Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
will save you lots of wrong turns. Due to recent changes, some maps have the
wrong road numbers. It's safest to navigate by town names.
This topic covers far-flung destinations separated by vast stretches of moun-
tains and water. While boats and trains are more romantic, cheap flights can
provide an affordable and efficient way to connect the dots on a Scandinavian
itinerary.
The best comparison search engine for both international and intra-
European flights is
www.kayak.com
.
For inexpensive flights within Europe,
try
www.skyscanner.com
or
www.hipmunk.com
.
If you're not sure who flies
to your destination, check its airport's website for a list of carriers.
SAS, the region's dominant airline, operates a low-cost Finnish subsidiary
called Blue1 (hubs in Helsinki and Stockholm,
www.blue1.com
)
and is af-
filiated with Oslo-based Widerøe Air (
www.wideroe.no
)
. Other options are
Norwegian Airlines (hubs in Oslo and Bergen,
www.norwegian.no
); the
Denmark-based Cimber Sterling (specializes in connecting Scandinavian cap-
itals such as Oslo and Copenhagen with sunny destinations in southern
Europe,
www.cimber.com
)
; and Tallinn-based Estonian Air (
www.estonian-
air.com
)
. Well-known cheapo airlines easyJet (
www.easyjet.com
) and Ryanair
(
www.ryanair.com
)
fly into Scandinavia.
Be aware of the potential drawbacks of flying on the cheap: nonrefundable
and nonchangeable tickets, minimal or nonexistent customer service, treks to
airports far outside town, and stingy baggage allowances with steep overage
fees. If you're traveling with lots of luggage, a cheap flight can quickly be-
come a bad deal. To avoid unpleasant surprises, read the small print before
you book.
Rick Steves' Scandinavia
is one of many books in my series on European
travel, which includes country guidebooks, city guidebooks (Rome, Florence,
