10 Trip suggestions for this Fall

I’ve been getting frequent queries over the past one month like “how to manage to travel”, “where to go this season”, “How to plan low budget trips”. Though I’m not an expert in travel planning, I’ll share my experience from past one year of traveling as I talk about the above questions one by one.

When to travel !!

If you look from the perspective of a KTH student, apart from the long summer holidays, there are two probable times in every study period when one can plan a trip.

The first option is to travel as soon as the classes are over, usually there is a gap of ten days between the last class and the exam week. So if you feel that you need to refresh a bit before getting in the exam mode, this is a perfect time.

The second option is right after the exams, before the start of next study period. This works in the cases when there is a considerable gap between the last exam and the start of classes. I followed both of these and made sure to travel once in every study period.

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Where to travel !!

Fall is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful seasons to be out in Europe, with leaves changing color from green to red and red to yellow. It’s a visual treat to even take a walk in a park. Though the wind is not as pleasant as the visuals anymore, especially in Sweden, it already feels cold. Now that we have sorted out the times to travel, let’s talk about where to travel this Autumn.

Cruise Trips across the Baltic

1. Weekend at Åland

Åland Islands Photo: Wikitravel

Åland is an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. It sits right in the middle of Finland and Sweden. The archipelago consists of around 80 inhabited islands plus around 6000 uninhabited islands, islets, and rocks.

One of the best thing about this trip is, that you can get there for free if you’re a Viking Club member (If you’re not, register here). However, the free ferry departs from Kapellskär, which is in Norrtälje Municipality and can be reached by Bus (The bus departs from Tekniska Högskolan).

Ideal Trip: 3 Days (Including Travel time)

2. Cruise trip to Finland

You can go to Turku or Helsinki in Finland by the same Viking line ships, and if you plan carefully, then you can find free cruise tickets as well.

Ideal Trip: 3 Days (Including Travel time)

3. Cruise trip to Tallin

Tallin is a vibrant city, the capital of Estonia located on the other end of Baltics, to go to Tallin, the best way is to take a cruise with Silja Line, usually, it’s advised to travel in multiples of four, as the ticket prices are not on per person basis, you rather pay per cabin. And the cabins are 2 person or 4 person cabins.

The way these cruises work is, You leave from Stockholm in the evening of Day 1, The ship has a lot of opportunities for having fun, there are live bands, singers, dance floors, cabaret shows etc. There are also duty-free shops, restaurants, and café. In the Morning of Day 2, you’ll reach Tallin, then you have around 8-9 hours to explore the city and then in the same evening, cruise leaves back for Stockholm. You can leave your stuff in your cabin while you go to explore the city, to make most out of those 8-9 hours, make sure to be ready by the time you reach Tallin (your cabin has a bathroom as well).

I went to Tallin on Christmas in 2015, here’s the travel blog from that trip.

If you want to stay for longer, you’ll have to book another cruise or flight to come back, there is no option for taking a return ticket on a different date.

Ideal Trip: 2.5 Days (Including Travel time)

4. Cruise Trip to Riga

The cruise trip to Riga is pretty much same as Tallin, you just end up in the capital of Latvia instead of Estonia.

Ideal Trip: 2.5 Days (Including Travel time)

Short Trips

If you’re not in a mood to take a cruise trip, don’t worry there are plenty of options.

5. Copenhagen

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark is one of the most colorful cities I’ve ever been to, it’s a city full of beautiful architecture. You can find cheap flights to go there and even take the night bus to Copenhagen, it’s a good Idea to cover the city of Malmö in the south of Sweden on the same trip. I found the night bus (FLIXBUS) as the cheapest way to get there. So Stockholm – Copenhagen – Malmö – Stockholm sounds like a nice 3-day trip.

Ideal Trip: 3 Days (Including Travel time)

6. Paris

I must admit, Paris is one of the most beautiful places to visit during fall, though make sure to take a look at the weather forecast before rain spoils your trip. And beware of pickpockets and scammers. Make sure to stay at least for one night there and explore the city at night.

Read this blog from my Paris trip.

This hyper-lapse video takes you around Paris in a magical way.

Ideal Trip: 3 Days (Including Travel time)

Long Trips

7. Paris – Brussels – Amsterdam

When going this far from Sweden, I always suggest to cover multiple places and plan a weeklong trip with multiple stops. This is one of those trips. It’s quite cheap to travel from Paris to Brussels or Amsterdam. And night buses cost you as much as the stay at a Hostel for a night.

I would suggest Stockholm – Paris – Brussels – Amsterdam – Stockholm as an Ideal one week trip. One can skip Belguim if they want to make the trip two days shorter.

See this video to virtually explore Amsterdam

Ideal Trip: 1 Week (Including Travel time)

8. Berlin – Prague – Vienna

The historical city of Berlin is a stunning place to be, you’ll end up spending 2-3 days there, a city with extraordinary nightlife and the architecture speaks of the history. Then there are night trains and night buses going towards Prague and Vienna, which are magnificent cities. See this spellbinding video of Vienna, which takes you around the city. See this spellbinding video of Vienna, which takes you around the city.

Ideal Trip: 1 Week (Including Travel time)

9. Prague – Vienna – Budapest

This I’ll call a perfect Musical trip, all the three cities are amazing, and Prague and Budapest are really cheap as well, so you can stay one extra day in a normal budget.

I went to Prague early this year, though it wasn’t a very successful trip, I still managed to see some of the city. Read my blog here.

Ideal Trip: 1 Week (Including Travel time)

10. Milan – Verona – Venice

I must warn you, if you go to Italy, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll like any other pizza after that. I was in Italy for two weeks, and believe me, it’s beautiful, and cheap as well. Though places like Venice might be as expensive as Stockholm, as soon as you step out of the touristy area. It’s way-way cheaper than here.

There are plenty of places in this region to explore, Read my blog from the trip to Venice here. If you have some extra time, consider going to any of the cities around Lake Garda, all are beautiful, I’ll recommend Riva del Garda, which is a rocky city at the north end of Lake Garda, A perfect place for a hike. This will add one extra day to your trip.

Ideal Trip: 1 Week (Including Travel time)

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I hope these help everyone to plan a trip. I have deliberately excluded Spain, Greece, Portugal and other southern countries, as I’ll recommend going there around April-May, when you’re longing to see the sun.

Wondering how to travel on a low budget! Check this out: Planning perfect trips without going broke!