Hilary Guite review 8 Apr 2013
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most memorable part of the holiday has to be seeing the Northern Lights from our wilderness cabin. We had the most amazing display at midnight one evening and stood just outside the cabin watching the dancing lights. The whole experience of living without electricity and running water for 2 days was really fun - relaxing but busy - keeping the fires going, getting our water from the frozen river and keeping a stock of boiled water ready, cooking and cleaning. It sounds like a hardship but taking life back to the basics, and living by candlelight in the evening, just us, the Northern lights and our cosy cabin was very romantic.
Other highlights were of course Maya's cooking- such tasty mainly vegetarian food; Mikael's Northern Light alerts and care to make sure we were suitably dressed for the cold; Lief's knowledge of wildlife and his gentle ways; Sven so knowledgeable and fun to chat with on the long transfer taxi trips to the station and of course the other guests, always changing were a delight to share meals with in the evenings back at Aurora retreat.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you really want to be alone in the wilderness cabin it is worth asking for this specifically. We really loved being in the cabin by the Kalix river, which was more isolated (4km from the dropping off point). There are cabins close to a lake which is about 1.5 km from the dropping off point which are also isolated but there are more other people usung the lake which is nearby. If you go for the fully guided option that means the guide stays in the cabin with you ( and it means an extra experienced pair of hands keeping the fires going etc). You have to pay for this option as the guide pulls a sledge with all the food (and we had a bottle for wine for our 2 days which was a real luxury).
However if you think you are competent to manage the wood stoves and boiling enough water it is worth negotiating beforehand that the guide will come back to Junosuando so that you really have to be self sufficient. We were lucky that Lief was happy to do the round trip, so that we stayed two evenings and nights alone and he just came back on the middle day to take us on a guided cross country ski trip through the forest ( hard work but enchanting) and back along the frozen river (wonderful skiiing). Most people opt for 1 day in the cabin but our 2 nights with the guide returning for a trip midday was perfect. We could have stayed longer- did not get bored for one second!
What you get from Aurora retreat is a platform from which to enjoy the area- they provide great food, basic accommodation and sort out the logistics of the various activities and provide a good ambience where you and the other guests can swap stories and enjoy as much of each other’s company as you like. Maya and Mikael are clearly too busy and are always on the run- they clearly need to expand their staff to provide guests with more access to ask the many questions you always have and to have discussions about
choices and to have someone with a little bit more time for the guests. Maya however was great answering all our queries by email before we arrived it's just when you get there you realise they are trying to do everything. In the end this does not detract from the holiday as the basics are all there and everything works in the end, it is just worth being prepared for over busy hosts whose hearts are in the right place and they are doing a great job providing sustainable tourism.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We really appreciated the ways in which impacts on the environment were being reduced- the dry compost toilets - not a problem at all to use; mainly vegetarian food; no electricity or running water in the wilderness cabins; bringing all our non-combustible waste back with us from the cabins ( an eye opener to see how much landfill you create in 2 days), and local people providing great yoga massage, and non commercial trips to see the reindeer, so that you feel more part of a living culture than a tourist fabricated one.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fantastic!
Mei Yoke Chan review 7 Feb 2012
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Witnessing one of the best displays of the aurora ever!! Also, being converted from hardcore carnivore to actually liking vegetables!! Maya is a very good cook...I also like the fact that Junosuando is a real-life charming village and not the usual touristy place. I had a bit of a culture shock when I went to Abisko after Junosuando!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you are not very tall, ask for the ensuite room with the dry compost toilet. It's a charming attic room but would be a bit cramped for a tall person.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Definitely! I like the fact that Mikael works to spread the tourist dollars to the community. Check out the fantastic yoga massage given by a local therapist and the charming local artisan shop.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I would rate it 4.5 stars! It is excellent but a bit excessive to say that I am reborn! It is one of my best holiday experiences but I can't say it is the best holiday I have ever been on (all holidays are kinda different so difficult to compare!). I would certainly like to go back, whether in the summer (another type of experience!) or again in winter!
Jim Kieran review 9 Mar 2011
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Three days guided cross-country skiing with a fantastic guide, Rolf, tracking animals and skiing up frozen rivers and across frozen lakes. Also an extraordinary Northern Lights display one night.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Enjoy everything that's on offer on this holiday, and don't get too hung up on seeing the Northern Lights. We were very lucky and got a brilliant display but it's not guaranteed. The couple who run it are really lovely people and we won't forget them. They have a wonderful traditional Swedish sauna that shouldn't be missed.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Definitely. From the local produce and vegetarian food to the dry composting toilets!, and from the use of local services, massage, airport transfer by a local driver etc.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. My final words to the owners, Mikael and Maya, were "Don't change anything"! They couldn't have been better hosts and the converted vicarage in which we were staying, was so comfortable and cosy. We travel a lot and have all shapes and sizes of holidays, good and not so good. This one was faultless and good value for money.
Elena Isayev review 7 Mar 2011
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Having been skiing through a snow covered forest past animal tracks, and then have a freshly cooked lunch on a campfire in the middle of the woods, with piping hot juice. The snow, the trees, the northern lights - the snow.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you are going on the skiing holiday with the guide no need to bring any serious winter gear all is provided. Also if you do want to eat meat, let the hosts Mikael and Maya know beforehand (and you may just get a locally sourced moose).
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Absolutely it was environmentally friendly and really linked in to the local community but without it being obvious it was just part of it.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We had a fabulous four day break at the retreat in February. It's difficult to imagine how it could have been better. The accommodation and food (even for non-vegetarians!) is excellent and the Refuge has that quality you can't buy - warmth, hospitality and atmosphere. We spent our time skiiing, watching for the Northern Lights and on a fine husky dog sledding expedition. There was much more we could have done and hope to do next time. Our guide - Rolf - was knowledgeable, patient and wonderfully well-informed. We learned a lot as well as did a lot. As you'll have realised we'd recommend this to anyone looking for an adventurous break.
Piera Hall review 31 Jan 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The cross country ski in the Lapland forests, with nothing but ancient trees and animal tracks around us.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The accommodation is a very welcoming place, with good vegetarian food.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Outstanding, a great experience.
Gilliane Sills review 7 Feb 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Skiing through the old forest, with the trees covered deeply in snow, making dramatic shapes, and identifying animal tracks - moose, reindeer, fox, hare and so on. The day had timelessness - people must have used the same equipment and the same techniques for centuries. Another day, the guide showed us how to get water from a frozen lake. He excavated a bowl in the ice with an axe, and he and we then used a hand augur to drill through to the water beneath, filling the excavated bowl
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We took our own silk underwear (t-shirts and long johns) and this was excellent underneath the traditional clothing for skiing supplied by the guide. It's not necessary to take lots of outer clothing, or additional warm layers. We were beautifully warm, including our feet, but not our hands. It would be worth taking silk gloves as a lining, and any other tried and tested methods for keeping hands warm. Thick towelling dressing gowns and house shoes were provided at the Retreat, so another time, we wouldn't take our own..
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Our holiday benefited our hosts, who were local people and brought business to them and their suppliers, including the taxi driver who took us from Kiruna Airport to Junosuando. Our guide was also reasonably local. The impact on the environment seemed to be as low as such a holiday could be, given that some use of a car was essential to get around. The food was largely vegetarian, with local fish, moose and reindeer on occasion, so was local and excellent.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Very good! We'd hoped to see the Northern Lights and in fact, did so - but they were dim and white, and looked rather like a band of cloud stretching in an arc from one side of the horizon to the other, so this was disappointing. But we went recognising that it wasn't the best time of year for sunspot activity, so it would have been a bonus if we'd had a dramatic display. There were, nevertheless, many memorable experiences.
