Haven't traveled in Scandinavia since 1975, so my region-specific advice is probably of limited value except to say that every place I went was beautiful and worth visiting.
As for generic advice, we just spent three weeks in Italy in the fall and rented cars on three separate occasions for travel between cities. This worked out great because, as others have mentioned, a car within a city is a liability both from a parking and getting-around perspective. Using a car between major stops allowed us to explore the countryside in a way that trains could not.
We used autoeurope.com for our arrangements. Excellent operation based in Portland, ME. They found excellent rates, all contracts in English, a stateside contact, and reasonably-priced first dollar walkaway insurance. I made changes to my pick-up and drop-off points on the fly with no hassle. If you end up renting a car, and you have a GPS that can load international map, load them up and bring your own GPS. I bought a used GPS at a yard sale for $5 and got free Europe maps online. Even if you have to buy an international map pkg, it will probably be cheaper than renting a GPS from the auto company.
As for telephone, my home landline (Ooma) has a great cellphone app that allows me to use my cell phone as though it is my home phone when connected to wifi,. I know some other landline providers have similar features. Also, put Skype on your phone and get free accounts for you and anyone you might want to communicate with. Skype to Skype call and texts are free over wifi, and calls to non-Skype numbers both US and International are very inexpensive. You can pre-pay $10 worth of credit and probably never come close to using it. The credit never expires.
Credit card purchases were easy, and the exchange rate was favorable. No problems with ATMs in 4 countries. Never needed a pin with a chip card for purchases. Used a pin with my chipped debit card for ATM withdrawals. Upon arrival at the airport, took out cash from the ATM in local currency. If ATM becomes a problem for any reason, you can always exchange currency at an airport or train station. Hotels and in-town tourist offices will also exchange currency, but the fees may be higher. My best rate of exchange was always by using a credit card, so pay that way when you can, and carry enough local currency to make small purchases, tip porters, etc.
Check out a free phone app called maps.me, You can download maps using wifi for the areas you are travelling in. Once you have the app and maps you can use your phone's GPS to navigate walking routes without being on a cell phone network or wifi.
Topic: Trip to Scandinavia -- Advice? (Read 3899 times)