Name: Aurora Nights
Address: Office 8 Empingham House, 1e Uppingham Gate, Ayston Road, Uppingham, Rutland
Rating: 4.88

“This was such a lovely holiday and great way to see and experience Arctic Sweden and Norway. The scenery was stunning, the people friendly and hospitable, the activities well organised and supported by a very professional tour guide with good local knowledge. The small group (6) meant that we all got lots of help and encouragement with the photographic element of the trip and, even as a complete novice, I have a good collection of shots of the aurora. Wonderful locally sourced food, beautifully presented, great company and lots of laughter . . . . Just perfect! A special mention has to go to Julian for being such a great guide.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Thank You for giving us a holiday to remember. Everthing was well planned, flights, transfers and all the activities we did. Abisko Lodge Hotel was lovely, welcoming and our Deluxe room very warm and clean. Food was excellent at all times. Special Thank You to Patrick, who did all our transfers with Abisko Travel. He was very punctual, and his knowledge at all times was excellent. Sarah who did our Photography Evening Activity was a lovely person and her expertise has given us some lovely photographs of the Northern Lights which we will always treasure. Thank You to yourselves once again for keeping in touch at all times, and a holiday without any worries. Look forward to booking future holidays with you. Shaun & Shelley Smith”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“We loved the whole experience - especially driving the husky sled. The ice hotel was amazing. The organisation was great and efficient and the guides were terrific. The only disappointment was the aurara- I was expecting to see colours in the sky. We only saw grey. The photos though were spectacular - lots of green!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Fantastic! Brilliantly organised with friendly and knowledgeable guides everywhere we went. The activities were not over subscribed and we enjoyed every one of them. Would definitely recommend it!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Transport to the lodge went smoothly. Found the notes regarding provision of lunch at the lodge on the day of arrival and the suggestion to grab lunch in the airport as lunch would be over before we reached the lodge both contradictory and confusing. As it was we took the advice and bought lunch at Stockholm airport and surprise, surprise we were provided with lunch at the lodge! The accommodation was as described, basic but comfortable. It felt a little isolated. The trips were well organised and ran to time. Food: good for breakfast but more variety for lunch would be beneficial. one can have too much stew, be it reindeer, moose or beef. Also on the day we went Dog sledding and the Sami wilderness experience the meals were soup and a very poor moose stew (akin to oxtail soup). I suggest that these two trips should not be on the same day or better thought given to the menu. The 4th day was all travel with a long lay over at Stockholm (4hrs).”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Had a wonderful time , wilderness cabin absolutely gorgeous, hotel meals were excellent too! The guided trips with Hilmar and Sigga were very knowledgeable and informative. Please pass on our thanks to them for us,with special thanks to Sigga for coking a lovely meal for us. The hotel in Reykjavik was lovely too,in an excellent location. Very glad we managed to book the whale watching, saw Humpback Whales and Dolphins too! Almost as exciting as the Glacier and volcano trip,which was absolutely amazing ! Altogether,the trip was beautifully planned by you,everything was excellent. Thanks again for an unforgettable experience Best wishes Nicky & Steve Ransom”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

I'm so pleased to see you had such a great time. Iceland is an incredible country and I am delighted you clearly enjoyed yourselves so much. Thank you for taking the time to give us detailed feedback. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“We have just returned from a wonderful holiday at the Ice Hotel and in Abisko. There were a couple of little glitches with transfers, but they in no way caused us any problems. The walk from terminal to terminal at Stockholm is a real yomp and other travellers should be aware that there is no time for dawdling at all, especially if the arrival from Heathrow is a bit late. Now read on for the real review.... The welcome at all the venues and restaurants was extremely friendly and helpful. They all spoke such excellent English and tried hard to make our stay as comfortable as possible. For those who need these things, there were hair dryers in the cabins at both the Ice Hotel and the Abisko Mountain Lodge. The Ice Hotel lived up to every expectation, except we were all rather hot in the Arctic sleeping bags in the Ice Rooms, despite doing exactly what we were supposed to! Lingonberry juice is very nice at 7am..or any other time come to that. The Ice Hotel restaurant was excellent, both for the evening meal ( be aware it is pricey, but a taste sensation) and the breakfast. The only down side to the experience is having to check out of the warm room in the morning and live out of a suitcase in a cupboard until arriving at Abisko the following evening,but we knew about it in advance and it was a small price to pay for the experience in the Ice Rooms. They were harvesting the ice on the day before we left and had camera crews everywhere, so that was an added bonus. The husky sledding was amazing fun and again they catered for our needs as drivers or passengers and we had a wonderful salmon chowder for lunch. The dogs were so friendly, not like the ones you often see on TV documentaries, and the puppies another bonus! The Homestead restaurant was also very very good, although a little further to walk than the blurb suggests, but an easy walk and all on the flat. Prices were reasonable and the food excellent, especially the deserts! The local beer was great and the guides all gave very good information about the areas we passed through. The Sami experience was very interesting and enjoyable. Feeding the reindeer, no lassoing, they were already collared up, and not really a trek through the forest, but more a race track with everyone getting lots of goes at driving their own sled. They had slow, steady reindeer and some racers... Volvos and Porsches..so we were all catered for. The meal of smoked reindeer with vegetables and lingonberry jam was good too. It was interesting to hear about the Sami culture and how they felt about their place in society from this trip and then get the Swedish version on the Narvik trip from our Swedish guide. The weather was pretty variable on that trip, one minute snow and then sun. We made several stops for some great photos, but not at the War cemetery, or the troll, although both were pointed out to us. I think each tour guide has their own itinerary of stops, but we were more than satisfied with the trip. We had a picnic on a sunny beach and then packed up quickly as the weather turned to a blizzard! Ludwig, the guide, drove amazingly in awful conditions and we were constantly surprised at how well the vehicles gripped the road in conditions we would have stayed at home in! The camera trip was great fun, good tuition given and cameras capable of capturing the aurora, with great attention for all the guests from the guide (Sarah) and endless enthusiasm, especially when the aurora danced for us! The snowmobiling tour, although originally billed as 4 hours was around 2 hours, and we were tired enough by then for it to be just a perfect time. A lovely trip through the National Park and lots of stops with information about the area from Bjorn, our guide. It left us with time after the soup lunch for a walk through Abisko to the lake and more photos, and to the Coop for some lingonberry jam to take back with us! We were lucky enough to see Aurora every night bar the last and got some wonderful pictures between us. The view from the Sky Station over Abisko made it worth the freezing trip up the chair lift, although it soon disappeared in the snow that fell most of the evening and obviously the Aurora we not visible either. The clothes we borrowed did the job very well and we were never cold. The advice of the various activity guides was helpful in his respect too. Every one of the guides and hotel staff was happy, enthusiastic about their job and the country and eager to make sure we were happy and doing what we wanted. The food was amazing, just waiting for the Abisko Mountain Lodge Cookbook, although we did get the recipe for the crispbreads signed by Paula the 'morning cook' who said she felt like a celebrity! There were too many people who made our holiday so special to be able thank individuals, but if we could we would thank them all. A real holiday of a lifetime. Thank you.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“WE HAD A THOROUGHLY AMAZING TRIP TO KIRUNA. ALL THE STAFF AND GUIDES WERE SO FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL. HAVING BEEN ON A LAPLAND TRIP BEFORE I BELIEVE THE CLOTHING WE HIRED TO BE SLIGHTLY THE WORSE FOR WEAR. MY BOOTS WERE RIPPED ALTHOUGH NOT LEAKING AND THERE WAS NO REPLACEMENT SIZE. ONE OF THE GIRLS REALLY NEEDED A LARGER SIZE JACKET AND TROUSERS BUT NONE WERE TO BE HAD. ALL THE TRANSFERS WERE VERY PUNCTUAL. ALL THE TRIPS WE DID WERE VERY WELL PLANNED, TIMED AND SO INTERESTING. WE DID FEEL THAT ONE OF THE TRIPS NEEDED TWEAKING A LITTLE. WE HAD A SUMPTOUS SALMON SOUP AT 12 O CLOCK WHEN WE WERE OUT WITH THE HUSKIES...AND THEN HAD TO WAIT UNTIL 9 O'CLOCK FOR OUR MOOSE SOUP IN THE SAMI VILLAGE! RATHER A LONG GAP BETWEEN MEALS AND OBVIOUSLY NOWHERE WE COULD BUY PROVISIONS. MAYBE THE LODGE COULD HAVE SERVED TOAST OR SANDWICHES OR SCONES. I MUST POINT OUT THAT OUR ITINARY HAD THE INCORRECT RETURN FLIGHT NUMBER PRINTED AND THIS RESULTED IN OUR TAXI NOT WAITING FOR US AS WE LANDED AT HEATHROW. WE WILL RECOMMEND YOU !”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Fantastic stay at hotel Ranga, lovely large comfortable bedroom, food fantastic if a little pricey. Manager came to speak to us at dinner which was a nice touch. We had a great trip with south Coast adventures. Special thanks to our guide Hillmar for making it fun and memorable. Also met up with a group of 4 guests staying in a log cabin on the same tour who we got on very well with. It may have been a problem if we hadn't as we were out nearly all day. Unfortunately the lights tour from Ranga was cancelled both nights and we didn't manage to see them on either of the following nights either. Self driving was no problem once you get used to the potholes and cloud/fog coming down at any moment. Did not enjoy our stay at hotel Centrum as much. Smallpox bathroom with nowhere to put our toiletries or hang hand towels properly. The restaurant was always empty so we ended up eating in the bar which was nice. We were disturbed by a noisy group of partying girls in the room next door despite requesting a quiet room, but managed to escape by going on a light tour until 2am ( sadly a no show) All in all a great holiday and would thoroughly recommend.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Dear John Thank you for taking the time to give us such detailed feedback and I am delighted you had such a super time, and enjoyed the super jeep tour, and the wonderful Hotel Ranga. I was sorry to hear that you did not enjoy Hotel Reykjavik Centrum and were disturbed by other guests. Sadly something we are not in control of but I appreciate is unwanted. Thank you for your kind rating. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“From start to finish our experience with Weekend a la Carte/Aurora Nights was brilliant. Travel plans and details of the trip were clear and well explained to make travel/transfers simple. Abisko Mountain Lodge was incredible, really busy with a huge turnaround of guests but surprisingly relaxing and peaceful running like clockwork. Food excelled any expectations, staff were friendly and helpful and accommodation was cosy and comfortable. Each of our visits/experiences were great. The husky sled ride, the snowmobile, Narvik, Aurora Sky Station, Abisko National Park, visit to the Ice Hotel and photo workshop were all well run with lovely guides who clearly enjoy their work. We were very lucky to have 2 1/2 hours of light activity on our photography evening made even more enjoyable by the enthusiasm of Sarah Skinner our photographer. Would recommend this trip to anyone who would like the chance to see the Northern Lights, obviously it is not guaranteed that you will see them, mother nature has full control, however the whole experience is so good you could not fail to enjoy yourself and truly is the icing on the cake to see the lights.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The flights and transfers all worked well. The Abisko Mountain lodge was comfortable and we had a superior room which was spacious and quiet. It was a shame the hot tub wasn't working because the sauna is split into male and female rooms which meant my husband and I would have had to sit in seperate areas rather than be together. The food was good although on the 2 evenings we ate in the restaurant the food could have been served hotter (or at least on warm plates). The trip to Narvik although interesting could have been made better by actually doing something in Narvik or visiting the museum - the trip didn't seem to have a focus. The northern lights photo evening was the highlight of the trip - the guide, the cameras and the instruction on how to take good photos was brilliant. We were slightly disappointed with the trip to the sky station. The meal was nice but the aurora 'exhibition' wasn't quite as good as we'd hoped. We had a lovely day rambling through the national park along various trails and enjoyed the lunch at the tourist centre. The visit to the ice hotel on the way back to the airport was also a highlight. Although we had taken plenty of winter clothing, the loan of thermal overalls, snow boots, gloves and hats from the Abisko mountain lodge meant we were never cold and made the whole experience enjoyable.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Great place to stay. Owner and all staff extremely helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Fabulous food. Two vegetarians in our party who were very well catered for. Fabulous trips with very knowledgeable guides. Even the lights appeared for us! Would highly recommend this lodge and the activities. Only one slight negative with flights. We only had an hour between flights at Stockholm airport. Not a problem on the way out, but a delay on the way home meant we only just made our flight on the way home. It's also a very long walk between the terminals, so I personally would prefer more time between flights!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Fantastic trip. Our guide had excellent knowledge and found the northern lights for us on two different evenings (moved location to increase the chance of seeing them). He was great fun to have as a guide and we really enjoyed his company. Volcano huts were just as described and perfect for the trip we were looking for. We moved locations on our second to last evening in hope of clear skys (which worked) and the accommodation was perfect. I was not over impressed with the Blue Lagoon but glad I did it (wouldn't do it again), we found it a little touristie after being at th Volcano huts. WE really enjoyed it and are thinking of doing it again next year.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Thank you for your super feedback. I am so delighted you enjoyed your true wilderness experience at the Volcano Huts and of course got to see the Northern Lights, as well as the dramatic volcanic landscape of Iceland. Sadly the Blue Lagoon is now starting to get quite busy as you say. Infact we have just started offering a break in the North of Iceland with a stop at the Myvatn geothermal Baths which are quieter. This break combines dog sledding so you may wish to consider that for any future trips. Thank you again for taking the time to let us know the trip was a success. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“We booked the 4 Day 3 Night, Aurora Nights Abisko break, what a great experience from the initial communication and booking, to the planning, transfers, food and trips, everything was taken care of. The staff, food (I'm vegetarian and was very well catered for) and accommodation at the Abisko Mountain Lodge were all fantastic, we had one of the deluxe rooms situated a few meters from the main building and were lucky enough to see Wild Moose just outside our lodge one morning. We saw Reindeer on the way to Narvik and the Northern Lights on the Photographic Evening, add to that the view from the dinner at the Aurora Sky Station the whole experience was exceptional. Please pass on our thanks to everyone involved, I'd recommend this trip to everyone.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“This was the best holiday we have ever had even though we went last year to the same place! Everything was amazing hospitality, food, room, trips, weather and an aurora all 4 nights of our holiday and every night got better and what a spectacular show we had on the last 2 nights! The last morning we open our lodge door to a moose what a beautiful site. Thank you so much especially to Mina for her warm hospitality and food, Chad for the photography night, Inga for our trip to Narvik and Jim at the sky station!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The flight to Iceland was good. Stayed at Hotel Centrum in Reykjavik the 1st night after a bus transfer from Keflavik. Had a little difficulty as we had to join a smaller bus to go into the centre of the city and the driver never seemed to mention our hotel. Got there in the end. Great restaurants in the city centre. The following day got a taxi to the city airport to fly to Greenland. A 3hr flight with a 3 hr time zone change! Hotrl Arctic at Ilulissat was great. Sophie our guide was very helpful. The itinerary got modified but that was OK. Had a stunning view of the aurora on one night. Booked a boat trip to see icebergs close up. Glad we did it. The "city" walk was very interesting. Enjoyed our walk to see the icebergs from the land side. The sledge ride (5hrs) was exhilarating as the huskies are pure pulling machines. Working dogs not pets so do NOT try an cuddle or stroke them. Risk of rabies. Back to Iceland and driven down to the south coast. We had opted for meals at local hotels on 2 nights. Due to arrival times we were taken to Hotel Anna where we had a nice meal. Then taken to Holakot a very pleasant little cottage. Our trip up to the glacier in sunshine failed about 1km short due to the consistency of the snow. Got stuck but another super jeep came up and rescued us. The following day it rained but had a good trip to Vik and saw waterfalls, basalt columns, black beaches with the sea pounding on shore and a crashed US Navy plane (a well known photographic spot). On our final day we toured along the south side of the Reykanes peninsular and saw hot springs, lighthouses, more terrific sea scape plus "the bridge between continents" before being dropped off at the airport. As always Saeli and his team (Hilmar, Sygga Frieda and Magnus) were great. Sygga gave us a lovely meal on the last night. Aurora on the 1st and 3rd nights at Holakot.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Dear Roger Thank you you for your lovely feedback. It's always particularly good to see great feedback when someone returns to the same location a second time as you did in Iceland and still sees new and exciting things. I'm so pleased you enjoyed Greenland so much. It really is a wonderful beautiful destination that we are increasingly sending our more adventurous clients to. Thank you for giving such detailed feedback. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“An Epic Icelandic Southcoast Adventure I would like to recommend Southcoast Adventure for a spectacular 5-day visit to Iceland in February 2016. If you are looking to truly see what Iceland has to offer and not just to drop into a café in Reykjavik then contact Southcoast Adventures and Weekend a la Carte. From the moment we landed in Iceland we were whisked into the wilds by our driver via the Blue Lagoon, driving the southern road 1 to our final destination below the Eyjafjallajokull volcano and glacier. We stayed in the wilderness cabin for 4 nights, which is just stunning, having panoramic views for miles in every direction over the prairie, the volcano and the sound of distant waves coming ashore from the Westman Islands. We had our fingers crossed in the hope we would see the Northern Lights and we were so lucky to see amazing displays every night over the volcano. We were also driven by Magnus up to the top of Eyjafjallajokull - a three and a half hour drive up the volcano with breathtaking 360-degree views of the mountains and glaciers. Yes it was -23 degrees C with wind-chill, but you’ll never do this again in your lifetime and it is a privilege to have been given this opportunity. Forty-five minutes at the top of the two kilometer caldera and then back in the jeep for the fifty minute drive back down the volcano, we’ve never had such an exhilarating day out! This Super Jeep tour cannot be beaten. Magnus is an amazing driver, he’s calm and considered he encouraged a great banter with the vehicles occupants, feeling nothing but safe in his capable hands. The day was made even more memorable with the company of the awesome Sigga who made sure the day was full of laugher and thrills. I have never felt so relaxed and laughed so much! Thank you both!! We also decided to take up the opportunity to explore a day in Thorsmork, driven again by Magnus, another great off-road experience where we encountered Arctic foxes and the most beautiful ice cave at the tongue of the glacier. Jens, another guide also drove us round the Golden Circle stopping at all the sites with a relaxed informative approach to the day. He answered all of our questions and we truly felt we had experienced Iceland in a unique way whilst visiting the usual tourist sites. The guides know their country and they take you to the hidden gems that the tourist doing a self-drive would never find. Who knew a trip to a geothermal tomato farm would be so interesting! We were taken for dinner every evening to local restaurants that we would never have ventured too and had nothing but the best of food and company during our trip. A real highlight for us was the evening that Sigga came to the cabin and cooked us dinner, so friendly and an amazing cook! Yet again I can’t recommend this team more!! We already want to go back and see more of this beautiful country, perhaps this time in the summer, there is so much to see and do we barely scratched the surface. Thank you all again for some lifelong memories and for making our holiday truly EPIC!!! 5*!! We will be back!!! Thanks to Abigail Collins from Weekend a la Carte for organizing this fantastic trip. http://www.southadventure.is http://www.weekendalacarte.co.uk”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Gosh thank you so much for taking so long to write such detailed feedback. I am thrilled you clearly had such an amazing time. They are a great team to work with and Iceland is a spectacular country. Thank you again. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“Brilliant time, one of your best. Luton Airport was very stressful though. I/we cannot fault the holiday, everything went to a tee, the guides were excellent, the arrangements were impeckable, the cottage was idyllic, even the Easyjet flight went well. The only down side was we never got to the crater, and there was no northern lights. Honestly what a great time the Blue Lagoon was fabulous, the meal at the hotel Ranga was delicious, I cannot say anymore we had a really great time and wish to go back, sooner rather than later.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Dear Kevin Thank you for your feedback and I am delighted you had such a good time. I wish the Northern Lights were on a switch - it would make my life a lot easier !, but it seems you had a great time anyhow which is wonderful, and how we like to structure the breaks so that the daytime is packed full of adventure and sights so even if they don't appear you still had a great time. Thank you for taking the time to let us know. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

“Just back from the most amazing holiday of a lifetime organised by Kevin and the team at Weekend a la carte. We chose the Ice Hotel and Abisko Aurora Adventure. The build up to the holiday was very smooth, with great levels of communication and advice. Once we were on the holiday, every stage of our journey went really smoothly, with transfers, bookings, rooms, flights, etc all going exactly as planned. The quality of accommodation, tours, meals was very high. The guides and excursion operators were really professional and couldn't have been more friendly, competent and helpful. We extended our holiday to take in a couple of extra days in Stockholm, and this gave us the opportunity to get a taste for Sweden outside the Arctic Circle, and I'd encourage others to do the same. One factor that influenced our choice of Weekend a la carte was the inclusion of tours and most meals in the price. Many other companies have these as extras. The reality of a trip like this is that once you're out in Abisko or or Kiruna you will want to do these things - why travel all that way to spend the day sitting in the hotel? So having everything arranged and priced as part of the package may initially appear more expensive, but I estimated that it would actually cost more to add the excursions to other operators tours, and would certainly bee more faf. All in all - highly recommended company and tour.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“The hotel was lovely and in a good spot, the trips was a bit tight, if you had two on the one day time wise, whale watching ran over and had the northern lights trip not been cancelled, we would of been very late or missed it entirely. I would recommend and also use a la carte again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear your tour was cancelled due to poor weather. I have refunded your card for this cancelled tour. This is the first time I have heard of the Whale Watching over-running so thank you for flagging this and I will monitor to see if it happens again and poses a problem for the timetable. I hope you did enjoy your stay in Iceland and thankyou for your kind rating. Regards Abigail

Posted 8 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
On-time Delivery	Greater than 94%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.9 out of 5

Aurora Nights Reviews