Classic2025 Tour code: NLW25
About the tour
Beautifully scenic Scandinavian rail journeys convey us from the ancient Viking capital of Trondheim to wintry Kiruna in Swedish Lapland, as we enjoy many opportunities to be dazzled by the ethereal Northern Lights.
Admiring amazing landscapes, the fantastic Nordland Railway carries us across the Arctic Circle to Bodø. From here, we explore the spellbinding Lofoten Isles, before entering Sweden on the Ofoten Railway. A wonderland of wintry experiences awaits as we uncover the culture of the Sámi people, visit the iconic Ice Hotel and embark on a husky-hauled sleigh ride.
Unforgettable experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Meeting our Tour Manager and fellow travellers at London Heathrow this morning, our sensational Scandinavian exploration gets under way as we fly to Trondheim via Oslo.
Separated from eastern Norway by the mighty Dovrefjell Mountains, Trondheim was founded by Olaf Tryggvason, a Viking king, more than a thousand years ago.
On arrival, we transfer by coach to our modern 4-Star hotel in the stylish harbourside, just a couple of minutes' walk from the historic city centre. This historic city has a relaxed centre filled with restaurants, shops and attractions - and there is time for a stroll to get your bearings before we enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel's restaurant.
Near our hotel are some museums, including one dedicated to Norwegian pop music, as well as a statue commemorating great Norse explorer Leif Erikson - believed to be the first European to set foot on continental North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.
Additional information
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Reviews
4.4 / 5 · 204 reviews
K Scott
Submitted 4/Apr
Wonderfull experience . Hotels very good but evening meals poor.Tour manager most efficient , knowledgable and very quick to solve problems, would go on any trip with him at the helm.
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Clive
Submitted 2/Apr
We chose the holiday for the "great rail journeys" so were particularly disappointed that we could not leave by rail from Narvik - not your fault, I know.
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Ms B
Submitted 26/Mar
Overall a fantastic holiday with a great variety of trips and activities. We enjoyed all the itinerary but highlights included the Ice Hotel- really an ice art gallery - and husky sled ride. The scenery was stunning from coach and trains - especially in the Lofoten Islands. Our great tour guide Charles was a lot of fun and our skilful driver Sergei kept an immaculate coach. The buffet breakfasts were super, however, there was no choice of meals and Camp Ripan served the same vegetarian main meal on both evenings that diner was included. The group was larger than expected at 41. We travelled from and to Manchester and there was less than an hour between connecting flights at Oslo and Stockholm. We missed our connecting flight to Trondheim and had to rush between gates at Stockholm in order to catch our flight to Manchester. To reduce the risk of missing connecting flights from and to Manchester, It’s worth considering booking a later onward flight from Oslo to Trondheim (we flew an hour later), an earlier flight from Kiruna to Stockholm or even staying overnight in Stockholm and getting a Manchester flight the following day.
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Alison Sansum
Submitted 26/Mar
Well organised and thoroughly enjoyable.
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Ozetraveller
Submitted 25/Mar
What a fantastic tour. Almost everything was as advertised and even the small glitches we experienced were managed expertly by our lovely Tour Manager, Patricia, with a minimum of fuss. On a tour such as this, it would be a miracle for everything to go completely to plan. For example, two major train derailments curtailed the Ofoten Train journey; we ended up with a coach ride to Björkliden and then a 75 minute train ride. However, we knew well in advance that this would occur and we treated it as part of the adventure. It was certainly an event beyond the control of GRJ and I believe it was managed as well as possible in the circumstance and environment. We were well North of the Arctic Circle, after all! But on to the tour as we experienced it. At the outset, I have to say we were incredibly lucky with the weather. We had four days of fantastic blue skies, a snowy day while travelling from Svolvær to Narvik, and mostly blue skies in Sweden. All activities (other than the Ofoten Train, as described above) proceeded as planned and were fabulous - Trondheim walking tour, Nordland Train, Lofoten Islands tour and so on. Our local guides - two of whom were expats from other parts of Europe - were expert, informative and entertaining. But what about the two main drawcards of this GRJ Tour - Northern Lights and Lapland? The Northern Lights are notoriously fickle and unpredictable. We had three fairly good outings and two with no result. But we did try and the locations were good. Personally, my best sighting was on a private hike with a friend out to the harbour in Trondheim, where we were very fortunate to see a short display of vivid green. In Lapland (Sampi) all three excursions were very different and very well done. The Sami Village was beyond my expectations and very informative, topped with a lovely local lunch. The Ice Hotel ticked a long-awaited box and was entertaining and interesting. Finally, the Husky farm and sled ride were brilliant! The farm was interesting and the ride far from token - it lasted 30 minutes and was fantastic. For disclosure - we are in our 70s and my wife has a back issue. We were both fine, but make your own decision if you ever want to try this! While there was a few little problems along the way, there was nothing that detracted from the trip and nothing that was not sorted out. GRJ - we’ll be back!
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Judith Smith
Submitted 25/Mar
The trip was very enjoyable however, it would be much better with a local guide rather than a trip manager from another country Guides who were provided at points of interest were also from other countries. It would’ve been a much richer experience if we had the opportunity to gain knowledge while traveling on the bus.
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