Christmas in Lapland.
We went on the 23rd Dec and returned Boxing day and travelled with Santas Lapland who are part of Esprit. I sell Esprit a lot to my skiing families and I was interested to experience them myself, as well as experiencing Lapland, again is a destination I sell a lot to families.
The flight out from Stanstead (a selection of airports are available) was fantastic, they had the kids up singing carols over the tannoy, gave out sweets, did a colouring competition so it was real fun. On landing in the coldest airport ever (it was minus 26!!!) there was a crazy elf waiting at the conveyor belt and a lovely Sami with his Reindeer outside, so everyone got in the Christmas mood very quickly.
We were all split into different coaches and were in the "winter berries" and this would be our team for the few days. Lots of carols were sang en route to Saariselka, and were ambushed by some elves roadside that threw snowballs at the coach. We knew we were in for a few days of excitement and surprises and It was just a 30 min transfer.
Saariselka is one of the more traditional and small Lapish resorts you'll find clients can go to. Very different from Rovanemi which is a bit like "butlins in the snow" from other clients feedback. Saariselka is tiny, just a hand full of shops, about 5 places to stay and about 3 restaurants. That's it. The scenery is stunning.
The first stop was to collect our Thermal snow suits, and other bits. I thought this would be stressful but it's so well organised and the gear given to us was of very good quality.
We stayed at a basic 3 star property called the Kieppe. It's advertised as a 4 star, but I certainly wouldn't’t rate it that. It's warm and clean and the family room we had was spacious, plenty of hot water too! It's just basic, no mod cons and a 3 min walk to the bar you have breakfast in (which again was basic, luckily I knew this and had taken cereals and porridge with us to feed the kids). Accomodation in this area is generally basic so if you’re after something more luxurious I can talk you through other options.
The first morning we spent on a stunning Tobbogan run. It's fab as you just stroll down and there are plenty of discarded sledges at the base of the run, you just pick one up and walk up, none of us got cold or wet, the thermal suits and gloves were really good.
Later that day we'd booked the Northern Lights snowmobile safari. Wow, this was fantastic (even though we weren't blessed with seeing the lights this night, too cloudy). The kids were put in a long sleigh all wrapped up with lots of other children and they are pulled behind the guides. The Husband and I then shared a snowmobile and off we went. It was one of the best things I've ever done on holiday, very well organised and very safe. We stopped midway for hot berry juice and biscuits around a lovely roaring fire, whilst the guides talked about the lights and the wildlife in the forest. Again none of us got cold.
Happy Christmas!!! We woke on Christmas day super excited as this was our "search for santa day". Now I'm not going to give too much away, because if you do go on to book this trip I don't want to ruin the element of magic and surprise for you but we saw the big man himself (private family visit, unlike the main big UK tour operator who take you as a large group). Things included on this day in the exclusive Santa's Lapland place (your now a good 400km into the arctic circle and I cannot tell you how pretty it is!)are childrens snowmobiling, sledging, husky experience, reindeer rides, and lunch too. Everything here is free and included!
This evening was our Gala Dinner and our dinner every night was taken at the Tunturi hotel, around a 5 min walk from our place. The food was filling and plentiful but is basic. The Gala Dinner was a slightly better quality of food affair and the did a few games for the kids.
The final day we had time for more sledging before having to sadly come home.
One of the main things i learned from this trip are that you can’t get enough out of Lapland in a single day, it's really not much more to have a 3 or 4 day break and do it properly. I'd be really careful about the supplier I place my clients with as not all Lapland holidays give you the same level of experience. For instance with Santa's Lapland their "elves" are only seen in Santa's Lapland places and only sing and play with the kids and only speak "elfish" whereas the main UK tour operator, their "elves" are in fact their reps who do everything, so that does lack a bit of "magic" for the kids.
Also with Santa's Lapland our search for santa day encompassed all the free included things in one place in one day (you can pay for extra excursions like our Snow Mobile safari and these are taken separately on a different day). Whereas the leading UK tour operator only offer "taster" sessions and once you're in return your told when your taster session is for each thing, it possibly won't be on the same day as each other so this means is lacks a bit of magic and making the most of your time. Of course the big draw is Santa himself and the private family meeting is fantastic with Santas Lapland.
I can't wait to return one day when my 4yr old is a bit bigger!