ITINERARY DAY 1: AUGUST 25, 2018, YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS Board your overnight flight (not included). DAY 2: AUGUST 26, 2018, WELCOME TO COPENHAGEN On arrival at Copenhagen Airport, your transfer shuttle service will leave for your hotel at 09:00, 12:00 & 15:00. Then you will be at leisure to relax and settle in. In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Reception, drinks and a wonderful Welcome Dinner, followed by a visit to the glittering lights and enchanting atmosphere of the world-famous Tivoli Gardens. MEAL: Welcome Reception and Dinner DAY 3: AUGUST 27, 2018, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN (Relaxed Start) A Local Expert will reveal the charm of Denmark’s capital. Meet Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid gazing wistfully across the harbour. See Christiansborg Palace, seat of the Danish Government, as well as the Rosenborg and Amalienborg Palaces and the Renaissance Stock Exchange. Continue to Copenhagen’s cathedral, where the Crown Prince of Denmark married Princess Mary and the unusual Rundertaarn - a 17th century round tower, the oldest functioning Observatory in Europe. The afternoon is at leisure, perhaps take an optional experience into the picturesque Danish countryside to the castles of North Zealand. MEAL: Buffet Breakfast DAY 4: AUGUST 28, 2018, VIKING ROSKILDE Travel to the ancient city of Roskilde, dating back to the Viking age. Visit Roskilde Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first gothic cathedral in Scandinavia, where 39 kings and queens are buried. Roskilde is also home to the giant rock music event, Roskilde Festival. MEAL: Buffet Breakfast DAY 5: AUGUST 29, 2018, ON THE WAY TO STOCKHOLM Leave Denmark and cross over the Øresund Bridge to Sweden. On through the Skåne region (which gave its name to Scandinavia), past a patchwork of fertile farmlands. Continue along the shores of Lake Vättern to the Swedish capital. MEALS: Buffet Breakfast, Dinner SPECTACULAR SCANDINAVIA DEPART 25 TH AUGUST • RETURN 9 TH SEPTEMBER 2018 AND ITS FJORDS GEIRANGER, NORWAY DAY 6: AUGUST 30, 2018, STOCKHOLM, CITY OF ISLANDS (Relaxed Start) The charms of Sweden’s capital are revealed with your Local Expert. Start with the cathedral, the coronation palace of many Swedish kings and the Old Town, with some of the narrowest streets in the world. Stroll through the courtyard of the Royal Palace and visit the imposing City Hall with its Gold Room (site of the annual Nobel Prize presentation banquet), with walls covered by 25 million gilded mosaic tiles. There’s free time in the afternoon to explore at your own pace. Perhaps visit the fabulous Vasa Galleon, raised from Stockholm’s harbour bed in 1961 after sinking on its maiden voyage in 1628 MEAL: Buffet Breakfast DAY 7: AUGUST 31, 2018, SIGTUNA, UPPSALA AND FALUN Travel to the once Viking capital of Sigtuna, on the shores of Lake Mälaren, now boasting Sweden’s smallest City Hall. Then head to the historic city of Uppsala, seat of Scandinavia’s oldest university and visit the lofty cathedral. Later, travel through rural Dalecarlia to the old historic mining town of Falun. View the Great Pit, a vast crater caused by an enormous mine collapse in 1687. MEAL: Buffet Breakfast DAY 8: SEPEMBER 1, 2018 DALES AND LAKES TO LILLEHAMMER A scenic drive along the shores of Lake Siljan in the Dalarna region brings you to Nusnas, home of the Dala horse. Visit a workshop to witness a colourful wooden horse being made. Continue deep into the forested heart of Sweden. Cross into Norway and pass the Olympic ice skating rink called the ‘Viking Ship’ at Hamar. Journey along the shores of Mjøsa, Norway’s largest lake, to Lillehammer. MEAL: Buffet Breakfast DAY 9: SEPTEMBER 2, 2018, GEIRANGER, JEWEL OF THE FJORDS (Relaxed Start) Head northwest from Lillehammer amid the countryside of Peer Gynt, immortalised by Ibsen. At Lom, visit the Norwegian stave church dating back to 1130. Continue along winding roads that pass waterfalls, rivers, icefields, lakes and snow-capped peaks in abundance. End your day in spectacular fashion with an incredible cruise on the mirror-smooth waters of Geirangerfjord, with its towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls. Stay in the remote village of Geiranger, overlooking fjords and soaring mountains. MEALS: Buffet Breakfast, Dinner