Sorry about the spelling of Saarelska but I am sure many of you will know where I mean.We are a couple in our late 40%26#39;s and we are planning a trip to Finland for late December 2008.Initially I was attracted to Rovaniemi but on this site I am hearing some negative vibes and a preference to Saarelska. We are not interested in skiing at all. We come from New Zealand and so for us its all about the safaris on the reindeer, the huskies and the night safari on a snowmobile. Would Rovaniemi provide a memorable experience or do we need to go further north into the colder areas? We have just 4 or 5 days free to be spent in Finland. Is a ride on the reindeer better than the huskies or do we need to do both? Similarly , is the snowmobile ride a %26quot;must do%26quot;, should we do all these options or is that abit of overkill?Any thoughtswould be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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If you want the excursions its probably better to go further North because there is more certainty with snow. If you check out the webcams in Lapland you will see that the snow covering is wearing away a bit at the moment. I%26#39;m going to Yllas this Sunday at the moment the snow mobiles arent an option because the lakes arent frozen enough. It seems to be actually quite warm there.
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We went to Saaraselka last year for Xmas and would highly recommend it. Not at all touristy quite quiet actually but all the things you need to do are there. At night walking down the road we only had about 4 cars pass. You must do snowmobile, huskies and even the reindeer ride. I think there are only 4 hotels plus all the log cabins. We stayed at the Holiday Club because it had a swimming pool (only had time to use it once) lovely pool though. Food in Lapland is plentiful but quite basic. It is very tiring anyway so I don%26#39;t think you need to %26#39;live it up at night%26#39; anyway. By the way the Holiday Club has a small lounge bar and a pub downstairs. It is more Finnish and I think so is the Tunturi but the others look quite modern.
Added bonus is the fact Saaraselka is way up North and will always have snow whereby in Dec.2006 there was hardly any snow in Rovaniemi and not quite the same is it?
Hope this helps
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I would stick with saariselka to be sure to get some snow.
Does not look like there is much left in rova now on the road cams.
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Rovaniemi and Saariselkä are completely different in character.
Rovaniemi is a town of ca. 20000 people, university, museums, theatres, etc. The usual snowmobile/husky safaris and so on are available, too.
Saariselkä, on the other hand, is a small purpose-built tourist resort in the middle of wilderness.
Rovaniemi would offer more by way of nightlife, shopping and such, Saariselkä is better if you like skiing and the whole wilderness experience.
More information can be found in their respective websites,
http://www.rovaniemi.fi/?deptid=17958
http://www.saariselka.fi/index.php?la=en
With regards to the snow, last winter and this winter haven%26#39;t been that great in Rovaniemi, at least not until January. Saariselkä usually gets a good snow cover in November at the latest.
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whats the closest airport to Saariselka and how far is that airport from saariselka
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Hello again,
The nearest airport to Saariselka is Ivalo, a 20 minute bus ride away. A bus to Saariselka meeets every scheduled flight, (usually an internal one from Helsinki) Tour operators provide coach travel for those booked on UK package holidays and arriving on charter flights. A taxi would probably not cost too much either.
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thanks for that info. We would not be on a UK packaged deal as we are arriving from new Zealand and will fly into Helsinki and then up to Ivano. Starting to sound feasible now. I just need to check out who flies from helsinki up to Ivano. Anyone know any airlines or is Finish air the only option.
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athough we are not travelling with children, is there still a santa claus scene in saarisalka. By that I mean , is there a santas grotto somewhere and / or his reindeer, sledges etc etc. Even though we are way past the santa stuff it is still part of the whole picture.
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Finnair definitely fly into Ivalo from Helsinki not sure about any others, I think there is a cheap Finnish airline called Blu or something similar, so there may be other internal flights. Yes there is a Santa experience, at a centre very near to Saariselka whereby you are taken by a snowmobile pulled sledge through the woods to his cottage where there are elves playing outside. Santa himself was very authentic and we saw him individually as a family and were not rushed at all. As you will be travelling independently you can book this type of trip with one of the many safari companies that operate in the village. There is no large commercialised Santa village or park in this area.
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thanks again for your input. Can we wait till we get there to book the visit to santa and the huskies etc. yes there is another airline Blu2 I think it is. I%26#39;ll hunt that out. We will probably fly from Frankfurt or Munich into Ivalo via Helsinki probably and after that w eare off to barcelona so hopefully there might be a finnair pass or something. I am anxious to sort out the accommodation very early on particularly as there are not alot of options in Saariskala but tried and failed on that oe today. Its too far ahead nd bookings are not open for reservations yet.We cannot afford to miss out once we have booked the flights and so its a worrying time. Yes Im panicing abit as I know I have plenty of time still. Im a woman on a mission though. Flights from here headimng to europe get heavily booked very early on for ecember so I need to be on the ball and ready to swing into action nce I sort out the pros and cons for Rovaniemi and Saarelska. Only Rovaniemi is promoted down here so all of you have been a huge help. Thankyou
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