Customer Review

Taken just outside the hotel on 1st March. A really good bright and dynamic light, violet and sometimes blue showed by the camera as well as, of course, the dominant green. This is a corona...directly overhead.

At the Melangen viewing camp last night the skies were clear and the Aurora glowed and flowed for nearly three hours. The highlight of the night was only half an hour into the session when a glow in the east suddenly expanded and burst into waving concentric rings in the zenith of the sky: reds and greens and... Wow! In my ear I heard even our guide saying, "Oh my Gott! Oh my Gott!" We still have two more days of activities and (hopefully!) more viewing, but so far--from dog sledding to snowmobiling to reindeer feeding to sky watching--our Three Countries tour has been sheer delight! Thanks to all of you at The Aurora Zone!!

First off we had a great holiday and saw the lights! The Aurora Sleigh Ride was simply magical. Bjorn was amazing. We would have said this even if we had not seen the Northern lights during this activity. It was a lovely journey into the mountains. A trip we will never forget. My sister managed to get on a Dog Sledding trip and loved that too.Mina and her staff were excellent; so helpful.

Cannot thank you enough for the brilliant service we received from the first contact on your website chat function, through to suggesting the location, help selecting activities, booking the holiday, answering random questions before the holiday. Then on holiday itself the staff were so polite, friendly and helpful. It was an amazing holiday.

Our first holiday of this sort and we were very unsure what to expect. All the way along we had brilliant (and speedy) help and assistance from your company which was very reassuring.

We had a great time. It was good to have done so many great things in such a short time. Top 3 were all extremely enjoyable but different: a) Whale watching - enjoyed the RIB, the great scenery and close views of sperm whale and orca's - made possible by the skill and knowledge of the skipper. b) Husky sledging - great contact with the dogs, sledging through a wonderful course for a good time and nicely challenging. Bjorn and Hilda very welcoming, patient and informative. The chat and coffee around the fire in the lavvu was excellent. c) Northern lights - amazing views on our final night - made possible through Robert's persistent pursuit and great knowledge of where and when to look as well as great photographic advice.

We had a super holiday and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys new cultures and a different climate. We can't thank Martin, our guide, enough. He made the holiday. (On the) Wilderness drives - no other tourists and a real insight into the landscape, volcanoes geysirs and farming. All made possible by our excellent activity guide. Reykjavik National Museum was excellent.

A truly magical time spent in stunning scenery and staying at the Abisko Mountain Lodge where the staff were both helpful and friendly. Dog Sledding - great way to see the national park and my wife really enjoyed spending time with the dogs. Great that we were able to do this from right outside our accommodation.

Most enjoyable activity was the Dog sledding. You felt completely part of it, from start to finish. You got to feed, fuss and work with the dogs. Great activity for all ages, would highly recommend.

Not so easy to get to (and as it turns out due to a cancelled flight, even harder to leave!) but well worth the effort of travelling so far north. The Arctic Hotel was fabulous, great food, lovely staff, good facilities. Our local rep Sophie was a gem and lovely company throughout all the excursions. View from the room across the ice fjord ever changing, and the spectacle of an Arctic sunrise and sunset every day could be watched forever. Outdoor activities organised brilliantly, especially as things changed from day to day, even hour by hour depending on the weather. Boat trip among the bergs a must-do, as is the sled trip with the dogs. For photographers, it's a photogenic dream, and almost impossible to take a bad shot! Finally saw the Northern Lights after several years of searching.......but it won't stop us booking again next year!

The guides were all wonderful, but I wanted to especially mention Vesa who took us to the Sámi Museum in Inari. He entertained us on the journey with some great stories about the area and his life, and was a very informative guide around the museum itself. We really loved the dog sledding, and are looking at a husky safari for next year because it was so enjoyable. We also enjoyed the snowshoeing.

Amazing from the first inquiry and right the way through. Ben who was our contact at Nelim was lovely.

Had an absolutely fantastic time. Made some great friends and I would most definitely recommend you and use you again.

Our local rep Sophie was a gem and lovely company throughout all the excursions. The view from the room across the ice fjord was ever-changing and the spectacle of an Arctic sunrise and sunset every day could be watched forever. Outdoor activities organised brilliantly, especially as things changed from day to day, even hour by hour depending on the weather. Boat trip among the bergs a must-do, as is the sled trip with the dogs. For photographers, it's a photogenic dream, and almost impossible to take a bad shot! Finally saw the Northern Lights after several years of searching.......but it won't stop us booking again next year!

Overall the holiday was excellent. The organisation was very good, including air flights and transfers. The hotel was comfortable and warm and the room adequate. The activities were very well thought through and the staff interested, keen and helpful. The eating arrangements were very good.

By far the best holiday we have had; just brilliant. Smoothly operated from start to finish. Can recommend the service and friendliness of everyone involved in running this holiday. The guides with whom we had the most contact were brilliant, knowledgeable and highly engaging. Bring on the Berry Juice!

Everything was perfect. Enjoyed everything and was even better than expected. Everyone at Nellim is fantastic and so welcoming. Trips out with the owner Joukko particularly good. Felt so relaxed and yet active at the same time. Totally different experience that more than met our expectations. Ben was a fantastic Rep/Guide too.

My husband and I have talked about seeing the Northern Lights since first meeting 6 years ago, so it was the obvious choice when deciding on our honeymoon! We chose Nellim - Aurora in the Wild for the variety of activities on offer, the location within the Arctic Circle and the range of accommodation available. This package excelled on every count. The cabin - Nangu - was absolutely beautiful, sweetly private, and the personal sauna was a major boon in the -18C weather! This also made it easier for dashing out onto the lake at night when the Aurora Alarm went off. The hotel staff were just as fantastic - everyone spoke English to a brilliant standard and found my feeble attempts at Finnish amusing rather than insulting. The guides, in particular, were wonderful. Not only were they very knowledgeable about the areas flora, fauna and history, but they also clearly love what they do. Their unfailing enthusiasm for the beauty of Lake Inari and their reassuring patience with us uncertain (and ever so cold) tourists brought life to all of the activities on offer from snowmobiling to reindeer lassoing. The food was delicious and bountiful; all of the winter clothing and gear in excellent condition, and the staff at the hotel were incredibly helpful and welcoming. Unfortunately, we didn't have the best weather for Aurora hunting for our trip - it snowed 6 days out of 7! But to be perfectly honest, we enjoyed our surroundings so much, and the activities were so delightful, this wasn't quite the deal breaker I had imagined. That said, the one clear night we had, we had a beautiful show! From booking to the last flight from Helsinki, this was a beautifully organised and managed trip. We can't wait to go back! And we certainly wouldn't book with anybody else.

All guides were excellent, friendly, very knowledgeable about Finnish culture, custom and wildlife and managed to impart this during the activities. We were all looked after with great care despite there being a range of people for the guides to deal with. We would particularly single out Ben who was just excellent. One day my husband was not feeling well and we thought we would have to miss our trip, but Ben enabled us to go and we had a really memorable day. Husky sledding just pipped our snowmobile trip to the reindeer farm. The huskies were amazing, so well looked after, friendly and full of energy, really hard to hold back when we caught up the slow team in front of us. The day we went it was snowing making it really magical. We thoroughly enjoyed all the activities and would do them all again.

Fantastic holiday! Loved every minute. (Most enjoyable activity?)...Photography because the Aurora was amazing the night we were out. Husky sledding- we were blessed with the most beautiful weather, which made it an exhilarating way to spend a morning in stunning surroundings. (Improvements?)...If possible, better internet connection at the Mountain Lodge. We had to come into the main living area if we needed to go online. This did not in any way spoil the holiday, and I would still stay at the same location if I went again. A truly memorable holiday.

The whole trip was very well organised and we always felt the staff were making every effort to ensure we were completely satisfied. We were a family of 7, so everyone had their own special moment. Seeing the Northern Lights was everyone's dream come true...AWESOME! We embraced every activity! Our excellent holiday began with the first call to Barry Nolan. We had concerns about our Son's special needs and dietary requirements. Barry took his time to go through every aspect of what may be involved with the various activities and assured us of how the staff on-site would take care of us. When we arrived at Harriniva, everything that Barry had said was reflected by the local team. Despite a late arrival, the staff took the time to reassure us that they had prepared special meals for my son and showed us where all his food could be found on the buffet. For the activities, our guide Becky was truly amazing! Her knowledge and experience was second to none, but more importantly, her patience and understanding with our son was just brilliant. She went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure he had a great time. A very special thank you to Becky!

Overall holiday rating: Excellent. The guides were exceptional and the activities were all brilliant.

We loved this holiday. We had so much fun and enjoyed the setting and the activities. Free use of skis and snowshoes was an added bonus.

I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday. This was the first holiday of this kind that I have taken. I would highly recommend this holiday destination and your company to others. The hotel was in a stunning location. The hotel staff were extremely warm, friendly and welcoming. The guides on the activities were friendly and professional. I would be most grateful if your company could pass on my sincere thanks to the hotel staff for their wonderful hospitality. The pre-trip information was invaluable, especially the "what to take section regarding clothing".

We had a lovely holiday - we were fortunate that all flights were on time & the airport in Helsinki was easy to navigate. Transfers went smoothly & the hotel was very good. Northern Lights being visible in car park at Ivalo Airport an added bonus!! I liked the husky safari best whilst my husband liked the snowshoeing.

Best holiday ever; now how can I top that?

Excelled all expectations. Up near the top for holiday experiences. It's was an amazing holiday. I would hate to see it get over commercialised. It's perfect as it is. A really wilderness experience.

We had a fabulous time at Sörbyn Lodge. The staff were fantastic - really helpful, knowledgeable and very friendly. The food was great and the chef took the time at every dinner to come out to explain the dish. The guides were very good - particularly Luve who took us on the snowshoe walk and snowmobile trips. He had so much knowledge and was great company. Will definitely be back.

Day 1: Our journey took us first to Tromsø Norway. Our hotel was lovely yet the room was rather small but we were only there for a couple of nights. Day 2: First morning after our arrival we had been booked to go dog sledding. So off we went on a coach ride to Camp Tamok. We thought we were going to be on a sled with a guide 'mushing' but we ended up doing the mushing ourselves! Initially that was a bit concerning but what a fabulous time and experience. The dogs were great and very easy to handle. After a quite long trip out and back with the dogs, we were treated to hot drinks and a lovely fish soup, bread and traditional dessert. The day was definitely one we won't forget. Day 3: We toured around Tromsø on our own seeing the town/sites and visiting a museum, the brewery, the pub and enjoyed hot drinks at a lovely restaurant. That evening after dinner we headed off to the hot tub. It is located outside and it was snowing blizzard style! Yet another great experience. Met several lovely people in the tub and the view was great. Day 4: Gareth, our photographic tour guide, collected us promptly at 13.00 as arranged and our 4 day adventure began! We chatted about what we wanted to see and do and what he had planned. Our goal was viewing the Northern Lights. First night, after a lovely meal, we headed out to the frozen lake where we saw 'rather faint' northern lights. Not quite what we were hoping for but they showed up quite well in photos. Gareth was a great help with camera settings and advice on how to capture this phenomenon. I have a simple point and shoot compact camera and my hubby has a proper SLR. Gareth really assisted me with finding settings on my camera to get a decent picture. Day 5: Next morning we headed off to the Reindeer farm on a sled being pulled by a snow mobile. That was a fun day with some great photo opportunities. Unfortunately that evening after, a quick sauna and lovely supper, the sky was full of clouds with no luck of viewing Aurora. Day 6: We headed off to Saana (local mountain) on a photo safari driving snowmobiles! What great fun that was. We ended up on the backside of the mountain in a mountain hut where Gareth built us a fire to warm up and provided us with a HOT soup/sandwich lunch with HOT juice. Boy did it taste good after all that exercise snowshoeing to get the best scenic photos. Snowshoeing was definitely an experience!! After a few rolls in the deep snow we sort of 'mastered' it! (Or did we?). Returning to base we had time for a sauna in our cabin to get us really warmed up. Off to another fabulous dinner. When we departed the restaurant Aurora was waiting for us!! Simply amazing! Changed quickly and grabbed our gear and set off to the far end of the frozen lake for a photo shoot with the breathtaking Aurora who was performing magnificently for us. We all got some great images and hubby did a time lapse which can be seen at https://vimeo.com/157854018. Day 7: we set off early to drive to other photogenic spots along the fjord and local villages. We found absolutely gorgeous scenery for some wonderful pictures. Day 8: All too soon our break was at an end. We did so much in such a short amount of time and we hated to leave that next morning. We highly recommend Gareth as he was a fabulous host and guide and we are discussing a return trip in the autumn season with him for a different perspective of that lovely area. Thanks Gareth for everything...you were the best! We had an exceptional time on our short week-long break. We packed in a lot but never felt rushed or cut short on any of the activities. 

This really was the holiday of a lifetime; everything was perfect. The activities were varied and offered enough to do without ever feeling rushed or that we were doing too much. The hotel was fantastic; the hosts and guides were all very welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable and the use of equipment and outerwear for the whole week was brilliant. We felt like we got to experience the real Finland and get some sense of traditional life in the Arctic Circle in the most beautiful of surroundings. And to top it all, we were lucky enough to see a spectacular display of the Northern Lights! Just magical. Thank you so much for such a memorable holiday - it was a truly amazing experience. When Amy (in your office) said that Menesjarvi left a special place in your heart I didn't know quite what she meant - but now I do.....