Finland Circle Fly-Drive

Dear Saija

Here we are, back home after great Holiday in Finland!

We had a wonderful time all the way, thank you so much for all your  attention.

Hope to travel with Baltic again one  Day!

Hugs

                    Adriana and Manfred

Dear Saija,

Many thanks for organising our holiday to Finland, which we enjoyed. Everything that you organised ran well, but  you should know that Hotel Savonia no longer appears to be part of the Best Western chain. We were able to find all the hotels on google maps before going to Finland.

Many thanks,

Peter & Alison K

Dear Saija

We enjoyed our visit of exploration to Finland and I thought you would find feedback helpful.  All the hotels were different and nearly all were good.  

Apart from that, Finland was very interesting.  It was particularly interesting to note the difference between Finland on the side of the Gulf of Bothnia and Finland close to the Russian border.  We drove north of Rovaniemi to cross the Arctic Circle although it was frustrating not to have sufficient time in our timetable to go further.  My overall comment is that a 10 day holiday involving driving a fair distance every single day with only one night in each place was exhausting.  For the future, perhaps a more varied timetable might be better, with 2 nights in places where there is a lot to see and do, such as Tampere, Vaasa and Kajaani.  Obviously such a holiday would take longer than 10 days.  

In summary, for visitors like ourselves who had not been to any part of Scandinavia before, the trip was interesting and educational.  We flew in, very low, over the islands in the SW part of Finland, so we can sort of say we saw that part of the country.  We hope, at some point, to make a separate trip to see Lapland.

Thank you for all your help.

Before I say anything, we had a lovely trip and anything negative is the exception.

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I have to say that Helsinki Airport, whilst not large, is a bit of a bore on transfers. I know it is all the same building but the amount of people one has to fight through to get from one end to the other did not make for an easy walk. We made it though!

The chalet at Rovaniemi was great although when we arrived after a long day travelling, there was nothing there so we felt a bit flat. Fortunately, we found a Lidl not too far away on our way to dinner so we stocked up on a few things which made it more homely. It was a nice chalet and the breakfast was great.

Wilderness Hotel at Nellim was fantastic. We think they upgraded our chalet as it very spacious. The owners and staff were lovely and the whole experience, we will never forget.

The drive to Nord Kapp was amazing - the scenery was stunning as were the colours.

The cabin at North Cape Cabins was cute although we did have reservations about the owner. Reading through the comments other guests had left, we got the impression that he was a bit of a tyrant. There were many notes with dos and don'ts which was a bit off putting. Despite this, it was a lovely situation and we enjoyed ourselves there.

Alta was interesting with a lovely new cathedral. We visited the stone age rock carvings which were great. The hotel was in a shopping mall but was clean and comfortable.

Our next stop was at Tromso in a Clarion hotel. The staff were wonderful and helpful and there was a smallish help yourself dinner included in the price. Coffee and tea were there on demand at no extra cost. The situation of the hotel was excellent being right next to the sea front.

We then went to Senja. Again, a fantastic drive with stunning colours and views. Our appartment at Hamn el Senja was big, clean and very comfrotable. The situation was excellent. However, we did feel that the whole place lacked soul. The first evening was very soulless, but, fortunately, the second evening had new guests which gave it some life. It slightly reminded us of an up market golf club!

We then went to Narvik and were in the Best Western Hotel there. This was definitely the worst place we stayed in. We arrived early and the receptionist would not let us check in although we were sure that the room was ready. Fortunately, the War Museum was open which was well worth visiting, and by the time we got back to the hotel, the receptionist had changed to someone very much better. The hotel had a very shabby feel about it and really needs some money spent on it. The breakfast was ok but not great.

We then went back to Kilpisjarvi in Finland to Tundra Appartments. Our appartment was great and the staff were very helpful. Sadly, we had arrived a bit too late to climb up Mount Sanna and hope to return to do this and also go to the point where the three national boundaries meet. The dinner was excellent.

The name of the next place escapes me but this had more of a feel of a holiday camp! The appartment was excellent and we had a good dinner and breakfast.

Our last night was back in Lapland Hotel Ounnasavara where we stayed last year. Whilst on the outside the hotel is a bit shabby, we really like this hotel and the food is reputed to be the best in Rovaniemi and it is certainly good.

We had a really good and enjoyable trip. There was quite a lot of mileage in the car but it was worth it. The timing for the autumn colours was perfect and the weather was pretty kind to us as well. For the more intrepid traveller, we can highly recommend this trip although unless you are interested in the 2nd World War, Narvik is not worth going to.

Next year, we are thinking of taking our own car from Hull to Rotterdam and then going to Copenhagen, and then crossing to Malmo and doing a circular trip around Sweden, going back to Kilpisjarvi for two nights, Tromso for one night and then work our way down to Oslo, catch a ferry from there to Kiel and back to Rotterdam, so watch this space!

Many thanks to all at Baltic Travel for sorting out this trip and

Kind regards to you all

Michael

Here we are, back home after great Holiday in Finland!
We had a wonderful time all the way, thank you so much for all your  attention.
Hope to travel with Baltic again one  Day!
Hugs

                    Adriana and Manfred