Customer Reviews
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The guides for the activities were amazing, very knowledgeable and helpful. This enabled us to notch up some new skills and experiences; from chopping firewood to various cross-country skiing techniques. Probably one of our best activity holidays to date. Mattais even helped me to use my camera to get pictures of the Northern lights without a tripod and without being able to manually focus the…
Read more lens (it does have a manual setting though). We even have a picture of us as a family in the foreground.
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This was a truly amazing holiday...
A review of Menesjärvi Christmas Northern Lights Adventure. by Clare SharpThis was a truly amazing holiday that we all thoroughly enjoyed. The activities were brilliant as were the guides. We are already thinking about booking a summer holiday with activities abroad as everything was just taken care for us. Everything was brilliant but the husky ride was a once in a life time activity. Also seeing the Northern Lights dance.
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It really was a first class holiday
A review of A Magical Search for Father Christmas by Paul PlowmanIt really was a first class holiday that the whole family enjoyed from the youngest to the oldest. We found the Finns delightful people who couldn’t do enough for us and were constantly aware of any potential limitations to our comfort throughout. The activities were well judged for small children, they stayed warm at -25C and they were monitored throughout by the activity guides as well as…
Read more ourselves. There was always somewhere warm to go and something warm to eat and drink and we were frequently asked if we were warm enough on outdoor activities. We felt the lengths of these activities were judged just right. The coach drivers who transferred us about were excellent as were their spotless coaches. The hotel was excellent. The food provided was varied and highest quality and the service was very good in the restaurant. We stayed in cabins, which were 10-15 minute walk away from the hotel. They were excellently equipped, warm, and comfortable for our three families. It was a really good choice. Each was incredibly modern, clean and had wireless internet. We loved all the snow activities but the real highlight for us all was the half day with Father Christmas! We spent nearly an hour on the toboggan slopes at his house, which was in the most perfect setting overlooking a frozen lake and forests in the distance. We met Santa in his house mid-morning and the children were mesmerised as he put them at their ease, and explained his history and his work. There were lots of photo opportunities for each child and groups of children with him and Mrs Claus, and their patience was endless. They then rolled out gingerbread and shaped Christmas buns with help from Santa and Mrs Claus and their biscuits and cakes were cooked in a huge bread oven in the corner of the room, and they were able to take them home. There was card making and Santa wrote individual messages that the children wanted included. This was then followed by a wonderful buffet lunch all artistically made by Santa’s family from local produce. We chose this holiday mainly for this extensive Santa experience and it was just perfect. We thought the holiday was really well done. The afternoons were free to undertake other activities (free entry to the hotel pool and the Angry Birds play area) that went down well with the children, and we oldies could relax. We thought that this holiday would be a special Santa experience for our three families and it was absolutely brilliant. Thank you very much and thank you to your team who provided all the information and made the arrangements beforehand.
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The holiday was totally perfect in every way
A review of A Magical Search for Father Christmas by Gavin DownieThe holiday was totally perfect in every way. Thank you.
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A magical end to a magical day
A review of Christmas in a Jeris Winter Cottage by Neila SmithOur favourite day was Christmas Eve. A morning sledging, followed by lunch at the Reindeer Farm, ride on the Reindeer Sleighs and a really good talk about the life of reindeer herders from 'Scotty' the local guide. Just as we were leaving we saw the Aurora and 'Scotty' helped us take photos. On arrival at the hotel we had a lovely meal by the lake with a Santa visit. As we were leaving the Aurora…
Read more was out again. We stayed on the lake and watched for about an hour. A magical end to a magical day.
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We would like to thank the Activities Abroad reps...
A review of Luosto - Snow and Ski Active Pick and Mix by Regina LohWe would like to thank the Activities Abroad reps, Karen and Graham who assisted us during our stay in Luosto. My niece celebrated her birthday there and Karen had, within short notice, made a cute gingerbread house which was to be her birthday cake. We really appreciated her kind gesture. They were kind enough to alert the hotel that we would be returning late from our activities on two…
Read more occasions. We were thankful for the warm meals that were waiting for us in the restaurant. So, once again, thanks Karen and Graham!
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The overall trip was excellent...
A review of Father Christmas And Arctic Animal Encounters by Richard AbigailThe overall trip was excellent, the accommodation was great and the staff very friendly. I choose the trip because it felt like a Lapland experience with a Santa trip (as opposed to other trips I saw which were all about the Santa visit) and it totally lived up to my expectations. I would highlight more the Lapland experience and the Exclusivity in your marketing as I don't think you are doing the…
Read more trip justice! All elements of the holiday were very good. The Santa visit was very well done and felt exclusive. A tip to pass onto future travellers is that there is only limited ability to buy snacks for the kids at the village so it would be a good idea to pack supplies. We had an absolutely fantastic time and I would recommend this trip to all my friends.
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All the activities were amazing
A review of A Magical Search for Father Christmas by Julie FishleighAll the activities were amazing, Father Christmas, tobogganing, evening safari, snow sculpting and of course the reindeer and huskies. We all enjoyed everything so much. Tanya and Jordan were fantastic and it was clear it mattered to them a great deal that we were enjoying ourselves and put so much effort into each day. Father Christmas was amazing, so giving of his time to talk and take photos.…
Read more What a fabulous house and setting and a great meal there too. Nothing could be described as least enjoyable because it was all fantastic. Keeping the group to a reasonable size is a really good thought as we all got to know each other and everyone was so nice and we all got on so well and helped each other. The children made friends and even swapped emails to contact each other. In a bigger group that wouldn’t happen. Thank you everyone at Activities Abroad for a truly memorable holiday organised so well.
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We are back home now after having a fantastic holiday. We had a brilliant 2 weeks. We were very impressed with the organisation and the activities, everything ran smoothly and Cornil and his team couldn’t do enough for us. The hotel was lovely, staff really friendly and helpful. Gozo is a lovely island and we hope to return again soon.
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This was the best holiday I have been on in a long time. The activities were well-organised, safe and fun. We were very lucky on our trip. We were all complete strangers and got along very well - 5 families, 9 children. Every activity was great. The kids were very happy. It was also down to our very capable and patient guide, Goyo, who cannot be recommended enough. He took very great care with my…
Read more 7 year-old son and got him through Hells Canyon (Inferno), safely. I would never have trusted anyone else to do that. I was quite prepared to miss out as he was too young but Goyo looked me in the eye and told me he would get him down and he did. My son loved it and is now at the age of 7.5 very much an adrenaline junkie.Sort is an amazing destination. It was like Yosemite but much easier to get to everything. In Yosemite it’s really hard to stay close to the valley and the accommodation options are limited. There is so much to do and everyone working is related to some aspect of the tourism in the area and so has a very relaxed, outdoor feel to it. I am very impressed and will come back.Canyoning is the most exciting and compelling activity. To get to the canyon we had to pull ourselves over on the wire suspended over the river or jump into the river - was it a 7.5m jump or higher and climb out! Barranco el infierno is just amazing and as good as we were told it would be. Even without abseiling down through the Cave because there was too much water and it was too dangerous, was fabulous. Also it does mean that I will have to do it again so I can do the Cave properly. It was like being on a film-set. And being told to jump from a 5m jump - I am sure it was higher than that was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. And everyone did it!My son really enjoyed the horse-riding. I have to say that Marta from Hipica les Vernedes was superb. She ran along all the way of our 5k ride, making sure the children were okay and safe, instructing us all the way in perfect English. Her team were great and her knack of matching rider to horse making sure that the horse was not too unruly for the first-time rider was very well-done.Goyo is amazing, organised and thorough. Everyone warmed to him and trusted him straight away. That's very important when hanging from a rope in the middle of a narrow gorge. He is a big guy and looks like a character from Games of Thrones. He joined us on every activity as he loves it all. His patience when dealing with all the 9 kids and their various food requirements at dinner was enormous. He was safe and clear in all instruction and planning throughout our week.White-water rafting is enormous fun. The company Rocroi (who do all the water activities) is well-organised, the friendly guides speak English, Catalan and Spanish. It works out much better value to book as a group through Activities Abroad. Travelling and doing it individually is a lot more expensive and you don't get the chance to work together as a group. Sitting in a raft with a bunch of complete strangers who don't speak English is just not the same. We had such good support and friendships within the group. Every day was exciting and we all looked out for one another and to the activity that day. Cheering and shouting over the rapids and jumping into the river was cold and exhilarating at the same time.I can’t wait to look at the holidays for summer 2015. We (the group) might have to stay in touch to relive our adventures all over again! And did I mention the restaurants in Sort? Really good food and really good value. From the hip and trendy to Catalan traditional food, meat and more meat and it are all within walking distance. The kids’ playground is between the hotel and the restaurants. After dinner the kids could safely go on their own (9 kids from 15 to 7) while the grown-ups enjoyed the fine wine Spanish red wine.
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