Canterbury Travel Travel Agency in Northwood

Reviews

1. Jason Jones-Hall ★★★★★

   Package tours really not our thing, but we went on the Magical Interlude trip and absolutely loved it. So well organised and brilliantly put together - great attention to detail every step of the way and the Arctic Star assistant (Amanda) was brilliant and so helpful - nothing was too much trouble. The whole experience was so much more than a holiday - it was an entire production, like a short break, active adventure and interactive and participatory panto all rolled into one. Canterbury Travel absolutely smashed it out of the park. Unforgettable!

   almost 7 months ago
2. Kerri Bartlett ★★★★★

   I knew we would have fun on this holiday but we were blown away! What an unforgettable and amazing trip! Our star guide Maya was fantastic. She kept everything running to plan and was friendly and fun. She was so approachable and our girls loved her. We travelled with our 7 and 5 year old. Our accommodation was perfect. What a beautiful cabin, and it had everything we could possibly ask for! The elves were brilliant, the activities were outstanding and run very well. The husky ride was a once in a lifetime experience and the dogs were all very well cared for. We loved the reindeers, snowmobile rides and the parties were great! There was so much packed into every single day. Highly recommend!

   almost 7 months ago
3. Josh Gill ★★★★★

   We have just returned from the 'Magical Interlude' Search for Santa experience at Suomu, and it is honestly difficult to put into words how incredible the full journey is. From the moment we booked, the magic began; our little one received his own backpack, water bottle, and activity packs that he became instantly obsessed with. Even the journey there was great! The chartered flight was filled with food, Christmas music, and games that got everyone in the spirit before we even touched down in the snow. ​We were greeted by elves and our own "Arctic Star" guide who made us feel like we had stepped directly into a storybook. The hotel at Suomu is full of luxury and adventure, giving some of the most incredible views of the ski slopes—which we then got to toboggan down! We were also so impressed by the food; every meal was of such a high standard, keeping us energised for the days of exploration ahead. ​The "Search for Santa" isn't just a tour; it’s a beautifully crafted storyline adventure. We followed the trail to help the elves and the 5 main characters find Santa, and every single destination we visited was more stunning than the last. While we initially worried about the Arctic temperatures, the snow suits and boots provided kept us perfectly toasty and breaks in the kottas with fires and hot chocolate were great! Though the trip is centred around children we were able to have some bucket list activities too, from sledding with Huskys to operating snowmobiles whilst the little ones did elf training and got their own mini driving licences! ​What truly elevates this experience, however, is the people. A huge shout-out to our Arctic Star Ash, who worked endlessly to ensure every family was looked after and entertained us at all hours of the day. Then there is Snowy Bowy, who our little one is now completely obsessed with and will truly never forget. But a very special mention must go to Connor. It is rare to meet someone as genuinely incredible as him; his kindness and thoughtfulness are unmatched, and he has a way of making you feel like your family is the only one in the world that matters. He didn’t just do his job; he poured his heart into making our trip perfect, and he is a testament to the outstanding level of care this company provides. ​No holiday we have ever been on can even begin to compare to this. If you are even thinking about booking, please don’t hesitate. It is a world of pure joy, and we are already counting down until we can go back to make even more fantastic memories!

   almost 7 months ago

1. Robin Luscombe ★★★★★

   My only input into this trip prior, was paying, as it was a granny trip for son/ daughter in law and daughter son in law and 4 grandkids, and it’s an expensive holiday! But and it’s a big but, it was worth every hard earned pound. The organisation, attention to detail, planning is exceptional, our guide Emily was superb, full of energy, kind and entertaining. To say it exceeded my expectations is an understatement! The cost now represents great value. Well done to all involved.

   almost 7 months ago
2. Zoe Mansell ★★★★★

   Everything about the trip was faultless, from the check in at Manchester airport, Canterbury travel had made everything so special for the children. The air hostesses were dressed up and playing Christmas games with us and the Canterbury travel back packs we had delivered had games for entertainment. We had Abbey as our magic star and she was born for the role and really made the trip, alongside all the elves we met on the way! The organisation of all the excursions was perfect and the trip went without issue. The food, facilities and staff at the Luostotunturi hotel we stayed at were great and I have no comments of improvement for the time we had! Couldn’t recommend enough. Pure magic!

   almost 7 months ago
3. Patricia Maxfield ★☆☆☆☆

   We booked a slot to see Santa at 3.30 pm. We kep bring asked to wait for 10ins then one of the staff said we might not get to see Santa. Our 2 8 year olds were upset. They had stood waiting in the cold for 2 hours. Not the experience we wanted for them Wouldn't do it again. Lack of organisation and lack of communication between staff wouldn't recommend this trip or the company

   almost 3 years ago

1. Graeme Brown ★★★★★

   Absolutely brilliant trip to Lusoto with Canterbury Travel. Magical country and such a lovely quiet area to be based in. We had a log cabin which was very spacious and a short walk to the shops and restaurants. Food was lovely, some bits better than others but nothing “bad”. Our guides Karl and Caitlin were fantastic and kept the kids entertained and engaged. Activities were great especially with reindeer ride through the snow and trees. The visit to Santa to was great as the kids didn’t expect it at that time. All in all it was a perfect Lapland trip and highly recommended. Yes it is expensive but very much a once in a lifetime experience.

   almost 3 years ago
2. Thomas Lindeyer ★★☆☆☆

   We paid for a 3 day break with Canterbury Travels to Lapland (the Majestic Lapland package), if you're planning on booking a Lapland trip with Canterbury travels I'd strongly recommend you read the below, as the marketing material we had read prior to the trip did not prepare us for it! Keep in mind that this is a 3 day package coach holiday and the whole "holiday" is based around a tightly run schedule with a group of approx. 50 people/20 families, who you'll be with for the whole 2-3 days. I say this because it was a surprise to us and a lot of families on the tour, who were understandably expecting something a little more bespoke, considering the huge amount of money they had forked out. There were many frustrating situations over the three days, but below are the main ones. I set this out to help manage your expectations, so hopefully your experience will not be as disappointing or maybe you're able to find a travel company that offers an experience which doesn't feel like you're on a production line. 1) Accommodation The accommodation we were allocated was really poor. The bathroom was akin to something you’d see in cheap student accommodation. There were random bits of furniture/objects that had not been tidied away. Some of the draws had books/magazines in and there was hardly any wardrobe space to hang clothes. To sum up, it was the sort of accommodation you would expect if you were backpacking and paying $50 a night . We were assigned better accommodation on the second night, which was more in line with what I would expect, however it was obviously irritating and stressful that we had to unpack and pack twice. Speaking to other parents on the tour there seemed to be a huge difference in the quality of accommodation, despite paying the same price. When you’re paying this sort of money it's not reasonable to have “luck of the draw” in terms of the accommodation quality. 2) Food The food was very basic and no different to school dinners. I was assured that the restaurant we had been assigned was very good and they had never received negative feedback, which I find hard to believe. Again not what you expect when your paying this sort of money. As a result of the bad food, we paid to eat at a different restaurant for the remaining nights and had breakfast in our cabin! 3) The pace of the tour and the activities Our guide, was amazing and did a great job at managing an incredibly challenging schedule. The Huskies, reindeer, meeting santa and story time at the Elf house were great and the kids enjoyed these activities. I have two complaints around the activities: 1) There was far too much packed into day 1. We started at 8:50am on day 1 (6:50 am GMT) and finished at 5:30. We didn’t have lunch until 2pm so we had cold, hungry kids, who were absolutely exhausted by the end of it. The second day still had a really early start (08:30/06:30 GMT) but finished at 2:30. 2) A number of the activities felt like we were just playing for time - in a holding pattern – snowball fight and tag in a car park? The skidooing was also really disappointing, literally got to do one figure of 8, which lasted 1 minute, then back on the coach. The last two activities of Day 2 were also disappointing/pointless – another game of tag and pathetic catapults and then tobogganing down a tiny slope (the paths in the resort were better), with a ditch either side (making it slightly dangerous), queuing for 15 mins and managed by a really grumpy "elf". Overall, given the money we had spent, the activities did not feel up to standard. In addition it felt like Canterbury Travels had overbooked/had far too many coach groups to manage and as a result everyone suffered by having the activities unevenly spread over the two days and not in a logical order. This was typified when we were given the final clue to find santa, after we had met santa!

   almost 4 years ago
3. Iain Walker ★★★★★

   Amazing holiday to Luosto Finland, well organised, great customer service despite changing COVID rules. Reps couldn’t be more helpful. Log cabins were comfy and clean. Hotel food (we booked half board) was good and only one night our fussy daughter didn’t like options available.

   almost 4 years ago

1. Kerry Hewitt-Snyders ★★★★★

   Absolutely amazing time with Canterbury Travel. Every person and Elf were just perfect! We did the 4 day at Luosto and everything was done to such a high level of perfection. It wasn't crowded, the food was delish, the activities were amazing, the elves and special elves went above and beyond. I would highly recommend this company to help find Santa, thank you to everyone who made our holiday a lifelong memory.

   more 6 years ago

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