Magnetic North Travel Avis 

A well organised trip which met all our needs and was very enjoyable. The company was helpful and responsive when putting the holiday together and when a minor adjustment to a pick up time was requested when travelling. We sensed there was good support available throughout our trip if needed. No hesitation in using MN if we venture north again.

Great extensive daily hikes, detailed maps & app with excellent directions provided each day. Excellent coordination with ground transportation. Expect to be exhilaratingly exhausted every day. 😉

The arrangements were perfect and were handled smoothly. I never worried about the transfers, the flights, or the accommodations.

This was a fantastic trip. The islands are spectacular. We were lucky to have pretty good weather and even when the weather was not so good we loved being there. The roads are mostly safe and there is not much traffic on most of the route. One does need to be careful in some areas as the shoulders of the roads can be variable and unpredictable. The hikes we did were wonderful and well worth the effort. Magnetic North was very helpful and responsive to our needs. Highly recommended!

We had never booked an adventure with Magnetic North and never one without an actual guide with us. Everything was extremely well planned. It took us a little time to get used to the two apps used but once we did, everything was easy. The location recommended was beautiful and the roads were nice and safe.

The only thing I would recommend would be to add the date next to the sequence of days in the itinerary.

Thanks Laura

Serge & Wendy

Excellent hotel choices and convenient lodging locations. Top two events were the Oslo country side hike and the Stockholm sailing expedition. All other events were also good, including palaces and museums.

Laura G constructed a fabulous trip for two couples for two weeks in Norway in the western fjord region ending with a terrific few days in Oslo. Every detail was covered. The journey was seamless. We wasted no time waiting for any transport. The accommodations and guides were wonderful. We accomplished far more than we ever could have managed planning on our own. We knew this would be a trip of a lifetime, and are amazed that it was even better than expected! We took advantage of all the hardy and delicious breakfasts to get us through our exciting days. We enjoyed activities like kayaking, hiking, and the sunset cruise in Oslo. We thought the MN App was really helpful, and Laura also checked on us along the way. Bonus: It was so delightful to be with local people as Norway was winning games in the World Cup. Our photos are great, but our fond memories are even greater! Thank you, Magnetic North.

Magnetic North was thoughtful and knowledgeable in planning our 4 country, 6 stop whirlwind trip! Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Flam, Bergen & Copenhagen. They took into consideration all of our ideas and needs. The tour guides they booked for us were amazing, wonderful, knowledgeable and so pleasant to be with. The drivers were all perfect, arriving on time, finding us wherever, and sharing their local expertise with us. Magnetic North is detail oriented, fully informed about the Nordic/Scandinavia experience and able to book and leverage that experience so that you have a fabulous time. Do not hesitate to use them for your trip.

The Magnetic North team were terrific to work with. They helped us create the perfect multi-generational family vacation and were extremely responsive and helpful. I highly recommend them!

Our Finland Archipelago Bike adventure was great. From the moment we began planning the trip until its completion Annie was extremely responsive, helpful, personable and detail-oriented. The turn-by-turn app was clear and easy to use which made for an stress-free self guided tour. We were also impressed with their local partner, 10 bikes rental. The e-bikes were comfortable, in good shape, size of panniers can accommodate most of your luggage and Taneli took great care of us. All our lodging was quaint, breakfasts good and hosts friendly. In particular, the dinners at the hotel in Hyppeis and hotel Nestor were some of the most delicious we have enjoyed anywhere!

Laura sent us to one of the most incredible places on the planet in northern Sweden. She was wonderful to work with and I highly recommend her to all.

Fantastic organisation by Laura and lots of helpful advice before our trip. It was a lifetime experience in the beautiful remote Arctic and we made lots of wonderful memories which we will treasure.

Everything ran as it was set up and the vendors were very friendly, on time and the quality of the vendors were top notch. Enjoyed it all. Also like the way the hotels had been selected close to old towns and the train stations.

Our trip exceeded our expectations. All of the details planned were great. Annie Fredvang was attentive in listening to my requests and concerns and worked very hard to address them all. I really appreciated her suggestion that we stay at 292 Aurland in Aurland, Norway. I was hesitant and she convinced me it would be terrific. And it was. That is why using a travel agent familiar with the country is so important. Her knowledge and suggestions were excellent.

What we loved about 292 Aurland as the contact we had with local people. Our tour of Laerdal and the Borgund Stave Church could not have gone better, as our guide was the former mayor of Laerdal, who was helping out Bjorn, the co-owner. It ended up being one of the best travel days of our lives. We totally hit it off with him and have a friend for life. My husband is half Norwegian and "the mayor" was incredible helping us piece together his history, and has promised to help find the original family farm somewhere in the Hallingdal Valley. He even helped my husband find "lefse" like his grandmother made by contacting a baker he knows, who went to work making "lefse" that he dropped off for us the next day. We learned so much about Norway, its people, history, schools, social services. It was tremendous. We only wish we could have stayed in Norway longer!

I would not hesitate to recommend Magnetic Travel or Annie Fredvang. And who knows? We might be making another trip to meet my husbands relatives in Hallingdal!

Norway is fantastic and it would be hard to have a bad experience but Annie put together the perfect itinerary for the two of us. She listened to our interests and understood our limitations and the trip was just amazing.

Alex listened to our ideas about activities and planned a fantastic trip within our budget! We loved the app and added suggested ideas everyday. Alex was very responsive about keeping us updated as the schedule changed.

My primary agent, Annie Fredvang, was very responsive and helpful and considered many things that I might not have thought of in planning the trip.

We experienced the most incredible adventure in Iceland thanks to the detailed and thoughtful itinerary Laura form Magnetic North Travel designed for us. From start to finish, we felt we were well taken care of and we were seeing and doing everything we possibly could to enjoy this unique country. Laura really listened to what we were striving for and also provided spot-on suggestions. From the Blue Lagoon, to glacier adventures in a super jeep and snow mobiles, to a food tour and geothermal rye bakery tour- we experienced so much. More importantly we were connected with the very best guides/drivers, and our accommodations fit our family perfectly. All 7 of us on this trip agreed it was one of the best trips we've ever taken and we hope to have the opportunity to go back. I 100% would reconnect with Laura again to plan future itineraries for us. In fact, we have family and friends, who after hearing about our experience, asked to be connected to Laura as well. We are so appreciative to have had this experience and now have fond memories to cherish. Thank you Laura!

I have a friend who swears he can use Chat GPT to plan the ideal vacation. He does a search, gets a planned itinerary, spends hours making reservations, and, inevitably, a “detail” gets missed or something goes wrong. Maybe it’s flight issues (he once booked a semi-private flight for his family, and the plane landed in an area of the airport with no access to the rental cars — oops!), maybe there’s loud construction next to the hotel he’s booked, etc.

With Magnetic North Travel (and Annie specifically), there’s none of that. I reached out to Annie to plan a trip to Sweden (including the IceHotel near Kiruna) and let her know our dates, our budget, and what my wife and I wanted to do. A couple Zoom calls later (including one with a specialist who was intimately familiar with the IceHotel), she had a perfect itinerary planned for us (including planning a tricky (for me) overnight train in a sleeper car from travel from Kiruna to Stockholm). All arrangements and reservations were made — I had to do practically nothing.

And I cannot emphasize “perfect” enough. We did SO many active adventures, but we had necessary “down time” to relax. In other words, we never felt rushed but felt we did ALL that we wanted to do.

But it’s not just the ease of working with Magnetic North Travel; it’s those “details.” For instance, Annie and her specialist made the recommendation to book a regular (i.e. warm) room at the IceHotel for the same night as our one-night stay in an ice room, just in case we found the ice room too cold. So when, in the middle of the night, my wife decided to bail on the ice room (note: she just couldn’t sleep; I found the room delightful), she had a room to retire to. Other IceHotel guests we spoke to were quite envious of our arrangement / foresight (and when I checked ChatGPT — it never made that recommendation).

Another example is that Annie recommended NOT to do snowshoeing in Stockholm in mid-March (due to the likelihood of slushy conditions); in contrast, ChatGPT did not caution against such a snowshoeing experience. She instead offered us a walking tour of Stockholm with a private guide. Note that Annie was spot on — the temperature in Stockholm was 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) with not a flake of snow to be seen!

Also — Annie was there to answer questions about tipping practices, where to get food for our train ride, etc.

And no looking for taxis! We got off the plane in Kiruna, grabbed on our luggage, and a driver with our name on a board whisked us away. Same thing going from the IceHotel to the Kiruna train station — our taxi was waiting right at the entrance of the IceHotel at the appointed time.

In Stockholm, Annie got us early check-in privileges (11 am) at a gorgeous boutique hotel right on the water and just a short walk from the old town.

Finally, the Magnetic North Travel app kept track of all our travel and activities, and pinged us with various reminders about flight departures and gates, etc.

So, sure, give A.I. a go if you want (and enjoy all the hassles of, time spent, and mistakes made planning), but for true hassle-free travel abroad, I highly recommend Annie and Magnetic North Travel.

Gave a few personalised options when looking for a winter Nordic holiday. Helped us choose Brändön Lodge in Luleå, Sweden, which was an excellent.
Alex from Magnetic North showed a genuine interest in depth knowledge about a winter Nordic holiday and was able to guide us choosing between options based on our family circumstances.
Very happy with customer service, organisation, and the holiday experience.