Family multi activity week in Finland
| country: | Finland |
| location: | Finnish Lapland, Arctic Circle |
| departures: | 2009: 13 Dec, 20 Dec, 27 Dec 2010: 14 Feb, 4 Apr |
| price: | From £1495 - £1775 (8 days) per adult and £995 - £1195 per child (under 12 yrs) including flights from the UK. Price is based on 2 adults sharing. Includes accommodation, half board, transfers, thermal clothing, equipment, activities and guides |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 1 travellers review
the amazing things you'll be doing
Snow Business
Kuusamo town is situated in the north-eastern part of Finland, the province of Oulu about 800 kilometres from Helsinki. Known for its natural beauty, Kuusamo Lapland is characterised by fells, forests, lakes and rivers. From the top of the fells, the white wilderness stretches as far as the eye can see. Most importantly the snow generally starts falling as early as October and lies until early May.
Accommodation
The Kuusamon Tropikki is probably the most family friendly accommodation we’ve come across in Finland. With pool and spa facilities inside and a seemingly endless winter playground outside, there is little danger of boredom setting in.
The hotel is a winter oasis combining warmth, relaxation and comfort, the perfect retreat after a day of winter activities. It has has 142 comfortable rooms of a high standard. Each room has its own colour TV complete with satellite channels and minibar. Also included are bath towels and bathrobes, sandals and hairdryer.
The hotel has superb pool, spa and treatment facilities. The pool complex consists of two jacuzzis, a sun cave, a 45-metre waterslide with tunnels, a massaging 10 metre-wide waterfall, water jet massage stations, a resistance current river, and of course a pool bar. For younger swimmers, the children’s pool offers a safe haven for splashing around as well as infant swimming.
In addition, there is a ten pin bowling alley as well as tennis and badminton courts. You also have a choice of three restaurants: Café Piazza, The Mango Restaurant and the Sports Bar. Regular buses run from the hotel to Ruka’s ski slopes taking 25 minutes each way.
Supplements include:
Kuusamo town is situated in the north-eastern part of Finland, the province of Oulu about 800 kilometres from Helsinki. Known for its natural beauty, Kuusamo Lapland is characterised by fells, forests, lakes and rivers. From the top of the fells, the white wilderness stretches as far as the eye can see. Most importantly the snow generally starts falling as early as October and lies until early May.
Accommodation
The Kuusamon Tropikki is probably the most family friendly accommodation we’ve come across in Finland. With pool and spa facilities inside and a seemingly endless winter playground outside, there is little danger of boredom setting in.
The hotel is a winter oasis combining warmth, relaxation and comfort, the perfect retreat after a day of winter activities. It has has 142 comfortable rooms of a high standard. Each room has its own colour TV complete with satellite channels and minibar. Also included are bath towels and bathrobes, sandals and hairdryer.
The hotel has superb pool, spa and treatment facilities. The pool complex consists of two jacuzzis, a sun cave, a 45-metre waterslide with tunnels, a massaging 10 metre-wide waterfall, water jet massage stations, a resistance current river, and of course a pool bar. For younger swimmers, the children’s pool offers a safe haven for splashing around as well as infant swimming.
In addition, there is a ten pin bowling alley as well as tennis and badminton courts. You also have a choice of three restaurants: Café Piazza, The Mango Restaurant and the Sports Bar. Regular buses run from the hotel to Ruka’s ski slopes taking 25 minutes each way.
Supplements include:
- An afternoon with Father Christmas - £45
- Manchester departure - £40
- Single occupancy (standard bedroom) - £190
- Single snowmobile (adults only) - £30
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flights, arrival and introduction. Your multi-activity holiday starts with a five minute transfer from the airport to the hotel. |
| Day 2: | Snowmobile safari. We keep going on about how vast the landscapes are here in Kuusamo Lapland so here’s your chance to experience it yourself. After initial tuition your 30km snowmobile safari allows you to marvel at the magical wilderness. Lunch is included. |
| Day 3: | Snowshoe hike on Ruka Fell. This enjoyable trip starts with a ride up the fell on a ski lift and you can hardly fail to be amazed by the breathtaking views that greet you at the summit. Your snowshoe trek is almost all downhill as you descend slowly through the winter forest. |
| Day 4: | Husky safari. A husky safari is invariably one of the main reasons families take a winter activity holiday. It’s a shame then that so many companies advertise dog sledding and then "treat" you to a pitifully short five minute taster session. Our safari is 20km in distance and amounts to approximately 2 hours out on the trail. It’s the genuine article, enjoy! |
| Day 5: | Reindeer Farm and starlight sleigh ride. This morning you will be transferred by car to a local reindeer farm where the herder will be waiting to greet you. He’ll show you the animals and tell you about their importance in this part of the world. You’ll also get the chance to take the reins on a short reindeer pulled-sleigh ride before enjoying a snack in a traditional Finnish kota. The afternoon is free but this evening we head out into the darkness on an unforgettable nightfall sleigh ride. Pulled by a snowmobile, your sleigh will cross majestic Ruka Fell to the winter camp at Vuosseli. There’s no need to remind you to keep looking skyward for the Aurora. A campfire snack is included. |
| Day 6: | Ice Fishing by snowmobile. You are back on the snowmobiles this afternoon crossing the varied winter terrain to one of the region’s numerous frozen lakes. Your guide will help you drill through the thick ice and teach you the art of ice fishing. A snack and warm drink are included. |
| Day 7: | Santa's winter cottage. Santa lives in a lakeside cottage. We organise tobogganing on the snowy slopes before going indoors to meet Santa and his helpers. You will bake gingerbread and sweet buns and make Christmas cards before the children get to chat with Santa and receive a small gift from their hero. A genuine and intimate audience with the great man and a magic moment for children and parents alike. |
| Day 8: | Departures, transfers and flights. |
travellers' tales
The most memorable feature of the holiday - to the average city-dwelling Brit - was the landscape. Forests and frozen lakes, big skies and 18-hours of daylight - our girls were convinced they were in Narnia (the thaw suggesting Aslan would arrive soon). (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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The common objective of North East Finland, including the Kuusamo and Ruka municipalities, is to develop from nationally well-known tourist resorts into an internationally attractive outdoor tourist region. Tourism is the most vital industry in the area and gives work to about 1000 people generating an annual total tourist income of over 104 million.
 Tourism has a positive impact both socially and economically on people living in these remote areas. Local authorities, tourism organizations and tourism providers all work together in various fields, continuously developing programmes which will ensure that tourism in the region is managed sensibly and impacts positively on local communities and the environment. The philosophy in the region is to ensure that tourism providers use, to the greatest extent possible, local providers, be it for hotels, activities or employment and visitors are positively encouraged to try locally produced food and drink. Where activities such as snowmobiling may have a minor impact on the environment, such pastimes are carefully managed and are part of every day life in these parts. Trails are clearly defined and managed with tourists only allowed to drive snowmobiles under the close supervision of fully qualified instructors. We adopt the same philosophy in this region, using locally or Finnish owned hotels and activity partners based in Ruka or Kuusamo hence ensuring that the local community benefits. |
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. |