We officially began our cruise in the Netherlands, but the fun truly began at our first stop in Mandal, Norway (day 3 of the planned itinerary). Our first leg of the journey was a long 24 hour ocean crossing from Amsterdam to Mandal. We were supposed to have a nice pit stop at a small island off the coast of Denmark on day 2, but due to poor weather and rough seas, we hoofed it to mainland Norway. It was a nice reprieve to finally board the tender boats and make our way to dry, unmoving, land! A local tour company met us at the dock and whisked us away on a lovely 3 hour walking tour of the town. Mandal is a quiet town with a history in the salmon trade. It is still a large part of their culture which we found to be true for most of the country as well. Our walk led us through winding cobblestone streets, up to the tallest point in the town to a lookout tower, to a local shopping district, and to the original church. We also took a few stops along the way to say hello to a number of friendly neighbor cats. After our tour we had a few hours to self explore. Tadd and I found a nice restaurant along the marina and enjoyed the local atmosphere. That evening as the ship left port we made our way to the rooftop deck, sat in the hot tub and watched as the town slipped into the distance. Day “one” was an absolute success!
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
4 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
5 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.