Drive to historic Fredrikstad, stopping at Tanum to see ancient “helleristinger” (petroglyphs). Walking tour of the Old Town within the Fredrikstad Fortress. Overnight at Quality Hotel in Fredrikstad. Possible meeting with international folkdance group.
Day 13: Monday, June 23:
Drive up beautiful west shore of the Oslo Fjord, visiting the quaint town of Drøbak (where Lee lived before moving to the US) and dancing with local international folk dancers there before arriving back at the Comfort Hotel Børsparken in Oslo and a (tearful!) farewell dinner.
Day 14: Tuesday, June 24:
Fly back to US. (The is very near the main Oslo train station (“Oslo S”). Trains run from there to the OSL airport all day and night.)
Extension: “Norway in a Nutshell”
Day 14: Monday, June 23: Morning train to Bergen, over the top of the Norwegian mountains. Explore Bergen afternoon and evening. Overnight in hotel.
Day 15: Tuesday, June 24: Take morning train to Voss, then bus to Gudvangen to fjord cruise through spectacular scenery to Flåm. Then take Europe’s steepest railroad from sea level at Flåm to the snowy mountain tops at Myrdal to catch the train back to Oslo. Overnight at Comfort Hotel Børsparken in Oslo.
Day 15: Wednesday, June 25: Fly back to US. (The Comfort Hotel Børsparken is very close to the Oslo S train station. Trains run from there to the OSL airport all day and night.)
About Lee Otterholt:
Lee Otterholt, born in the USA of Norwegian-American parents, has lived and worked most of his life in Norway as a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He founded the Center for International Folk Dance in Oslo; he was also professor of dance folklore at the Norwegian National College of Ballet, and University College of Oslo. Lee established folk dance and performing groups in Norway, taught at festivals and workshops throughout Europe, United States, and East Asia, and is the author of folk dance and instructional manuals used in Norwegian schools. Lee was one of the choreographers for the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer.
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REGISTRATION: I can’t wait to go! Enclosed is my registration deposit of $200 per person. Single supplement: $795. Hotel taxes and service charges: $185. Gratuities not included. Program subject to change without notice. Program subject to change without notice. Cancellations until April 10: Total refund: After April 10: No refund. Travel insurance always recommended.
Total balance due March 1, 2025.
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