North Norway Adventure - Lofoten & Tromso

Dear Inga,

I'm so sorry to have taken so long in letting you have some feedback on our holiday, but here it is.........

A big ‘thank you’ from us to you and to Baltic Travel and your partners for tailoring our trip to the Lofoten Islands in the way that best suited our needs. Nothing was too much trouble for you to look into if we had a query and this gave us a great itinerary, very well arranged. All the paperwork, travel, car hire and accommodation vouchers were spot on and we had no trouble with any of the elements of the holiday. From the flights to, from and within Norway to the car hire, hotel and Rorbuer bookings, all went well and without incident.

Rather than follow a long fly-drive tour we opted to stay extra days in two centres on a shorter route. It worked very well and gave us time to relax and spend time exploring an area more extensively before moving on. There’s so much to see in these truly marvellous and stunning islands that rather than trying to squeeze it all into one trip, there’s enough here for another.

Almost every turn in the road was a real ‘wow’ moment as superb vistas suddenly (or even tantalisingly slowly) opened up before us. Mid-June and still enough snow on the mountains to show them up in their magnificence. 

The rorbuer we stayed in were very well equipped and so comfortable such that on the days of poorer weather we could just relax until the weather passed through.

Jagged peaks; amazing bridges; twisty coastal roads; pretty red coloured cabins on stilts close to the sea’s edge; picturesque villages - nothing but visual delights everywhere we travelled. And so many places to go walking and hiking!

It’s a truism that travel broadens the mind and we learned so much about Norwegian history, its culture and economy and the contributions that cod fishing makes to the islands’ wellbeing. There can’t be too many places in the world where you run over a dead fish lying in the middle of the road - still trying to figure out how it got there!

The weather could have been kinder and we didn’t get to glimpse the mid-night sun for cloud as the weather had ‘set in’. As it does, it rained, but there were plenty of bright and sunny spells which combined to give us very atmospheric and picturesque memories of this great land.

Oslo is terrific and a real must for a few days’ stay; the museums and galleries are superb. Another trip need to see some more.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and it gave real peace of mind to know that Baltic was always on hand should anything need attention.

Well done Baltic and your partners in Norway for such a memorable stay.

With kind regards,

Paul & Jennifer.

(Inga - Do please edit this as you fell appropriate if you're looking to place this as one of your 'reviews' for the holiday - I have no problem at all if you wish to make it shorter - I tend to be a bit 'wordy'!)

Thank you for all that you did for us in putting this holiday together - we wouldn't hesitate for a second in recommending Baltic to anyone simply because of your attention to detail and flexibility in providing the holiday we wanted and the warm, friendly, caring and attentive service you've shown us both before and after our trip. 

P&J.

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

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 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

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