nordic adventures & activities
TEN OF THE BEST 69
4 RESTAURANT DAY Four times a year anyone is able to set up their own
restaurant anywhere in Helsinki, just for a day. This is a gold mine for experimental cuisine and pop-up restaurants, some of which have subsequently become permanent. Your clients could sample coffee and cakes at the docks, treats from the trunk of a van or a six-course dinner in someone’s living room. Restaurant Day is based on spontaneity and volunteering and all participants have to do is register their restaurant on the website and sell their preparations to your clients.
Visithelsinki.fi;
http://blog.restaurantday.org FINLAND PACKAGE: The Co-operative Travel (0844 879 8220) offers three-night city breaks in Helsinki with prices from £459.03 and fl ights with Norwegian from LGW in May.
co-operativetravel.co.uk; visitfi
nland.com/uk
5 DIVING TWO CONTINENTS
Iceland is the only place in the world where visitors can scuba dive or snorkel between tectonic plates – with divers able to touch both the American and Eurasian plates that divide the Silfra Rift in Thingvellir National Park. Visibility on the dive is over 100 metres and the crystal clear water gives divers a feeling of weightlessness as they float down. Frequently rated as one of the world’s top ten dive sites, the experience is just over an hour from Reykjavik. Prices for snorkelling start at 19,900 ISKpp (£107) including pick up from Reykjavik.
6 INSIDE THE VOLCANO From May 15 to September 10, visitors to
Iceland can step inside the magma chamber of Thrihnukagigur, an extinct volcano just 20
7 ARCTIC SURFING Arctic surfing in Lofoten, Northern Norway is
available all year. Above the Arctic Circle, your clients will find one of the world’s best cold water surf places. Unstad is the best-known location on the islands, with impressive waves every day. Surfers love the solitude here and are sometimes joined by seals or a sea eagle. During the summer locals are keen midnight-sun surfers. Travellers can reach the area via Oslo for Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands.
unstadarcticsurf.com
8 SUMMER SKIING Ski enthusiasts travel to Norway for all-year skiing
including summer skiing by the fjords. It can be warm enough to be out in bikinis while skiing at Stryn Summer Ski Centre, at the edge of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier. Stryn is part of Norway’s scenic national tourist routes, and usually opens from mid-May to mid-July. Nearest airports are Ålesund or Bergen. NORWAY PACKAGE: Nordic Experience (01206 708888) offers a package from £1150pp based on two sharing a twin room including return fl ights from London to Evenes (via Oslo); four days’ car hire; four nights B&B in the Thon Hotel Svolvaer and one four-hour surfers’ beginners’ lesson. E:
reservations@nordicexperience.co.uk nordicexperience.co.uk;
visitnorway.com
9 LEARN TO COOK Food in Swedish Lapland’s Luleå is
based on local produce and seasonality. Travellers can get to the heart of this unusual cuisine on a cookery class at Hemmagastronomi, a deli and venue in Luleå’s North
OPINION
EXPERT’S TERHI MILLAR
Product Manager & Agent Support, Wexas
What’s your biggest-selling destination?
It’s Norway with the Northern Lights and winter travel making up much of the traffi c whilst summer is equally attractive. The spectacular scenery of Fjord Norway is only a two-hour fl ight. Tromso in Northern Norway is one of the best places for hunting the Northern Lights.
Does the region work as a twin-centre? As a tailor-made specialist we can arrange whatever your clients want. Short connections between regions enable multicentre combinations such as Stockholm-Helsinki- Tallinn, Trondheim-Alesund-Geirangerfjord- Bergen in Fjord Norway or Reykjavik-South coast of Iceland or the Ring Road.
What’s the summer appeal?
miles from the capital, Reykjavik – currently the only place on earth where a huge volcanic magma chamber is accessible. The enormous bottle-shaped magma chamber, equivalent in height to three Statue of Liberty’s has a ground space similar to three basketball courts. The 120-metre descent through the crater is with trained guides in a cable lift. ‘Midnight sun’ departures are available in June. The six-hour tour includes an hour inside the volcano. Prices start at 37,000ISKpp (approx. £198) including pick-up/drop-off in Reykjavik, a guide, all safety gear and a traditional Icelandic meat soup for lunch.
insidethevolcano.com ICELAND PACKAGE: Best Served Scandinavia (020 7838 5956) has a three-night Inside Volcano tour from £825pp (May 15 to September 30) including fl ights, transfers, B&B at Icelandair Reykjavik Marina and tour with all equipment and lunch.
best-served.co.uk/agents;
visitIceland.com
harbour area, owned by local chef, Simon Laiti, who has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Stockholm. Foodies can learn to cook lobster and seafood; berries and mushrooms locally foraged; and traditional Christmas dishes, including a smorgasbord of cured fish, and meats. A five-hour cooking class costs from SEK 1195pp (£116).
hemmagastronomi.se
10 SNOWMOBILE This exhilarating tour across the archipelago in
Swedish Lapland takes your clients on a thrilling four-hour snowmobile ride to the island of Brändöskär in the outermost Luleå archipelago, traversing deep forests and crossing the frozen sea en route. Bordering the island is the Bothnian Bay with its fi elds of pack ice and snow. SWEDEN PACKAGE: Sunvil has a snowmobile pack ice tour with ice fi shing priced from £316 pp (£158 for under 13s.)
sunvil.co.uk;
visitsweden.com
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Scenery, long ‘nightless’ nights and cuisine. The long summer days help visitors get more, even from short stays. In summer, the scenery bursts into life with a colourful backdrop to sea and lakes. Plus the fresh produce that Nordic cuisine is famous for.
How closely to you work with travel agents?
Very – the benefi ts of booking with us include expert knowledge in all things Nordic and the quality commission earned (protected if your client books direct after enquiring with you). We run incentives and regular educational trips to Scandinavia. We really do value the partnerships we have developed over the years.
What’s your own idea of a perfect holiday?
I love the high Arctic and places like Spitsbergen and Greenland are my favourites. The scenery is stunning and there is something very special in visiting truly remote places, especially combined with an ultra-cool capital.
the
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