The Northern Lights of Finland From £3,594 pp*

The activities were top notch , the resort facility was just about perfect ! and our guide was fabulous. I would go on any tour where Beth was the guide ! The one star was lost solely due to absolutely crappy air arrangements.

We wires blessed ! I had almost given up hope of seeing the lights because weather conditions were so unfavorable but at dinnertime our last night conditions changed and the entire resort went into ' they're coming ' ~~~~~~~ ' they're here ' mode !!! It was AWESOME !!! The one thing that needs to change ASAP is finding a good place away from the resort to see the lights in the dark. We were taken to a spot that was great for about 10 minutes . Then a logging truck with an enormous very bright light field came through, then a tour bus, then a private van, then another tour bus . Neither human eyes nor camera equipment could adjust successfully that many times.

I thought what we did once on tour was good. The bus ride to a dark place to see the Northern Lights was a joke. We missed some of the best Lights because our “dark, isolated” location was a side road. Two logging tricks, another bus, and 2 carloads of people showed up. We would have been better off staying at the lodge. Other than that I had no problem with the tour and really enjoyed the things we did. The group in charge of airfare is a joke. We were left sitting at Heathrow Airport for 9 hours. We watched 3 planes going to our location leave...while we sat...for 9 hours! We were late enough arriving to Helsinki that we completely missed the welcome reception and dinner. If you’re in charge of our air, it is inexcusable for us to miss events. We had another ridiculously long layover on our way home. We are supposed to take another trip with Collette in April and May but will probably cancel. The air team, once again, has us on the very worst flights you could possibly get. My mother in law is a travel agent and couldn’t believe how horrible our flights were. Go on the tours but DEFINITELY do not use their air option.

I loved Helsinki and Lapland! My favorite thing in Helsinki was the Christmas markets. I enjoyed being a short walk from them, and having enough free time to explore and enjoy them. My favorite things in Lapland, beyond seeing the Northern Lights, were the reindeer sleigh ride, and the snow tank. The snow tank was offered by the hotel and not the tour though.

Our experience of the trip was excellent. Plans worked out well and our guide was available to help at all times. If there was a personal concern she was right there to offer her assistance. Even when we had free time she was generally around answering questions or giving suggestions. The only suggestion I have has to do with communication prior to departure. Even though when I called the Collette office, the service there was excellent, I did think the time between when we made a deposit and the next communication was a bit long. I began to think, are we really going?

Snow tank was the most unique and spectacular.

From start to finish everything was excellent. The car service to and from the airport was prompt and professional. Our tour guide Veronica was a joyful and caring. The accommodations were fabulous. The trip was magical!

Every part of this experience was hassle free and memorable.

Great organization, personal interest in tourists, enthusiasm.

Husky dog sled ride. I was driver!!! Awesome!!!

An exceptional adventure in an exceptional part of the world. Our Tour Manager, Mattine van der Veen, was always there for us.

Mushing with the huskies!

It was a memorable experience, well planned. Tour director was excellent and our personal guide, Jean Paugh of All About You Travel was as usual above expectations as she always is

Enjoyed every minute of trip. Dog mushing my favorite. Cabins a little too far for older visitors unaccustomed to walking in snow. Lodge provided van pickup and drop off service to and from cabins

The service provided was first rate from booking th3 tour, rh3 documents and the fantastic tour guide

Most memorable experiences were getting to Lapland, the resort, the activities planned were as described and if weather caused a change we’re still exciting... meeting* the huskies and ging* on a 5 mile hike...seeing and touching the reindeer

My husband and I have only been on a few land tours while traveling aboard. This trip was exceptional! Our tour guide Abby (Abigail) Pontynen was an excellent tour guide! She made both my husband and I feel comfortable while traveling in Finland. Her attention to details made the trip a once in a lifetime adventure! Our trip included SEEING the Northern Lights (Abby was so informative), a reindeer sled ride and a fun and exciting Husky dog sled ride, my husband BJ really loved driving the team! Collette took care of the entire group with special arrangement at the resort. The resort meals was fabulous and the cabin accommodations were comfortable, warm and cozy!! The glass igloo was exceptional....the reclining bed helped view the Aurora Borealis in comfort, while we were snug in our beds!! The hotel and restaurants in Helsinki were outstanding with 4 star ratings! We have already recommended to our friends this is a trip to take for next year! Thanks again to Abby for making this trip so much fun!

Loved this trip! Would recommend asking for tour guide Abby, she KNOWS almost everything about the Northern Lights!

Abby P. was terrific as a guide for the Northern Lights tour in Finland 4/6 - 4/13/19. She was not just intelligent, articulate and informative; but seemed to care about each of her guests, their needs and desires with regard to this particular tour.

The Northern Lights were spectacular, but I found the Husky Adventure (Dog Sledding) was a highlight!

The tour allowed a lot of free time to explore Helsinki and at the resort in Lapland. Dog sledding was my favorite activity. Wish we had seen better Northern Lights but that is up to God if they are going to show in their complete beauty. Resort was beautiful and fun. Meals were very good. Look forward to our next trip with Collette Vacations.

Dog sledding and the night reindeer sled rides were the best.

Definitely will use Collette again! Have traveled with them for 20 years and so pleased with them. Have a fall trip booked for the Alpines with Collette which we're looking forward.

Lapland, beautiful! Loved the reindeer safari at night, the dog sled ride and an optional tour we took, going out at night in "the tank" to look for northern lights, was wonderful!

Great experience, great tour guide.

The sleigh ride under the stars. The dog sled experience was exciting

Excellent tour guide and itinerary

excellent itinerary, saw Northern Lights every night

Excellent tour manager and Helsinki guide.

Really loved the lodge and the cabin. Had a great time on the excursions, especially the dog sledding. Thoroughly enjoyed the Helsinki guided tour. Maria, our guide was very informative. Kristan Rafdal, our tour manager was excellent.

Excellent tour manager , all inclusions were delightful. Nature cooperated and we saw the Northern Lights at last !

Northern Lights were spectacular

Collette US is my go to company. Their products, customer service, and insurance are the best. The Exploration trip to Finland was awesome! Highly recommend the experience.

The beautiful scenery, experiences like the reindeer sleigh ride and mushing a dog team were awesome. The accommodations were excellent and the night in the glass igloo was unique. Seeing the Northern Lights was a plus!

Our plane was delayed over two hours so when we got to Helsinki airport there was no transport to the hotel. We had to arrange it ourselves. No big deal until we got to Ivalo airport and the resort didn't have us listed with the group. Didn't get the igloo and were separated from our group in the West for the three days we were there in the East side . We did have a nice cabin even though we felt somewhat isolated from the group.

The most memorable was the dog sled ride and seeing the Northern lights.

Tour was well organized. Yes I'd use them again, and yes I'd recommend them.

The dog sled ride. The reindeer safari was a complete disaster.

Excellent tour, was disappointed not enough other travelers were interested in the optional excursion to make that happen though. More of an adventure than a typical tour, driving dog sleds is not for the faint of heart. As luck would have it we did see the Auroras!

Flying off the dog sled I was driving, terrifying and exhilarating experience all at the same time. Seeing the Auroras.

There is no better way to travel than with Collette. They pick the best hotels, the best restaurants, have the most inclusions and have the best staff.

My only regret is that we didn't stay longer. This is a great trip. Unlike any other trip I've ever been on.

Collette took care of our reservations from start to finish and I didn't have to worry about one thing. Excellent service. I called to ask a few questions and they quickly gave me all the information I requested and more.

MOST unique trip I've ever taken, and I've been to lots of places. Very few people have been north of the Arctic Circle to stay in a glass igloo and sleep under the stars while searching for the Northern Lights. Happily, we saw them the first night we were there. The dog sled experience is a MUST. Such a great memory- the dogs are amazingly strong, and the view of snow covered trees, the peaceful setting gliding through the woods - it is a "MUST DO" experience.

Wonderful trip. Great tour guide. Would heartily recommend this trip to anyone seeking a winter experienc

Wonderful trip. Can’t see where you could improve it? !!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect in every way (except for being served reindeer tongue 👅 in its original shape)!

Awesome actually seeing the Northern Lights!

Best trip we’ve ever taken!

Staying in the glass igloos!

see my husbands review. we did it together

See husbands review as we did it together

Excellent tour guide doing the trip. It was a a shame that the weather was not the best and Northern Lights evaded us but the trip was great and would do it again.

Excellent location and accommodations all travel and excursions done well. Especially liked the interaction with the dogs and reindeer

Thank you for the prep package telling us what to pack. That was very helpful.

Our guide (Craig Waith) was excellent: very knowledgeable, pleasant, kept us well informed, kept things running on schedule, etc. The places we stayed in were great, and the experiences (reindeer safari, city tour, dog sled ride, Santa visit) were perfect.

Great tour director

Great tour director made it enjoyable

My experience was frustrating both in pre-booking and in actual trip management. We were a small group, and speaking to others I found that many had similar circumstances. I'm an extensive traveler, and the idea of this trip was great but Collette missed the boat in execution.

The main purpose of taking this tour is for the lights. Advance reading indicated that within the Artic Circle there is a good chance of seeing the lights 2 out of 3 nights. Our experience found that true, but the lights were missed by many (particularly by all in the upgraded kelo cabin) due to poor communication and information. In fact, others who did not upgrade owe their vision to a fellow- traveler who notified them. With only 11 of us and the tour manager having everyone's cell phone numbers, there is no excuse for not setting up better communication. There are no phones between cabins or from cabin to desk in Lapland (were were NOT told about this in advance) and so group members who were more remote couldn't communicate with the rest without a group text/phone being set up.

Collette tour have never disappointed. Always great destinations, interesting inclusions or extra places to see.

Helsinki is a beautiful city with so much to see. Loved it Lapland and the Arctic Resort fun and incredible different. Only negatives was ice on all paths to cabins and kells. Unsafe conditions even in our New Hampshire tested hiking boots.

I will speak with your representative

The tour was terrible; it was definitely not as advertised.

This trip needs much better planning and research by Collette. The scheduled activities are light and there needs to be more of them to fill each day. Our first full day we had our five hour afternoon tour of Porvoo ca called because the company providing the tour required fifteen people and our tour was comprised of only ten travelers. We were left to figure out how to fill the afternoon in Helsinki. FortunatelyI was with a friend and we found some museums to visit otherwise I would have been left to my own devices in a strange city by myself. The trip to Lapland was extremely disappointing in that there was no snow only ice covered roads at the resort. The reindeer sleigh ride did not occur and neither did the dog sled ride and we were not provided with alternative activities so we were basically stranded with not much to do. We could barely walk over the treacherous icy roads to the lodge for our meals and 4 out of our 10 travelers fell on the ice. The day of the dog sled activity that was cancelled we were offered to be tethered to a dog bymour waist and basically pulled/dragged over the icy paths. I volunteered to do this yet relinquished the dog to the guide when I finally located him as I was afraid of falling and being dragged by the dog who was trying to pull us to the front of the pack. This activity was extremely dangerous. The reindeer/sleigh ride was changed to an old farm wagon and two horses. Climbing onto and into the farm wagon was cumbersome and difficult as it was high off the ground and it was dark outside. We did not see the Northern Lights as the sky was covered with clouds yet in the travel description by Collette there were asterisks starting that Northern Light sightings were not guaranteed. The glass igloos we were brought to on the last night in Lapland were situated directly across from the brightly lit sauna and outbuildings which greatly took away from the ambience considering there were plenty of empty igloos in more desirable (darker) areas. We requested transportation to the lodge for dinner and breakfast because of the extreme danger we encountered while walking over the icy roads and paths to the igloos. Fireplaces in the cabins required guests to pay 35 euros for wood! This was ridiculous in my mind as the area surrounding the lodge was fullof wood and kindling. There also was no phone or television in the cabins so we were unable to co tact anyone in case of an emergency or even to request something or ask a question. I have traveled with Collette on many occasions and been pleased however my latest adventure to Finland was extremely disappointing.

Please see my previous reply.

Tour guide very knowledgeable and caring. He took care of every detail.

Feeding reindeer, sleeping in an igloo, sauna in cabin