FAQ : Questions & Answers
We answer your most frequently asked questions.
All you needd to know when booking with us!
BOOKING & CANCELLATION
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How/when can I book a tour?
You can find all of our experiences on our website. Each tour has its own page, where you can find all the useful information such as the description of the tours, pictures, pricing details, and what to expect in general. Scroll down the tour page to find the booking calendar. You can check our availability and select the date, time and number of participants that you would like to book.
You may review and complete your booking by clicking on the “Checkout” button, fill in the necessary info, and proceed to the payment by credit or debit card. You will receive the booking confirmation by email.
If you have a special request, or need a tailored program of activities, you can contact us at info@nordicodyssey.net. We can elaborate a program together and send you a quote.
We recommend booking in advance as our availability may be limited, especially during the Christmas & New Year’s Eve holiday as well as the winter vacation.
If you book the tour long in advance we can split the payment in two: 30% for the downpayment, the 70% left will be billed later according to the invoice details.
We cannot guarantee that we will have spots left on the wished activities if you visit us in our office without booking previously.
How can I modify/cancel my tour?
Please inform us of any change you would like to make on your booking by email at info@nordicodyssey.net. We will try our best to satisfy your demand. However, please ask sufficiently in advance, as we can’t accept last minute changes.
We kindly ask you to inform us by email for any cancellation related matter.
Please note that cancellation fees might apply as follows :
We will charge a cancellation fee of 10% if booking is cancelled 7 days or more before departure.
We will change a cancellation fee of 50% if booking is cancelled between 7 days and 24h before departure.
We will charge a cancellation fee of 100% if booking is cancelled 24h or less before departure.
Our Northern Lights Photography Tour, Northern Lights Family Tour and our Private Northern Lights tour automatically includes a cancellation possibility. It allows you to cancel your Northern Lights tour a few hours before (until 14.00, local time). You will then get your ticket refunded, minus a cancellation assurance fee mentionned in the service description (which will cover the administrative and banking fees).
How can I pay for my reservation?
You can pay by debit or credit card when booking from our website and payment link ; or by bank transfer when booking via email. Please find our billing details on this link.
In our office, we accept credit/debit card payment as well as cash.
We accept most cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, etc. We also accept payments via ApplePay and GooglePay.
PICK-UP & MEETING
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What pick-up services are included?
We provide the pick-up within a distance of 8km from the city-centre, which includes most of the accommodations nearby as well as Santa Claus Village area. We pick you up from the address given to us, therefore, it can includes hotels, airbnb, hostels, private accomodations…
We do arrange pick up to accomodation further than 8km from the city center. The pick up may apply extra cost for accomodation such as : Apukka Resort, Arctic Snow Hotel, Pohtimo, Motelli, Norvajarvi, Arctic Wilderness lodge.
However, if your accommodation is located within a reasonable walking distance from our office (<500m), we may kindly ask you to join us directly there, for ecological and logistic reasons. Example of accomodation: Scandic Rovaniemi City, Arctic City Hotel, Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus, Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Scandic Pohjanhovi, Scandic Polar, Arctic Penthouse City Suite. In case of mobility impairment we may come to pick you up.
Please note that if you do not provide any specific pick-up location, the default meeting place is our office located in the city centre as the following address : Jaakonkatu 4-6, 96200 Rovaniemi. If you did not select a location, and would like to add one afterwards, please inform us at info@nordicodyssey.net
We do not arrange airport transfers by ourselves but we recommend booking with our partners Menevä. You can book your taxi transfer directly in our office or from their website : https://book.meneva.fi/access/. You can also use the shuttle service from the airport or the new bus line number 11.
How do I know about the meeting time?
In all cases, the exact meeting time and location will be sent to you by email the day prior to your tour, or in the morning for aurora tours.
ACCESSIBILITY
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How many people can join your tour?
We operate all of our tours in small groups only, to ensure the best quality of services. We limit all of our activities to a maximum of 8 participants. Therefore group of over 8 people cannot be arranged for logistics reasons. We can also arrange private tours or larger group experiences upon request. Please contact us at info@nordicodyssey.net
On the contrary, all of our tours require a minimum of 2 adult participants. Any solo traveller is very welcome to join a departing tour at the standard price.
If the minimum number of participants has not been met yet, we kindly invite you to look over another date/time.
Feel free to reach out to us to check our availability. If you cannot be flexible and wish to open a new departure, we may arrange the tour just for you at some extra cost (please contact us).
Can my children participate in the tours?
Yes, the required minimum age is indicated in the page for each activity.
It is not recommended at all to travel with an infant in Lapland during winter season. Some activities are accessible from 4 years old, but in reality all the activities are recommended from 8 years old, for security reasons due to the cold. The vulnerability related to their young age, the lack of experience in extreme conditions (and therefore, a poor knowledge of their own physical limits), and a feeling of cold different from adults are all parameters that make children more at risk to freezing temperatures. During the season, we have an average of -15 to -20, during daytime, it can even lower sporadically or at nights.
Therefore, we do not accept infant and toddlers on our tours. Some big companies of mass tourism accept toddlers and even infant on tour because they are less concerned about the security aspects. If you choose some of them, please make sure that you have the guarantee to always have a “hot spot” (campfire) nearby where your child can stay warm, also ask if their guides are certified for first aid.
What languages may I speak with the guides/staff?
All our team will happily welcome and guide you in English. Moreover, all our guides and staff member are french speaking. They may come from France or somewhere else but they will gladly answer all your questions in French as well!
I am physically impaired, may I still participate in your tours?
Everything depends on the activity and the tour. The best thing is to reach out to us via email : info@nordicodyssey.net. We will adapt and offer solutions case by case in regards of the special measures that should be taken by us for you to enjoy the excursion!
EQUIPMENT
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How should I dress for winter activities?
As guides, we are responsible for the safety of the group. Please note that we reserve the right to refuse participation in our tours (without refund) if you arrive at the meeting point insufficiently equipped. Equipment is available for rent/purchase to complement your outfit if needed ; you can reserve it in advance by contacting us at info@nordicodyssey.net.
How can I rent the winter clothes?
All requests for winter clothing should be done via email or directly at our office. Note that the availability of our rental equipement is limited during the high season.
We propose a winter set including thermal overalls and winter boots. Our thermal overalls are made in Finland and can handle temperatures down to -20 degrees. Our winter boots have a thick sole and isolating double lining.
Thermal overalls and winter boots can be added as an option for an extra 5€ when booking the activity. Most of our guests are usually already well equipped, and as we do not want you to pay for a service that you may not need, this is why we don’t include it in the price of the tour.
You may also rent the gear for the whole duration of your stay. You can rent this set for 15€ per set and per day. If you book a program of activities with us, you can benefit from the discounted price of 10€ per set and per day.
Clothing rental requests for long periods can be made by email only. We recommend that you book your equipment in advance as our availability may be limited during the peak season, especially concerning the children’s sizes. Please note that our overalls are to be worn over your own clothes, therefore we kindly ask you to dress accordingly.
We do not rent gloves, socks and hat for hygiene purpose but we sell woollen socks at our office.
All equipment must be collected and returned from our office Nordic Odyssey located in the city centre at the following address : Jaakonkatu 4-6, 96200 Rovaniemi. During the peak season, we are open from 08:30 to 20:30.
What other equipment can I rent from you? and how?
During the booked activities the gear such as snowshoes, skis, ice fishing equipment, etc. are included if mentioned in the tour description.
If you wish to use the equipement by yourself, without the help of a guide, you can rent them for a day or more. We rent snowshoes, skis, fatbikes and electric fatbikes, camping equipment, trollers… You can find more information on this page (click here).
Our team will happily give you a short explaination on how to use the equipement and can also advise you on the different places you can go to for example with fatbikes or skis!
All equipment must be collected and returned from our office Nordic Odyssey located in the city centre of Rovaniemi at the following address : Jaakonkatu 4-6, 96200 Rovaniemi. During the peak season, we are open from 08:30 to 20:30.