How can we best plan our Scandinavian road trip?

Simon Calder answers your questions on cross-Europe getaways, using credit cards abroad and how to make the most of US rail trips

Ghent makes for a classy short stay en route to taking the ferry to northern Europe (Getty)

Q We live in Leeds and want to take our car to Norway and Sweden next summer – but ideally without driving south first. Is there any alternative to a long drive through Holland or Belgium, Germany and Denmark?

Graham B

A DFDS used to run a very useful service from Immingham in Lincolnshire to Scandinavia, but I understand dropped the opportunity to take passengers due to Border Force complications. Then Holland Norway Lines sailed from Eemshaven, near Groningen in the Netherlands to Kristiansand in southern Norway, but the route never caught on and the company filed for bankruptcy last year.

The best option I can come up with is to nip along to Hull and take the nightly P&O ferry to Rotterdam. From here you would need to drive about 90 minutes southwest from where the ferry docks to Ghent. (Annoyingly, this involves going in precisely the wrong direction to Scandinavia.) DFDS has a daily ferry from Ghent in Belgium to Gothenburg in Sweden, which I understand takes passengers and their cars.

This is primarily worth doing, I believe, if you build in a short stay in the fine city of Ghent. It has a superb modern art museum, Smak, as well as a spectacular piece of art – Van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – on display in the cathedral. And, this being Belgium, many good places to eat and drink.

Otherwise, in your position I would probably choose DFDS from Newcastle to Amsterdam and then the long drive via the Zuider Zee dyke through the flatlands to Hamburg (another good place to stay) and onwards to the far north of Denmark for a ferry to Norway or Sweden. Turn this to your advantage by spending at least a day in the magical town of Skagen, where the Skaggerat and Kattegat seas meet. From here you can go to the Danish port of Frederikshavn for the ferry to Gothenburg or to Hirtshals to reach Kristiansand.

Payment (politely) declined: the only guarantee about using this method is that you will end up paying more, in sterling, than you should (Getty/iStock)

Q Can you remind me of the right thing to do when you are presented abroad with a credit card terminal and the option of paying in euros or sterling?

Kevin M

A If you are ever asked abroad if you would like to pay a sterling amount with a credit card rather than the local currency, always politely decline. Being offered the chance to settle the bill for your stay, meal or souvenir in this manner is known as “dynamic currency conversion” (DCC), or sometimes “cardholder preferred currency”. From the traveller’s point of view, DCC is simply a fast way to lose a slice of hard-earned cash; I believe the initials DCC are best interpreted as “dismal currency conversion”.

Here’s how it works. Hotels, restaurants and shops with a large tourism business join with their financial institution to extract a percentage from foreign customers. When you proffer a credit card, the terminal will display two figures: the bill in euros (EUR), and a figure in pounds (GBP). You are invited to assume that the sterling amount is “equivalent” to the euro figure. In fact, it is likely to be the current exchange rate depleted by a charge somewhere between 5 and 10 per cent. The bank and the merchant split that margin.

In these days of wobbly exchange rates, you might be tempted to lock into a fixed exchange rate. But the only guarantee about using DCC is that you will end up paying more, in sterling, than you should.

When offering dynamic currency conversion, merchants are supposed to follow strict guidelines, making clear the exchange rate and the fact that you have a choice. But I know from personal experience during the summer that occasionally businesses will apply DCC and charge you in sterling without telling you – especially if you are simply tapping your card, as opposed to taking the terminal and putting in your PIN. Watch transactions like a hawk.

All aboard: Grand Central Station in New York (Getty)

Q We are planning to cross the US by rail between New York and Los Angeles and will stop off in Niagara, Chicago, St Louis, Austin and Arizona. We will be paying for cabins on board. But we are unsure whether to go east-west, ie starting in New York, or west-east. Which would you recommend?

Michael G

A Two trains are involved: the Lake Shore Limited between New York and Chicago and the Texas Eagle between Chicago and LA. All other things being equal, the natural answer to your question would be east to west. That is because the days are stretched because of the time zone, giving you a significant amount of extra daylight. Yet due to the schedules on the two trains involved, I have no hesitation in recommending you go west to east.

You will depart from both the great cities of Los Angeles and Chicago in the evenings, allowing you to dine well first. And you will arrive at most of your chosen locations at a convenient time in the morning. Choose Maricopa for your Arizona stop – it is in the southern suburbs of Phoenix and well-placed for exploration by road.

Arrival at Austin is soon after 9am; if you don’t want to wait for the next train (which could be up to 72 hours), there are plenty of buses taking around three hours to Dallas, which is also worth exploring.

On the Lake Shore Limited train from Chicago to New York, Buffalo is the place to disembark – just before 9am. You can hop on a local bus to Niagara Falls NY for a couple of dollars. Assuming you stay overnight at the falls, I suggest you board the direct Empire Service train leaving shortly before 7am. It runs from Niagara Falls’ own station south beside the Hudson River for a glorious day of sightseeing, arriving late afternoon in Manhattan.

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