JFK-ARL : between 1000-1500USD roundtrip. If you plan on going to see the northern part of sweden (stockholm) - flying to arlanda stockholm would be your best choice. But you also have the option to fly in through Copenhagen -- prices are roughly the same and Kastrup airport is about 1.5hours to major cities in the southern part of Sweden (Helsingborg, Malmö, Karlskrona, etc) by train. PLUS you'll get the opportunity to get to see Denmark as well... :D here's a website for the swedish train so you can check the prices around. http://www.sj.se/start/startpage/index.form?l=en

You are Americans and you don't speak the native language spoken in Southampton? Interesting. I can advise you for the bottom three: You'll have no problems with the lingo, just about everyone speaks fluent English. Some old or ignorant people might not, but you need to be particularly unlucky to run into one of those. Scandinavians are usually friendly but reserved. They're not into small talk, and they won't say more words than they need to, but they'll typically help a tourist in need. Especially Norwegians could very well come up to you and ask if you need help upon seeing you looking at a map. You shouldn't hesitate to ask for directions in English either. You're extremely unlikely to get a nasty reaction. Scandinavia is generally pretty safe. Any big city (which KBH and Oslo are for Scandinavian standards) has potential dangers, but again, you'd need to be unlucky to run into those unless you really ask for it. Nobody can guarantee you nothing unpleasant will happen, but I can assure you it's less likely than in the USA. Advice: The most important thing you should pay attention to in these cities is money. Helsingborg can be a little more on the modest side, but KBH and Oslo are very expensive cities. Plan a budget similar to what you'd plan for NYC or LAX. In terms of overall behaviour, you should typically watch for similar things as in the USA, but try to keep a lower profile. Just don't act like you own the country, and you'll be fine. If you'll be in Sweden before NO and DK, it's a good idea to shop for basic groceries while you're there. You'll be happy you did when you see the prices in Oslo.

Kaffo I have travelled all over the world with Celtic and let me tell you it is fantastic!!! You will love the atmosphere of Helsingborgs and the Swedish people in general are good hosts. The beer prices are a bit steep though, I was in Copenhagen and the pint was 7.5 pounds a time. We are all meeting at the Henrik Larsson statue in the afternoon, I hope to see you there. You will know its me by looking for 'The Oracle on Tour' banner, you cannot miss me. Hahahaha!!!! I feel sorry for poor Off Ended, he really can't be let out of his lunatic asylum with that attitude.