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5 days - Truly magical escorted Christmas tour in Northern Finland
Spend a magical Christmas surrounded by wilderness and pristine snow, with a plethora of outdoor experiences to fill your days. In the evenings, relax with your family in your own chalet with good food and maybe a Finnish sauna. Highlights include a visit to an authentic Reindeer Farm, a magical husky ride through the forests, a tour in the evening in an AURORA wagon and a drink at the ICE Bar each evening to unwind.
Ruka is located in the north of Kuusamo, a Finnish municipality that is renowned for its natural beauty and almost untouched wilderness. Ruka, one of the largest ski resorts in Finland, is among the country’s major holiday destinations, due to its excellent snow sports opportunities. Staying in a private resort away from the crowds, enjoy many included activities and a family day at Santa's Cottage on Christmas Eve and a special Christmas Dinner.
- Day 1
- Welcome to Lapland, transfer to Ruka village and make your first snow angel
- Day 2
- Christmas Eve - Fun Day at Santa's Cottage in the forest
- Day 3
- Christmas Day - Morning feeding of reindeer & Authentic Finnish Sauna
- Day 4
- Action Packed Day with Huskies and Aurora-Wagon ride
- Day 5
- Departure Day
- Start/End Place
- Kuusamo, Finland
- Country Visited
- Finland
- Duration
- 5 Days
- Start Date
- Scheduled
- Travel Style
- Escorted Tour
- Suitability
- Easy Christmas tour - check minimum age requirements.
- Carbon Footprint
- 56Kg of CO₂e Average carbon footprint per person?
- Code
- 50DN0170
As a Certified B Corporation, 50 Degrees North has designed this tour using handpicked local hoteliers and suppliers who share our ethos of delivering services and activities of high social and environmental standards.
The CO2-e per person per day of all tours is carefully measured following each season. We fully offset all emissions of our tours on your behalf, and we constantly look at ways to reduce emissions where possible.
Details
Transportation
Airport transfers
Included
- Airport transfers on day 1 & 5 (coinciding with scheduled flights) from Kuusamo (KAO) airport
- 4 nights' accommodation in your private log chalet or villa-apartment. Each chalet has different furniture and styles. The villa-apartment has glass windows on the roof.
- Tour escort on hand - accompanies the group for the whole experience
- 1 set of linen & towels per person for the 4 nights
- Final cleaning for cabin
- 4 x breakfast
- 2 x lunch during your activities
- 4 x dinner including festive Christmas meal
- Winter clothing hire: Overalls, boots, balaclava (for snowmobile ride), mittens and one large pair of woollen socks.
- All activities as per itinerary including: full day at Santa's Cottage, Northern Lights search by wagon, visit to reindeer farm and sleigh ride, sauna tour and 10 kilometre Husky Safari. These activities can vary depending on the weather conditions. 2024 activities might change due to a different day of the week falling on the activity days.
Not Included
Flight tickets, meals other than described, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, travel insurance, visas, gratuities and any other items of personal nature.
It is possible to fly into Rovaneimi and we can individually quote for this.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Welcome to Lapland, transfer to Ruka village and make your first snow angel
Transfer from Kuusamo airport to Rukan Salonki. Free time for relaxing in your cabin: light the fire, make a cup of tea and watch the kids make their first snow angel. Your guide will be there on arrival to make sure you are settling in. Ready to get moving - head out to the huge tobogganing slope, grabbing some free toboggans and snowtubes along the way. You will get your outer winter gear and boots as well this afternoon.
In the evening, you will dine at the restaurant and you can meet your fellow travellers at a welcome dinner.
Enjoy your first evening in Lapland. With no light pollution and no noise you can truly feel the beauty of the Arctic night, admire the night sky and hopefully see the Northern Lights. Hear the silence of the wilderness and breathe in the cleanest air in Europe.
Meals
1 DinnerAccommodation
Rukan Salonki Chalets and Villas - each family will have a different accommodation option.Day 2 - Christmas Eve - Fun Day at Santa's Cottage in the forest
Enjoy some time outside before spending the rest of the day with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the elves (11.45am - 3pm)! Santa’s Cottage is located about 30-minute drive away from Ruka and you will transfer there with your guide and group.
The program begins with tobogganing instructed by Santa’s elves, so remember to dress up warm! After having fun outdoors, we will enjoy grilled sausages, hot soup and hot juice in the kota-hut. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will soon invite you to the house, where Santa tells stories about his life.
All children will be nominated as Santa’s little helpers and their elf skills will be put into a test. We will see how well you master gingerbread and sweet bun baking and Christmas card making. You can enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, glögi or homemade berry juice in the buffet, and eat as many gingerbread cookies and chocolates as you like! Don’t forget to stop by in our small post office where you can buy souvenirs and post cards.
At the end of the program everyone will get together to sing Santa’s favorite Christmas carol to him in Finnish. Santa will reward his hard-working helpers with a small gift. All baked goods will be packed for you to take them with you.
At 6pm, join the group for a special Christmas Eve dinner at Rukan Kuksa in Ruka village. You can also have a pre-dinner drink at the icebar outside to celebrate the season. While you have been away for dinner, Santa has left a greeting for all children in the chalets.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Lunch
1 Dinner
Accommodation
Rukan Salonki Chalets and Villas - each family will have a different accommodation option.Day 3 - Christmas Day - Morning feeding of reindeer & Authentic Finnish Sauna
At your leisure this Christmas morning, head to breakfast before meeting the reindeers. A short transfer takes you to a family-owned traditional reindeer farm. One of the reindeer herders will greet you and take you to the corral with hundreds of reindeer, they are waiting for their breakfast. Together with the reindeer herders you get to feed the reindeer and also take pictures of the unique moment when being surrounded by a herd of reindeer.
After the reindeer have been fed, it is time for a sleigh-ride in the gorgeous winter wonderland of the reindeer farm. The 1,5km long
sleigh-ride follows the riverside to the old farm forest. The sledge seats 2 adults and 1-3 children.
A strengthening snack is served in the kota, with some hot beverages and as you leave you can visit the little farm shop with local handicrafts.
After the reindeer experience, you will make a stop in Ruka village, so you can do some shopping and have a look around, maybe have a snack or buy some snacks to the chalet (no lunch included today).
Later in the afternoon, you will be assigned time to do a 'sauna tour'. Finnish sauna is an institution, something very essential in life and a must-have. But why do the Finns love their sauna baths so much, is it not just sitting in a hot room? Your authorized sauna guide will tell you about the Finnish sauna and its health benefits and traditions. The sauna guide will advise you on how to make the perfect "löyly" happen, that is the steam in the sauna and also advise you to the use of a body scrub made of Lappish wild herbs. Between the heats you can cool off by taking a dip in the refreshing lake, or ice-hole if winter or even rolling in the snow!
There is an optional snowmobile safari if you want to add an adventure to the day. You can also jump on the local bus and head to the down hill ski slopes.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Dinner
Day 4 - Action Packed Day with Huskies and Aurora-Wagon ride
After breakfast, get ready for a full day of action. Transfer to the husky farm and on your arrival at the lakeside husky camp you are greeted by the enthusiastic barking of the huskies. The small-scale husky camp is located in lovely forest terrain and after the careful instructions on driving and safety you will take off into the landscape with your own husky team. The team carries two persons, one musher and one passenger and you can change places during the safari. After the thrill and speed of the start, you soon start to relax and enjoy the surroundings and the co-operation with these lovely arctic runners. Once you return to the camp, you are invited to the kota for a strengthening snack and some information on huskies. You can also visit the huskies in the fenced area where they have their “homes”.
Return to your chalet for some down time before the last group dinner at Restaurant Kymppi.
After dinner, get dressed warming and feed the children some sweets to keep them up for the guided Northern Lights tour. Fasten your seatbelts, relax and enjoy warm, heated luxurious AURORA-Wagon ride. You will travel to the best location to see Aurora Borealis, over true frozen lakes, through misty forests and deep snow. With a little luck, you will travel under a bright sky lit by the moon and the stars. Perhaps the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights – will appear to show you the way. The best time to see Northern Lights is late evening, around midnight. We will enjoy warm drinks and small snacks under the northern sky around a fire.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Lunch
1 Dinner
Day 5 - Departure Day
After breakfast, transfer to the Kuusamo airport for departure. Why not consider having a longer stay with a day of downhill skiing at the local resorts.
Meals
1 BreakfastFamily quad total price applies when 2 adults and 2 children (between 4-11 years old) travelling together. Please contact us for a quote for your family. Large cabins are available on request for bigger families.
23 Dec 2024
23 Dec 2024
27 Dec 2024
27 Dec 2024
Important Information
Meal Description:
Breakfast: Breakfast buffet includes a selection of breads, croissants, eggs, cheeses, cold cut meats and fish, bacon, sausages, fruits and vegetables, cereal and muesli, yogurt, jam, sweet cookies, juices and coffee/tea. Daily variations to the breakfast menu.
Dinner: Buffet dinner is made from local ingredients and made in Kultala’s own kitchen and includes selection of salads, fish and meat, soup, one main course, dessert, coffee/tea, still water, juice. Further beverages available on spot and charged by consumption.
Accommodation Description:
There are four different accommodation options and price varies per family depending on which accommodation you choose. There are standard log chalets with twin bedrooms, lofts, fireplaces, wifi, living rooms, kitchens, several bathrooms and saunas. There are superior options of these chalets as well. You can also consider a Sky View Villa with bedrooms with sky facing windows, ideal of Northern Lights viewing from your bed.
Our Scandinavian experts can assist you with flight connections from North America to meet these tours as well as adding pre- and post- accommodation in Helsinki. Helsinki has many lovely Christmas markets to visit as well as activities such as ice-skating, city saunas and strolling through the Christmas shops during your stopover.
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