Finland Tour Package

Our next destination was Saariselka which is located in Northern Lapland, about 260 km north of Rovaniemi. There is night train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, and from there it takes 3.5 hours bus or car journey to Saariselka. However, we chose to fly to Ivalo, which is the nearest airport to Saariselka, as the train and bus combined trip would take more than 12 hours. Taking a flight to Ivalo is the easiest way to reach Saariselka and the travel time via flight is about 1.5 hours. When the flight was above the Lapland, we were literally stunned by the Finnish dreamscapes. The endless carpet of forests snuggled under a white blanket, speckled by lakes as if an artist flicked a dark blue dipped paintbrush on a white canvas, the view was stunning through the window!

Finnhorses are one of the fastest and most beautiful horses in the world. Winter horseback riding is worth a try even if you have no previous experience. Discovering the snowy forest around you on a horseback is one among the fairytale moments which you live in Finnish Lapland. You can find more information in our blog on Winter Horseback Riding – Explore the Snowy Jungle with Finnhorses.

As this was our last day in Saariselka, we kept this day fully to relax in the Log Chalet, to explore the surroundings and try Sauna. We enjoyed every moment by staying in the Log Chalet of Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort. The Log Chalets are made of kelo pines in a rugged style and fits wonderfully with the surroundings covered in fresh sheet of snow. It’s perfect to enjoy the Finnish winter wilderness and gives you a unique experience.

Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, is also known as the official hometown of Santa Claus. We planned to spend rest 5days of our holiday in Rovaniemi and booked a wooden cottage with private sauna in Santa Claus Holiday Village for 5 nights. It was a well worth decision to stay next door to Santa and provided us days full of joyful Christmas spirit.

The tour company took us to a wide farm of Alaskan Huskies in their van from Santa Claus’s Hotel. We got opportunities to coddle both puppies and elderly huskies. It was so dreamy when huskies pulled our sledge through the magical nature of Lapland. It is must try while you are in Lapland. Start reading our blog on Husky Safari in Lapland to feel it with us!

When we were kids, we always dreamt of Santa visiting us with elves on a magical sledge pulled by reindeers. This day we woke up with happiness to experience that dreamy sledge ride. As we mentioned before, Rovaniemi is said to be the hometown of Santa and is shaped liked a Reindeer. So Rovaniemi visit is not complete unless you try reindeer safari.

Ice Breaker Cruising and swimming on the frozen Baltic sea among the icebergs are the most exciting winter activities in Finland. There are two famous companies offering ice breaker cruising experience, they are “Sampo” and “Polar Explorer”. The later was chosen because the package was inclusive of pick up from Santa’s Hotel at Rovaniemi and lunch at the traditional village in Sweden

We decided to spend this whole day for exploring the beauty of Finnish Lapland. For that we booked 1 hour snow mobiling from the company – Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park which is located near to the Santa’s Hotel (about 5 minutes walk). Snow mobiling is one best way to discover the magical beauty of snow covered arctic forest. We can ride snowmobile only if there is a recognized driving license in Finland. Therefore, before booking this ride, you must ensure that license in your hand is accepted in Finland.

Now the day came to say bye to the magical Lapland. Rovaniemi airport is only five minutes away from the Santa Claus Holiday Village and we booked cab with the help of hotel staff. From Rovaniemi we took flight to Helsinki and throughout the journey we were thinking about the wonderful fairy tale we lived in Lapland. Its difficult to say which one is the best, all were magical and we just lived a dream!