Best Served Scandinavia Reviews 37

Ian worked out the perfect itinerary for us from Bergen to Oslo via fjord express boats and trains. All travel arrangements went to plan and chosen hotels were brilliant. Superb scenery and friendly people made our holiday to Norway perfect. Very detailed itinerary sent to us before departure giving lots of information. Would thoroughly recommend Best Served Scandinavia.

Having a significant anniversary in March and wanting to have a shot of seeing the Northern Lights after a no show in Iceland 10 years ago, we decided to book a trip to Tromso and Svalbard. The lovely Pippa helped us to go through the options and very much tailor-made it for the duration and types of trips we wanted to do.
We were quite late in booking it but she got back to us as soon as we confirmed and everything was organised- we had an amazing little itinerary book delivered and everything was clear! I had a couple of questions and a quick call to the office and they were answered.
We had an amazing time- seeing the Northern Lights from the plane as we arrived in Tromso and again for the other two nights we were there.
We headed to Svalbard and what an incredible place- the trips were fantastic and we got another gorgeous display on the first evening. On the second evening the weather wasn’t in our favour and before we jumped on the trip, the guide offered us the chance to cancel and get a refund as it was unlikely we would see anything , so we took that option and enjoyed an evening in some of the bars instead. An email to the office when we got back sorted a fuss free refund.
We felt that the info that was sent really helped us to prepare for this kind of holiday (and the extremely low temperatures!).
Absolutely fantastic trip that we will be buzzing about for years to come!

We had a truly magical scandanavian adventure travelling across 4 countries, 5 cities in 12 days. Best Served Scandanavia put together a great itenary and our agent Lisa was always on hand to answer queries and tweak things to make our adventure perfect.
Whilst in Norway or Fjords boat trip (booked privately) was cancelled, I reached out to Lisa and she managed to get us in another excursion and sorted everything whilst we were abroad. Lisa also organised a husky safari which was so much fun.
This trip was to celebrate my 40th d ot was certainly memorable and had everything and more that we wanted.

We stayed at the glass cabins at Ukkohalla Resort and it was such a memorable experience. The husky safari activity was only a few minutes walk away from our cabins and it was so fun. The reindeer farm was also only a 10 minute car ride away with transport provided by the resort and it was such a special experience. We went snowboarding for one of the days. And yes, we saw the northern lights for one of the nights and it was magical!

Steff, our agent from best served… did a wonderful job in planning our trip and making the trip tailored to our expectations and budget. We would recommend Best served Scandinavia to others!

My family booked a holiday with Best Served Scandinavia and had a wonderful time! Our agent, Steff, put together a flawless itinerary that checked all of our wish list boxes and included stunning accommodations and incredible excursions. The problems came in when we missed one of our bus transfers. We showed up 30 minutes early to the pick up destination that was sent to us. When no bus showed up, we had to contact a representative from the bus company only to find out that the pickup location had been changed and updated tickets had been sent (more than once) to our booking agent. We were then out over $1,000 USD for a taxi ride to our next destination - which we were instructed to book by Steff. Accidents happen, but the lack of response since returning home is appalling. I have been awaiting reimbursement for the taxi as well as one of cancelled activities for several weeks. The email communication has become nearly non existent. This is such a letdown after such a wonderful trip.

We would also like to thank Best Served Scandinavia - the whole experience of booking the holiday was so positive. We found the company very personable, knowledgable, efficient, accommodating, helpful and friendly. Again without a doubt we would recommend Best Served Scandinavia to others and would look to book again through you.

The holiday it’s self, I literally can not put into words how impressed we were by everything.

- The flights and transfers all went very smoothly and were very comfortable

- The accommodation was just out of this world, exceeded all expectations and the views, just wow!
The rooms were very comfortable and a good size, we also loved the beds!

- The staff at Ukkohalla were phenomenal- nothing was too much and staff just went above and beyond everyday for us.

- The activities were so personal and intimate. The groups were small, and the companies used were humble and clearly loved what they did - which made the experiences even more special.

- The food was delicious and such good value. Staff in the restaurant were so lovely and helpful.

- Ukkohalla gave us such an authentic experience that was not commercialised and allowed us to enjoy the activities and environment fully.

There is so much we could write about that just made this experience one in a lifetime and is definitely one of the best holidays we have ever had.

We can not recommend Best Served Scandinavia, Ukkohalla Resort and the experiences we had enough.

Thanks again for such a lovely holiday.

Flexible itinerary and excursion options proposed by Lisa. Her and the BS Team's communications and support during the vacation was excellent. Would highly recommend them to friends and certainly would book again with them!

Booking with Best served Scandinavia was an easy pleasant way to plan a holiday, with help from Ian all the way along.
‘Norway in a nutshell’ was a lovely way to see the best of Norway. I was really worried when I discovered it was a self guided tour, but it was fairly easy to follow the instructions, although they weren’t always accurate. We only saw 1 green ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ sign so couldn’t rely on them. The transfer from the first train to a bus at Voss was very stressful as the bus wasn’t labelled as the instructions said it would be, and we felt very vulnerable being crushed by a crowd all trying to get on at once. There was certainly no concept of standing in a queue and getting on in an orderly fashion. This part was a really bad experience, but after regaining composure it went smoothly, and we saw some amazing scenery. There was a very long wait for the last train of the trip back to Bergen. This was at Myrdal station which is a tiny station with nothing to see or do and the cafe was closed. This wasn’t ideal as there was then a 2 hour journey back to Bergen. I would suggest you have a supply of a few 10 krona coins for public toilets, as if you have none you can pay by card and this costs 62 krona - the equivalent of £4.41!

The hotel room was disappointing. My paperwork from the travel company showed a photo of a lovely room, but it didn’t actually mention that your room wouldn’t be like this. This was not a picture of the type of room you would be getting so I don’t know why it was shown in the paperwork. We were put in a standard room which was exceptionally small and badly equipped, no toiletries, a small kettle with cheap sachets of coffee, no bedside tables and only 1 comfy chair for 2 people. It had a tiny bathroom with nowhere to put anything and a cracked toilet seat. The other rooms had toiletries, coffee machines, lovely looking bathrooms, and good furniture. Perhaps you could offer upgraded rooms at a higher price as a choice when booking this package?

We phoned Best served Scandinavia and spoke to Ian who listened, advised, tweaked, planned and booked our flights, accommodation tours and private tranfers for 9 nights and without his hard eork and planning we wouldn't have had the peace of mind to enjoy the amazing accommodation, tours, guides company, scenery, restaurants, Tromso and Malangen Resort. We would definitely book again with Best Served Scandinavia as your 100% guaranteed to have an amazing holiday.

Don’t get excited about your trip because as the saying goes, no expectations, minimal disappointment.
Another saying - if only I read these reviews before I booked with them.
For those whose holiday worked out, then I’m genuinely happy for you and jealous.
I really do hope Best Served Scandinavia read these comments and make changes.
I began to regret my choice of Best Served Scandinavia when the lack of customer service; communication and appalling approach to call back requests were shambolic.
They were only interested in selling the trip and that’s where it all ended. As long as they got their commission, bugger the person who made the booking.
There are other travel companies who on a trip like this actually have someone present as a guide. I’ve seen other tour operators do it and it works.
All well saying we can call you if there is a problem. Well it takes days to get a call back when I try calling you within the UK . That’s a nonsense statement.
A change to the itinary warranted a telephone call not an email. Two phone calls later on my part, I eventually got a call back and not even an apology for not picking up the phone.
I wasn’t made aware that I had to make my own transfer arrangements for 99% of the time. I requested all transfers were to be included at the time of booking. I made that very clear. You don’t get your travel documents and itinary until a few weeks in advance and that is when you find out. No good to me when I have paid in full several months in advance.
I had to pay my own taxi fares for transfers on top of what is not a cheap holiday.
The time between flight changes of one hour is not enough time . Twice I had to beg to be let on a flight. The time it took through passport control and security was not taken into account.
Before I left the UK, I actually pointed this out as one of my biggest worries , only to be told, “well you are flying with one airline and it’s their responsibility to get you on a flight”. What an appalling response and attitude.
The one occasion I did get a transfer I received a text in the native language, which I did not understand. Pointless.
The last accommodation I staid at was so far out and the reception had no facility to offer a hot beverage. There was nothing in the room either. You may blame the hotel, but I blame you as you booked the accommodation and therefore you should have communicated to me what the situation would be, so I could do a food shop.
When you sent me my itinary , I would have preferred information on how far taxis; busses ; trains were from each hotel I was booked into and the cost . I did not need a history of the area I was visiting as I can google this .
Lastly, it would have been nice to have a booking reference so I could check in sooner rather than later. You see, I’m quite an organised person and expect attention to detail service as I would give to my customers .

From the first email to the company to getting home yesterday everything ran like clockwork. We outlined what we would like to do and Steff fitted everything in. It all ran like clockwork and we had a brilliant time. Flights, hotel, trips everything was fabulous. We were also really pleased with the price. Thank you Steff.

Northern Lights...we did 7 nights, 7 chances to see them 9th Jan 24. We travelled from Tromso to Kirkenes via Havila and enjoyed the snowhotel and gabber cabins. We saw the lights on 4 occasions, via excursions as they found the gaps in the cloud, so worth booking.
There is a phone back number on the website and Rachel, at Best Served Scandinavia, rang me straight away and put together the perfect itinerary. She was very accommodating with all our changes too. The price was the most competitive and I tried 3 different companies. I highly recommend this company.
Thank you very much
P & G

Last year my friend and I celebrated our joint 75th Birthdays so planned a special holiday, tailor made to see the Northern Lights and other Arctic weather related experiences such as Husky and Reindeer sledding taking place in February.

Best Served Scandinavia seemed to offer everything and we were assured we would be looked after throughout our trip by two BSS specialists with local knowledge. Following their advice I bought loads of new clothes suitable for very cold weather.

The reality was very different when we arrived as it was raining hard and I shopped for a poncho wearing a converted bin bag. Also the husky safari was 'thigh deep in water' and reindeer puddled in water so both were cancelled.

So many cancellations and why did BSS not have a local representative on site who could have really looked after us, providing alternative activities? We had to make our own arrangements otherwise we would have sat in the hotel being miserable.

Lastly, we were given our tickets on Thursday and flew out the following Monday. Why did no-one look at the long-term forecast and alert us before going on holiday: told to bring a mac not expensive snow boots and warned that promised activities would not take place?

It was a massive disappointment for what should have been a huge celebratory (and expensive) holiday?

We booked through a travel agent who complained on our behalf to Best Served Scandinavia. Although they did refund the cancelled activities but that wasn’t really the point. Their reply did not acknowledge at all our disappointment. There was a lack of care, and disinterest from BSS in providing alternative activities to make sure we had the best holiday possible in spite of the weather.

The company may be called 'Best Served Scandinavia' but offered packages to Canada, one in particular interesting us 'Quebec's Winter Wonderland'.

I enquired about this initially via their web form, and it was several days before I got an emailed reply from an agent who clearly hadn't properly read the details of what we wanted in terms of modifications (despite them advertising 'tailor-made' holidays). So I wrote back a very friendly email restating our wishes. That was over a week ago and I've heard absolutely nothing since.

Needless to say, we've booked with another excellent company. It seems Best Served (.co.uk) don't really care much about getting business! But actually it's just plain rude as well as bad business not to read an email properly and then subsequently not even bother to reply.

We have used this company previously for the Ice Hotel and they were brilliant then. This year we have booked a holiday for Greenland and Iceland and the representative called Rebecca (Becky) Theriault, who has helped organise and book our holiday has been absolutely brilliant. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Rebecca, to deal and help with. What a star Rebecca is, and a credit to the Best served Scandinavian” team.

What an amazing holiday in Norway! All hotels superb; faultless transfers; excursions booked and absolutely no hassle. Amazing service from Miranda at Best Served Scandinavia who helped when internal flight home delayed meaning we would miss flight to Heathrow (which we didn't). Cannot praise the travel arrangements enough. Made our Norwegian experience totally wonderful