Joan Cook

Berniece,


Just wanted to let you know what a fantastic trip we had, in a very short time, in Norway. Bergen was wonderful with a compact city center and great views from Mt Floyen at the top of the funicular ride. The Augustin hotel was a great location,delicious breakfast- don't know how I'll survive without 5 kinds of herring to choose from each morning and short walk to ferry.
The Sognefjord ferry was great and Balestrand at Kiviknes hotel was superb- what a history this family owned hotel has, and what an extensive included buffet dinner - would definitely spend more time here. Hiked 2 hours up the mountain for incredible views. Ferry to Flam was right out of fairytales with views that got better with every turn. Enjoyed Flam train and the train into Oslo and then walked a few meters from the Oslo station to the Thon Opera hotel-perfect, got in late and would not have wanted to travel any further. Even got to tour the new opera house next door before our flight the next day.
Thanks for putting this too brief trip together for us (already on our list of places to return to) and we will definitely recommend Scantours to Norway and Scandinavia for our clients.

Sincerely,

John Cook
Travel Discoveries
129 E Walnut St
Watseka, Il 60970
815-432-6121
john@traveldiscoveries.com

Norman Sato

Hello Ulla,

Just wanted to give the heads up on our tour to Iceland. Your info worked out perfectly and we had no problems getting to all of the locations without incidence. Iceland is a great place to visit and I wish more folks would consider it.

We had a great time and made some new friends too!

Thanks. Hope we can do more business with you in the future. We will definitely recommend Scantours to our friends.

Norman

Jason Mccasland

Hi Ulla,

Taylor and I just got back from our trip a week or two ago and I wanted to thank you for everything that you setup for us. It was an amazing vacation that we will never forget. I loved the dog sledding and the northern light tour and the ice carving experience at the ice hotel. The whole Ice Hotel experience was great! We had a wonderful time and I just wanted to say thank you for helping us plan our vacation!

Thanks again!

Leigh Salz & Taylor McCasland

Deborah Persoleo

Dear Ulla
The trip was absolutely wonderful and I would definitely spend 2 or 3 nights in the Ice Hotel. I never have had such a good night's sleep!. Stockholm was great but it was a bit difficult to get around. We only got to the Vasmuseet and the Place Museum. There is nothing like a quick nap and wash up to tackle a new country. Everyone's English was excellent so it made us feel very comfortable.

We had to use 4 taxi trips to and from the airport in Stockholm. The taxi is the best way to get around with luggage and is the most economical for two people.

The Ice Hotel was the BEST!!! The dog sled was outstanding and all of the guides were wonderful. They suited us up and we headed out. As much as we read and tried to prepare you just can not be ready for the Ice Hotel. We spent hours going thru the rooms and admiring the ice sculpture. So many things you learn from other visitors. Like after your last drink of the night you throw your glass at the back wall and break it. It you save your glass for a refill you get $3 off each drink. AND you can not get a hangover no matter how much you drink if you stay in the cold of the Ice Hotel! We took a global cell phone and my daughter and daughter in law talked to us as they watched us on the webcam. The warm rooms were too warm. We seemed to have alot of problems with getting things set up, such as the transportation back to the Kiruna Airport. The air tickets from Kiruna to Stockholm were at the bottom of the envelope and we left the envelope in Stockholm. (Definitely take no more than one small carry on to the Ice Hotel.) This caused me great worry but the Ladies at the Ice Hotel Reception Desk fixed everything. I suggest staying busy and sampling everything. We went snowmobiling for 6 hours looking for moose and reindeer and yes we saw them. Then we went back out again for 4 hours at night looking for the Northern Lights which we did not see because it was so overcast. We had seen a small display over the Ice Hotel the night before but we really didn't know what it was. If you wan to know about the Northern Lights go see the Bartender at the Ice Bar. We took a reindeer sleigh ride and had dinner with the Sami. We took an Ice Sculpting class with LENA! She did several rooms and the Bar. Everyone was so nice and so willing to explain and share the Ice Hotel. I would have liked to go to the dog kennels and learned more about dog sledding. My son wanted to take another sculpting class and at Lena's encouragement he is already working on a room submittal for next year! We walked to the Homestead for dinner but I would not recommend it unless some one is really bored with the Ice Hotel. The restaurant across the street is excellent and there is a sandwich shop in the Reception Center. The Church was very pretty and the Sami museum would have been better in day light and with a guide. People should be prepared for very little sunshine. It seemed to be twilight most of the mornng and afternoon. We brought ski pants and a winter coat. Really the arctic snowsuit provided with the boots and gloves was more than enough. I did like having my own pink hat and scarf, it stood out from the crowd! I can truly say that I was never cold. Cameras are a big problem. Batteries do not last more than 15 to 20 minutes and the cameras that I had would shut down when they got too cold. I would recommend at least two inexpensive Kodak cameras that you can keep next to your body for warmth and that you can switch out as needed. There is way to much to capture on film to miss it because of equipment problems. Between my son and I we took about 1200 pictures and we wish we had taken more. Oh everything is geared for couples. And there were no single people to pair up with. If I had no one to go with me it would stop me from going, but if there is any way to do it as a group I think it would be helpful.

I have done some travelling in my lifetime but my son and I were in withdrawal from the Ice Hotel. We read articles and looked at pictures ion the way home. As soon as we could get the Internet up we were watching the webcam. The peace the silence the beauty just can not be described. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience but I'm already hoping I have nine lives!

Thank you Ulla for helping us achieve this dream. Debbie and Ched

Danuta Kuc

Hello Ulla:

Our two passengers had a wonderful time in Stockholm and at the Ice Hotel. Thank you for planning this trip.

Camille Pena

Dear Berniece,

Rich and I came back from Sweden on Sunday--. We had a really fun time overall. Stockholm was cold(they had an exceptional cold snap the day we arrived) but, beautiful. The IceHotel was fascinating; the dog sled ride--thrilling. Thank you for arranging such a memorable vacation !

Timothy Rink

Dear Ulla
Just to let you know that we had a wonderful time on the SM Andrea.
The ship staff were excellent and public spaces really lovely and our cabin was very nice. No complaints whatever!
We liked the Andrea and would go again.
Thank you for all your help in arranging the trip for us..
Sincerely
Norma Rink

Ralph Perry

Hello, Ulla. Just wanted to say thank you for the FIT you set up for my clients. They really enjoyed the itineraries and tours. The Eggers Hotel was wonderful in Gotenborg and they loved Stockholm and its many lovely museums. The Gota Canal Cruise gave them a great view of the breadth of Sweden, and you warned them sufficiently about the small cabins on the ship.
Thanks again and I'll definitely recommend you for any future Scandinavian tours. Sincerely, Donna Picataggio, Gwin's Travel,