Brekke Tours traces its origin to the late 1950's when Arne Brekke, a student from Norway, worked his way through graduate school in America by conducting summer tours in Europe. In 1967 Arne Brekke organized the first charter flight from Fargo, North Dakota to Oslo, Norway, for the Sons of Norway. With the onset of public charters in 1982, the market expanded and flights were opened to the genera
l public. Mpls/St.Paul served as a base for the charters, and a large number of Scandinavian-Americans from the Midwest, as well as the western states, joined our flights. In recent years, charters have been offered on a limited basis due to lower airfares and greater flexibility provided by scheduled service. In addition to providing independent travelers to Scandinavia with numerous travel options, Brekke also offers a variety of escorted tour packages. Brekke Tours is currently serving as a tour operator and destination specialist to Scandinavia. After designing our own itineraries, we package and market our product on a national basis. The diverse tour itineraries encompassing Norway include visits to areas (i.e. Kristiansand, Stavanger, Trondheim, the Valdres Valley, etc.) which are not always presented in other tour programs. In cooperation with local Norwegian cultural directors, persons engaged in emigration research, and organizations promoting Norwegian-American relations, Brekke Tours annually features one or more heritage tours to various regions of Norway. Heritage tours have been offered to Møre / Romsdal, Telemark, Hardanger, Hallingdal Rogaland, Numedal, Trøndelag, and Gudbrandsdal and are now being offered on an annual basis to Sogn, Voss, and Valdres. Brekke Tours has extensive information on all aspects of Norway: the location of all farms; detailed information on the 448 municipalities (herreds- and bykommuner); current information on persons employed in the municipalities, i.e. mayors and cultural directors; current phone and fax guides; encyclopedias; and access to the latest genealogical information. Brekke Tours makes extensive use of the Scandinavian languages, especially Norwegian & Icelandic, and is thus able to convey information that is generally not available in English. With a varied assortment of English language brochures on numerous regions and hotels in Norway, we are also able to provide clients with detailed information on specific areas of interest. With extensive experience in group travel, knowledge of the Scandinavian languages and people, Brekke Tours receives numerous inquiries for assistance in designing tour itineraries for organizations, families and group leaders. Brekke Tours also designs tours in the Midwest and the United States for Scandinavians and other interested groups. Based on the company's close ties to Norway, we are pleased to combine our love of travel, our enthusiasm for Scandinavia and the Midwest, with our work. We truly enjoy sharing the information, experience and wisdom we have gathered through the years as a tour operator. We would be happy to assist with travel arrangements here at home in the Midwest or to our favorite corner of the world - Scandinavia. For further information contact...your Scandinavian travel specialist!
