Arctic Finland trip with Swain Destinations My family of four traveled with Swain Destinations to Finland in December 2021. It was just when Omicron was spiking in Europe and we were nervous at first but the Swain team walked us through all the protocols and because we felt like we were going to be in a very remote area (Finnish Lapland, in the Arctic Circle) we went on the trip anyway. When I say it was the best trip our family has ever gone on, I am not exaggerating. Everything from the moment we landed in Rovaniemi to the day we returned home was so special. Our guide, Miikka, was so caring and flexible, always making suggestions based on the days' weather and working so hard to ensure we would see the Northern Lights, despite December being a difficult month to get to see them. The food from our private chef at our chalet was AMAZING. We gave Swain Destinations our preferences and dietary requirements prior to traveling and everything was prepared exactly to our needs, and was still authentic, locally sourced and delicious. Every activity that was arranged was so wonderful - from the activities themselves being unique and in the beautiful Arctic setting, to the individuals who led the activities being legitimate Sami reindeer herders, champion husky mushers, and so on. I cannot speak highly enough of just how moved we were as a family to have these experiences together. We wrapped up our trip in Helsinki and got to experience the Christmas Markets and even Finland Day, which was beautiful and touching. I have to say that I thought a trip to the Arctic would be one and done, but now I want to go again in a few years when our children are old enough to do some of the more active experiences like ice-track racing, and helicoptering over the North Pole! We are already planning our next Swain Destinations trip, and cannot wait to see what they offer elsewhere, but I highly highly recommend their Finland experiences.

South Africa Our trip that Swain Destinations planned to Africa was great from start to end. Planning was very easy and the entire trip was seamless. We were there almost three weeks and stayed in 6 different locations. We never had to worry about our next location or any logistics in moving from place to place. All internal transfers and flights were handled and everything was planned out down to the small details.

All around excellent! We have used Swain Destinations for over a dozen trips to Africa, Australia/NZ and India. Never once on any of them has any single arrangement (accommodations, rides, guides, etc) ever not worked perfectly. It's hard to get better than that!

Experts in knowledge and service!… I have worked with Swain for travel in Australia and Africa. On both continents they have always exceeded expectations. I have never written a review until now, but I am truly impressed by their precision in handling the required covid tests for multiple country itineraries in Africa. Numerous travelers have been able to experience Africa with ease because of how easy to follow and clearly pre-arranged travelers testing and requirements. Experts in knowledge and service!

I think this is for the India trip? I am not sure which trip this rating is for, but I think India for Girdley. I thought Bela was ok. She could have been a bit more informative on crafting the itinerary in that my clients stayed 2 nts at the Camel fare in Pushkar but could have done it in 1. So my clients left early and paid an additional $750 for 1 night at Udaipur instead. THEN Bela didn't even inform me of the change which was a bit embarrassing when the client told me. I would expect someone at Swain would have advised me. Bela did, after I called her out on it, apologize.