Reviews

Staff at the lodge were most accommodating when it came to dietary requirements, not just for me. Half the guests seemed to want something particular and the staff went out of their way to provide it. The food was good and plentiful and the accommodation was fine.

A special positive mention for our guide, Yanni. Very knowledgeable, positive, with a good sense of humor, perfect planning, friendly.

From the moment we stepped onto the back of our sleds and felt the power of the dogs as they raced ahead, to the scenery we travelled through and the location of the wilderness cabin. It was great from start to finish. We had a good group of people staying with us in the cabin which made it all the more enjoyable and we really appreciated the wood burners in the living area and bedroom which made…
Read more our stay very comfortable. Yes, some of the facilities are basic but that's all part of the experience, and the food served was generous and exactly what you needed after a day's sledding! It was also good to muck in and help do some of the tasks such as feeding the dogs and fetching water. We were lucky to have a great show of the Northern Lights on the second night and then appreciated relaxing in the sauna and having a beer in the bar once back at the hotel in Ivalo for our final evening. Really lovely holiday and the husky sledding was an amazing experience. We really liked the fact that we got out into the wilds and away from any touristy trappings. Thank you Artisan Travel - all the arrangements worked smoothly which enabled us to sit back and simply enjoy the experience.
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Excellently well organised holiday covering every aspect, and the choice of venue perfect. I will return there sometime, for the the third time!

I booked this as a surprise xmas present for my husband and as a special birthday holiday for myself. Loved it, so well organised from start to finish, can't fault Artisan travel at all, so glad I read the reviews and decided to book with Artisan (I hadn't heard of you before). The accommodation was brilliant as was the staff, food and the activities.

The overall holiday was outstanding and we have memories to last a lifetime. The equipment and guides and all the activities were amazing and we had an amazing weeks holiday.

The overall experience was tremendous and for us, We loved the Huskies but the icing on the cake was the night safari on the snow mobile and seeing the Northern Lights. For us everything worked like clockwork no faults , all timings adhered to and a very enjoyable experience.

The husky activity was in my opinion the best. Excellent dogs very well trained as was the whole experience.

The transfer arrangements were very smooth at both ends, and the hotel and its staff were excellent. Everything was perfectly organised and the itinerary set up worked really well and had sufficient flexibility to enable us to alter things as necessary for the best experience. In fact, this only happened with the Aurora tour, with our guide, Antti, who was terrific throughout, waiting until he…
Read more felt the best night on which to take it (and, my word, was that a good decision!). Taking the Aurora trip was really worth it, although the lights could be seen from the hotel on two other occasions. The snowmobile safari was breath-taking and the Arctic Ocean trip fantastic. We also really enjoyed the dog-sled trip in Norway. The food was consistently very good, and the service in the restaurant very friendly. The quality of the Wi-Fi was a bonus when you think where you are. All in all, this could hardly be faulted and we are still floating from such a fantastic week. The Arctic truly is a beautiful and invigorating place and Holiday Village Valle was the ideal place from which to experience it.
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Our 5 day experience at Ranua was fantastic from start to finish. Guide met us at Rovaniemi Airport and transported us directly to the Holiday Village Gulo Gulo. Everything went very smoothly. Accommodation great and guides and staff very very helpful. We had not pre-booked a snow mobile safari looking for the Northern Lights as we wanted to see the conditions when we arrived. The guides were so…
Read more confident that on Thursday night the 28th Feb. the conditions for seeing the lights were forecast to be good we decided to go. We were not disappointed. Even before we arrived at the destination the lights appeared all around us so we stopped for about 1/2 hr. before continuing on. Absolutely amazing spectacle with all the colours greens, purples, yellows etc. dancing in the sky. We continued on to reach our stop for a fire, hot drinks and to cook sausages and of course the lights appeared again. We were so lucky and I know our guides Jani and Marcelo had not seen them so good for a couple of years. We have some amazing photos and even managed to capture the lights on my IPhone which was good with no tripod!! We had one night at the Fox Igloos and again we saw the lights. Even managed to get the lights above the igloo which was amazing.
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