Scandinavia Tours From USA

The four of us really enjoyed the trip Zicasso's tour planner created for us. She was responsive and quick to reply to our questions, including while on the trip. We visited Bergen, Odda, Trolltunga, Aurland, Ålesund, and Oslo. Our highlights were Trolltunga and Aurland. We would have gladly traded an extra day at Aurland and skipped the Flåm railroad, as that was too touristy for our taste, but we can only say that after having been there.

First, do not send me a water bottle; I have more than enough. Overall, we had a great trip to Norway, with a good balance between time in the cities of Stavanger, Bergen, and Oslo, and rural retreats. We stayed in fine old hotels in magnificent settings on the Geiranger and Lustra fjords. We reveled in a quieter pace, with more time to enjoy nature. Our agent selected terrific hotels in each setting and, during the trip, was attentive to our needs and responsive when some minor problems arose.

Our trip was great. We sincerely appreciated the knowledgeable and personable travel guides in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Bergen. I do not remember the name of our food tour guide in Oslo, but she was also an interesting and competent guide. The drivers were all on time and much appreciated.

Zicasso’s travel specialist was outstanding and helpful through the whole process. The trip met all of our needs. It was well planned out and hit the highlights of each city (Oslo to Flåm to Bergen).

The accommodations in each location were outstanding and when we had a question, we got prompt responses. From our hotel in Oslo (centrally located, quaint and small boutique) to the waterside hotel in Flåm with epic views and a great restaurant, to our hotel in Bergen overlooking the Brygge UNESCO site and 1,000km to the Floibergen, the rooms were clean, comfortable, and really great.

The walking tours in Oslo and Bergen were great. The air, train, and bus transits were smooth (after a first-day Oslo arrival snafu, which was not the travel company’s problem, but which was resolved effectively by the travel specialist) throughout the entire trip.

The recommendations for activities (not included) were great, with the highlights being the Oslo Cultural Museum. I took hundreds of photos and came home with countless great memories.

Thank you for putting together a great trip to Norway.

This travel company was not located in or experienced with travel in Scandinavian cities. I did not see the other choice of travel company until I had already spent a considerable amount of time with this travel company. I provided the itinerary. They only had to arrange hotels, guides, and transport. This travel company didn't deliver as follows:

Hotels: This travel company did not have a relationship with hotels and made their bookings (at least with respect to one hotel) through Expedia. So, we ended up with the worst room in our category at almost every hotel and had to spend time negotiating to switch rooms. At one hotel, they did not pay for breakfast, even through they said in their booking that they had. When so informed, they offered to pay for breakfast, but that is beside the point. At the hotel in Copenhagen, we were informed that the room had not been paid for and it took some time to get that issue straightened out.

Guides: Except for one guide in Copenhagen, the guides were either inexperienced or did not add value, For example, our guide for the Copenhagen city tour was a young, uneducated French woman who had moved to Copenhagen only 6 months earlier and did not speak Danish. The guide in Stockholm took us to a sandwich lunch at her neighbor's apartment. Not what we were looking for in a city tour.

Transport: We were advised that there was a train that would take us from Gothenburg to Copenhagen in 2.5 hours. In fact, we had to take a bus to Falkenberg and then a train. The trip was 4.5 hours.

Restaurants: We only went to one of their restaurant recommendations. All the other recommendations did not take into account our dietary restrictions.