Finland dogsledding holiday
| country: | Finland |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2010: 17 Jan, 24 Jan, 7 Feb, 14 Feb |
| price: | From £1969 - £2049 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £1799 excluding flights. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 1 travellers review
the amazing things you'll be doing
There is something very special about travelling by dogsled. Once running the dogs need little care, leaving the 'musher' free to enjoy the scenery and the silence. During the week you will learn how to harness and feed your own team of huskies. Our guide will also teach you how to drive the sled and care for the dogs before beginning your safari through the serene snowy landscape. Once on the trail the teams can travel up to 20 kilometres per hour, so you'll need to learn to take the corners. On this exciting trip we take a five-day expedition, travelling from cabin to cabin, staying in a variety of wilderness cottages. Our tour begins in Finnish Lapland, in the region of Kuusamo, just south of the Arctic Circle and close to the Russian border. After mushing along the Finnish Frontier Zone Trail we continue through the wilderness and snow-covered forests of Lapland and the Oulanka National Park before bidding farewell to our faithful dogs.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly from Gatwick to Kuusamo; transfer to Motel Rukatupa (30min). |
| Day 2: | Transfer to the Era-Susi husky farm in Ruka and begin our five-day cabin-to-cabin dogsled expedition. We start with instruction and getting to know the dogs, followed by a 27 km tour along the Finnish Frontier Zone Trail towards Russia. |
| Day 3: | A longer tour, approx 45 km, as we head further north to Salla and our accommodation for the next 2 nights at Hirvasvaara Wilderness Hostel. |
| Day 4: | Long day tour, returning to Hirvasvaara. |
| Day 5: | Continue the trip with a 40km journey to the Kayla area. |
| Day 6: | Final day of dogsledding from Kayla to Ruka. |
| Day 7: | Free day at Rukatupa; there is an optional snowmobile safari, snowshoe hike, reindeer safari or downhill skiing at nearby Ruka. |
| Day 8: | Transfer to Kuusamo airport; fly from Kuusamo to Gatwick. |
travellers' tales
The most memorable part of the holiday was how beautiful and peaceful Finland was where we were staying and how peaceful and quiet the sled dogs were once they were working... The best holiday we have ever been on as a family. (more)
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. award winner
This tourism business won an award in our 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical, Magazine of the Royal Geographical Societyhow this holiday makes a difference
|
Our whole ethos of an 'snow' holiday is about promoting alternative versions of winter tourism that use nature in its unspoilt condition, rather than seeking to alter it. We use small villages and family run hotels, chosen for their access to unspoilt mountain terrain, rather than number of lifts and resort facilities.
Many peoples experience of dogsledding is a 15 minute excursion from Santa Park in Rovaniemi, the highly commercial pre-Christmas Lapland destination. For a real dogsledding experience, 'mush' your own team on an extended journey through the Arctic wilderness, with nights in log cabins. Our groups stay in a small rural guesthouse on the edge of the wilderness in remote North Karelia, and spend the week learning to drive their own dog teams in groups with a maximum of just 8 people. We will ensure that our operations do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people so we ensure that our type and scale of tourism is appropriate to local conditions and operate within the limits set by local appropriate infrastructure and carrying capacity. We have teamed up with Friends of Conservation to support projects at Ranthambore, India, Nava Kiran Orphanage, Nepal and on the edge of the Masai Mara, Kenya. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |