Just booked this toour for Sept 17. Anyone been on it recently or anyone planning on taking this tour? Thanks.

Planning on taking this tour in June 2005 and would like some evalautions . .. .. .

Hello,

Took this tour in early August 04 and absolutely loved it! Driver was Peter & Tour Director was Maja. Tour was fast paced but got to see a good enough selection to entice us back for another trip one day. Day 1 & Day 12 are basically your own, but you have the opportunity to make as much as you can out of them. Hotels were reasonable (you get what you pay for) but the spectacular scenery more then makes up for it. Local guides in Oslo, Bergen & Stockholm were excellent!

This was our first bus tour & we took another Cosmos tour of UK straight after it, can say that the Scandinavian tour was much better organised & friendlier.

T

Just sent off a review to someone who asked so I might as well copy it here, someone else may come looking one day for some info.. .. .

I feel there are 2 things that make or break a coach tour for, the director & driver and the other passengers. As with the other person that replied here, I had Peter as driver and Maja as the tour director. As far as I'm concerned these 2 made a great tour an exceptional experience. Maja was extremely knowledgeable and handled the group very well, just enough firmness to let everyone know she meant business and yet always willing to give a little extra when she could.

The group we had was quite varied in age and nationality. Ages ran from a young couple in their twenties to a man of eighty. I would say the majority were between forty and fifty years in age. There were a few solo travellers and a few guaranteed shares. The majority of the group were from all over the United States, I was the only Canadian, other countries represented were, Australia and Malaysia. Of course there are always one or two who start getting on your nerves by the end of the tour but for the most part our group got along very well and Maja handled everyone beautifully. I met some wonderful people and made some friends that I keep in contact with. We shared a lot of laughs which made the trip that much better.

As for the tour itself, It was fast paced, a lot of time on the road, especially the last day when driving from Stockholm back to Copenhagen, it's about 6 hours on the coach. When in Norway the time on the bus passes very quickly, the natural beauty in that country is breathtaking. Driving through Denmark and Sweden can be a bit dull but always a good time to catch a nap or chat with fellow passengers. I enjoyed all the included tours and took all the optional excursions. I would recommend all the optionals, the only one I was a little dissapointed in was the Fana Folklore evening. I especially enjoyed the ship museums in Oslo, the Vasa museum in Stockholm and the walking tour of the old city in Stockholm.

The hotels were what you'd expect on a budget tour. I found them all to be quite acceptable. Some were nicer than others but all were clean and quiet, at least I never had a problem getting to sleep, well after I adusted to the time change anyway. Some of the rooms were quite small but then you're only sleeping there. Plus I was travelling solo so I didn't need much room. I'd say about half the hotels were in the centre of the cities the other half were usually on bus routes making it easy to get into the cities, or there was an optional excursion that brought you into the city.

I found the included meals quite good. The breakfasts were great, lots to choose from and if you like bread and cheese, you'll love Scandinavia. It's also a salmon lovers dream, salmon any way you like it, especially smoked salmon. Other than that it was pretty standard fare, mostly meat and potatoes. I couldn't complain about the food, except when it came to price. Food and drink are quite pricey in Scandinavia, at least compared to Canadian prices. Maja was very good at pointing out markets to pick up some food for lunch or reasonbly priced restaurants.

When traveling I go with an open mind, few expectations and a sense of adventure, that way I'm rarely disappointed. As Maja said at the beginning of our tour, if you want food and accommodation like you have at home, stay at home. You're there to experience another country's way of life. Even the unexpected becomes a part of the adventure and another story to tell.

I have no problem recommending this tour, realizing that there are variables that can make each person's experience markedly different. I must say though, out of our group of 42, I didn't hear very many complaints.

I have traveled once before with Cosmos, I took the Highlights of Britian and Ireland Tour and had an equally positive experience.

I certainly agree with you Colleen, having the right driver and director really makes a difference. We did the Grand Tour of Britain & Ireland and there was no comparison, Peter and Maja were without a doubt excellent.

I guess the size and makeup of your tour group is also a factor. We had a slightly smaller group of 38 which was mostly made up of Americans and British, with an elderly Canadian gentleman and a few Australians. We are in our 20's and apart from 3 teenaged boys travelling with their Mum and Grandmother, most of our group were in their 40's or 50's. The mix in ages and nationalities only served to make for interesting dinner discussions!

I too wouldn't hesitate in recommending this tour to others. I only hope you enjoy it nearly as much as we did.