Winter sports activity week in Finland
| country: | Arctic Circle, Finland |
| location: | Finnish Lapland, Northern Lights |
| departures: | 2008: 21 Dec, 28 Dec 2009: 11 Jan, 25 Jan, 8 Feb, 15 Feb, 8 Mar, 29 Mar, 5 Apr |
| price: | From £1330 - £1475 (8 days) including flights from the UK. This trip can also be booked without flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Experience nature as never before. Here, the Arctic Circle creates its own light, which varies in hue and intensity during each season of the year. In the winter, you can feel the magic of Lapland when the sun stays low and Northern Lights dance across the heavens. From fell summits, the landscape reflects thousands of snow white shades in the winter light, while thousands of brilliant stars twinkle down on you from the wide-open sky above.
Accommodation
The ideal choice for combining Nordic & Alpine activities. Our hotel is probably Finland’s best ski-in/ski-out hotel and enjoys a fabulous location in Ruka’s main square. This central position means it is no more than 50 metres to the ski centre and nearest ski lift as well as making all of Ruka’s facilities, bars and restaurants easily accessible. The hotel has 180 rooms in total, all of which have en-suite shower rooms, air-conditioning, TV, mini-bar, pay per view video channel, hair dryer and clothes drying cupboards. The hotel has two restaurants serving international cuisine but with local produce very much to the fore. Evening entertainment includes live music and dancing. Additional facilities include 3 saunas (free to guests), bars and a sound-proofed basement night club.
Price includes return flights and airport transfers, 7 nights accommodation, 7 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 dinner, snowmobile safari, snowshoe fell hike, starlight sleigh ride, husky safari, reindeer farm, ice fishing by snowmobile, river floating, all equipment including thermo-overalls, socks, mittens, boots and warm hat and fully qualified guides and instructors.
Accommodation
The ideal choice for combining Nordic & Alpine activities. Our hotel is probably Finland’s best ski-in/ski-out hotel and enjoys a fabulous location in Ruka’s main square. This central position means it is no more than 50 metres to the ski centre and nearest ski lift as well as making all of Ruka’s facilities, bars and restaurants easily accessible. The hotel has 180 rooms in total, all of which have en-suite shower rooms, air-conditioning, TV, mini-bar, pay per view video channel, hair dryer and clothes drying cupboards. The hotel has two restaurants serving international cuisine but with local produce very much to the fore. Evening entertainment includes live music and dancing. Additional facilities include 3 saunas (free to guests), bars and a sound-proofed basement night club.
Price includes return flights and airport transfers, 7 nights accommodation, 7 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 dinner, snowmobile safari, snowshoe fell hike, starlight sleigh ride, husky safari, reindeer farm, ice fishing by snowmobile, river floating, all equipment including thermo-overalls, socks, mittens, boots and warm hat and fully qualified guides and instructors.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flights, arrival and introduction. On arrival at Kuusamo Airport it’s just a 25 minute transfer to your hotel in the centre of Ruka. After settling in, dinner is served in the restaurant. |
| Day 2: | Snowmobile Safari. You head for the safari office this morning to get kitted out with your cold weather clothing before your first foray into the wilderness. Snowmobiles are undoubtedly the best way to explore the area and you’ll soon begin to appreciate the scale of the seemingly limitless landscapes. Lunch is included. |
| Day 3: | Snowshoe hike on Ruka fell and starlit sleigh ride.This afternoon’s activity 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 make your way slowly through the snowy forest. This evening we head back onto the fell but this time in darkness. Pulled by a snowmobile, your sleigh will cross Ruka Fell to the winter camp at Vuosseli. Keep your eyes well and truly peeled for the Northen Lights. A campfire snack is included. |
| Day 4: | River floating. Here’s something you don’t get to try every day. Dressed in survival suits you’ll enter the icy rapids of the Kiveskoskiill River for what can only be described as a downstream float. It’s a lot more fun than anything else you would normally do on a Wednesday. |
| Day 5: | Reindeer farm and ice fishing by snowmobile. You’ll be transferred to a reindeer farm where the herder will show you his animals and tell you about their importance in this part of the world. You’ll take the reins on a short reindeer pulled-sleigh ride before enjoying a snack in a traditional Finnish kota. 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 6: | Husky safari. Ready? It’s you and your team of faithful hounds against the wilds of Kuusamo Lapland. After instruction and a short practice run, your 30km safari takes you silently through some of those wonderful winter landscapes you’ve been admiring for the past few days. There’ll be a stop en-route to grill sausages and enjoy a warm drink. |
| Day 7: | Free day or optional activities. We’ve deliberately left the final day of your holiday free. Over the years we learned that our clients like being able to try their favourite activity again or take advantage of the slopes for some final day skiing or snowboarding. |
| Day 8: | Departure, transfer and flights. Return airport transfers and flights. |
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 lead 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. |