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Journey beginning at Ivalo, Finland and ending at Bergen, Norway
Available: 2024-10-05 to 2024-10-15 starting from $7817 AUD
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Chase the Northern Lights in some of the most magical destinations in Scandinavia and the Nordics. For 11 days experience untouched wilderness, the home of Santa Claus and tour Bergen. There will be unforgettable experiences, from three nights in a glass roofed cabin where you may be able to marvel at the northern lights from the comfort of your bed to exhilarating husky experiences.
Arrive to Ivalo and transfer to your aurora cabins which is located high above the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland. Surrounded by stunning scenery, we will enjoy this rustic wilderness experience in the remote forests of northern Finland, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Check in to your glass roofed Aurora Cabin where you will be spending tonight.
These glass cabins provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to admire the Northern Lights and millions of stars in the crystal clear sky with a comfortable room temperature. The glass thermal roof ensures that the window will stay clear even in the lowest temperatures, and the warmth and amenities of the cabin will ensure you the most comfortable aurora observing experience we can offer you. Each cabin offers a private bathroom.
Your escort will meet you this evening in the hotel lobby at 5pm and then enjoy a welcome dinner with your group. Dinner at the restaurant.
After breakfast, meet the reindeers. In the old days people used reindeer for transportation. Today you will meet the local reindeers at work, Manu, Pelokas and Papu. Papu will take you for a short reindeer sleigh ride. In a traditional Kota-tent you will have tea, coffee and a small snack by the open fire while our Sámi-reindeer herder tells you stories about reindeer. You can also try your skills at throwing lasso!
In the afternoon, join an exciting snowmobile safari. Two persons share one snowmobile and there will be an opportunity to change drivers during the safari.
Afterwards, if the skies are clear, head out for a walk to look for the northern lights! Dinner at the restaurant.
After breakfast, get ready for today’s husky safari – an unforgettable journey through breathtaking winter scenery.
On arrival at the husky farm we will provide you with a warm outer thermal suit, gloves and hat and then we will present your very own husky team. You will be given a lesson on how to drive the sledge and how to observe important hand signals given by your leader.
Each team consists of about six dogs, you, the driver, and your passenger who is comfortably seated in the wooden sledge. The driver and the passenger can change places during the safari.
In the evening enjoy aurora hunting by car to spot the Northern Lights.
After breakfast, transfer by bus to Kirkenes, Norway. This 200 kilometre drive skirts lakes and snowclad forests.
Along the way, stop in Inari for lunch and a guided tour at Sami Siida Museum – the national museum of the Sámi and a national special museum in Finland. The guide will help you to have an in-depth view of Siida’s permanent exhibitions. Siida’s exhibition tours cover the permanent exhibitions of the house.
On arrival, you will visit and see the snow rooms at the Snowhotel. Explore this hand-built snow hotel and perhaps enjoy a drink at the icebar (extra cost) before heading to your Gamme pine cabin, a short walk away in the same resort.
Your evening will then progress to a delicious 3 course dinner. The food served is charmingly traditional and locally sourced. Your guide will be available to help you prepare for the evening ahead, making sure you are as comfortable as possible. After dinner you will have the opportunity to walk around the snowhotel and say hello to our resident reindeers, and with any luck, catch a glimpse of the northern lights.
This morning, get ready for a totally unforgettable experience on the frozen fjords of Kirkenes. This is your chance to catch, learn how to cook, and most importantly eat the Arctic King Crab.
The Arctic King Crab is one of the most sought-after meals in top restaurants, and yet here, you get to eat the best and the freshest, pulled from the fjord in front of your eyes. You all take part in helping to saw the hole in the ice and bring up the catch. You will see how the crab is prepared by your master guide, and you will be taken by snowmobile sled (an experience in itself) to a beautiful farmhouse by the lake.
It is here by a cosy log fire that your King Crab meal awaits. Although presentation is simple, the superb, white leg meat and claws with their particularly juicy and naturally sweet taste puts this meal in a league of its own.
Warm clothing and a helmet is provided. Please note: This tour is done by snowmobile (the fisherman drives the snowmobile with you in a sled behind the snowmobile), and not by divers or in a boat.
Then transfer to the harbour to board the Norwegian Coastal Voyage ship. As the ship starts its voyage south, you can first enjoy lunch then head up to the panorama lounge to enjoy the views of the surrounding Arctic landscape or venture on deck.
In the afternoon, the ship again docks at Vardø, Norway’s easternmost port. Continuing south, we cruise along the Varanger peninsula to Båtsfjord, before reaching Berlevåg in the evening.
In the middle of the night we dock at Mehamn- a small fishing village that had the biggest whaling statin in all of Finnmark in the past.
Next stop is Hammerfest which was a settlement dating back to the Stone Age and is still playing an important role as a fishing port. Founded in 1789 to develop trade with Russia, Hammerfest reconfirmed its position as Norway’s Polar capital of its time, acting as a base for hunting expeditions in the High Arctic.
Make sure you visit the The Meridian Column, erected in 1854- now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As early as 1891, wave energy provided power to the first electric street lighting in Northern Europe and energy innovation is still a signature for Hammerfest with its large Liquid Gas Plant just outside town.
As you continue south from Øksfjord after crossing open water we have a quick stop at Skjervøy before sailing through Lyngenfjord- surrounded by the gorgeous Lyngen Alps.
From here we head to Tromsø. The Arctic Cathedral Midnight in Ishavskatedralen is a wonderful experience not to be missed.
Today you will pass through Risøyrenna, a channel providing vessels an ‘inside route’ between Harstad and Sortland. Coming into Sortland- the blue city, local artist Bjørn Elvenes came up with the idea of turning the city into a three-dimensional artwork using a blue colour palette. You then continue onto Stokmarknes, where you will see the MS Finnmarken as a monument as you come into port. You can also learn about Norway’s coastal history at the Hurtigruten museum.
Continuing south from Stokmarknes it looks as if you are sailing straight through the mountain wall, but you sail through an opening in the narrow Raftsundet, a picturesque narrow channel between the Vesterålen and Lofoten islands. If time and weather permits, you will take a detour into the spectactular Trollfjord where steep cliffs hug the ship’s sides, home to the majestic sea eagles. The daylight sailing through the Lofoten Islands is a highlight for many as the Lofoten region is renowned for its natural beauty with steep mountains, fishing villages and beautiful scenery.
Svolvær is the main settlement on the Lofoten Island followed by Stamsund where the majestic peaks of the huge Lofoten Wall can be viewed.
The Helgeland coast with hundreds of islets, fertile farmland and steep granite walls is worth getting up early to experience. Today will also be the last one north of the Arctic Circle as you cross it between Ørnes and Nesna. This part of the coast is rich in local lore with stories including the legend of the Seven Sisters, a picturesque row of peaks, and the myth about how the arrow formed the hole in Torghatten mountain.
On our way from Sandessjøen to Brønnøysund, the Vega Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is on the list due to the unique interaction between man and nature as the local population have protected the eider duck nests in return for the highly valuable down from the birds.
Brønnøysund is a vibrant and pretty little town – nice for a stroll through Havnegata looking at the small boats and bustling life of the archipelago.
Today gives you another opportunity to explore the city of Trondheim. Nidaros Cathedral is Scandinavia’s largest medieval building and three Queens, and seven Kings have been crowned here.
The town of Kristiansund, located on the scenic Atlantic Road, holds the rather obscure title of Norway’s klipfisk (dry and salted cod) capital because of the nature of its main export. Whilst in Kristiansund you can visit the Atlantic Road, one of Norway’s most picturesque and frequently visited tourist destinations.
Passing the islands of Munkholmen and Hitra you cross the open sea to Molde, known as the ‘city of roses’ due to its lush Gulf Stream locations. When leaving Molde you can see the pointed peaks of the Romsdal Alps.
As your voyage comes towards the end, you pass Ålesund, Torvik and Måløy during the night and in the morning you might want to enjoy the last leg of your journey seeing the picturesque Nordfjord below the enormous Jostedalsbreen glacier, Norway’s longest fjord- the mighty Sognefjord and the gorgeous Bergen Archipelago.
After breakfast, transfer on your own to the airport.
AUTUMN ACTIVITIES: Husky wagon ride, Panorama sauna and jacuzzi, Floating wood sauna experience and Aurora hunting by car. (Please note that the coastal voyage optional activities are not included.)
International flight tickets, Norwegian coastal voyage optional excursions, any airport taxes, airport departure transfer in Bergen, travel insurance, visas, gratitudes and any items of personal nature.
Portage is not included – you will be responsible for carrying all your luggage.
To find out more or to book this incredible tour, contact Globetrotter Lifestyle today!