Lapland (Finland) > Reviews (21)

I have been to Lapland (Finland) twice & have experienced both city hotels and the classic woodland snowy retreat & can honestly say both times was an amazing experience.

A flight from Manchester to the airport in Levi took no longer than 3-4 hours. Little 'elves' await your arrival with a giant sign posting your hotel name so you know where to meet up to board your coach. A short beautiful journey admiring the 30 foot built snowman a snow dusted trees & your taken to a building to pick up your free boiler suits. Since temperatures around December in the Northern parts of Finland can get down to -25 it is a vital necesity. The people there are experienced and guess your size just by looking at you & i have to say ours fitted perfectly. The first hotel i stayed at was in Rovaniemi, called 'Hotel Santa Claus' this was right in the middle of the city. Didn't have much magic to it, our sight from our room was a McDonalds. This hotel was more for those who wanted access to shops and resteraunts. There was a lack of snow due to it being in the city so didn't have the classic lapland stereotypical feel. The second hotel i stayed at was more north in Levi. Known as the 'crazy reindeer' hotel. The classic log cabins, 6ft snow, ski slopes within a 5 minute walk away, cute souvenir shops a 15 minute walk away, free sledges- this one was made for families! Perfect complex. If you wish to enhance your stay you can pay for excursions.
These include:

• Snowmobiling
• Northern lights midnight safari
• Ice Fishing
• Skiing
• Husky Rides
• Panoramic Drives
• Trip to the famous santa village

These are expensive so on a 5 day trip 1 or 2 would definetly suffice! If you can then 3 trips would probably maximise your experience without you getting too tired.
In Finland the days are dark. You wake up in the dark and go to bed in the dark, there's never any daytime in December. So tiredness is a factor. To summarize if you were to stay in Lapland:
Day 1: Arrival & settling in
Day 2: 6am breakfast, Excursion at 7:30-mid afternoon, evening meal, bedtime
Day 3: 6am breakfast, Excursion at 7:30, mid afternoon, evening meal, bedtime
Day 4:Probably playing in the snow/souvenir shops & a christmas dinner with santa claus
Day 5: Packing and preparing for home.

While this holiday can be costly, for a family of 4 it came to around £8000 for only 5 days, but if you can afford it it is worth the money as it is definetly a once in a lifetime experience. Baring in mind this cost covered flights, hotel stay, excursions, food, trips, coach transfers - still pricey but worth it!

Overall i would recommend this trip for families, or couples. This type of holiday definetly does not cater for the Elderly or disabled.