Discover Scandinavia

Absolutely wonderful experience. Paula our guide was top notch. She did everything to perfection. The itinerary gave us a look at Norway from so many perspectives and I joined this trip because the focus was on Norway followed by quick visits to Copenhagen and Stockholm. And the absolute best part was that we travelled by bus, train and cruise ship. We did not take any airline flights so saw the country side as well as the destinations. Bergen Norway is an absolute gem that many people miss if they start their trip in Oslo. Once again Explore a perfect 10 out of 10. Thank you as always.

Our Tour Leader was efficient and great at logistics Trains, changing and connections Ferry Logistics Able to navigate cities without assistance

This was my first trip with Explore and it’s definitely whetted my appetite for more! A wonderful experience and so relaxing to take so many train and boat trips across the eight days without having any stress about tickets, connections, itineraries, etc etc. The leader was excellent and she held everything together completely calmly and knowledgeably.

There was too much travelling and too little time in each country. What we saw and did was good but we needed more time to absorb what we saw.we

The first part of this trip (in Norway) is excellent but the second part with just one day/night in Denmark and two in Sweden seems rather rushed for all of the traveling involved. Unfortunately we also suffered from a couple of 2/3 hour train delays which meant not getting back to the hotel until 10.00/11.30pm on two separate days. Spectacular scenery in Norway, friendly people and good food everywhere. Our tour leader Maria was exceptional - great local knowledge and lots of suggestions for meals and destinations for free time visits.

Another excellent trip with Explore. I’ve travelled with other companies but keep returning to Explore as their ‘formula’ suits me best: interesting places, small groups of like-minded people often travelling alone and excellent value.

The hotels were very nice, and well-equipped. My favorite was in Copenhagen; I would add 1-2 days to this itinerary: 1 extra day in Oslo, and definitely 1 day in Copenhagen…..it is needed, especially since the train times were long getting there.

A busy and varied itinerary but with plenty of free time built in. Well organised- our tour leader was brilliant.

We loved our leader Mads but think we tried to see too much at the expense of Copenhagen and Stockholm. We loved Norway in particular. Perhaps a trip with one or the other, Copenhagen or Stockholm instead of both.

Thoroughly enjoyed the venture. A good range of "elderly" folks with younger people. Excellent leader. Loved the time we had to explore on our own well and how it was spaced throughout. Recommend that, if possible, other clients should be prepared, if possible, to have Whats App on their phones as Meds was able to communicate this way to the group.

This is a brand new trip by Explore, and given that we were the ‘test’ group, I was super impressed at how well organised and free of drama it all was. Pretty much everything went like clockwork- the hotel rooms, the transport, and the guided tours. All 3 countries are stunningly beautiful. From the fjords, mountains, and misty waterfalls to the colourful waterside houses and the scent of cinammon in the towns, it all felt very clean, fresh and safe. I loved the people, the values and the weather was gorgeous blue sky and sunshine on all but one day. All the hotels are of a decent standard, had amazing breakfasts, and are very centrally situated, so it was easy to go out and roam about without feeling like you wouldn’t find your way back. Mads our tour leader was brilliant. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of everywhere we went and he delivered it all in an engaging way with passion and humour. He went above and beyond to support people when they needed help, and always offered to take people on optional trips that weren’t part of the core offering. He explained things very clearly and was very attentive / vigilant - regularly counting us and shepherding any straying sheep back into the fold. We had one issue when the electric boat in Flåm (to take us on the fjords) wouldn’t charge and it was 2 hours till the next boat which would have meant we’d miss our connection back to Voss. Mads reacted very quickly, got straight on the phone and organised Plan B which meant we still got to see the fjords (which were absolutely stunning) and still got back to our hotel at a reasonable time. If you are thinking of doing this trip… A lot is packed in over 9 days with lots of destinations (you will sleep in 6 different places in 9 nights) so you need to be ok with living out of a suitcase. Take clothes that don’t need ironing! Protection of the environment is woven into the fabric of this trip and so public transport is used most of the time. To avoid clogging up space on trains, and to help us move around more lightly, our suitcases were sometimes transported separately (you won’t have to carry them) so there a few nights where you just have a small bag with you (and this is all in the trip notes). The pace is very leisurely so would suit all age groups and anyone who is moderately mobile/ active. There’s plenty of walking required but it is first and foremost a discovery trip rather than a walking one. If you want to get a higher step count, there is plenty of free time built in, so the trip never felt like a military operation. You can go off and do your own thing, go to one of the many museums, or you might just want to have a pastry and a coffee (fika). Or find a pub! Feedback for future trips: I think some of us would have preferred 2 nights instead of 1 in Copenhagen. It’s a beautiful city with lots going on and I felt that we left a day too soon. You could maybe switch things around do 1 night in Voss instead of 2. I also wanted to do a quick shout out to Tom from Explore who joined us for the Norway leg. He was great company, very friendly and helpful. ..and finally a shout out to my fellow travellers - you know who you are! Thank you for all the laughs! It was a pleasure and a privilege to do the trip with you guys 🙏🏻

Our leader, Mads, was very knowledgable and informative. He was considerate and personable. I would love to have him as a tour guide again sometime.

A really great experience visiting Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Our guide Mads was excellent! He was very knowledgeable, giving detailed info for every location we visited, as well as being attentive and kind. The Fjords are amazing, as well as the Flam Railway but then everything we did was enjoyable! We had such a great bunch of people in our small group of 11. Would highly recommend this trip, absolutely no negatives!