Europe Polar expeditions cruise Trips

We were very fortunate to have an excellent tour director and bus driver to get us to and show us the sights of Grand Scandinavia! This trip does have a number of bus days, however, to travel through these four countries and soak up the sights, it’s worth it!

The holidays in the countries can cause problems finding open restaurants for lunch and dinner. We had to stop and eat in gas stations because those were the only open places. There is too little time spend in Sweden. Several of the excursions were not available and the shops were closed because "it's the off season". Why isn't that noted on the website? The times when the bags have to be put out in the hall, when breakfast is served, and when the bus leaves are tight on the weekends and holidays. I didn't go to North Cape because the trip was from 9pm to midnight and covered the same roads as the boat tour of bird islands. I hate "seat rotation" and many on my tour refused to sit in their assigned seats. It is difficult getting downstairs in the morning in the high-rise hotels with 10+ floors as the elevators have been given over to baggage moving. Those folks on the higher floors have to wait for a long time to get an elevator up to their floor, while those on the lower floors often find the elevators completely full when it stops at their floor. The itinerary is too vague. When does the free time start & end? Where do we meet the bus if we want to go to lunch near the museum instead of downtown? Do the excursions overlap so you can't do more than one? How far is the museum from the hotel? When can we check into the hotel? Why are we scheduled to eat dinner at 2030?

The itinerary covered the main attractions and was varied. The optional extras were good while some were better than others. Would have been good to see more inclusions in the main itinerary. I have previously travelled with Insight and this trip had less inclusions and more optional activity unlike previous trips.

It covers all the major cities and towns and gives a great overall picture of the 4 countries as well as travelling through the countryside to cover a great distance in the allotted time. We visited Santa, met his reindeers, viewed huskies being trained, went as far north as possible on the mainland and saw amazing scenery. We can thoroughly recommend this trip.

Insight Vacations has included a tour itinerary to give travelers a great overview of Scandanavia. From larger cities to small villages you get a cultural experience of the area. This tour is a wonderful way to get an overall view of beautiful scenery, flora and fauna of the area and a feel for life in remote artic regions. I highly recommend this tour.

Although the pace was rather quick, with overnight stays the norm, the trip itself covered a lot of ground and gave the travelers a great look at life in Scandinavia. Since this trip was in early May, we had the opportunity to experience both winter and spring. The longer daylight gave us plenty of time to explore the cities although the hotels could improve on their blackout curtains for those who are sensitive to light when sleeping. The tour director and coach driver were excellent and made the trip a joy.