Northern Lights lapland
We flew from Gatwick to Sweden, then took the coach to Finland to a beautiful 3 star property in Karesuando, Finland. The staff were friendly and the location was remote and idyllic. There was so much snow, that there was no other colour than white. The trees, buildings, roads all covered in snow!
The tour operator we booked with was running a special offer of £419pp for 4 days and I don’t know how they did it to be honest. All the excursions, apart from the Igloo, the flights, transfers, the thermal suit and boots and the food were all included.
The hotel we stayed in catered for everybody’s dietary requirements. I don’t eat meat and one night there was no main meal for me, however the chef cooked me an omelette which was most appreciated.
We were lucky enough to stay in the Aurora House part of the hotel, which is one of the modern cabins in the grounds. It had underfloor heating in the bathroom, its own sauna and a walk in shower and full bath. Those rooms have tea and coffee facilities plus a real wood burning fire. I would definitely recommend the upgraded rooms.
You can hire out plastic sledges from the hotel at 5 euros per day and find a nice quiet steep hill in the grounds of the hotel to go sledging.
The snowmobiles was the highlight for me, driving full speed across a frozen lake, late at night was awesome.
If you go to the Reindeer Camp, make sure you wrap up warm as it is very cold there. We were lucky when we travelled as it was around -11c, a few days before it had been -40c!
The Reindeer Camp involved a Reindeer ride, learning about the animals and a welcome warm break around the fire.
The Husky Sledging was also brilliant, you drive and steer your own pack of dogs who are all chomping at the bit to get going. They are very well cared for, even after their sledging days are over, they are kept on site and all treated amazingly well.
We swapped one of our hotel nights to stay in an Igloo. It had a bed made of ice and is surprisingly very comfortable with the mattresses and Reindeer hide for warmth. It has its own camp fire and I would recommend taking a flask of coffee or hot chocolate with you so you can enjoy a drink around the fire. Apparently the temperature never falls below -5c in the Igloo, there are warm cabins on site if you feel you get too cold.
You can see where the kids come at Christmas time to have a meeting with Father Christmas and search for presents. The place is magical and they must absolutely love it.
As the thermal suit and boots are included, you don’t have to take any large jackets, salapettes or boots with you as the gear is all supplied. You just need base layers, hats, goggles and gloves and this saves you a lot of money before you go.
For 3 nights you get a fun packed few days with the excursions all carefully timed by the tour operator staff.
My customers who travelled after me all saw the lights and even the people we meet there had seen the lights in the last couple of days. Unfortunately it was too cloudy for the Lights to appear in the 4 days we were there but it gives us a great excuse to go back and do it all again.
It was the most fun packed 3 nights I have ever had and I will definitely be straight back if that offer comes out again!