Customer Review

The 'reindeer herding day' was probably the most enjoyable - fascinating to hear and learn about and see 'in the flesh' reindeer herding, ice fishing (drilled holes and nets), generally to learn about the way of life in that part of the world, and on top of all that to be driving through the true wilderness on the snowmobiles. The guide was hugely knowledgeable, perfect English, infinitely capable (creating fires and sumptuous meals out in the wild) and cheerfully patient with our questions and incompetencies (the slower snowmobile drivers!). It would be invidious to describe any activity as the 'least' enjoyable, since everything we did was enormous fun, if sometimes fairly challenging. The first day snowmobiling, the husky sledging and the nightly trips out to 'hunt' the lights were all brilliant. To then have 'free' access to snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and sauna in our free time was simply icing (no pun intended) on our appetising cake! The hotel is picturesque, supremely comfortable and beautifully warm, and the food was really excellent - a wide variety of delicious food at all meals, coffee and tea on tap at all times, and a more than adequately stocked bar especially the rum,brandy, etc spiked hot drinks! The organisation of the activities themselves was faultless and the guides were enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable. The equipment (snowmobiles, husky sledges, shoes, skis, Arctic weather gear) was all of very high quality. To have then had, on our last night, what Marrku our local resident photographer guide rated as one of the top three Auroral displays in his whole life simply left us breathless. I will tell every friend of ours who might be interested to go 'lights hunting' to go to Nellim - it was brilliant (and would have been even if we had not seen the Aurora at all!).

We enjoyed all of it, but especially the husky sledging. There wasn't anything we didn't enjoy. Keep it the same. We found the mix of activities and down time just right, as was the group size. Your rep was excellent, always around, and very helpful without being 'in your face', and the local guides were very knowledgeable and friendly.

It was a fabulous holiday. The rep was great; everything worked smoothly; the activities were great, and the pace of the holiday was perfect. Luckily, the weather was perfect, and we saw the Northern Lights every night, including one amazing red, green and blue sighting. One of our best holidays ever. I liked the husky trip best. The weather was sunny and cold and the snow looked magical. I liked all the activities. I was hopeless at the cross-country skiing, but I still enjoyed it. Superb value for money I thought.

Excellent trip. We both enjoyed ourselves and the services that you provided.

It was the holiday of a lifetime! The activities were very well organised and the fantastic display of Lights on the Friday just topped it off perfectly. Most enjoyable activity: Hard to say - they were all brilliant but really loved the husky ride.

We had a full and lovely holiday, with a fantastic finish! We were able to take part in a lot of activities, from husky dog sledding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, reindeer farm experience, ice fishing, tobogganing and the odd Aurora hunting! Each activity was led by guides and instructors and we were given guidance before each activity. We would never have thought, that in just a few days, we could pack so much into them. We did so much yet were able to relax and enjoy our surroundings. Our guides enhanced the experiences with their local knowledge and stories.  Every member of staff that we met were helpful and helped us to have the best experiences possible. We were also lucky enough to see the most incredible display of the Northern Lights. This was so much more than we could have wished for, you had to be there to believe it! Lots of 'oohing' and 'aahing', cookies and berry juice around a warming fire and we finally returned back to our hotel about 12.30am all clutching our cameras full of the most amazing pictures. Everyone sat in the bar talking about their experiences. We would recommend this holiday to anyone. You do need to have a certain level of fitness, but you don't need to be a gym bunny! The whole experience was tiring but it was a satisfied tiredness and we had the most amazing holiday of a lifetime. Thanks to all the staff at the Wilderness Hotel and all the instructors/guides....you helped it to go really smoothly.

Thank you so much we had an amazing holiday! We had a great range of activities to do during the day and then the search often by snowmobilies in the evening was fab. Everything we could possibly need was included and thank goodness for the Arctic suits! We feel exceptionally lucky to have witnessed such a display of the Northern Lights it really was spectacular and worth every penny. From our rep Peter, to the guides (Finlands answer to Lara Croft - Noora!) who really made our experience and the other hotel staff we were made to feel so welcome and nothing was too much trouble. The food was great, proper homemade meals after a day in the cold was fantastic. We cannot praise the hotel enough, I will definitely be recommending it to friends. Thank you also for making the booking process so easy.

The whole holiday was well planned. You made it so easy. Outi our guide was Excellent! The cabins and restaurant was lovely and the staff so friendly. Best holiday ever, thank you for making it so easy to book. 

This was one of the best holidays we have been on in recent years. The Forest Hotel was warm and welcoming with excellent facilities and the owners were an amazing family who made it feel like home. Although we did not see the Northern Lights we had a great action-packed four days. The people we met on the holiday were great and a really friendly bunch which made the holiday even more enjoyable.

A fantastic holiday that exceeded our expectations - the excitement that the local staff had for the activities was infectious and they shared our absolute delight in seeing the lights. Thank you for an amazing experience - we are very glad we chose Nellim and the Aurora Zone.

Here are just a few of my favourite snaps of my wonderful dream come true holiday....  Staying at the Abisko Mountain Lodge was lovely, great owners and friendly staff, food amazing and the guides to the activities chosen were excellent.  Sampled dog sledging, (scary but great fun), snowmobling though the wilderness and ice rock climbing up a frozen waterfall...  We were fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights on our first night and a bit on the second, but just to see them was a dream come true and the icing on the cake was to stay at the world famous ICEHOTEL. Best four days in a long time and never to forget.

We had an amazing week in Finnish Lapland – although we are back in the UK we have left our hearts at the wilderness hotel. Everything from the booking to the holiday itself & all the activities have been superb. We were lucky enough to see the Aurora twice but there were so many highlights that it’s difficult to say what bits were the best! Our Rep Emma was so very helpful & organised a couple of extra activities for us. She was very knowledgeable & gave us lots of ideas of things to do on our free day. We also spent a night in the Igloo which was an amazing experience, but the icing on the cake has to be our meal in the ice restaurant & overnight stay at the snow village. We upgraded to a suite where there were some beautiful ice carvings on the walls – WOW what an experience. Our only problem now is choosing what holiday to pick from your brochure for next year.

We had a great holiday. Everyone went out of their way to give us the best possible time, from the hotel owners to the guides. The guide who took us out by coach the first evening spent an extra hour searching for the Northern Lights which in the end he found not getting us back until midnight. 

We have just been so impressed with the staff - they make sure they get to know you personally. Barry at the office was able to help us deal with some potentially awkward issues, in a very sensitive manner. Thank you. Emma - our Rep - was great. She took the time to have a discreet chat to my husband about his eye sight problem, without making an issue of it. She was always cheerful and extremely helpful throughout our stay. Our guide Ollie was great fun and ensured we enjoyed all of the activities he led. Laura and the other girls at reception were soooo cheerful and always happy to help. Your team really help to make the experience what it is.

The most important thing is the people. The Finns were so kind and positive that it was a joy to be around them. Each person wanted to make sure we were having a nice time. You can tell clients not to worry about the cold weather as the clothes you bring plus the clothes they provide make you toasty. We were out in -34 degree Celcius at midnight and not worried about our toes, fingers - we were fine. The point of this trip is not the food or fancy-stuff. You are active and rosy-cheeked and happy about being outside doing things. The Northern Lights were one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. So lucky = three nights out of three! Antti, the guide-photographer, made the trip perfect. He is a wonderful person, patient, knowledgeable, funny - so helpful. We had five teriffic people on our tour and with Antti guiding us, we had the time of our lives. Antti 'made' the trip. Also - I know the question asked for the Best - but................ I LOVED - l.o.v.e.d. - the dog sledding. I drove a four husky team by myself and enjoyed it enormously. Loved being with the dogs, petting them, just being around them. And - I loved meeting the reindeer. I thought I travelled alot in my life but the people I met on the tour travelled constantly and we all agreed = this was one of the single best trips we had ever taken. It is almost impossible to find the correct words to describe seeing the Northen Lights in person without a TV screen inbetween. It is spiritual and amazing and you feel connected to the earth but looking at something almost sci-fi. The admin staff in England were attentive and helpful as was the rep in Finland as was the hotel staff as were all the other people = dog people, reindeer people, ice house people, everyone was very kind. You can be proud of your team and your product. The people you meet make a trip special and all of these people were great.

Although the Abisko Lodge isn't 5* it is perfect for the sort of activity holiday we had. Couldn't fault it or the staff in any way. Truly amazing holiday. Thank you.

I was impressed with all aspects of the holiday and in particular, the activity guide Toini was brilliant. All the staff at the hotel were very helpful and friendly. I thought the tour group was a particularly nice and friendly group of people, which I found as a single traveller made a positive difference. 

It was an excellent mix of activities, an excellent hotel and everyone from the guides to the hotel staff genuinely seemed to want to make sure that we had the best time possible. It was worth every penny. 

Overall, a first class holiday. We really valued the small group activities. It was good to have the opportunity for high quality and knowledgeable activity leaders. 

I was very impressed by the punctuality of all the activity guides and drivers - they were never late - brilliant. 

Totally awesome - beyond our wildest dreams! The whole holiday was way beyond all expectations. What a start when the Northern Lights appeared on our journey to the hotel! The coach driver stopped and let us out to enjoy the full experience. Plus the fact that you were never too sure exactly what the activity entailed made the experiences surreal - did I really just do that? Our final meal at the ice house was the best surprise ever! 

We have just spent five wonderful days in Nellim. The highlight of the holiday was the husky safari so much so we did it twice! Our log cabin was warm and very comfortable, and had the added bonus of our own sauna. Food was excellent, staff extremely pleasant and very helpful, so were the guides. The icing on the cake were the Northern Lights which we experienced on the last night. We will be going back and would recommend the holiday to anyone even thinking of going.

From the start to the end of our holiday everything was above and beyond our expectations. The guides made us laugh and feel safe and were always there to answer any questions or concerns you may have. The activities we had were excellent and nothing was too much for myself or my Husband. This holiday was booked for our late Honeymoon and was the perfect setting for or wedding Anniversary. How many people can say they had a reindeer pulled sled through a magical forest deep in snow followed by a sauna and a candle lit steak dinner with Champagne. The first four nights were cloudy, but on the 6th and 7th night we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights! All in all to much to say about this magical holiday but in a nut shell (Speechless). Hopefully we will be booking again with activities abroad in a few years time!

Fantastic trips on the Snowmobiles and the Husky sleds. Sadly no photos of the Aurora but they remain in the memory.

Here are my shots of the Aurora we observed on our first evening - sadly this was the only Aurora showing we had due to continuous cloud cover thereafter. However, you were all excellent companions for the week and it was a pleasure to meet you all. The holiday itself was excellent. The sessions were about the right length of time and Toini/Eva were excellent guides. The hotel food is plentiful and appropriate. The activities are varied and well staggered. The scenery was pure "Narnia"!

I would like to rate the Activity Guides as better than excellent. They really made each outing special and without making it seem that they were just dragging another group of clients around. They were also very happy to answer questions and share knowledge of the Aurora and Lapland in general. 

Simply the best holiday I've ever taken - from beginning to end. I can't recommend it enough - and I look forward to returning in the future.

Have just got back from a truly memorable holiday in Iceland. We took the Natural Wonders and Northern Lights trip which gave plenty of time for looking around Reykjavik before moving to the countryside to explore. We stayed two nights in a hotel in Reykjavik. It's in a great location, close to the shops and near lots of good restaurants and cafés. We had breakfast at the hotel, which was basic but ok. We didn't have dinner there though the menu looked interesting enough. The other two nights we stayed at the Hotel Ranga. This hotel is a little off-the-beaten-track (so reducing light pollution risk for Northern Lights viewing). The staff here are incredibly friendly. You can sign up each day if you want to be woken in the night if the lights put in an appearance. They also make an announcement if the lights are cheeky enough to arrive during dinner. There was a good choice of food at breakfast, including hot food and waffles. Dinner was a set three course meal of good quality. The trip was made truly special by Einar our fantastic Icelandic guide. Einar is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his homeland and his enthusiasm rubbed off on the group. We were driven around in a Super Jeep, a fantastic vehicle that copes well with the ice, snow and rocks you encounter when exploring Iceland in February. Tips: Don't be put off by the Aurora forecasts. On two nights of our trip, the forecast for Northern Lights activity was showing as 0 or 1 (i.e. at the lowest end of the scale) but we saw the lights on each evening. If you want to photograph the NorthernLights you really need to use a tripod. Even if the Northern Lights hadn't appeared this would still have been a fantastic trip, the Icelandic scenery is breathtaking and otherworldly.

The overall package was absolutely brilliant. The sightings of the Northern Lights were jaw-dropping, and we couldn't have achieved the fantastic photographs we have without the expert guidance from Antti who was superb. His knowledge and patience and skill were great. We can't fault the trip at all, everything surpassed our expectations. 

From my initial phone call everything was handled smoothly and easily with clear and instructive information. Nice to have documents emailed to account and not posted, gives you the ability to print extra if needed or not at all if not required. The Hotel Kultahovi was fantastic, really clean and comfortable, amazing local food, and really nice and helpful staff, I would definitely return if possible or recommend to friends.