New Year break in the heart of Lapland

7 Days

Culture, tradition, Northern Lights and Arctic lifestyle
Charming countryside resort, exclusive villa with Northern Lights view

Imagine a faraway place, where nights brighten up like in the old legendary tales, and the spirits that come from the hidden world talk to you through their image in the sky. This place is called Lapland.!

Choose LappOne – The Five Senses Of Lapland and live through unique emotions in the Heart of Lapland. This land is rich in culture, history, traditions and untouched landscapes, easy to reach, yet far from mass tourism destinations. With a bit of luck, you can also see the mystical northern lights dance above your head, in a scenery you will never forget!

Overview

  • Group size: min 6 – max 14 people
  • Departure dates: 28 December 2020 – 2 January 2021
  • Difficulty: easy, suitable for all with normal physical shape
  • Weather: cold, with extremes between 0° and -25° C
  • Winter clothing: overall, shoes and woolen socks included in the price
  • Tour leader: English-speaking
  • Photographer: available upon request
  • Meals: half board + snack
  • Distance travelled: approximately 800 Km
  • Countries: Finland – Sweden
  • Main places visited: Haparanda, Kemi, Tornio, Kukkola, Aavasaksa, Keminmaa
  • Highlights: Northern lights, husky safari, culture, ice, Arctic culture and lifestyle
  • Airport: Luleå (LLA)

Itinerary

We welcome you at the Luleå airport, and drive approximately 1h30’ to your country lodge, located in the tiny village of Korpikylä, on the Swedish shore of the Torne river. Here you will lodge in a charming countryside villa equipped with four double rooms and two single rooms, usually with shared WC and shower. Upon supplement, a two-room apartment with own WC/shower and private entrance is also available.
The villa has a lounge area with living room and a cosy fireplace, as well as two saunas (a modern one indoors and a traditional one outdoors). Upon arrival, we will serve you a typical dinner in the marvellous restaurant, built with style in the former granary. During the dinner, we will go through the travel programme and answer all your questions.
After dinner, we will try on your Arctic gear (boots, socks and overalls are included in the price) and upon the right conditions, we will lead you out to chase the northern lights.

A hearty breakfast is served at the lodge. Afterwards, it’s time for adrenaline! We will transfer to the village of Kukkola and jump on our snowmobiles in a tour lasting around 2h (optional activity, available upon supplement). Every snowmobile has a driver and a passenger – we will stop midway for a driver change and a hot drink.
At the end of the safari, we will visit the old fishermen village of Kukkola, which has been perfectly preserved till today. Museum buildings sit right next to the houses where locals still live, in an atmosphere that brings you back in time. In Kukkola we will guide you through the small but fascinating fish museum, the two mills, the sawmill and the communal hut, which dates back to the mid-1800s. Here you will learn how to make bread in the traditional Lappish way. Couple it with a delicious seafood salad for the most peculiar lunch experience of your life, around the open fire!
There will be ample time for photo sessions in the picturesque surroundings of the village (the amazing Kukkola rapids, the longest and most powerful of the Nordic Countries, flow nearby). Alternatively, you may simply enjoy a warm coffee or drink at the riverside bar. Dinner will be served in the restaurant, where the Spolander family will treat you with local delicacies. Later on, we get back to our lodge and hunt the northern lights.

After the usual tasty breakfast, we get on our minibus and start a fabulous tour along the Tornio River Valley. We will learn about the centuries-old culture of the area, which has its own language and is distinctively separate from the rest of Lapland. We climb up to the Luppio hill and enjoy the majestic views on the endless forest below. We will stop at Juoksenki, the village that is crossed by the Arctic Circle, and visit a local souvenir factory in the town of Matarenki, where the "kuksa" cups are made. You can buy your own and finish making it yourself – it will be yours for life! The Korkeaniemi family will offer us a snack, after which you get time to visit the adjacent souvenir shop – a great place to stock up on those little objects for your friends and family!
Later, we will get to meet a local shaman. After gathering around the fire, we will go through a ritual whereby the energy from inside is conveyed towards reality. An emotional and positive experience – the cherry on the cake for your Lapland holiday!
Dinner is served in the Hulkoffgården farm restaurant. We will seek for the northern lights again before taking a well-deserved sleep.

Breakfast. In the morning we will reach the partly frozen Tornio River (the exact location may change depending on ice depth). We will find a suitable place for our day on the ice, starting with pilkki (fishing through a hole in the ice), still a favourite pastime for locals in the winter. While we wait for your prey, we will tell you how this fishing method has been essential for survival in the past. Those of you who feel like it can dip into the ice-cold water (+4 C), and test how this practice helps you feel less cold.
After a few hours on the ice, we will have a break and a snack. The afternoon is dedicated to sauna – enjoy this tradition with a riverside view! Your New Year buffet dinner will be served in the restaurant (alcohol is not included).

After a hearty breakfast, we transfer to Finland. After around 1h20’ drive, we reach Honkamaa for a Siberian husky sled safari. A fantastic experience amidst untouched wilderness, surrounded by the world’s sweetest dogs. Upon arrival at the Old Pine Husky Lodge we meet Simona, the musher, and her furry friends. The dogs will howl and get excited when they see you: don’t worry, as they are only impatient to get started!
After a short security briefing, we will start a fairy-tale journey in the middle of the Old Pine forest. The safari may cover up to 8 km, depending on snow and ice condition and temperature (dogs perform better with frigid temperatures and frozen snow). At the end, we gather in the kota where you are offered a hot drink and can learn all about life in the Arctic.
You will then check in our rustic lodge while we prepare your traditional sauna and hot tub: enjoy this incredible wellness experience in the quaint atmosphere of our husky farm, surrounded by the old pine forest and, with a little luck, with Northern Lights shining upon you.
A typical dinner is served in the restaurant of the husky farm. We later continue our aurora hunt, or, in case of cloudy weather, we rest in the kota.

After a hearty breakfast, we take care of the dogs together with Simona, who will show you all it takes to be a musher. Freeing the puppies for their morning walk brings immense joy, as does the feeding of the dogs. After petting our friends one more time (you can’t just get enough of this), we start a walk with snowshoes in the area that surrounds the lodge. We walk around 2 km in the beautiful forest before reaching a place for a rest and a snack.
Upon return, the traditional sauna will be ready for us once more. We end up this beautiful day in the middle of nowhere with a dinner and a husky safari in the darkness. With a little luck, we can see the northern lights together with our friends.

Breakfast. Transfer to the Luleå (LLA) airport. Check-in for your return flight. End of the tour.

Prices

PRICES

  • Adults: €1990
  • Children 4-11 years old in extra bed €1390
  • Children 0-3 years old in cotbed: free of charge

SUPPLEMENTS

  • Single room: €190
  • Mini-apartment with own WC/shower and exclusive entrance (2-4 people): €100 per person
  • Transfer to/from Oulu, Rovaniemi airports: €50 per person each way (min 4 people)
  • Snowmobile: €190 pp. Includes gear, fuel, insurance (own responsibility: €1000) and hot drink. Requires B driver license and normal physical shape.

 

The tour is suitable for people of all ages with normal physical shape.

What's included and what's not

What's included?

  • - accommodation as described
  • - all listed meals, including water, coffee and tea
  • - all listed activities
  • - all transfer in private vehicle
  • - entrance tickets for included activities
  • - rental of arctic clothes (boots, overall, socks) for the duration of the tour
  • - English-speaking tour leader

What's not included

  • - outward and return flights
  • - airport tax
  • - compulsory travel insurance
  • - snowmobile (optional activity: €190 adults, €90 children)
  • - alcoholic or soft drinks
  • - extras (souvenirs, etc.)
  • - everything that is not explicitly mentioned in the tour program
Aurora?

Northern lights are unpredictable natural phenomenon, and In spite of our experience we cannot guarantee that you will be able to observe them. However, we will do our best so that the observation chances are greatest. Our photography guides will assist you throughout your stay so as to get the best shots in every situation.

Photos?

Recommended photo equipment, should you wish to take pictures, we recommend a reflex or last-generation mirrorless camera, a wide angle lens (under 30 mm) supporting aperture f2.8 or lower, a tripod and a rucksack for easy transportation of your photo equipment.

Activities

Please note: activities can be swapped, shortened or cancelled due to weather conditions. In the unlikely case of activity cancellation we will do our best to replace the cancelled activity with another one of similar value. No refund will be due in any case due to weather.

  • 28 December 2020 - 3 January 2021
  • Starting from €2490 (adults), €1390 (children)

GET IN TOUCH

Need more information? Send an email at info@lappone.com and we will help you!