Finnish Lapland Winter Family Holiday

Tervetuloa! Welcome to Finland. Your family adventure kicks off in Helsinki with a welcome meeting at 5 pm tonight. If you arrive early, maybe check out the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Senate Square or catch a performance at the National Theatre. You may want to consider purchasing the Helsinki Card – which is both an economical way to travel on Helsinki City Transport (HKL) services and free admission to the main Helsinki sights and nearly 50 museums. After your meeting, you might like to head out for an optional welcome dinner with your group.

Join your leader on an orientation walk around Helsinki in the morning. Then, hop on a train to the Heureka Finnish Science Center for a guided tour. The kids will love the chance to feel like a mad scientist with all of the interactive exhibits! Later, return to Helsinki and have some free time to prepare for tonight’s journey. In the evening, you’ll board the famous 'Santa Claus Express', a comfortable overnight train to Rovaniemi (approx 12 hours), known to many as the hometown of Santa Claus, located just 6 km south of the Arctic Circle.

The train arrives in Rovaniemi early this morning. Once you’ve settled into the capital of Lapland – and the official hometown of Santa Claus – it's time for the kids to write their list and check it twice as you head off to meet Mr Claus himself at Santa Village. Cross into the Arctic Circle along the way, showing just how far north you’ve come. Once the Christmas wishes have been made, return to Rovaniemi for a free afternoon to explore the city and its surroundings. Maybe head out for a family hike and witness spectacular rapids and aapa mires, or stay in town and visit the Arktikum, the Museum of Finland. It’s a place to learn about the nature and history of the north, where modern technology is being used to have the exhibits come alive.

Make sure you rug up for today’s adventures, as you head out to meet sled dogs! In the morning, meet your guides and dogs for an introduction to basic mushing techniques. Then, depending on the season, you’ll head off across beautiful white lakes and into the forest. These incredible huskies are doing what they love most – making a lot of noise before rushing along sprawling trails. The young ones might get to give the dogs a pet and a cuddle – just be sure to ask the sledmaster first. After the ride, warm yourself by an open fire and chow down on sausages and drink some hot berry juice. In the afternoon, you’ll visit a reindeer farm has been operating since 1861, and you may have the opportunity to feed and watch these cute animals go about their daily routine. You will be shown their skills in reindeer herding with the option to get close and personal with some of the animals on the farm.

This morning, transfer to Halipuu Forest. The family that owns the land wanted to save the trees from being felled, so began inviting visitors in to hug the trees, in an effort to spread awareness of nature conservation. You’ll get to hear about these efforts on a forest guided walk, as well as being able to hug a few trees. There’ll also be an arctic cocooning experience, followed by a hot chocolate around a fire and the option to plant a tree of your own. Return to Levi for the night, making sure to keep an eye out for any hint of the Northern Lights.

Your adventures through Lapland come to an end today after breakfast. If you would like to extend your stay in the region we are happy to book additional nights for you (subject to availability), or we can help to book optional transfer to either Levi or Rovaniemi airports.