Sidetracked Adventures -

Charlotte Robins

I had the best time on the Sidetracked Wild Cooking Kayaking Adventure, memories to last a lifetime.

It was an adventure, kayaking through stunning scenery and landscapes, each island has its own unique charm. We were treated to wonderful wildlife sightings, the best being 3 Osprey birds circling us. Chris was an amazing guide, sharing all his local wisdom with us and guiding us to the most incredible spots every time. He was so patient with everyone and always helping us all with our kayaking and wilderness skills, making it a truly special trip. On top of that we had Will cooking up a storm for us at every meal time, the food was honestly the next level. It was way above my expectations and just down right delicious all the time.

All in all in was an incredible trip, all the people were wonderful, the atmosphere at camp and during the long days of kayaking was brilliant. I felt very safe joining this group as a solo traveler. Honestly I couldn't recommend this trip more highly to anyone!

KT akers

I took part in Sidetracked Wild Cooking kayak adventure exploring the Helsinki archipelago. From start to finish it was an unforgettable experience. The landscape was more diverse and beautiful than I had expected. Each new island offered a new type of landscape and experience from sandy beaches, saunas and sea swimming to jetty echoes.
Chris was a wonderful guide sharing his knowledge, experience and obvious love of Finnish wildlife. His patience enabled everyone in the group to experience success whether it was spoon whittling or kayaking bigger distances. The diverse group were encouraged to work together creating a lovely atmosphere of support and camaraderie. Although the kayaking was sometimes a challenge there was always something new to see around the next bend be it hidden inlets of summer houses or ospreys feeding their young.
All this would have made a fabulous week but we also had the added delight of Will’s amazing campfire cooking. I’m not sure how he produced so many delicious dishes with only a small number of ingredients, cooking on a different campfire every time. I have already recommended the experience to lots of my friends and hope to join Sidetracked for another adventure in the future. Thanks to all involved

Rob Day

A truly unforgettable trip kayaking around the Finnish Archipelago. It was a real adventure exploring and embracing island life. Chris was an excellent guide, sharing all his knowledge about Finland, kayaking, and wilderness skills - always making sure the whole group was catered for. There aren't enough words to describe sitting down to Will's incredible food at the end of a long day. Together they created a fantastic, welcoming atmosphere and as a solo traveller, it felt like I'd known everyone for years. I can't recommend the trip enough.

Ray Smith

Kayaking in the Finnish archipelago for a week with a professional chef and a highly knowledgeable guide was possibly the best trip I've ever done. Chris and Will have an infectious enthusiasm and are able to keep everyone's spirits high even when we were putting up tents in the rain. Will's cooking is on another level, I haven't eaten so well ever, I came home with a full bag of snacks because I didn't need them. Chris and Will's relationship is hilarious and had us all in stitches constantly. The group comradery was incredible and the day we pushed the furthest and went "beyond the wall" (off the map) was incredible.
I cannot rave about this trip enough. Brilliant organisation, just the right level of challenge - 11 out of 10.

Clare

Had an absolutely fantastic time on the Arctic Wilderness Skills trip in March with a great group of people.
Each day was different, from cutting trail through pristine snow in the woods to skiing on the wide frozen river.

The whole trip exceeded my expectations, the food was superb and plentiful.
Chris was so friendly, knowledgeable and his enjoyment and enthusiasm for the Arctic wilderness is infectious.

Had so many enjoyable and “first” experiences on this trip, seeing the Northern Lights, sleeping in Kotas, making fire from scratch, but the most memorable one for me was digging a snow hole on the ice on our last night and sleeping under the stars, was an incredible experience and one I’ll never forget.

Can highly recommend Sidetracked Adventures and I’ll definitely be signing up for more in the future!

Beatrice Payette

Spent two weeks in Lapland with Sidetracked, doing the Hut to Hut and the Lapland Adventures week and could not recommend this enough! The two different trip formats are perfect for different levels of comfort and experience in the outdoors. Everyone who works for the company is lovely, experienced and made an already amazing experience perfect

Wallace

Highly recommend Sophie and her Sidetracked team.

Our guide, Chris, was excellent, clearly knowledgeable, personable, always encouraging and provided recommendations. Nothing was too much to ask. Also had the bonus of having our very own wilderness chef, Will, cooking over open fire, and talented photographer, Anna, which were unexpected but very welcome. Food was first class, restaurant quality. Photos were first rate and would not have been possible without Anna.

Activities were varied, great fun, and provided a great taster to exploring the Arctic. Personal highlight was the skiing over the Finnish Fells with the most beautiful sky I have ever seen. Words cannot do its justice.

Bonus was that on the overnight trip to the wilderness cabin, we also saw the northern lights (picture included. And credit to @annablackwell) and not long after, I proposed to my girlfriend who said YES! This capped off a dreamy once in a lifetime trip.

Hayley Roberts

Booked on to do the Lapland adventure - it was everything I thought it would be and so much more. We had an excellent guide for the week, who made us all feel so welcome. Great knowledge of the area, offered great support while doing the activities. We were unfortunate with the weather and unable to do the overnight ski trip, however we did get to go on a hike and feed some reindeers as an alternative and then visit a local sauna and pool for a cold dip. The whole trip was excellent, the accommodation and our fabulous guide Lotta. I will be booking again. Lapland is beautiful - so much more to see.