TESTIMONIALS

Susie,

I wanted to thank you again for your help arranging travel to the 2013 Border to Border Ski Trek in Finland. The article about the event that you included in my itinerary was timely and insightful; it prompted me to pack some ski gear that I don’t normally use in the Pacific Northwest and otherwise would not have taken. Flights, connections, customs, and luggage went off without a hitch (although I noticed that each carrier had a completely different policy regarding how much extra the ski bag was going to cost me: by weight, by number, both, or neither!). Hotels were upscale without breaking the bank, centrally located, and accessible using public bus or tram.

I could rave forever about the Border to Border Ski Trek itself and the people and communities who have supported and perfected the organization of this event over the last 30 years. The event is well scaled to respond to and accommodate varying skill, experience, and exhaustion levels, and adverse weather developments.

Thank you for suggesting that I spend a couple of extra days in Finland after the ski trek. It is easy to underestimate in advance – and forget afterwards - how physically challenging it is to ski nearly 300 miles in 7 days. I am glad that I listened to you and spent a couple of extra days in Finland to relax, recover, and explore before I claimed my seat on a fully booked intercontinental flight.

I had a wonderful time and yes, I would do it again.

Thank you!

Dee Gardner

Snoqualmie, Washington

Thanks for all you've done that made our visit to Iceland 27 Dec to 4 Jan an absolutely marvelous experience!  We've traveled a number of times to Europe and this was up with the best experiences we have enjoyed.  We had NO PROBLEMS of any kind.

The weather cannot be changed - and, it was great! Snow also brought some ice.  Enough so that someone less able than we would have had difficulty. We enjoyed our time - we were dressed for the biting cold that the wind brought (wind chills were often 0 degrees F.)

The tour itself was well planned and flawlessly executed.  The tour guide was knowledgeable and the drivers careful and safe. Busses were always prompt and clean.
The Fosshotel Baron is 3-star as advertised, with a breakfast that greatly surpassed expectations. The staff was very helpful; the premises and rooms, clean.

If you have other clients who like great fireworks displays as I do, Reykjavik on New Year's is the place to go.  I could not have expected the sheer volume of those displays from my experiences here in the US.  That alone could have made the visit exceptional. The New Year's Day dinner at Laekjarbrekka was fabulous.  The Arctic Char --  words cannot express the wonderful taste and presentation! The Blue Lagoon on New Year's Day morning was fabulous - on that particular day, one should go in the AM to avoid the large afternoon crowds.  We also enjoyed Reykjavik's neighborhood thermal pools.

Icelandair will be our choice when travelling to Europe.  The flight is so much shorter and more enjoyable than going through the US and changing planes on the East Coast.The ability to stopover in Iceland enroute without extra charge will bring us back (as will the hospitality and thermal pools!).

Again, thanks, Dave and Bonnie Stere

From: jackie moxxxn [mailto:jbmxx55946@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 8:27 AM
To: susie main
Subject: Norway Trip

Dear Susie,
Wanted to send you a quick note to say thanks for all the help you gave my sister (Sara Bergh) and myself on our recent trip to Norway. Everything went great. I'll keep you in my address book for later use!  Jackie mortensen

From: Barb & Bob Borlen [mailto:bborlen@bexxxxble.com]
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2011 9:07 AM
To: Susie (@NSTours)
Subject: great job

Hi Susie,

Just wanted to tell you what a fantastic job you did for Peggy & I for our unescorted trip to Sweden & Norway. The hotels were all very, very comfortable and a perfect location for our traveling by train. The staff @ Freys hotel in Stockholm was exceptionally helpful and friendly- we highly recommend all the hotels you picked. The Sorgneford in a nutshell trip was spectacular AND, we even had good weather! We had a wonderful time, thank YOU! BB

From: Vivian Zadkovich [mailto:vzaxxxxch@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 10:49 AM
To: susie@nordicsaga.com
Subject: Post trip report

Hi Susie,

Just wanted to let you know I had a wonderful time in Iceland.  The weather was perfect, the tour exceptional, the group I was with was a lot of fun, and the guide was very informative and passionate about Iceland, the environment, and all of the natural treasures we had an opportunity to see.  I would recommend this tour highly.  Regards,  Vivian

From: Kris Texher [mailto:xmxxcher@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 1:23 PM
To: susie main
Cc: Mom
Subject: Trip was FANTASTIC!

Hi Susie -

Just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for the fantastic trip to Scandinavia you put together for my mom and I.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the arrangements and hotel choices you made on our behalf were outstanding.  We appreciated the simplicity of the transportation, transfers, finding our hotels, the Norway in a Nutshell portion, etc.  We had a great time and much of it was due to the ease of travel due to the plans you made.  We will definitely reach out to you for future travel and happily recommend your services to friends and family. THANK YOU!! Sincerely, Kris Tescher & Jan Wood

From: Sharon Duggan [mailto:sharon@dxxxxxxelsite.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 2:33 PM
To: susie@nordicsaga.com
Subject: Clients return from Sweden and Denmark

Hi Susie,

I just wanted to touch base with you.  Our clients, Rick and Pamela Stager and Ms Mortimer just returned and had a WONDERFUL time. Thanks so MUCH for your help.  I will definitely continue to use your company for future Scandinavian travel.

You’re the best. Sincerely Yours, Sharon Duggan

Hi, Susie!  Here are some of our "after-action" comments:

Cruise: The Hurtigruten's MS Midnotsol was outstanding in all aspects. We were able to change our evening dinner hour to 6:30PM without problems.  Especially liked the port schedule and ID card system. However, due to other passengers' early booking for excursions, we were unable to sign up for the ones we had wished to go on.  They were all booked.

Flight: Although we had no problem in the short time between landing and continuing on to Oslo, the baggage didn't keep up with us and we were in Oslo 2 days without them.  Thankfully, they arrived before we flew up to Kirkenes.  Perhaps more time is needed between flights so that baggage can keep up with passenger.  All other connections and seats were great.

Hotels: You selected the best locations and quality of hotels.  Great breakfasts!  We especially liked the Hotel Clarion after "Norway in a Nutshell".  We just walked out of the train terminal and there was out hotel in front of us practically and very close to the bus terminal, where we needed to go to get to the airport the following morning.

Nutshell: Had no problems going to different means of transportation, train, bus, ferry, train, train.

City Tours: Lots of walking.  Took tours by bus in Oslo and Bergen.  We liked Kirkenes.  Tours in Kirkenes were booked.

Clock Work: Everything went well, to include the transfer of bags from Bergen to Oslo--great idea.

Recommend "Lonely Planet" and Rick Steves' "Snapshot".

You are authorized to use us as a reference on the Norway trip.  Susie, thank you, thank you, thank you!  We were very pleased.  Lee and Trudy Goff

From: Nancy Dayton-Matheson [mailto:ndaxxxxxeson@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 4:00 PM
To: susie@nordicsaga.com
Subject: Best of Iceland Tour

Susie,

I just wanted to drop a quick note about the Best of Iceland tour (June 27 through July 8). IT WAS OUTSTANDING!!!! Iceland and the Icelandic people are wonderful. The tour group size was perfect - 7 people for the first 6 days and 4 people for the remaining 6 days (all great travel companions). Our mini tour bus was brand new and had 4-wheel drive allowing us to go anywhere - ford rivers and rutty roads.

And our guide, Petur Gauti Valgeirsson (with Gudmundur Jonasson Travel) was superb. He went out of his way helping me research my genealogy. He put me in contact with a gentleman, Nelson Gerrard, at the Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsos who not only knew of my family, but knew my family! Nelson provided me with 92 pages of my lineage going back before the year 783, a copy of an article about my great, great uncle, and told me stories about my great, great aunt who lived to be 104!

Petur also took me (and our group) to the farm where my great grandfather grew up. Even though none of my family currently live on the farm, the young gentleman who's family runs the farm, gave us a tour, including witnessing the amazing automated milking machines - completely unmanned. The entire group enjoyed our little side trip to the 'family' farm.

Thank you for your guidance and arrangements for a wonderful and rewarding tour of Iceland. Please pass on my comments to Gudmundur Jonasson Travel, as I do not have their email address.

Again, thanks,

 Hi Dora
I just wanted to let you know that our trip to St. Petersburg went off without a hitch. Everything worked as it was scheduled. Anna, our guide, was wonderful. She was easy to understand and provided us with great information without going overboard. Our hotel accommodations were great. Did you reserve suites for us or did we just luck into them? We had large corner rooms that were welcome after having been in typical European small hotel rooms for a week. If you ever need a reference for someone inquiring about this trip or the company, I would be happy to help. Thank you again for your assistance.
Jane Mitchell

Great trip to Stockholm, Kalmar, Copenhagen. Just great! Gota Canal was wonderful. All the hotels are fine & so well located. Trains and ferries right on time. Flam railway great. No problems. Favorite hotel was Kvikne’s in Balestrand. Good health, still have kroner left. Boarding the Hurtigruten today. Entire trip warm and sunny.Thanks for all your efforts. Well done! p.s. economy extra on SAS = great deal
Carol and Bill McDade

Dear Susie,
Just a quick note to say thank you. Our trip was great, Hotel VIK was a nice little place, we really enjoyed the horse riding, after the Viking hour’s ride I was in "good" pain. I used muscles I did not know I even had. My kids had a great month in Europe and we all had a wonderful time. Thank you for your help and your professional service. Thanks again.
Andreas Andreas Kuhbier 

Susie
Thank you so very much for the very prompt, wonderful service you provided me this afternoon - you made it so very easy to book this! My sister and I are thrilled!

Regards

K. Rowan

Susie,
Our trip to Finland was fantastic! Thank you so much for your help. The hotels were excellent and our flights and car rental went very smoothly. Our guide and driver in St. Petersburg were excellent. I would never attempt to visit there without one! It was so nice to have our own guide and not be part of a huge mob. We loved the Swan Lake ballet; it was the perfect ending to our trip, as we had seen flocks of wild swans in Lapland. Thank you again. Have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,
Sharon and Emily Nachison

Hi Susie,

We went on your St Petersburg Express Tour on September 19th and would just like to say how much we enjoyed it. Everything was perfect. Thank you.

The hotel restaurant was not good but perhaps that is just part of being in Russia and there were no other restaurants nearby, but the accommodation despite being budget was extremely good and though a long way from the city it was very easy to get into St Petersburg on a regular bus service that ran from just outside the door. There was a good supermarket just up the road where we were able to buy everything we needed so we really did not need to eat in the restaurant.
The guides were very good and we loved the whole experience.

Many thanks for making it a very enjoyable experience.

Regards,
Judy Brady.

Hi Susie,
Thought I might hear from you for a follow up survey from the trip ----but just realized that I hadn’t.  We had a great time, particularly enjoyed our accommodations in Oslo, Copenhagen and were absolutely thrilled with Balestrand.  Would have liked to have been in the town or Aero proper and something a bit better in Stockholm.  All in all, things went smoothly, really enjoyed the cruise thru the fjords and it really helped with costs to have breakfast built in every morning.  I think it was a fluke, but we really didn’t hit any rain.
 
Our next independent travel thought that we have is to do a hut to hut or chalet to chalet in the Swiss Alps --- we are healthy and active, but not looking for strenuous.  Do you have any company that you could recommend to help us set up this trip?
Thank you,
 
Margaret McGuire

Greetings from Finland!
Thank you so very much for setting up the travel arrangements so well.
Everything (except the weather!) has gone according to plan. The
plane/train/bus connections have been smooth. The hotel locations have
worked out very well. In Sweden I had a wonderful time visiting relatives.
In Finland I have had a wonderful time visiting museums, churches and
cathedrals. Today  is the day to connect with the Road Scholar group for the
the Sibelius Festival. There has been free WiFi at most airports and hotels.
Thanks again.

CAB

Sent from my iPad

Hello - I can't remember now if we ever contacted you and told you 
what a fabulous trip we had to Iceland in August!  We loved it!  
Everything was wonderful.  You did a fabulous job planning 
everything.  I have just given your name to a friend who is interested 
in doing Scandinavian capitals this summer.

Also, I know your expertise is Scandinavia.  Do you ever do any other 
areas?  We have to be in Grand Forks, North Dakota the weekend of July 
23rd for a family wedding (my dad is Norwegian - so this is a quasi 
Scandinavian trip).  We have done a number of Canadian provinces with 
the kids but we haven't done Saskatchewan(sp?) or Manitoba.  I am not 
sure if there is much to see or do there.  My husband thought it would 
be fun to take the train from Grand Forks to Glacier National Park and 
rent a car and stay there for a number of days.  And, then take the 
sleeping train onto Seattle or Portland.  Is this a trip you could 
help us with?  If so, do you have any thoughts to make it better or 
more interesting.  We would be interested in staying in Glacier and 
William said the sleeping train was getting full.  Do you have any 
access to booking that for us?  Just let me know if this is something 
that you have experience with and are interested in doing. 

Happy New 
Year and thanks, Michelle Holloway

Dear Susie,

Barbara and I returned from our trip to Germany and Iceland last Friday and we had a wonderful trip, despite the fact that our first flights to Iceland and Frankfurt were cancelled only 24 hours before leaving Seattle because of volcanic activity. Icelandair managed to get us to Frankfurt on time by rebooking us on American Airlines. The tours you booked for us in Iceland were great. Thank you so much for your help in getting this trip put together. We could'nt have done it without you.

Very cordially, Robert Pelzel