Bus tour 'Santa Claus Country Lapland Adventure'

Greetings to all who are going to go on the tour "Santa Claus Country Lapland Adventure" in the future

Our tour took place on 3.01-10.01.2016. Number of people in the bus - 36/12 children

Group escort: Galina Shipunova

I am a tourist with experience, including experience in bus tours. And my review will be divided into 2 parts:

1. Description of the route itself and impressions

2. Organizational side

Day 1. The tour started in Lviv from the AccordTour terminal at 8.30, with an hour-long lunch stop in Poland. We arrived at the hotel in Lithuania at about 23 pm.

Bottom line: all day on the road

Day 2. Breakfast at the hotel and 5-hour transfer to Riga. We spent 3 hours in Riga (1.5 guided tour, 1.5 free time). The tour to Jurmala did not take place. To be honest, we expected much more time as for the capital of Latvia. Therefore, it was decided not to go on a group tour and explore everything on our own (of course, I prepared materials with descriptions and routes in advance). During this time, we managed to see all the main sights of the Old City, relax in the Black Magic Bar Riga balsam was invented in this place and we tasted it there, very atmospheric place!) and visit a supermarket, because you can’t leave Riga without Riga balm, Riga sprat and Laima sweets :)

Next, we were waiting for a 6-hour transfer to a hotel in Estonia.

Bottom line: All day on the road and 3 hours in Riga, which of course is very little.

Day 3. Breakfast and road to the port of Tallinn. Then a 2-hour transfer to Helsinki by ferry. The ferry is magnificent, for 5+: duty free, wi-fi, cafes, shops. The coolest spot is the back deck, where you can enjoy stunning views of raging water, fog and the coast of Finland when you are out in the fresh winter air. Upon arrival in Helsinki, a 1.5 hour bus (!) city tour took place with one (!) photo stop at the church in the rock and entering it. The guide told very interesting features of life in Finland, education, salaries, etc. The final stop of the bus tour was the Senate Square, where we were dropped off and given 35 (!!!) minutes of free time! Friends, no matter how dull and gray the capital of Finland would be, but this is too much! Driving past the Assumption Cathedral and not making at least a 5-minute photo stop is beyond my understanding. 35 minutes of free time when you are faced with a choice: run to the Assumption Cathedral or run to the supermarket for water / food, because there is an 8-hour drive to Lapland ahead! The key word is to run away, because 35 minutes is nothing when there is a queue in the supermarket and in the toilet.

Bottom line: AccordTour, it was the most ridiculous and tiring day, where you can’t see anything other than riding in transport. At least for health, you need to walk at least a couple of hours, breathe some air.

Day 4. On this day AccordTour offered 3 excursions:

- Husky riding 85 euro/person adult

- Reindeer riding 75 euro/person adult

- a trip to the northern lights on snowmobiles (!) 70 euros / person - this is important, because the price of 60 euros was indicated on the website and when signing the contract, and it was on snowmobiles, and not by car, as it turned out in practice.

We did the husky and reindeer rides on our own, saving 130 euros. Yes, we DID NOT go to the nursery, DID NOT see the conditions in which they live. But we rode the same 500 meters on reindeer not for 85, but for 17 euros per person. Instead of 40 minutes for 85 euros on a husky, we drove 3 minutes for 13 euros and believe me it was enough! Huge speed, the face freezes instantly, the hands become stiff, so 3 minutes was more than enough for us.

A separate case - a trip on snowmobiles (!) to the northern lights. She just wasn't there. And not because there were no people willing - many of them went for this, and were ready to overpay, but to fulfill their dream! It was immediately said that there would be no snowmobiles in principle (then remove at least false information from the site) - it will be by car, since we lived in Oulu, and not Rovanie (as expected), then it will be necessary to drive 3 hours to side of Rovanie and the same amount back, because it is there that the greatest probability of seeing the northern lights. All 3 days, while traveling to Lapland, we asked a question about the radiance and the trip to Galina, the accompanying group, but we were made clear from day to day that no efforts would be made to make the trip take place. Therefore, we were forced to contact the inhabitants of Oulu / Rovanie on our own and look for an opportunity to see the lights.

Without taking a single excursion that day, we (8 people who refused husky and deer for such crazy money) went to explore Oulu on our own: the church, monuments, supermarkets and shopping centers. It is impossible to leave Finland without cloudberry jam, cheeses, venison, liqueurs and Fazer sweets. In the evening we visited the sauna at the hotel for free. Special thanks to Cumulus Hotel! A wonderful hotel, helpful staff, girls from the reception for 2 days provided us with all the necessary information about the forecasts and the probability of northern lights, printed routes where to go to see it in Oulu. For 2 nights we went in search of the northern lights and were rewarded with the opportunity to see an even rarer phenomenon - light pillars! The spectacle is incredible!

Bottom line: only with our own strength, perseverance and the help of local residents, we realized our dream. On the night when the trip to the aurora was to take place, in Rovaniem there really was a stunningly beautiful aurora that did not reach Oulu, the entire Internet was full of photos of it. Therefore, we, the tourists of flight 363, for some of whom this was the main purpose of the trip, were very disappointed that the group escorts were not given an attempt to help us on a trip to Rovaniemi on the shine.

Day 5. The most long-awaited day is a trip to Santa Claus!) the cost of the tour is 38 euros and the entrance to Santa Park is 33 euros.

After breakfast and 3 hours drive from Oulu, we found ourselves in a real fairy tale! This day was worth the fatigue on the road, malnutrition and lack of sleep.

The first stop was Santa Park, which was allocated 3 hours and that was enough. Mini Disneyland in the rock, which, of course, is more designed for kids than for adults. But personally, I had a lot of fun! There is also a train to a fairy tale, and IceBar, and an amazing school of elves (with nice gifts at the end of the school), and Mrs. Claus gingerbread, and AngryBirds game, and a calligraphy school, and an elves workshop and the most long-awaited Santa Claus office! It is important (!) that it is here that you can take a photo with Santa on your gadget for free (!) Well, the underground crossing of the Arctic Circle and the purchase of a certificate for 5 euros about this brave act :)

Then a 15-minute drive to Santa Claus Village, with 3 hours of free time allocated, which was also enough. In the village, we immediately went to Santa's office, but here a photo costs 40 euros, your photo gadgets are prohibited. Also in the village they rode reindeer through the forest for 17 euros / person, from which they got a lot of pleasure, crossed the line of the Arctic Circle, sent letters home from Santa Claus to relatives and friends (from 1 euro postcard + from 1.20 euro stamp) and put for 0.50 euros, a stamp is a direct passport, as evidence of being in Lapland :)

Bottom line: 6 hours round trip, 3 hours each to Santa Park and Santa's Village. The place is definitely a must see :) From Oulu, getting to these places on your own will cost you about 80 euros / person only for travel with transfers on regular buses, so with AccordTour for 38 euros it is certainly financially more profitable. But if you live in Rovanie, then for 10 euros in both directions you can visit these parks on your own.

Day 6. Breakfast, check-out from the hotel and an optional excursion to the Ranua Zoo. The cost declared on the website before departure and upon signing the contract (16 euros + self-payment of the entrance ticket.) The ticket costs 16 euros, i.e. should be 32 euros. In fact, according to the price list provided on the bus, I had to pay 48 euros / person.

I will not write about the Arctic zoo. It's beautiful and a must see! We immediately took a ride on a husky for 13 euros, getting frostbite on the face and a lot of pleasure in 3 minutes :)

Next, an 8-hour transfer to Jyväskylä, where the transfer hotel was located and where we still managed to walk in the evening through the center of the Christmas city.

Bottom line: 2-hour transfer to the zoo, 3 hours at the zoo and 8-hour transfer to the transfer hotel.

Day 7. Rise at 4.30, early breakfast and then a 4-hour transfer to Helsinki. 2 hours by ferry and we are in Tallinn. And then we had 9 hours (I couldn’t even believe it :) This time was more than enough to explore the entire old city, purchase VannaTallin, visit the 3 Dragons, plunge into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and shop in the shopping center. Next we had an overnight journey.

Day 8. Last day on the road. Leaving at 22.00 from Tallinn to the Lvov railway station, we set foot exactly at 20.00 the next day.

Bottom line of the trip: 80% of the time is being on the bus, but even those 20% of the time for sightseeing was worth it. Of course, the bus is the cheapest way to get to such an expensive country as Finland and one must be prepared for difficulties and inconveniences, short sleep and malnutrition. I noticed that the prices on the site have already been changed and now they are more in line with reality. I would like to believe that AccordTour draws conclusions from the reviews of tourists and improves tours for future travelers.

Part two. Organizational. Shorter, but not unimportant, called "It hurt and I'm not going to be silent"

Considering that we spent about 80% of the time on the bus, the atmosphere in it was a very important factor, where in our case there were 38 people, of which 12 were children.

The atmosphere was heavy, with incessant conflicts in the person of a single passenger: the character N. This situation affected both all the passengers of Flight 363, and me in particular. I, as a person who paid a considerable amount for this tour, and who went so far to fulfill my dream, suffered morally on this trip. The review below correctly noted that there was a passenger on the bus who "drank the blood" of everyone, in my opinion, due to chronic dissatisfaction with life.

The situation is as follows: on the very first day, having addressed with a personal request to the accompanying group (hereinafter this year) Galina, who is a person with a weak vestibular apparatus, asked permission to take the last 4 empty seats on the bus, popularly referred to as a gallery. Galina warned in advance that these free places, if necessary, would be occupied by children and the elderly, but as long as there is no one there, I can stay there, which I did.

Further, events began to occur that are not permissible in the world of civilized people. Not adequate character N., who occupies a place at the beginning of the salon, ran into me, in the presence of S.G. Galina, who was at that moment in the last seats, discussing the details of the trip with the passengers, and violating my personal space, waking me up and committing unacceptable actions in the form of an attempt to sit on the head of a sleeping person, took this place. S.G. Galina's remark to take her place at the beginning of the salon was successfully ignored by the character N. In order not to create a conflict, I (the person who was insulted woken up) was forced to return to my place.

On the morning of the next day, S.G. came up to me. Galina with the words that she spoke with the character N. and in the future we can take turns taking these places at the end of the bus, agreeing among ourselves and now it is I who can take it. With the permission of this year. Galina, I took this place, which was a fatal mistake, because in the very first seconds, the character N. flew at me with foam from the mouth, with insults, threats, that if he sees me again in this place, he will throw me on the floor, that when traveling by bus rounds, she sat / sits / and will sit in the last places, which is not this year. Galina will decide who sits where, and she, that if I once again come up with a personal request to Galina, the character N. will pull out all my hair. The screams were in decibels for the entire passenger compartment of the bus for about 15 minutes. And it was not a dialogue, but a monologue-pouring mud. 4 my attempts to call this year. Galina, who was 2 (!) Meters (one seat away) from us, was completely ignored by Galina. Let me remind you that I was at this place with the permission of the accompanying group, and ignoring the request to come up 4 times, because a scandal erupted, in my opinion it is unacceptable !!!, since this person is responsible for the atmosphere on the bus, this is his job. The situation did not occur on the street, but within the walls of the AccordTour bus, accompanied by screams, threats from one of the passengers to another for 15 minutes and cries for help in resolving the conflict - s.p. just ignored the situation. Of course, I understand perfectly well that everyone should solve their own problems for themselves, BUT I paid a considerable amount for this trip and was in free places with the permission (!) of the s.p. Galina, for which she paid with her nerves. Not allowing myself to cross reasonable boundaries, due to good education, having listened to insults and threats, I was forced to vacate these places, since N.'s character made a second attempt to raid me with screams while the bus was driving, standing in the passenger compartment of a moving vehicle, continuing insults. The following days, these 4 places were occupied by the character N. The character N., having paid all 450 euros / person, brazenly took 4 places, but this should be 1800 euros (450 * 4) from a legal point of view! And the places were occupied not for one day by this person, but for all 8!

They were busy not with children, of whom there were 12 in a crowded bus, not with elderly people, not with other people who have ailments or because of their health it is difficult for them to stay in a sitting position for a long time, and not even a sick young girl who fell ill on the last day and needs urgent help. hospitalizations. Even she was driving unconscious in a sitting posture.

My trip was spoiled from the very first day by threats, insults and inadmissible violation of my personal space. This year no attempts were made to resolve this situation that arose in the closed space of the bus, or at least intervene in it, on the rights of a person responsible for the comfort of passengers and a calm atmosphere, who paid a lot of money for the tour, and also purchased excursions from the AccordTour company, whose representative in this bus tour she was.

A separate and long conversation how much this year itself. Galina suffered from the character of N. in the future, as well as the whole bus. How many threats were sent by the character N. to AccordTour, everyone has already lost count. Scandals and screams came from one single passenger: the character N., who, from a legal point of view, even sat in the wrong place, for which, let me remind you, he paid 450 euros, like all passengers, but occupied as many as 4 seats and continued to occupy them all 8 days.

In my opinion, the reason is that violent and inadequate passengers must be pacified immediately, so as not to untie their hands in the future and dance to their tune, from which all passengers of flight 363 suffered DAILY. In addition to the conflict with me for empty seats (on which I ended up staying for 15 minutes at the most), all bus passengers suffered from the constant loud cries of the character N. .G. for the duration of the trip, their loud inclusion. This went on daily and for hours!! The solution of the issue (and in particular my situation, in which I was humiliated and insulted) can only be solved by the accompanying group, the main representative of AccordTour on this trip. And Galina, either due to her unwillingness to get involved with the brawler or due to the fact that it was not her problem, got away with everything to the inadequate character N.

For my part, this is the only complaint about the work of Galina, as an accompanying group, for all other points I am ready to rate her work at 5 plus. The man really loves his job and provided complete and interesting information about each of the countries he visited, supplementing this with skillfully selected films.

Bottom line: for a lot of money, going to fulfill my dream, I got a moral injury out of the blue, for which no one was held responsible and I did not receive any moral (at least in the form of an apology) or material compensation. And she suffered all the remaining days from the screams and demands of the inadequate character N. to me, all the passengers of the bus, and in particular this year. Galina, from which her head ached incessantly and it was impossible to rest or sleep.

I would like to wish the future tourists of AccordTour pleasant neighbors on the tour! And be on the alert, this character N., unfortunately, is real and, according to her words, she has already traveled 15 times with AccordTour and is not going to stop ruining people's lives. And it is YOU: the driver who accompanies the group or wants to go on a bus tour with the AccordTour company, unfortunately, you can end up with it in a closed space!

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