 Day
1: ARRIVE
STOCKHOLM
Arrive Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Transfer to
your city center hotel in connection with flight arrival.
Dinner and accommodation
at
Hilton Stockholm Slussen, first class hotel overlooking the Old Town
and the harbor. Meet your tour escort tonight.
Day 2:
STOCKHOLM
After your first Scandinavian buffet breakfast, start of 4 hour guided
tour of Stockholm. Famous sights on the tour include the Royal Palace, the
Parliament Buildings, the island of Djurgården and the Old Town (Gamla
Stan), with its narrow cobbled streets and numerous antique shops.
Highlight of the tour is a visit to City Hall with its famous Blue and
Golden Halls, where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each year. Afternoon
free in Stockholm. Your tour escort will be happy to arrange optional
visits to the impressive Drottningholm Palace or the famous Vasa Museum on
request. Dinner and accommodation at Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel.
Day 3:
STOCKHOLM - HELSINKI
Morning free in Stockholm for exploring this
beautiful city, often called the Venice of the North because of its many
canals and waterways. Afternoon coach transfer for embarkation on a
luxurious cruise of the Silja Line at 5.00 pm. Start of your cruise to
Helsinki, sailing slowly down the Stockholm archipelago past numerous
small islands. Dinner on board. Choice of entertainment, shops, casino,
bars on board. Accommodation is in 2-berth outside cabins (seaside) with
shower/WC.
Day 4: HELSINKI –
IVALO
Enjoy your buffet breakfast as you sail into Helsinki. After
disembarkation, a 3 hour guided tour of Helsinki. Famous sights include
the Senate Square, Uspenski Cathedral, Parliament House, Finlandia Hall,
Sibelius Park & Monument, Underground Temple, and much more. Afternoon
transfer by coach to Helsinki Airport for a Finnair flight departing for
Ivalo at 5.05pm. Arrive in Ivalo situated in northern Finland above the
Arctic Circle. You are now in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Dinner and
accommodation at Ivalo Hotel. Dinner tonight includes some specialties
from Finnish Lapland such as roasted reindeer and mountain cloudberries.
Day 5: IVALO – HAMMERFEST
Today's tour takes you across the beautiful wild landscape of
Lapland to the northernmost town in the world. Drive past Lake Inari,
sacred lake of the Finnish Lapps with more than 3000 small islands to
arrive in the town of Karasjok. The tour continues across the barren
tundra of the Finnmarksvidda to the Sami town of Kautokeino. Visit the
famous Juhls Silver Gallery followed by lunch in Kautokeino. Your tour
continues along the Alta River through a mountainous landscape to the town
of Alta, before arriving in Hammerfest. Dinner and accommodation at
Rica Hotel
Hammerfest.
Day 6: HAMMERFEST
– HONNINGSVÅG/NORTH CAPE
This morning you will be taken on a 2 hours Reindeer Spotting
Safari with a local guide who knows where herds of grazing reindeer are
found. Return to Hammerfest and a visit to the Polar Bear Clubhouse where
you will be made a lifelong member of The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear
Society. This is followed by "A Sami Experience" - a visit to a real Sami
camp to learn about this nomadic people and their way of life. The visit
ends with a traditional Sami Lunch served in the local "gammen". Afternoon
departure from Hammerfest and drive to Honningsvåg on the island of
Magerøy. Dinner and accommodation at
Rica Hotel
Honningsvåg.
After dinner you will be taken by coach
(approx. 45 minutes drive) to the North Cape plateau. From here during
the months of June and July you can see the Midnight Sun illuminating the
expanse of the Arctic Ocean – a marvelous spectacle of changing colors.
At the nearby North Cape Hall you will celebrate your reaching the
northernmost point in Europe with caviar and champagne. You will also
receive a colorful certificate to commemorate the occasion. Return by
coach to hotel at approx.1.00 am.
Day 7:
HONNINGSVÅG – IVALO – HELSINKI
Enjoy your buffet breakfast before coach departs from
Honningsvåg for the return journey to Ivalo, driving along the beautiful
Porsanger Fjord with its miles of unspoiled nature. This is a land of
tundra, where reindeer roam wild and the stillness is only broken by the
call of some rare bird. This is the heart of Lapland, one of the last
great natural reserves in the world. At midday you will arrive in the town
of Karasjok, the cultural and political capital of the Norwegian Lapps.
Lunch at Rica Hotel Karasjok. Time to visit this interesting town, often
frequented by Lapps in their colorful costumes, before continuing the
journey south back to Ivalo. Evening departure on Finnair flight to
Helsinki followed by coach transfer to hotel. Accommodation and dinner at
Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, a first class hotel in city center.
Day 8: HELSINKI
DEPARTURE
The tour ends after buffet
breakfast in hotel, with individual transfers to Helsinki Airport in
connection with your flight home.
| INCLUDES: 6 nights accommodation first class hotels,
including 3-course or buffet dinner and Scandinavian buffet breakfast.
4 hours guided tour in Stockholm and 3
hours in Helsinki
Overnight cruise Stockholm to Helsinki,
incl. accommodation in 2-berth outside cabin with shower/WC, buffet dinner
and buffet breakfast onboard.
Finnair flight Helsinki – Ivalo – Helsinki
domestic flight (20 kg luggage). Please note that flight times may be
subject to alteration.
2 hours Reindeer Spotting Safari with local
guide
All transfers between airports and hotels as
mentioned in program.
Sami Experience
Lifelong membership of Royal and Ancient Polar
Bear Society.
3 Lunches on days 5, 6 & 7..
Champagne and caviar at North Cape.
North Cape certificate for each passenger.
Luggage assistance at all hotels.
Tour escort throughout Stockholm – Helsinki.
Transportation by modern deluxe coach with
reclining seats etc.
|
TOUR
ITINERARY SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON OPERATIONAL NEEDS
|
