Month in Review: May

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Last updated:
30.05.2018

It's the last day of Spring, so as everyone else is doing their last preparation works for summer, we would also like to jump on the bandwagon and take care of one last thing - evaluate how May compares to previous months.

So, welcome back to our monthly segment on the Firebird blog - Month in Review, where we count how many itineraries we crafted, analyze which destinations were among our travelers' favorites, share updates from the blog and see what our travelers had to say during the month of May!

Top destinations in May

While we enjoyed the warmer weather, our travelers continued to explore the same destinations as featured in the previous two months' reviews. Simply because Spring is a great time to uncover the beauty of these corners of Europe:

  • Russia - wandering the two capitals in May is the last chance to do it at ease, avoiding crowds of tourists coming in summer;
  • Scandinavia - cruising around fjords is enhanced by the warm breeze of May;
  • Trans-Siberian tours - witnessing changing landscapes, magnificent Russian towns, breathtaking churches while crossing one-third of the world is arguably the most pleasant in Spring;
  • Baltic States - discovering the green forests and beautiful lakes, cobbled Old Town streets, and fascinating capitals of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is complemented by May's sunshine.

Most popular tours of the month

May brought an urge in travelers to explore Europe right left and center with a multi-country tour, which includes visits to Austria, Hungary, and Budapest topping the list of the best-sellers this month. Among them, we also see that the love that our travelers have for Italy hasn't faded at all as a tour to the sunny destination remains chart leader:

  • Definite Norway - many travelers are already making plans to visit Norway in 2019, taking an advantage of the early bird discount;
  • Venice to Amalfi Coast tour - the iconic path from the city of canals to breathtaking Italian coast line is the journey many want to make;
  • Imperial Europe - a lot of adventurers wanted to see the real essence of Central Europe and booked a multi-country tour, which will let them explore Prague, Budapest and Vienna in one trip.

Itineraries created: 1,646

We believe in the power of a travel itinerary. It's important to ask for one even if you are not 100 percent set on where you would like to travel. It will give you an understanding of how long you should stay in one place, what you can visit and how to manage your time better. Our destination specialist will happily design an itinerary based on your travel preferences as they did for 1646 travelers this month. Also, if you decide to travel, your trip itinerary will become a true travel necessity, to which you can always refer to for important information regarding your trip - details of your planned activities, hotels, and transportation. Ready to ask for one? Contact your specialist.

Top blog posts of the month

If you like reading our travel blog, then we are pretty sure you already heard that we have been nominated for World Travel Awards with our project Travel All Russia in "Russia's Leading Travel Agency" category. We also shared some hotel inspiration in our post about unusual hotel experiences you can have if you visit Scandinavia. For our readers who enjoy sunny holidays, we also gave a cheat-sheet for top spots in Europe to soak in the sun in our post called "Where to Look For Sun in Europe".

Moreover, travelers who are intrigued by the idea of exploring Russia got a chance to get to know this culture a bit better with a post of "Great Inventions by Russians" and got some real travel inspiration with a list of "Top 7 Russian Palaces" on Travel All Russia's blog. Make sure to check out the latest blog post about traveling on "Trans-Siberian train: Expectations vs Reality". Do you keep up with our Youtube channel? Here's the latest addition - the third part of our Russian river cruise series:

New extensions, tours added in May

As they say in Russia, you have to prepare your skis in summer and horse carriage in winter, so in short - you have to plan well in advance! Over the course of last month, we did just that and designed the perfect winter tour in Iceland. With this tour, you can experience the magic of the cold season in an often overlooked part of Scandinavia - Iceland. Prepare to be astonished by the beauty of Northern Lights, which you will witness during an unforgettable cruise and relax in the warm geothermal seawater surrounded by a surreal lava field in the popular Blue Lagoon.

If you would like to explore a bit more of Northern Europe, then we have some good news! We have recently revamped our Viking Heritage Tour of Scandinavia. During this program, you have a chance to discover the charm of three beautiful countries in one go - Denmark,, Norway, and Sweden and learn about the Viking history that these places preserve. Moreover, if you wish to travel to Europe in fall, then make sure to check out our popular small group Imperial Europe tour while the September departure is still available.

Review of the month

This month we would like to share our traveler Leigh's review about her trip to Norway:

"My husband and I took a trip to Norway in March to see the country and the Northern Lights. After looking at various places to visit, a "Firebird Tours" notice popped up. We looked at it, thought about it, looked at reviews and decided to go for it. We were not disappointed in the least. Firebird set up all of the transportation within the country, the hotels, and the tours. All went without a hitch! Excellent tours, upgraded hotels for just the to of us - no group tour. We would book with Firebird again in a flash! Thank you so much for such a memorable trip." - Leigh Rollins via Trustpilot

To sum up, May was a great ending to the blooming season and we are excited to see what challenges the start of summer will bring!