Finland winter activity holiday
| country: | Finland |
| location: | Oulanka National Park |
| departures: | 2010: 17 Jan, 24 Jan, 31 Jan, 7 Feb, 14 Feb, 21 Feb, 28 Feb, 7 Mar, 14 Mar, 21 Mar, 28 Mar, 5 Apr, 12 Dec, 19 Dec, 26 Dec |
| price: | From £1279 - £1499 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £999 - £1149 excluding flights. Single supplement £120. |
| more info: | Price includes: Non-stop charter flight from Gatwick to Kuusamo, airport transfers, all breakfasts and dinners, 7 nights half board accommodation, activities, use of snowshoes, cross-country skis and toboggans, guides and instructors for all activities. Group size: Min. 6, max. 20. Minimum age 16 |
| late availability: | We still have places available on the 20th December departure! |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Basecamp Oulanka, our 'wilderness camp', is a lovely complex of wooden buildings providing comfortable and cosy accommodation in a stunning location overlooking a lake, and backing on to the Oulanka National Park. During the stay we include a varied programme of activities including dogsledding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. We also enjoy a full day of wilderness skills with the opportunity to stay in your own quinzee and learn the techniques of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing passing frozen waterfalls and the beautiful Kitkajoki River. A highlight of the trip is dogsledding through the silent snow-caked forests of the Riisitunturi National Park in Lapland. Free time can be spent using the cross-country skis or snowshoe equipment available at the lodge, or in the sauna and hot-tub. The ski resort of Ruka is a 20 minute taxi ride away - for a night out, snowmobile safari or a day of downhill skiing (all optional).
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly from Gatwick to Kuusamo, transfer to Basecamp Oulanka (approx 45 mins). |
| Day 2: | Snowshoe hike in national park; free afternoon. |
| Day 3: | Cross-country skiing in the morning; free afternoon. |
| Day 4: | Half-day dogsledding instruction and tour (about 10 km); optional ice-climbing school. |
| Day 5: | Free day in Ruka. Morning option of snowmobile safari including lunch by a campfire en route; afternoon option of downhill skiing. |
| Day 6: | Full day of wilderness skills including igloo building and fire-making in teams of four; option to spend night in the igloo. |
| Day 7: | Free day. Optional activities include ice-climbing, further dogsledding or snowmobiling and downhill skiing at Ruka. We take dinner in a teepee, cooked over an open fire. |
| Day 8: | Transfer to Kuusamo; fly Kuusamo to Gatwick. |
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. how this holiday makes a difference
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We have been organising tours in the Oulanka National Park since 2005 and our team at Basecamp Oulanka looks after all our clients travelling to this area of Finland. As well as operating our trips in one of the PAN Parks network, Basecamp Oulanka are a PAN Parks certified local partner and we all share a commitment to sustainable development and the PAN Parks idea.
PAN Parks is a Europe-wide organisation, and to be part of the PAN Parks network, a protected area must cover a core area of 10,000 hectares. These areas are officially classified as true wilderness and range from the Oulanka National Park in Finnish Lapland to Rila National Park (Bulgaria), Retezat in Romania and Borjomi-Kharagauli in Georgia. We have been supporting the PAN Parks network since the second season of working in the Oulanka National Park (2006). For each booking on this holiday we give €20 and over the past few years we've managed to raise enough money to build a visitor centre in Retezat NP (Romania) and develop an eco-trail in Rila NP (Bulgaria). All our activities on this trip do not disturb the nature of the area nor create pollution whilst all the equipment and full arctic clothing is provided so it is not necessary to purchase expensive clothing. The accommodation is made from the logs of the forest 50km away and the heating system uses energy from the local forests. A range of dishes from elk to reindeer and salmon is produced in the kitchen and is all local produce. |
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. |