Norway Holidays

I want to say a big thank you for your impeccable organisation of our Norway trip. From our first contact with you to arriving back in London, all the arrangements went like clockwork. The hotels you chose for us were excellent with comfortable rooms, charming staff and great locations. The Clarion in Tromso is delightful, and they certainly look after guests in a very special way, especially the waffles in the afternoon!  In Bergen, the Bristol was great too, and being just two minutes from the airport bus stop, five minutes from the waterfront and a very easy walk to the railway station, the location was perfect.

Our cabin in Svolvaer was really cosy with gorgeous views over the water. We expected a one bedroom cabin, but we had two, so plenty of space to make ourselves at home.

Hurtigruten was a good experience too and we were extremely lucky to reach Trollfjord just as the sun was setting.  It was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

And of course a very special thank you for checking out the availability of vegetarian food at Borsen Spiseri on our second Lofoten night and for arranging for us to eat there.  When we checked in, we booked a table for that night too, as we didn't feel like walking back over the bridge to look for an alternative.  What a beautiful restaurant it is, with its old wood, candlelight, delightful staff and delicious food. They cooked me two excellent veggie dinners.
 
Lofoten Lights was a great choice for our tours.  Claudia and Maurizio are a charming couple, so friendly and very knowledgeable about their adopted home.  They took us to a perfect vantage point for the Aurora, which started just as we got out of the car, lasted for over an hour, and was still on the go when we got back to Svolvaer, so they stopped to take even more photographs, which I now have - I've attached a couple for you to see.  They were just as delighted as we were to see such a wonderful Aurora.

In addition to the holiday you booked for us, we also went on a Fjord boat trip from Tromso, to the concert in the Arctic Cathedral, and we took the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Bergen.  We visited the Polar Museum in Tromso, the Second World War Museum in Lofoten and the Hanseatic Museum in Bergen - all were extremely interesting and gave us a good insight into Norway's history. Despite packing all those things in, it still felt a relaxing trip, and what made everything so easy was that you had prepared us a great itinerary and taken care of so many details that many travel companies do not. All we had to do was enjoy ourselves.

Most special moments: for me, the sunset over Trollfjord; for Andy, the Northern Lights.  

As for the future, I'm sure we'll be booking with you again and I'm already recommending you to friends!

Irene

Hi Daina,

Good to hear from you!

Overall the trip was lovely. Norway is incredibly beautiful. Visiting the Lofoten Islands and Tromso gave me chances to see the Northern Lights which I did...(not too strong, but there). I liked the three day ship part as it had less than 200 people and my room was nice. The bigger ship that I went on for the one night...there were too many people and my cabin was one of the few not upgraded yet so it wasn’t great (I was glad that was only one night). 

I do want to thank you because again, overall it was a lovely trip.

Thanks,

Ilanit

Hi Daina!

Happy New Year!

I've been meaning to email you to let you know how the trip went!

It was amazing! We were so, so lucky with everything. We saw The Lights on the first night we arrived from the City; but then went on the excursion the second night, and they completely blew us away - as we were away from the light pollution in the City. So amazing!

The dog sledding was brilliant, my husband says that was his favourite bit! I managed to flip us off the sled, so he took over for most of the trip out and back to the base!

And we saw the whales! Both types - Humpbacks and Orcas! Again, such an amazing experience to see them.

Just as feedback, I don't think there is anything which we would have wanted to do differently. The trip was planned perfectly. The hotel was lovely, nice and central to everything and about a minutes walk to the pick up site for the excursions!

Thank you so much for all your help with everything!

Many Thanks

Kimberley

Hi Lena

I just wanted to drop you a very quick message. We both just loved the holiday - the husky sleds, reindeer, Northern Lights - everything we could have wished for and Tromso is just beautiful, although we did have a walk around on our "day off" and went up the cable car we ran out of time so, unfortunately, did not get to the museum etc - next time. We could have done with another day, really, but you have to leave something for next time.

Please let the skipper and his wife from our dinner cruise know that that was the best cod ever - caught that morning, apparently, it was just to die for.

Thank you for organising such an amazing trip - Brian really missed something.

I hope you had a good holiday/Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Jan B

Hi Lena

and welcome home to you too - Australia must have been wonderful. I did call when we returned from Tromso but you were away and I totally forgot to email you, so I'm glad you prompted me!

It all went well, it was such a treat being met at the airport, the meals were good and the waffles were a great bonus! Our room was very small, but we weren't in it much. There wasn't any room to put our clothes so we left them on the chairs - The strange thing was that there was a picture fixed to the ceiling above the bed! But the staff are all cheerful, friendly and helpful.

The weather wasn't good unfortunately. It was cold and wet, but we made the most of it and saw quite a bit of Tromso. We did see a teensy bit of the northern lights! we had to go to Finland where it was actually dry, cold and plenty of snow. I didn't realise that the lights can be really wispy like steam and as soon as you tun around to see them they have gone! But we did see them. The tour guide, Carl I think, was very good and kept our spirits up on the long evening. We left at 19:15 and got back to the hotel at almost 02:00 hrs! 

We were unlucky with the weather but had a good weekend. And the taxi arrived to take us back to the airport as expected so all was well.

I'm sure you had a terrific holiday!

best wishes

Liz

hi Inga,hope you are well,

the trip to Norway was a great success from the flight , the pick up from the airport ,the hotel the great scenery the friendly people the weather in fact everything .

the whale safari was a long haul but that's because the wales had moved north but we saw orca fin whale and humpback whale so brilliant throw in sea eagles as well and fantastic mountain scenery kissed a rose coloured gold on the peaks and you couldn't have asked for more.

the northen light trip was great the lights came out to play at about 7pm and stayed till about midnight throw in a brilliant guide again it was wonderful,so good in fact we booked a second night and saw the lights and the milky way so bonus all round. we cant wait to book another trip very soon.

Dear Daina,

We are still having a wonderful time. And YES we saw the Northern Lights! Twice! ??

Lofoten was magical!

Spoken to the whale watching tour organiser. He explained about the movement of whales and because our chance is rather slim to see them we all agreed to cancel this trip
The gentleman did offered us an alternative for scenery trip on the boat but taking the fact that we were on one for quite a few hours already we decided against it.


Best wishes to you
From Les and Elena 

Hi Lena

It was fantastic thanks : ) The Husky and Snowmobiling trips were excellent, and best of all our northern lights excursion was successful. Tromso food (although V expensive) is great too!

Kind regards

D&K

Good morning Julija,

Apologies for the delay in replying, it's been hectic since our return.  The holiday was fabulous thank you! 

Please pass on our thanks to the team, as every section of the journey- the hotels, car hire, trains were perfect and Scandinavia was a perfect place to visit for our honeymoon.

Kind regards 

Jonathan 

Hi Daina,

We had an absolutely fantastic time in Norway thanks.  I'll willingly give you some feedback sometime but have been off work since as I am totally exhausted!  I wasn't actually very well beforehand but that didn't stop me having an amazing time! 

Shall I give you a ring sometime when I feel a bit better? 

With best regards, 

Sue

Hi Saija,

Oh it was amazing! I didn't want to leave at all!

We were also fortunate enough to see the lights too.

I was really happy with the choice to book with you and arrange everything with you, and all your partners.

What I liked the most was that in the first day we were to chase the northern lights, those people informed us that we probably wouldn't be seeing any lights and offered us a refund.

I really liked that honesty and option, although it wasn't their fault. But we took the ride anyway. 

On the contrary, the company that we did the northern lights Safari to one of the four camp bases, wasn't nowhere near that.

Not that it was a bad experience, not at all, but i didn't like that they were telling us "lies" about the sky clouds. We could see it ourselves that it was 100% clouds.

It was like she knew that we wouldn't be seeing lights anyway and instead she didn't say anything - not to mention it was nowhere near a Safari. It was more like a base stay.

But the camp base was amazing, people were very kind food was great!

I liked the snowmobile Safari, that was so cool at the Camp Tamok, the guides were so kind and friendly, as well as the soup! 

Villmarkssenter, was amazing too. This is were we saw the lights in all their glory. So great experience! And then the next day with Andrei from enjoythearctic.no, that was so cool! I really like that fella, and the fact that he had a drone and the fjords he took is at. Really nice lad.

Lastly the hotel was spot on, with its breakfast and everything. The only thing i can say is that sheets weren't changed during our stay but, we didn't stay a lot in the room after all. In general 4.5/5.

And in regards with you, I'm happy to book a package again with you in the near future. Overall the experience was 4.8/5 which was really good! The Tromso trip was great! :)

Hi Inga,

We had a great time thank you!

I’ve added a few photos to a facebook albumn, hopefully you can see them here – please let me know if not:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155565229204816.1073741840.803034815&type=1&l=6884f3e879

In time I will try to touch up the ‘lights’ photos and see if I can enhance the colours !!

The hotel was brilliant – It appears to have been newly refurbished, and the staff were v friendly and helpful – I could not recommend is more to anyone looking for a nice base for their stay.  The harbour view helped!

In the end we were able to do the dog sledding on the Sunday so that was good – a couple of photos in the album.  The lights chase on Saturday evening was fun, and as you can see we were able to find a spot where there was less cloud.  Camp Tamok was a fraction disappointing – in the dark we could still see that it was a great venue, but we were there to see the lights and it snowed all evening ?  unfortunately when we go tack to Tromso there were clear skies so maybe we would have seen the lights there.

Our comments to would-be future travellers is to book a northern lights excursion that allows you flexibility in location!  We did not do the whale watching but feedback from others was that there was lots of activity and it was a good trip.

I picked up a brochure at the airport re: Svalbard – maybe we will go polar bear ‘hunting’ the next time!  Looks very remote and very interesting!  Igloos and the Northern Lights are also on the bucket list!

Thank you again for all of your help, will be sure to mention Baltic Travel to all of our friends moving forward.

Kind regards,

Stephen

Hi Daina, 

Yes we had a lovely time thank you .

The only negative feedback was the costs of eating out, it did not surprise us , but it was a large cost  consideration , which I know you have no control over .

The organisation and the itinery worked well with no problems experienced in connecting up,with the changes in transport - trains, buses, Ferries and flights .

We found that Voss did not have much to offer and would  have preferred to spend  Wednesday morning  in Flam, with  a shorter time in Voss. 

Bergen was good with lots of museums and sites to visit.

All in all, a good holiday, we  would both prefer to revisit Iceland again  given the choice , mainly because of the cost of eating out..! 

Hope this helps,

Best regards 

Joe 

Hello Inga

Great time had by all- not to go ticking but :

Northern lights - tick

Husky ride in both clear monochrome Moonlit night and snowstorm- tick

Humpback whales and many Orca pods- tick

Success and a buffet breakfast to boot!

Thanks for assisting us with an action packed trip to Tromso!

Regards

Neal 

Hi Lena, yes I did ! It was absolutely magical once again. I had such a great time in Finland, thank you once again so much. I think I might have this an annual trip of going to see the Northern Lights, especially with Baltic.

Many thanks once again

Kind regards

Christelle H

Hi Saija,

Happy New Year to you too! We actually were meaning to reach out to you to tell you what an amazing trip we had and a lot of it was due to the meticulous planning you did.

There were no hiccups at all when it came to our car pickups, hotels, flights or our activities and we were happy with all of our accommodations. We were comfortable and well taken care of everywhere we went not to mention we witnessed the most AMAZING northern lights while we were at Malangen (attached a pic). It was so freeing to not have to have to worry about anything (outside of a few meals and a few free days). We also wanted to call out The Malangen Resort and the service and the people there. They worked so hard to make sure we had a great time and would definitely go back.

Let me know if there is a more official place we can provide feedback so that other people can see the great vacation you put together for us :)

Hope you had a great holiday as well!

Jen & Jeff

Hello Saija,

                    Thanking you for our holiday. We had a very enjoyable time, at Manchester airport our  first flight was delayed over one hour. But we arrived on time in Norway from Munich. Your holiday planning was first class and once again thank you.

                                                                                                                                                                                               Alan S.

Hello, Saija.  We thoroughly enjoyed our Scandinavian tour.  There were no slip-ups, as everything was very well organized.  The tour guide was excellent (Yves).  We especially liked our stay in Helsinki.  The Hotel Haven was beautiful and very comfortable and the staff there was very helpful when we made any inquiries.  There was variation in the age and quality of the hotels throughout Norway, but we recognize that part of the charm of the tour was in the age and character of the hotels (how’s that for a positive attitude?).  We would like to revisit Helsinki and the lake districts of Finland, so we may be in touch with you again about arranging that.  Thank you so much for your attentiveness—you thought of everything for us.

Lisa and Rod R

We be here ..now in st petes ....great weather .2 good hotels well located ..great start !!..thanks james 

Dear Daina,

We had a great time, everything went smoothly and thank you for all the arrangements. We've only been back a week and it already feels like years ago!

Kind regards,

Andy

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

.

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

Dear Daina,

Sorry for the delay it has been a busy time getting back to things after the wedding and honeymoon. We had a great time and really enjoyed our time in Norway. I would say the place we were least keen on was Bergen which I think was as there was a big concert the night arrived so very busy and also it was a weekend night out added to this. Yes we had to be a bit creative as we had a few days of bad weather but Claudia was good at allowing us to do something else when the weather allowed people to venture out, the guide they have (whose name escapes me) was fantastic and really great to go out with for two trips, she is an asset to them and it was also nice to talk to her more about the biology in terms of her educational background. All the connections etc worked brilliantly. 

The only real change we made was to upgrade on the cruise to a nicer cabin, given it was a honeymoon I think this would be the change I would say should have been pre-booked (also my fault for not really looking at rooms and just going with stuff). 

All the extra notes in the pack you provided were fab and really helpful. As we paid no attention really and didn't pre-look at stuff till we got to the next phase in our itinerary one thing we did think for those like us that just went with it was something about temperatures/weather through these places typically at that time of year (very lazy but our lack of doing our own research meant got a bit caught out with the storm). 

We booked a couple of extra trips to see the Sea Eagles in Lofoton which I would really recommend and then also this time we managed to see the Northen Lights by booking a chase the northern lights trip from Tromso (not the same as in an Igloo but it was an amazing experience). 

Overall we felt it was a great mix of self-directed exploring and trips. The cruise was my first one and I really enjoyed it, I would love to explore more of that area this way in the future. 

We would defiantly go back and feel it is a place to explore across the seasons. Interestingly in some places we seemed to be out of season (which is very different to typical holiday time in the UK) so a few places were closed but this did not really make a difference to us and it was probably quieter which again suited us fine. 

Thanks

Anna

Dear Lena

Yes sorry - I have been meaning to contact you to say thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip. It was definitely one of our best holidays ever - everything was so easy and Norway delightful. We were lucky to have beautiful weather for the whole trip (ok just a little rain in Bergen!) and we found the quality of the accommodation, museums and trips to be extremely high. We were particularly impressed with how friendly everyone was - not a grumpy person in 2.5 weeks. 

If it would be useful, there are a few minor points which I would do differently if I were planning the trip again which might help you with future guests.  All of them are things which I requested so no criticism of you!

The car was too small for 6 teenagers/adults and luggage but luckily we were able to arrange a roof box. 

Food/drink in Norway is really expensive for Brits. Eating in a restaurant costs approx 3 x as much in Norway which is significant when you are a family of 6. Generally we managed but at the Fretheim Hotel and Kongsvold arriving in the evening we had no alternative but the fine dining menu which for 6 of us cost an incredible amount. Perhaps it would be worth warning your guests where evening food options are limited.

Our favourite hotels were at Bergen, Oslo and the Quality Hotels. Our least favourite were the Fretheim and Loen Fjord. Roros hotel was quirky and fun and on the last night we got upgraded to a house on the beach which was fantastic. We absolutely loved visiting Oslo (very good hotel location), Bergen, Alesund and Roros. A bit disappointed at Ulvik where we could only do two activities (kayak and cycling) and were not able to book a time slot, so just had to wait until bikes were free. However they had a huge unexpected cruise ship so I think we were just unlucky. 

All the trips were brilliant especially the wildlife safari with private guide. Definitely a high spot of the trip. The ice hike was good but a bit frustrating for my fit kids to be roped to a long line of rather slow people.  In retrospect I would probably pay for a private guide. Still what an amazing place!

Re the Atlantic Road, please advise your clients to get out of their cars and explore the areas around the various parking areas. There is a lovely bit of coastal path and the views were sensational. The road is fun but to appreciate the area you really need to get out into it.

We were lucky to have a sat nav in the car which was really useful. 

This is a holiday that we will be talking about for a long time with something for everyone. Thank you for making it all so easy.

Best wishes

Judy

Hi

All went very well. Anything in particular you want feedback on as I did so much in the time I was away?

Martyn

PS did you get the M&S voucher?

Dear Daina, We had a splendid time in Norway and all your arrangements for us were excellent. We thought the hotels were very well sited and of a pleasant standard. Indeed, the Thon Bristol at Bergen provided the best breakfast we have ever had! Norway in a Nutshell worked to plan, although that was a very long day. The trip to Stavanger aboard the ferry was very comfortable.

We have been very impressed with the service and care that you have provided. We shall be pleased to highly recommend your company. Our sincere thanks, Hugh and Cherry 

We had a great time thank you, the hotel was lovely and the boat trip, though postponed for one day, was marvellous. The owner treated us (we were a group of just 5) royally included coffee on his lawn at 1 in the morning!

Kept it a surprise from my husband until landing at Tromso which was pretty good.
Am on train, no pictures to hand, have a few good views taken at top of various hills.
Thanks again for the sparkling wine

Regards
Joan

Hi Inga

Thanks for getting in touch.

I really enjoyed the holiday.

Tore from Active Tromso is a fascinsating man. I really enjoyed spending time with his huskeys and listening to his stories of dog racing. It adds to your appreciation of the area to speak to local people. I also enjoyed the kayaking and am glad I opted for the double kayak. It's a shame I didn't have longer in Tromso as I didn't have time to really explore the city and it looks like there's quite a lot to see and do.

I also enjoyed the trip with Maurizio from Lofoten Lights. Again he had interesting stories to tell. We were back in Svolvaer quite early and it would have been nice to have seen a few more of the small fishing villages and spend time there.

The whale watching trip was a long day which included 6 hours spent on the bus. When we arrived in Andenes we were told that the whales were too far out and conditions too rough for a trip that day. Instead we went on a sea bird trip and had great views of sea eagles, puffins, gannets and other sea birds. That was fine for me, but some others in the party were disappointed and decided not to go on the boat trip. Maybe you could offer an alternitive trip for those who don't want to risk the disappointment. It would also improve the trip if a tour guide was on the bus to give us some information about the areas we were travelling through.

Finally it was nice and relaxing to have 2 days in Bodo to myself after the organised trips and some early starts.

Thank you for your help in organising the trip.

Keith

Hi Lena,

It's Susan here, you organised our wonderful fly drive holiday to Lofoten & Vesteraalen and I'm writing to say 'thank you, we had an absolutely outstanding time'!!

It was our first visit to Northern Norway in the summer time and the scenery was just amazing! We were so lucky with the weather, just a couple of rainy days in amongst the bright sunny days......and nights!! To have 24 hours of light and midnight sun was just incredible!!

Our itinerary worked like clockwork (although there was a lot of travelling!) and our paperwork was helpful and informative. We were expected everywhere and very much appreciated your local suppliers work on our behalf. The Rorbu at Tind was absolutely perfect and we loved our time there best of all. 

All that said, we thoroughly enjoyed our adventure and would use Baltic/Haman again to book further adventures!!

I'll sign off with a couple of our photos......

Thanks. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and found that all of your arrangements went smoothly. The accommodation ranged a little in its quality, from the classic comfort of the Grand Terminus in Bergen to the much more functional minimalist Ivar Aasen at Orsta, but all the staff were welcoming, helpful  etc . We visited a number of the sites and attractions outlined in your guide and found these of interest.

My only suggestion to improve things would be to highlight to travellers using the Quality 33 in Oslo that the car parking area immediately outside the hotel is not the hotel car park. We were not advised of this and received a 600Kr fine from the car park owner. Interestingly when we booked in for our second night, at the end of the trip, the staff on reception checked where we'd parked but this did not happen on the first occasion- hence the fine.

We'll probably be back to you in a another couple of years as this is our second trip with you, Iceland first time, and both have gone smoothly.

John

Hi Diana

Thank you for your email welcoming us back home and requesting feedback on our holiday. 

In summary we have had a brilliant trip across Norway – fantastic country, breath-taking scenery and lovely people.  As overall feedback we would say it was an extremely well planned and co-ordinated trip which went very smoothly, with one exception, which we will explain later.  We could not have co-ordinated this trip on our own and we are very grateful to you, Baltic Travel and your partners Haman Scandinavia for making all of the arrangements.

If you would like more detailed feedback then we would say that train travel in Norway is fantastic though it is always best to have booked seats as there is no way of telling which seats are reserved or free.  We were evicted from our unreserved seats on the Oslo to Lillehammer train and had to evict a couple from our reserved seats on the Rauma Railway train.  All good humoured as it turned out and the conductor/guard said nobody knows which seats are reserved.  The hotels were generally good and some quite quirky which we liked.  Quality Hotels were the best.  The Geiranger Hotel was a bit tired but the location made up for that.  The Hurtigruten trips are just spectacular.  The flights were both set at good times but sadly the (chaotic) cabin service on British Airways is not what it used to be but fortunately the flight is short so not a problem. 

The only problem we encountered was on arrival at Andalsnes by train there was no sign of the Veoy Bus for which we had the travel voucher.  A very helpful Norwegian made a telephone call and informed us that the bus service would not be starting for another week.  We telephoned Haman Scandinavia and within about 30 or 40 minutes they had hired a taxi to take us on the 90km trip.  This became one of the highlights of the trip as we were driven by Carolina who was very informative about the journey and all things Norwegian and she made a couple of stops at amazing viewing places including a stunning waterfall.  We were very grateful to Haman for quickly re-arranging the travel plan and to Carolina for making the journey so pleasurable.  We do not know what the cost of this might have been but, if reasonable, it might be a good optional extra for others making this trip.  What was for us  10 minutes of panic at being stranded turned into a very enjoyable afternoon.

We had a fantastic and memorable trip and we cannot thank you personally, your company and the Norwegian partner enough for the excellent organisation and clear travel instructions.  We are so glad that we travelled across Norway visiting cities, towns, taking in amazing mountain scenery and taking the Hurtigruten ferry through the fjords rather than just taking a fjord cruise.  We are pleased to have made the trip through you and would have no hesitation in recommending you to any of our friends wanting to do something similar.

With kind regards

Lyn and Paul

Hi Saija,

Thanks for your welcome home message. I'll give you more feedback in next few days. For now suffice it to say - absolutely brilliant holiday! 10 out of 10!

Weather was amazing - virtually wall to wall sunshine all the time we were in Norway. Arrived Bodo in rain and left Bodo in rain but the days in between- fantastic! 24 degrees at times. Scenery magnificent. I'll be in touch again later. 

Kind regards 

Nigel

HI HI????

It was amazing......best holiday to date !!!

Accommodation was just right everywhere....especially Tromso with catching the ferry at 1.30.

Svolvaer was perfect as the hotel put us in cabin 26 on the water front.  We loved it there.

Tour guides worked well for us.  Kids loved Tore and his dogs.  My boys really aspired to him.   He took excellent care of us and was very good to chat to my son about Kilimanjaro where Rob is going next.  He was very generous with the puppies and all in all it was sad to leave him behind.  We had excellent weather too for kayaking.

The whale watching we were lucky with too.  Saw pilot whales almost immediately and guides again were very good.

Claudia and Maurizio were fun and welcoming people  and it worked well with our family.  It was better that we were in a small group as it made the trip feel very personal.

If anything and I can only find one negative thing to say .... but it is a good thing really and that is.. the kroner to the pound.  But by being expensive like beer and food etc it keeps Norway a special place for certain types of tourist or climbers..hikers etc to visit and enjoy.

I am sad to be back but intend to go in January for 6 days.  Two travel days and 4 days of activity staying in the same hotel in Svolvaer.   We are hoping that we can fly to Svolvaer in one day from Edinburgh via Oslo but that might be ambitious but I am sure you will keep us right.

Best wishes
Velda x

Daina--we had the best time!  What a beautiful country.  Most days I had to make myself go inside.

2 highlights (among many)--the MS Lofoten was a highlight.  I loved being on the smaller ship and loved the retro feel.  It's probably not for everyone but we loved it.  Also the Lofoten Lights tour was wonderful.  Marcello (may not have the name right) was a wonderful host.  

Thanks for booking this for us!  If they hold the same festival this winter we may go back.

Sally K

Morning,

I just wanted to pass on my thanks for organising an amazing holiday.

Everyone on the excursions bent over backwards to be helpful. Each and every excursion was amazing, everyone did everything they could to ensure we enjoyed the experience. Your maps and details were also invaluable and everything ran like clockwork.

We had an amazing view of the lights the night we went on the Northern Lights Hunt, though to be honest they paled into insignificance when compared to the setting and the quality of the rest of the evening! I can't give enough praise for any of the excursions we went on.

I can't thank you enough.

I look forward to speaking to you in the next year or two when we have saved for our next holiday :)

Kind wishes and many thanks

Dawn

Hello Lena,

We had an amazing time thanks, gutted about not seeing the lights but the snow made up for it J

Thanks for all your help, you have been really professional and your attention to detail has allowed me to truly relax knowing that every detail is taking care of. I was also really impressed by your proactive approach informing us of any changes to our itinerary even though it meant disrupting your weekend.

5 star service and a big thumbs up !!!

Andy

“The most amazing weekend of my life. ”

I booked the weekend 4 my partners 50th birthday. Booked through Baltic Travel Company. Saija was our consultant. She is 1 amazing lady who goes above and beyond.

We stayed at the Radison Blu hotel in Tromso. The 1st night we were given a business class rm. think this was to do with it being a special occasion. Beautiful rm.

I have lots of food allergies and we did find it difficult to get the most basic gluten free food. We found a lovely bar on the harbour that being GF wasn't a problem. We also had breakfast at the hotel again they catered 4 me and we had 2 lovely meals in their restaurant. I highly recommend anyone t eat there.

 In Tromso there is believe it or not, a Spar shop that has a really good selection of Gf food.

 We stayed in a wooden Lavvu on Saturday night. Recommended by Saija. WOW is all I can say. What an experience. The lovely couple Trina and her husband who own the land where the Lavvu is, cooked us a wonderful reindeer stew. A breakfast was provided 4 us t do ourselves 4 the following morning. We were also blessed as we saw the Northern Lights!! Not something I will ever forget.

Sadly on Sunday evening our husky sledding was cancelled due to an avalanche and there was still heavy snow. Our trip was refunded lby the following day.

Sunday evening we managed to book a Husky Safari through the raddison for the following morning. I would advise anyone to do this as it's in daylight and the views are awesome. We got to drive our own team of huskys. It's a "must do"

Monday evening our flights got delayed due to the fog in England. Again Saija to the rescue!! Organised new transfers and nothing was a problem.

To sum up my weekend..... AMAZING!!

Go to Tromso but book through Baltic travel. U will feel like the only person they are dealing with.

Thank you Saija from the bottom of our hearts.

Best regards,

 Mandie Bennett

Great time had by all- not to go ticking but :

Northern lights - tick
Husky ride in both clear monochrome Moonlit night and snowstorm- tick
Humpback whales and many Orca pods- tick

Success and a buffet breakfast to boot!

Thanks for assisting us with an action packed trip to Tromso!

Regards
Neal

We had a great time thank you!
 
I’ve added a few photos to a facebook albumn, hopefully you can see them here – please let me know if not.
 
The hotel was brilliant – It appears to have been newly refurbished, and the staff were v friendly and helpful – I could not recommend is more to anyone looking for a nice base for their stay.  The harbour view helped!
 
In the end we were able to do the dog sledding on the Sunday so that was good – a couple of photos in the album.  The lights chase on Saturday evening was fun, and as you can see we were able to find a spot where there was less cloud.  Camp Tamok was a fraction disappointing – in the dark we could still see that it was a great venue, but we were there to see the lights and it snowed all evening ?  unfortunately when we go tack to Tromso there were clear skies so maybe we would have seen the lights there.
 
Our comments to would-be future travellers is to book a northern lights excursion that allows you flexibility in location!  We did not do the whale watching but feedback from others was that there was lots of activity and it was a good trip.
 
I picked up a brochure at the airport re: Svalbard – maybe we will go polar bear ‘hunting’ the next time!  Looks very remote and very interesting!  Igloos and the Northern Lights are also on the bucket list!
 
Thank you again for all of your help, will be sure to mention Baltic Travel to all of our friends moving forward.
 
Kind regards,
Stephen

We were very blessed with the weather and saw the Northern Lights most nights. The quality of light and the clarity of the sea water made for some lovely photos.

Thank you for organising everything so well for us.

Regards

Mike

We had a totally fabulous holiday- thanks so much for all your hard work in arranging it and suggesting the route. We felt in very good hands and I was impressed by the coordination and thought shown to us when the whale watching trip didn’t work out (alas). I would definitely recommend your services to anyone else wanting to explore BEAUTIFUL North Norway.
 
Particularly impressed by the ‘fisherman hut’ accommodation- each one seemed to be lovelier and have a more spectacular view than the one before. Hamn I Senja a favourite for all of us.
 
Otherwise, kids’ highlight was meeting the huskies for sure and mine was the kayaking on an  absolutely perfect day. And of course the astonishing scenery all along. We were very lucky with the weather and even got to swim in the sea (very briefly!)
 
We shall have to return for the winter experience at some point.
 
Many Thanks again,
Polly

Apologies, for not getting in touch sooner. Thank you for the email.
I felt very well attended to in all places. Our only issue was that the Norwegian flight was delayed by 19 hours and the communications were no more than hearsay despite them announcing that they would text us etc.

I booked a dog sled ride at Malangen the next day on arrival and to note that it was far better than the excursion we booked prior to going. But i understand this was due to the deer and Sammi tent experience. The Same tent experience and complex had lovely staff but overall, felt very commercial and numbers driven, with multiple buses arriving and leaving during the time we were there. The bus ride and taxi from Malangen was a very long time.

This is so that you can recommend it. The staff were very friendly and attentive, the equipment was better and in good order and the safety was higher.

The Malangen dog sledding was un rushed and really intimate and just lovely in comparison.

Overall though my 4 year old absolutey loved all of it.

His answer to the question, what dd you most enjoy about the entire holiday, the dogs, the deer or the food?
her replied
The Snow!

Thankyou again for such a great experience.
 
Best regards,

Christopher

The whole trip was absolutely fantastic. Couldn’t fault any of it. The northern lights and whale watching company was brilliant – we saw whales and sea birds and the northern lights. I would definitely use the company again. They were all so nice. Tromso was great too. The fireworks were mad as it seems everyone wants to outdo each other. So they went on for hours. We didn’t go to any of the museums but just walking around was fun. The hotel is good. The free food at night is a bit limited but then again, it’s free, so you can’t really complain.

As for Malangen – just WOW! Not only was it beautiful but the staff were fantastic. They went out of their way to make special meals for the fussy eaters amongst us and the food was great. Normally I’m ready to come home after a couple of days but on this occasion, I was sad to leave. The cabins are amazing. If we had a car to bring food with us, it would be a great place to just stay for a few weeks. Malangen is the perfect place to see the northern lights literally from the terrace of the hotel and the balcony of our cabin and we were not disappointed. It was also just stunning to watch the day light and stars. The trips were also very well done. I definitely want to go back and my daughters equally loved it.

5 stars to you for creating such a perfect holiday! I will definitely recommend your services to everyone I know.

Best wishes
Lisa

Thank you so much for arranging such a memorable and incredible trip for us. Kirkenes was amazing! We were lucky enough to see a spectacular northern lights display (picture below) and had a truly fantastic time which also helped to distract us and get us all through this first difficult Christmas without my lovely husband.

The staff at the Snow Hotel were absolutely brilliant, with special thanks to Laurie (who was guide on all 3 of our trips) and couldn't have been more helpful, friendly and knowledge and also to Goren (who was so nice to me after I'd been thrown off the husky sled - unhurt - his care and concern was heart warming). All of the staff were extremely welcoming, kind and genuine and I would be very grateful if you could please pass on our thanks to all of them.

The hotels either side in Oslo were very nice, although the rooms in the Comfort Karl Johan were a little on the small side (I ended up booking myself a separate room and was very grateful to be upgraded).

We truly had a once-in-a-ifetime, unforgettable trip.

Wishing you a very happy New Year.

Best wishes and many, many thanks

Alex

Hi Saija, 

Thanks for the email. 

You'll be glad to hear that we had a wonderful trip and many thanks for the last minute changes which allowed us to make the most of our time in Norway after the terrible start.

It would be hard to pick out any individual highlight as we enjoyed every activity however the northern lights and whale watching tours that you organised for us were absolutely first rate. 

We also went cross country skiing and dog sledding which was fantastic fun. Our favourite restaurant was the Bardus bistro, exceptional food and service. Another fabulous restaurant was Ra Sushi (the restaurant rather than the take away in the shopping centre).

One 'off the beaten track' experience that I would highly recommend is a visit to the spa boat 'Vulkana'

It is an amazing converted fishing trawler with sauna, jacuzzi and steam room run by an incredibly friendly and helpful lady and an unforgettable experience, I even managed to go for a swim in the sea whilst there!

Anyhow, thanks once again for all of your assistance, I would not hesitate in recommending your company to anyone planning a trip to the area

Kind regards

Mark

We had an unforgettable holiday. Our Cabin at Camp Tomak the highlight of the holiday.
We wish we were still there and didn't want to come home. I will attach some video of the Whales and Husky ride and my picture of the Northern Lights!
We really did have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks
Heather and Graham

Just returned from a wonderful Norway in a nutshell trip with my son. The pre trip service was excellent, all documents and maps arrived and the instructions and directions very easy to understand and follow. I cannot fault Daina for her .. Just returned from a wonderful Norway in a nutshell trip with my son. The pre trip service was excellent, all documents and maps arrived and the instructions and directions very easy to understand and follow. I cannot fault Daina for her help and patience with my questions, she deserves a gold medal! The trip itself was wonderful, the hotels chosen were very good and the locations excellent. Norway is a beautiful country and the Norwegians were so polite and kind. I am now saving up for another trip as soon as possible! Thank you Daina and Baltic travel company.

Thanks for sorting out these 'blips' with the holiday. Overall we had a lovely time in Norway. The experience of the midnight sun and the beautiful scenery made it enjoyable. Also the trips we did with Lofoten Lights were also very good. We liked being part of a small group for the tour we did of the Lofoten Islands so please pass on our appreciation to Claudia & Maurizio.
Kind regards
Rowers

Thank you  for organising such a wonderful Baltic holiday. We had a great time and all the arrangements went very smoothly.

The only aspect that was slightly disappointing was in St Petersburg the day touring the city was hampered by The celebrations of THE RED SAIL as the roads around the city were closed so we had to abandon the car and complete the tour from The Hermitage back to the Hotel on foot. Also the city was incredibly busy and it was not possible to book any further excursions and as a consequence missed out on St Catherine's Palace. However we did manage to make a short trip to Peter Hof although the upper park and palace were closed.

We would certainly recommend using Baltic Holidays to any of our friends wishing to travel to the area and would definitely consider using them again if we travelled back to any Baltic State.

Thank you once again for your excellent service.

Mr & Mrs Racher

Our tour was all we could have wished for, we couldn't find the hotels on a couple of occasions but it does help if you read the maps for the correct hotels!!" Hotels were all lovely with fantastic breakfasts, we were expecting continental breakfast so were pleasantly surprized. Only comment I would make and it is not a complaint is that Kristanson on the last night was a bit of a waste of time for it is more a family place and there really was t anything for us to do. We normally like walking around places to discover all the hidden treasures on the town but there really weren't any so we would have preferred a other night in Oslo which we loved. We would love come back to Norway, it is beautiful country but very expensive.we  had great time in Scotland and in 6 weeks we had would you beleive 2 days rain
 Thank you for all the organising you did for us we appreciate it very much, and thank you for the refund, it worked out well having the case transported.
Kind regards Joan

The trip was superb. They are so well organised and seem determined to ensure that everyone should enjoy themselves. The food was excellent and the whole atmosphere very pleasant. Also we were sun-bathing in theArtic! The only beef is that we saw no-life-the Norwegians are too gun-happy. Also the excursions seemed to be somewhat overblown and terribly expensive. However those who had been on actual cruise i.e. on the big ships all said how much they preferred this type which are not actual cruises.
 
So again thanks for your help. I would certainly recommend Baltic thanks to you
 
 
Regards
Tony

We arrived back in Australia 2 weeks ago after our 8 weeks abroard.
We had the most fabulous time in Norway and Iceland. Your detailed itinerary was invaluable. Every bus, train, plane and boat worked to schedule - not one hiccup!
Nordic walking with Elin in beautiful Bergen was a highlight of our 8 week adventure. Elin was delightful and worked cheerfully with the different abilities of the walkers in the group.
Thank you so much for organising this for us and for your attention to detail. It all ran like clockwork and we will enjoy many great photos and memories of our trip with Baltic Travel.
We are hoping to visit the Baltic States/capitals next year (with some walking ,hopefully) so we will be in touch.
Thank you again.
Sue and John

Dear Lena
 
I was just looking at my holiday photographs and realised I had forgotten to write to you and thank you for all the arrangements made for our trip to Norway.
 
We had a very enjoyable time - we collected all the train tickets and found that everything worked like clockwork.  The hotels were all very good and so convenient for the station every time!  We particularly enjoyed the trip from Bergen to Stavanger by bus and ferry  and Stavanger was our favourite place - so pretty!
 
Thank you again for all your help
 
Kind regards
 
Karen

Hi Daina

My sincere aplogies for the delayed reply.

Our Northern Lights short break to Tromso, Norway in March 2016 was just awesome, marvellous and out of this world. All the experiences will go down our memory lane for the rest of our lives. We were very lucky to see the full panaromic views of the Northern Lights at two different places. Our guide Denise was just exceptional and so was the bus driver Gert. We still keep on thinking about it and looking at the photos taken.

We also experienced Dog Sledding and wow what a whale of a time my wife and I had. Everyone was so helpful, polite, courteous and went out of their way to ensure we had great time and holiday.

We would also like to thank Daina Kontrima from the kernel of our hearts for planning and organising such a breath taking holiday. She has always been polite, helpful, understanding and very efficient. We are pleased to have booked this and previous holiday with her. For both of our Norway holidays we did not face any problems and all was planned perfectly.

Daina, the above message is from both of us. Also I am attaching a few of our Northern Lights experience photos which we hope you will like.

Also could you please let us know if you cover Austria for our next holidays and would you recommend it to be visited and any other places.

Once again many thanks to you for arranging all this for us so nicely.

Avinash and Usha T

Just wanted to report in on our holiday. It was really lovely. Everything went without a hitch and we got to see the Northern Lights. Many thanks for all your help and organisation for this trip it was much appreciated and I will be sure to recommend Baltic Travel company to friends and family. I think the Northern Lights chase group were the highlight. I loved that it was a small group tour and the guy we had was friendly and helpful and personable which just made it a lovely and unique experience. Also having someone show me how to take a photo of the northen lights was great. It really made it fun to enjoy. The Reindeer Sledding was also fun and enjoyable. The Sami guides were really friendly and we got to see the puppies and dogs from dog sledding. They were so adorable.

Kind regards
Elyse

A short message to say that we had a great time in Kirkenes, and the travel arrangements all went smoothly. Thanks for all your efforts , speedy response to queries, and comprehensive information prior to departure.

We saw the Northern Lights, and really enjoyed all the activities, particularly the King Crab Safari. My wife got her wish to stay in the snow hotel and thankfully has ticked it off her bucket list now'

Regards

Mick

We felt that we should write and share our thoughts with you all at Baltic Travel of our 4 nights at Sortland.  We had an amazing time from start to finish.  From the very first moment we clicked on ‘make an enquiry’ on your website everything was so easy. Thank you Inga for the excellent communication from beginning to end.  We want to thank you for providing such excellent guides as Robert Novak he was so knowledgeable and really looked after us catering for all in the group and taking a real interest,  we learned great photography tips from him too which was a real bonus, it was also wonderful being in a small group of 6 we all got on so well.  We were blessed with seeing 2 awesome displays of the Northern Lights,  Husky trekking was truly an experience too.  Thank you Baltic Travel for providing and fulfilling an adventure that can now be ticked of our ‘bucket list!’

Mr & Mrs Walker.

We had a fabulous holiday, the information you sent us made everything easy. I would definitely book with you again and will recommend you to my friends.

Best wishes

Mrs Whelan

Thank you for the best trip ever!!!! Tromso was a dream and we even saw the Northern Lights.  I want to think about going back next December for 10 days. All the people were so interesting and lovely. The Edge Hotel was stunning too. Thank you for putting together such a dream trip.

Sarah x

Thank you for emailing! We had a great time in Norway and really enjoyed the trip. It was very well paced so we did a lot of fun and exciting things, but still had some time to relax too. I think we saw a great cross-section of Norway and would definitely recommend combining the Norway in a Nutshell and Northern Norway trips. I especially enjoyed the time above the Arctic Circle in Tromso.

All of the accommodation and tours were very nice. The only change I would suggest is that we ended up booking an extra night at the hotel in Tromso, since our last day there was the day of the kayaking, so we would have had to check out of the hotel at 9am, and then our cruise didn't leave until 1am the next morning. So we booked an extra day so that we could come back and shower after the kayaking and then also rest a bit before we got onto the cruise ship around midnight.

Thank you for all of your help!

Best wishes,
Megan

Thank you very much once again for arranging our holiday. All the arrangements were spot on and everyone was expecting us as booked. We were very lucky with the weather and the scenery was, of course, absolutely stunning.

Thanks again for your help.

Neil

Well what can I say.........magical, amazing, breathtaking , unbelievable......etc etc

The weather conditions weren't good for us to get to the is fjord radio hotel so instead we stayed overnight on the " ship frozen in the ice" . I think that was probably one of the best things we did so we weren't disappointed not to have got to isfjord radio. 

The dog sledging was unique as was the ice hotel in kirkenes.

a fantastic long weekend Daina , thankyou for fixing a truly memorable trip for us.

My wife has done nothing but say every day.  " I want to go back " ....

Well maybe for our 15th wedding anniversary eh ? 

Warm wishes to you.

Hi Lena

Oh that's brilliant, thank you so much, Lena!
You're my favourite travel agent now ;)  and will definitely get in touch for our next trip hopefully end of this summer!

Best regards,
Theresa

Dear Lena,

Just a short note to say how very much we enjoyed our trip to Norway.

The hotel was great - they upgraded us to a room with a wonderful view of the port and the breakfasts were fantastic!

Saturday was drizzly and we never thought we’d have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights so we went to see the film at the planetarium just in case! As if by magic, by the time we got on the bus, the skies were clearing and after a drive nearly to Sweden we were rewarded. lt has long been an ambition of mine to see the Aurora and we saw a spectacular display. The stars too were stunning in the black sky. The guides were really knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the photos they emailed me are a wonderful reminder. lt was an unforgettable experience!

Sunday brought cloudless blue skies - perfect for snowmobiling! Camp Tamok was lovely and the drive up in the mountains was fantastic fun with stunning views. Great lunch in the hut too!

The Norwegian people were so friendly and the country looked absolutely stunning from the air (we had sunshine both ways!). lt’s given us a taste for more - maybe a visit in the summertime.

Thank you so much for all your help and advice in organising our trip.

Best wishes,

Jenny

Ian, just returned from our Majestic Fjords Tour in Norway

Thanks for organising the holiday in Norway for me at the end of May. We had a great holiday. The weather was excellent. We saw all that we wanted to see and more. The flight was good, no problems at all. The hire car was new and we felt welcome at all hotels. If I could afford it, I’d go again, but I always knew Norway was going to be expensive. Thanks for the money for the ferries which covered the cost of all 5 ferries. We took plenty of photos and videos and really enjoyed the whole holiday.

One minor comment was the cost of the car parking in Bergen – 260KR (£26) for two nights parking. This isn’t a complaint, just thought you might want to warn other holidaymakers.

I’ll definitely be looking to book with you again for any other Baltic/Scandinavia/Iceland holidays in the future.

Best Regards, Ian  

Dear Daina:
 
We just returned from our Scandinavia trip and I just wanted to thank you for all of your help and cooperation.   We had a great time.   Baltic Travel did a great job of setting up the details and the trip was exactly as advertised.    And our guide (Horacio) was super.  We sincerely appreciated the time and effort you spent in answering our questions.    
 
Thanks again and I hope you have a great summer.
 
Ray & Jane

Dear Iveta

I am back home in Glasgow after a wonderful trip. I just wanted to say thank you for all your work. Everything went amazingly well and, apart from a wee glitch with the Kirkenes taxi, things worked very efficiently. The people at the dog sledding were really nice and the day was such fun - likewise the Northern Lights Chase. We found them! More light shows were seen from the ship rounding off a great few days. I shall certainly be back and I’m already telling my friends about you.

Once again my thanks
All the best
Mike

Veronika - got back last week from our Fjords of Norway trip.We had a great time and the weather was very kind to us.We had a fantastic guide on the bus in the form of Siren , who was drafted in at the last minute because the original guide quit.What a fortuitous action as Siren was so knowledgable and knew exactly how to balance the commentary etc. She took us to other stops not on the agenda as she knew the Country so well.She is a gem and so was our driver Suna who made every ferry time and hotel deadline impeccably.It was very well organised and i want to thank- you for this experience.

The only suggestion I would make for the future is to change the Raddison blu hotel in Oslo.The rooms were tired and the staff not so efficient.Other than that all the other hotels were wonderful.All the meals were excellent except the lunch at the glacier and the first night dinner at the Raddison in Oslo which was preselected and not sufficient .The buffets everywhere were wonderful.

many thanks

David H

Hi Iveta.

The trip lived up to its name, and we DID see polar bears (a mother & 2 cubs) plus loads of other wildlife including, whales, walrus, sea eagles & puffins. The trip was amazing, each day the sights got more spectacular, the beauty of the fjords, the wildlife, then finally the glaciers and sea ice in Svalbard just took your breath away (it was cold !!). Also the ship was well organised, excellent food, very friendly and experienced crew. I would highly recommend this trip. I have too many photos to send you. Where can I go next to top this??

Regards
Georgina

Hi Iveta,
I just wanted to drop you an email and say thanks SO much for all your work in arranging our holiday!  We got back Thursday night and we had the best holiday of our lives!  It couldn't have gone smoother - everything you planned for us was perfect, thank you so much!
Now to just save up for the next trip!
Jessica

Hi Iveta

Thanks for sorting everything out for us. We had an excellent break in Tromso. Observed the northern lights on 1 of the 3 nights (unfortunately other 2 nights were cloudy). Hurtigruten cruise was also excellent (stunning scenery). We may return to Tromso early next year. Alternatively we are considering Iceland as a destination next Summer. If and when we decide I will contact you for a booking. Again, thanks for everything and bye for now.

Dennis and Beverley

Just returned from such a well organised holiday thank you so much. Weather could have been a little kinder but managed to see a light show one evening, another box ticked. Thank you, I will happily recommend your company to one and all, yours Gwen

Good Morning Iveta

Hope you are surviving our cold snap without any problems with your house or car?  It seems positively balmy to Mike & I after our fabulous trip to northern Norway where it registered -15 in Alta and Sorrisniva on our last 2 mornings!

We really enjoyed our whole trip which was very well organised thank you :O)

The Clarion Collection With Hotel in Tromso did indeed give us a room with a lovely view across the harbour.  It was the best of the 3 hotels with tea & coffee facilities in the room, complimentary hot drinks & waffles in the 'breakfast room' during the afternoon and a complimentary extensive buffet in the early evening - both available to all guests. Plus they had a computer in the foyer with free internet access and very helpful staff.

We would also like to compliment our guide Anja for an excellent evening out looking and successfully seeing 3 sightings of the Northern Lights. We were also lucky enough to see the Northern Lights twice more - on the cruise and at the Ice Hotel :O)

The cruise was lovely - inside cabin fine, ship well equipped and scenery spectacular. The only comment I would make is that because we boarded late in the day making the most of being able to explore Tromso - we found ourselves unable to choose our evening meal sitting so had to accept 8.30pm at night which was far too late for me.

The trip to the Northern Cape was again well organised.

The Rica Bryggen Hotel in Honningsvag also gave us a room with a view across the harbour but then there were only about 10 guests!  The hotel also had tea & coffee making facilities in the room and complimentary croissants & hot drinks in the foyer. The restaurant wasn't open in the evening but we told how to find the one restaurant which was called Z Corner (close to the Rica Hotel) which served excellent reasonably priced food.

We had a small but pleasant room at the Rica Hotel in Alta but were disappointed that they did not offer tea & coffee making facilities in the room nor had any complimentary drinks available in the foyer after a long but pleasant bus trip.

The Ice Hotel was fabulous. The snowmobile trip well organised & great fun and included a delicious soup & bread lunch, the staff at the hotel were lovely, there were complimentary hot drinks available and they allowed us to use their kick sleds to explore the area in the afternoon plus organised an Ice Carving session for us too which was great fun (we were the only guests in the afternoon and joined by just one other couple in the evening which made it all the more special!)  The evening meal was superb and we slept well in our ice room inside their very cosy sleeping bags :O)  An amazing end to our memorable trip.

Ps Breakfast was excellent in all 3 hotels and on the boat.

I hope this feedback is useful for you and I thank you once again for such a well organised & most enjoyable tour.

Regards, Tracy  S.

Dear Daina, we would like you to know that we had an enjoyable time on our Scandinavian trip. Your supplier is a very experienced and first class operator. The hotels were all very comfortable and the standard of meals, apart from a couple, very enjoyable. All in all it was a first class trip with everything operating smoothly. By comparison with offerings from Australian based packagers, it was also very good value.
 
Cheers
John F.

Dear Iveta
 
Just wanted to thank you for such a lovely holiday.
We had a fantastic time in Norway, enjoyed every minute of it and we saw the lights both on the Saturday and Sunday evenings. We have a great time dog sledging and the boat trip was a fantastic place to see the lights from.
 
I loved Norway and would love to go back.
 
Many thanks indeed for all your help and advice - it made the booking really easy.
Best wishes
Catharine M.

Dear Veronika,

Just a quick line to say thanks for all the work you put into our holiday.
It was fabulous. The vouchers all worked, in the hotel we got a room with a sea view, and it served afternoon waffles, and an evening meal all included in the price.
The reindeer sledding was ok - the Sami talk beforehand great. We both loved the Husky dog sledding and would recommend it to anyone.
We saw the lights with Kjetil, so our holiday was perfect.

Thanks
Penny

Hello, I would just like to say ....”Thank you”.
My travel with you was amazing – the transfers and hotels and their locations were fantastic.
And all my adventures through the SnowHotel were the most memorable ever.
I had the time of my life. I hope to save up and do a summer holiday in Norway and maybe another winter.
I have been giving your details to friends who want to go to Norway now.
Thank you so much again for an amazing holiday.
Regards,
Chantelle R.

Daina,
You arranged a super urban backpack tour of Norway for me and a grandson!  Great reservations, great travel planning, great advance information.  And you were quick – and so patient - with responses to my novice questions.  Thank you!

Bob J.
Amarillo, Texas

Dear Iveta,

We had a wonderful time in Tromso. We did catch a glimpse of the lights so are happy. The hotel and staff were brilliant, we could not fault them. The light evening meal saved us a fortune because as you know the cost of living is very high. Overall the trip was fantastic and we would certainly recommend the Clarion hotel and Baltic Travel. You have been brilliant too. Thank you very much.
 
At some point in the future, possibly Autumn time, we would like to visit the Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. We would also like to visit Finland especially Helsinki. You and Baltic Travel will be the first we contact. If you have any good deals please let us know.
 
Very kind regards.
Jim and Marilyn

Hi Iveta
 
Thank you for your help/advice associated with our short break in Tromso early Feb 12.
We had a wonderful time and observed the Aurora Borealis on 2 of the 3 nights we were there.
The only downside was it was very cold in Tromso (coldest since 1965) and also expensive, however, we do intend to revisit around the same time next year and at the same hotel.

We will probably book sometime this Summer. Therefore, in the meantime grateful if there is information you could provide e.g. prices/brochures etc.
 
Best Regards
Dennis A.

Hi Veronika

Just a note to say thank you so much for making all the necessary arrangements for myself and Graham to visit Tromso.  We had a fantastic time and it really helped having everything sorted in advance. We did see the Northern Lights, not at their most spectacular but at least we saw them. Tromso was wonderful and I do hope we get the opportunity to visit again someday. Take care,

Best wishes
Lorraine

Dear Daina,

We have returned safely from our Norway trip and had a fantastic time! Everything went very well and we would like to thank you so much for all the organising that you did - especially at such short notice for our 'second' trip!  We were very happy with the hotels - the Thon in Kirkenes is in a beautiful location and we were really pleased that you booked us into that one. The husky sledging was wonderful and was one of the highlights. We also enjoyed the snow shoeing and the King Crab fishing - what a wonderful taste that crab is! The Snow Hotel was a real experience and we are pleased that we stayed there. We also saw the Northern Lights from there although it was not as clear as it had been the night before. We missed them that night as we had waited outside for 1.5hours and then they appeared when we went inside - typical!. At least we saw them on the last night though - they are really magical! We met lots of interesting people! We had great pleasure in singing your praises and telling them how efficient you had been and how we could certainly recommend your company.
 
We would like to go back - perhaps taking in the Hurtigruten next time.
Thank you once again
 
Kind Regards
Elaine and Colin

Dear Daina

Well- we made it! It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We'd like to thank you for all your work in making it such a memorable experience. Your professionalism was great but, more than that, your helpful and friendly approach made it so much easier for us to plan exactly what we wanted to do and the whole trip ran on oiled wheels. We particularly valued your patience in answering our interminable questions! Thank you, too, for rearranging our dog sled ride. A MAJOR bonus was that we saw the Northern Lights so thank you for helping to create a wonderful memory for us.

With best wishes,
Ann M.

Hi Veronika, just a short message to let you know we have had an experience of a lifetime! Our trip was wonderful, we saw the aurora on two trips out (i booked another trip whilst we were there) the trip you booked for us was fabulous, we had a great time meeting other people, our guide  was a lovely man and very informative. and also sang happy birthday in norwegian to me! I hope to go again to this beautiful place and will be booking through your company in the future. Thank you so much for helping me to achieve my lifelong dream of seeing the northern lights, i will never forget this wonderful experience. Best wishes, Helen.

Dear Veronika,
 
I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for arranging this trip for us.  We had a fantastic time and even got to see the Northern Lights.
 
We will definitely contact you next time we want to arrange a trip to the Arctic.
Thanks again.
 
Kind regards.
Sharon and Andy

Dear Daina

I just wanted to let you know that all the arrangements went smoothly thank you we had a wonderful trip to Norway. The lights were spectacular! Our guide was brilliant, she was super! The dogsledding was a great success & again the organisation was super.
Thank you again for such a great holiday!

Best wishes
Sheila & Victoria

Dear Daina - we had a wonderful time in Norway - very good flights and accomodation and best of all 5 hours of seeing the northern lights - we went out twice first night no clouds but no lights and the last night was the best the guide had ever seen (we drove to the border with Finland). Thank you!
John and Sue

Throughly enjoyed.  Thought it was great.  Would definitely go again.