Frequently asked questions

Check our knowledge base for answers

Booking

Q: When does the sign-up start and can I save a place by email?

The trips of our ESN and Student Union partners will open for sale at an agreed time, you can ask your ESN section or Student Union for more details. Our mixed departures will be available soon. You can currently place a booking only on our web page using our booking system. We want to give everyone a fair chance to get a spot, and for that reason we are not able to take any reservations before the sale starts. You can, however, sign up for the waiting list and you will get notified by email as soon as the trip is open for sale.

Q: The trip is already sold out! Will there be more places?

Some of our trips are super popular and can sell out in less than an hour. We will constantly check with the destination whether we can open up more sports. We recommend that you sign up for the waiting list. Once there are more places available or someone cancels their trip, we will notify everyone in the list, giving everyone a fair chance to grab a spot. Also, check the website from time to time. We might not always manage to send out an e-mail before the spot is taken!

Q: How can I book extra activities? Can you add these and those for me?

If you have not booked any activities or still wish to add more activities to your trip, you are more than welcome to do so! And we can assure you that your trip will be even more fun with the added activities. You can pay for the extra activities directly online (credit card or paypal) or receive a new invoice to your email (payment by bank transfer).

Notice! Extra activities can only be booked online up to 2 days before the departure.
In order to add more activities to your trip booking, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your destination page: Saariselkä, Vasatokka, Levi
2. Choose the Extra Activities item with the starting date of your trip
3. Book the activities you want to add.
4. This is it!

Q: I want to cancel my reservation, how can I do it?

If you have not paid for your reservation yet, we can cancel your trip/extra activities without charges. If you have paid for your booking/extra activities already, please read the Terms of Cancellation to check if cancellation fees might be charged. You can find them here: Terms and conditions.

If you want to cancel extra activities, a cancellation fee of 20€ occurs per cancellation.

If you got sick prior to the departure, it is better stay home and not spread it to others. The long overnight bus trip and temperature changes during the journey usually makes sickness to get worse. In case of sickness contact immediately us by email: customerservice@timetravels.fi or by phone: +358104218990. Outside of office ours you can also send a text message to +358509121372. We will confirm the cancellation and contact guides, transportation company and local staff. Later on, visit the doctor and get an official statement. With this statement you should CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IN ORDER TO GET A REFUND FOR THE CANCELLED TRIP.

Q: I booked the wrong trip, what should I do? All of my friends go on a different trip!

Oh no! Send us a quick message explaining the situation. We will get back to you and try our best to sort out this situation! Sometimes, there might not be any possibility to make a switch if the trips are already fully booked. We understand that traveling with your friends is important to have a fun trip so therefore we will try to find all possible solutions for you!

While we are looking through the information and checking the possibilities, take a look at this relaxing video of Northern Lights in Lapland.

Q: I want to share the cabin/room with…

We will send an email with a cabin sign-up document to everyone who has signed up for the trip about a week prior to the departure. There you can choose in which cabin you would like to stay in and with whom you would like to share it with. If you don’t receive this email, please check your spam folder or contact our Customer Service Team.

Q: I have never received your emails. Is everything alright with my reservation?

If you haven’t receive any email, not even the confirmation email for your booking, please log into your customer account. From there you can check the status of your reservation. If your reservation is confirmed, please contact us, there might be a typo in your email address. If you have received the confirmation email but nothing else until a week before departure, please check your spam folder, our emails sometimes end up there. If you can’t find our emails there either you can send a ticket to our Help Desk. If you can’t access that either, send us a message and we will sort out where cyberspace sent them.

Most frequent reasons why the emails might get lost:
1.) They end up in the spam folder.
2.) Accidentally misspelling or writing the wrong email address.
3.) The payment failed and there is no valid booking.
Check with us and we will sort out the situation!

Q: My friend (non-student) from my home country would like to join me, is it ok? How can we book the trip for him/her?

Your friend is more than welcome to join this trip as well! As long as the trips isn’t sold out, of course. You can make the reservation for him/her through our booking system online. If your friend has a valid student or ESN card (doesn’t need to be a Finnish one), you can make the reservation with student price. Otherwise choose the non-student “Adult” option. The more the merrier!

Q: When will I receive all the information about the trip?

We will get in touch with you at least 10 days before the departure and send you the final message 2-3 days before the adventure starts to make sure that you are ready! We will send you information for everything you need to know about the trip program, accommodation, transportation and destination (and maybe some nice small surprises!). If you don’t receive these emails, please check your spam folder or contact us so that we can send you this information again straight to you!

Q: Will I get any form of ticket that I need to show for the trip?

We don’t hand out physical tickets for our trips. We have all the information needed from you. We will have a name list that we check before departure. As long as your trip is Confirmed in your customer account, the only thing you need to do is pack your stuff, remember your passport and other important documents (especially for trips to Russia) and tag along!

Q: What if the flight company cancels my connecting flight prior to departure?

If you have booked your flight tickets via Timetravels and the flight is cancelled or rescheduled so, that the delay with the replacing flight would be more than 5 hours, we are responsible to:

1. Refund the cost of the flight ticket +the trip if you would like to cancel your reservation.
2. Alternatively, offer replacing trip with the next flight (if available), depending on the rescheduling possibilities of the flight company we have used.
3. Ask flight company to arrange hotel accommodation if the trip is postponed by one day.
4. If the flight company cancels the flight without a proper force-majeure reason, such as terrorist attack, strike or weather conditions etc. you are entitled to seek for compensation directly from the flight company (250 €) using EU aviation authorities.

If you have booked the flight ticket on your own, Timetravels is not responsible for refunding costs for cancelled flight, a missed package tour or covering costs for postponing, rescheduling or any other possible costs.

Please note! On our normal student tours we do not offer the service to book the flights for you!

Payment

Q: How can I change the payment method in my reservation in my profile?

Currently, it is not possible for you to change the payment method in your booking by yourself. You will need some help from us. Send us a quick message and let us know what you need to have changed. We are happy to help you with this!

Please notice, that the only way to change the payment method to paypal or credit card is by cancelling your current reservation and then making a new one!

A quick tip! You can easily reorder your reservation by logging in to your Customer Account. Your previous bookings and customer information is already saved there.

Q: I want to pay by credit card, can I inform you the necessary details now and you’ll do it for me?

We don’t feel that it is safe to take any card information via phone or email. We are always thinking of your safety! All card payments should be made in a secured connection of a credit card association. You can either pay by card directly online or if you happen to be in the Helsinki or Tampere area, why not pay us a visit in one of our offices to pay for a reservation. We are always happy to help and also greet our Timetravelers personally!

Q: I received your reminder about the payment, but I can not pay in a bank because I don’t have an account in Finland!

In Finland it should be possible for you to do a bank transfer by cash in any bank close to you with the invoice sent to your email. Just print out the invoice and bring the required amount in cash to the bank closest to you. Even if you don’t have an account in the bank, they should be able to make the transfer for a small fee. If you can’t find the invoice in your email, check your spam folder or request a new one from us.

However, if you for some reason can’t make the payment in a bank and would prefer to pay by card, send us a message and we will try to figure out a way. Or if you happen to be in the Helsinki or Tampere area, come on over and say Hello! We will help you pay for your trip directly at the office. In the other nordic countries it is unfortunately not possible to transfer money in a bank, if you do not have a bank account in your host country. In that case, we will need to cancel your current reservation and you can try to book the trip again choosing the Credit Card/PayPal payment option.

Q: I made a reservation with Credit card/Paypal, but it ended up as pending or cancelled. What happened, do I have a reservation now?

Seems like something went wrong here and you unfortunately don’t have a valid reservation. This problem could be caused by:

1.) Exiting the payment page too early. Notice! When choosing the Credit card and Paypal payment option, you would be required to make the payment immediately! So make sure that you have everything you need close to you while booking.

2.) The credit card payment didn’t go through. The cause of this is often due to a weekly/monthly limit or a limit for payments abroad or you might get a access code to a phone number that you don’t use at the moment. Please check with your card issuer if there are any problems with the card.

If your booking is cancelled, just try to book again through your Customer account where you details are saved already. If your reservation is pending, please contact us so that we can cancel your pending booking for you to try again OR change the payment method to Bank Transfer. Hope you will succeed on your next attempt!

Q: How can I cancel my reservation?

Before cancelling, please check our Terms and conditions for possible cancellation fees. If you still want to cancel your reservation, please contact our Customer Service about your wish and let them know your reservation number. If you have not paid for your reservation yet, there will be no cancellation fees and we can just cancel your reservation and open the spot to another lucky traveller.

Q: Can I get a discount for the trip with my ESN Card?

All our trips offered for the ESN and Student Organization members are discounted as agreed with the organizations. Students get the best prices for all our destinations in Lapland and Russia. The special ESN card discount is already included if you purchase the trip from your local ESN section. If you have any further questions about the ESN card, please, check with the ESN section in your city. You are always welcome to check the rest of our products on www.timetravels.fi to discover other discounted trips!

Lapland

Q: Are there any meals included?

A: In order to get the trip price as low as possible, we stay in cottages with self-catering.
Lunches or breakfasts are not inclusive. There are good kitchen facilities in every cabin and groceries are not more expensive than in Southern Finland.

Cooking at the cottages
There are basic kitchen facilities in the living room of the cottages and dorms. Kitchens are equipped with plates, glasses, mugs, knives, stove, and fridge. The meals are not included, but we stop for buying groceries in Rovaniemi City market. You can for instance decide with your cabin group what you are going to cook together and share the groceries and costs. There is no oven in the cottages though, so don’t buy any groceries such as frozen pizzas, chickens etc.

Grocery shopping
We recommend to do all the shopping on the way to Lapland. Your groceries will not freeze in the trunk, unless we will get a -35 C temperature. In Kemi or Rovaniemi groceries can be way cheaper than in the Southern Finland. In Inari there is also a SIWA and K-market but no ALKO. If you would like to purchase beverages, please do it in Rovaniemi. You can save a lot of money, if you decide together with your roommates what would you like to cook together.

Q: Is there a possibility to travel by train?

A: Night train option is convenient only if using sleeping compartments, which is quite expensive.
Travelling on seats mean the same or less comfort than overnight bus trip according to our experience. Travelling by train is therefore not possible to be ordered in our tours, but if you want extra comfort you can book the train with sleeping cabin yourself at www.vr.fi and join the trip in Rovaniemi, for instance.

Q: We are a group of 8 people, can we stay in the same cabin? Should we book the trip together?

A: All rooming wishes will be taken into consideration. If you know your roommates when signing up,
just indicate their names in the message field but please notice – they will have to book and pay for
the same accommodation category to make this possible! If you want to book 8 places at once, you
should pay everything in one invoice. If it is not convenient for you, please do separate bookings.

Q: What should I bring with me?

A: At least the following:

Warm clothes: How to dress in Lapland
Swimming suite (unless you want to do it the Finnish way)
Anything else you may need during the trip, money, medicine etc.
Student card for discounts
Cash or credit card for program payments
A small pillow or a special neck cushion for the bus trip.
Flip flops for Arctic swimming and jumping in the snow after sauna
If you wish you can take your Snowboard or Skis with you!
Bedlinen or sleeping bag & Towels
Please pay attention, that sheets and bedlinen are not included! There are blankets, mattresses and pillows but you will have to bring your sleeping bag or bedlinen with you - and towels as well! Bedlinen and towels can also be rented at the Reception at the cost of around 10-15 €/set/person/stay.

Q: What if there is no snow?

A: The reason why we use North Lapland as our main destinations, is the fact that with high
possibility there is plenty of snow there starting from the beginning of November. However, we
cannot take responsibility for the weather conditions. If the snow depth will not allow to perform
some activity, we will offer a substitute or possibility to have full refund for it.

The company arranging to snowmobile safaris will from now on require credits cards to be left as deposit when attending this tour. We would kindly remind, that causing damage to snowmobile by crashing it towards a tree is not only dangerous but has to be compensated with minimum deductible 850 EUR to the event organizer. If you will follow guides instructions and stick with the group nothing bad will happen. Safari organizer will collect credit cards as deposit during this activity.

Q: Should I go to Lapland in fall or spring semester?

A: Spring semester is of course more enjoyable because there is more snow and more sunlight. Due to its popularity, the spring semester is slightly more expensive. If you can choose, we recommend traveling in February, March or early April. During fall semester there is a small risk of having less snow. Besides, the short period of daylight brings some restrictions to the schedule, for instance early wakings in the morning.

Q: Is there WIFI in the cottages?

For Levi, please check the list of free WiFi spots

In Vasatokka there is a wifi-connection and one client computer in the Vasatokka main building. Please notice, that there is no WIFI or internet in the cottages, but some of the dorm rooms in the main building may catch the Vasatokka WiFi signal.

In Saariselkä there is a wifi-connection in the SIULA building, about 1,5 km from the cottages. You can chill in SAIVU cafe which is on the 2d floor and check your emails or facebook. Please note, that there is no WI-FI or internet in the cabins.

Other Answers you might be looking for:

1. All mobile phones work normally in Lapland
2. There is all kitchen equipment, forks, knives etc. in the cabins as well as toilet paper, soap, dishing liquids etc.
3. Buy ONLY groceries, salt, sugar, spices, but not frozen pizzas or anything which requires an oven!
4. Best place to do shopping is in Rovaniemi or Kemi (on outward journey) - There will be CITY MARKET and Alko. In Levi you can find S-market and K-market. Grocery stores are open everyday till 9 pm. In Saariselkä there is also a K-market and a Siwa for last minute shooping. In Vasatokka there are no shops around, the closest shop is in Inari about 10km away from the Vasatokka youth center.
5. Prepaid activities are considered as tour package so there is no partial refunds, if you have changed your mind! You can still sell your place for some of the activities to someone else.
6. If something goes wrong, immediately contact the Timetravels Tour Leader(s). They will do all their best to solve your matter.
7. The bus trip will be overnight from Helsinki to Lapland, so we recommend taking a sleeping pillow with you.

GROUND TERMS AND RULES in Lapland

1. Please do not be late for the departure point. Programs start in the described time and if you are late, you may miss them. These cases are no subject to refund of any kind.
2. Please do not damage anyone’s property and clean the cottages and rooms properly before departure. Fee for extra cleaning is 120 €.
3. Please do not smoke in the cottages and in the dorm room. This is subject to penalty fee 100 €.
4. Please do not take any items from the cottages, especially pillows, mattresses etc.
5. Please avoid illicit behaviour and making too much noise in night time. Should you get warned by your neighbours or our staff you must quit immediately.
6. Tour operator has right to require payment for caused damage in proven cases and terminate a tour with no possibility to refund for passengers, not complying to these rules.

Russia

Q: I have to renew my passport. Can I still book the trip if I get my new passport a few days before the trip? How can I book the trip without its number?

For our Visa-free trip to St.Petersburg you can make a booking by just filling in zeros at the passport number and expiry date, so that we know that you have a new passport on the way. Make sure to send us your new, correct passport number and expiry date latest one week before the trip, so that we can put in the new and correct passport information when sending it to the ferry company.

Notice! Other documents than passport e.g. EU ID cards, are NOT VALID for travelling to Russia! When joining our Grand Russia trip we need your valid passport latest 3 weeks before departure in order to apply for the Visa for you!

Q: My passport expires in a month after the trip, can I still go to St.Petersburg with a visa-free cruise?

Before going to Russia we highly recommend you to check your passport. According to the rules, established by the Russian Federation, everyone traveling to Russia needs to have a passport which is valid at least 6 months after the trip. If your passport doesn't meet this criteria, we would advice you to renew it. This way you will have the best possibilities for a trouble free border crossing. Please contact your closest embassy or consulate for more information on how to renew a passport. Also, almost all non EU/EEA citizens must have a residence permit card to be able to enter Russia.

We have had cases, when a EU-citizen has been able to cross the border with a passport which has been valid at least 3 months after the trip. However these cases are always decided individually by the Russian border officers and there is no way a travel agency can affect their decision. However we need to inform you about the risk that there is the possibility that the Russian officials might not grant you entry into Russia. If the Russian border officials deny you entry into the country, neither Timetravels Ltd. or the ferry company can offer any refund and you will unfortunately be responsible for your own return home. We wouldn't like to see this happening to any of our travelers, so therefore we hope that you would follow our recommendations.

Now, remember to take your valid passport (and your residence permit card) with you and see you in St. Petersburg!

Q: What do I need to bring with me?

Your student card ( for museums etc.)
Some money in cash - € 25 worth of Roubles for the first day
Warm clothes
Good sense of humor (you will need it in Russia!)
If you are a holder of Finnish residence permit card, you should take it with you as well

GROUND TERMS AND RULES for Russia

Please do not be late for the departure point. Programs start in the described time and if you are late, you may miss them. These cases are no subject to refund of any kind.
Please do not damage anyone’s property and clean the cottages and rooms properly before departure. Fee for extra cleaning is 120 €.
Please do not smoke in the accommodation and inside the ferry. This is subject to penalty fee 100 €.
Please do not take any items from the ferry or hotel rooms, especially pillows, mattresses etc.
Please avoid illicit behaviour and making too much noise at night time. Should you get warned by your neighbours or our staff you must quit immediately.
Tour operator has right to require payment for caused damage in proven cases and terminate a tour with no possibility to refund for passengers, not complying to these rules.

Q: Is there a risk that I don't get a visa to Russia? What is the procedure?

GETTING THE RUSSIAN VISA

We gaurantee you full refund if you don't get a visa!

Getting the Russian visa is easy via Timetravels! We’ll guide you through the process and take care of the majority of the paperwork. We will give you full refund for the booked trip if your visa application gets rejected after you have provided all the required documents to us in time!

VISA FREEDOM FOR CERTAIN NATIONALITIES

If you are a holder of a passport of one of the following countries, you can travel to Russia without visa! ARGENTINA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BELARUS, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, COLOMBIA, CUBA, HONG KONG, ISRAEL, MACEDONIA, MOLDOVA, MONTENEGRO, NICARAGUA, PERU, RUSSIA, SERBIA, THAILAND, UKRAINE, VENEZUELA

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Average price for the visa procedure is 80 € (incl. our service fee 10 €). Consular fees vary by nationalities according to what kind of agreement the country has with the Russian Federation. You can check the price for your country by clicking the “Book this trip" button and choosing your country from the list under VISA SERVICE.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

The visa procedure takes about 9-15 days before the trip date. Make sure you have possibility to hand over your documents for the entire time of the visa processing. We will return the passport with visa back to you at the start of the trip.

WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I NEED TO APPLY FOR THE RUSSIAN VISA?

For EU CITIZENS!

PASSPORT - in good condition and valid at least 6 months after the last day of the trip!
ONE PHOTO - passport sized photo for the visa application form done in the studio or passport picture booth (not a photocopy or self-printed one).
VISA APPLICATION FOR - filled in correctly! Please wait for the instructions sent by Timetravels about 4 weeks before departure to fill in the application form!

For CITIZENS OF CANADA, US, UK, IRELAND, SINGAPORE, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CHINA, MEXICO and JAPAN + DENMARK

Documents for EU citizens +

A COPY OF THE STUDENT CERTIFICATE from your host school in an EU country. You can get this document for free from university registree's or international office.

If you don’t see your country in the list of options, please, contact our customer service - we will assist with the booking.

SO HOW DO I GET THE VISA WITH TIMETRAVELS?

Check that you have the required documents listed above.
Book the trip! Choose country of your citizenship in the VISA SERVICE field.
Congratulations! We’ll send you further instructions by EMAIL about 4 weeks before your trip.
ONLY AFTER you get detailed instructions from us, fill in the visa-application form online (you will be provided with a link to the online form by email together with the instructions)
Deliver your documents to our office in Helsinki or Tampereor send them by post (detailed information will be provided by email).

If the trip is organized in co-operation with your University's Student Union or ESN section, we might hold a travel info meeting for collecting the documents at your university. You would be informed about the meeting by email!
If you study outside Finland and wish to apply for a visa in your country by yourself we could provide you with visa support documents - contact our customer service.

6. Come to the trip departure place and get your passport with a brand new Russian Visa!

Q: Should I change some cash now?

We recommend that you change about 20-25€ for the first day in Russia. That should be an sufficient amount to get by for one day.You might need some cash to buy lunch since cards are not always accepted. When in Russia you can change the rest of your euros as the rate is usually better there. Our Tour Leaders will provide the best info on exchange rates and best places to do so. Looking for a currency converter? Here is one with up to date information and even some tips when traveling.