5 DAYS IN FINLAND
TRAVEL PLANNING
We've been filming a lot for one of our other shows Crossing it Off - where we're completing 50 travel bucket list experiences "because the world is big and life is short”. On our bucket list are 3 things best to do in the far north:
Stay in an igloo
See the northern lights
Go dog sledding
While travel planning this nordic trip, I looked into staying at the world famous Ice Hotel in northern Sweden. This place is an architectural marvel as it is a melts and is re built each year into a complete unique piece of art. Then, as skiers and snowboarders, we kept seeing viral videos of gorgeous sunset arctic skiing with these magical trees like something out of the movie Elf and I just had to figure out where that was.
Upon further research, I found the lapland region of Finland that seemed to have many more hotel options than northern Sweden, local tours, and was even just a bit further north. Well that, mixed with the fact my name is Fin meant that we had to go check it out.
FINLAND
We journey 250km north of the arctic circle for a nordic adventure through the popular tourist destination of lapland. Lapland is a region that spans across Sweden, Finland, Norway and parts of Russia and has about the same number of reindeer as people. It’s also one of the best locations in the world to see the Northern lights.
We arrived at 1.30pm at the Kittila airport inside the arctic circle, in early January 2022. Our Finland adventure started with a 4 hour drive north (152 miles) to the cute town of Ivalo, where we stayed in an igloo and attempted to see the northern lights. First impressions: Finland looks like a very tame winter in Northern Michigan or Northern Wisconsin.
staying in an IGLOO
“That’s not an igloo. That’s a cottage.”
We stayed in an igloo/cottage in Aurora village at around $500 USD a night. Breakfast and dinner was included because we were basically in the middle of nowhere. They served us reindeer for dinner as we arrived. BOOM…authentic Finland experience straight off the bat.
Aurora village is a great spot to stay at if you’re looking to see the northern lights. The rooms have a 180 degree clear window view of the lights. Make sure there isn’t a full moon during your time there, you won’t see the northern lights (like us).
DOG SLEDDING
Well…we went dog sledding and our experience doesn’t have a happy ending. In fact, the whole experience warranted its own video. We’re not going to tell you not to dog sled, you’ll just have to watch the above video and decide for yourself.
NORTHERN LIGHTS SAUNA EXPERIENCE
Aurora Village spa & sauna
There are over 2 million saunas in Finland for a population that’s over 5 million people. It’s something you have to experience, or an experience that you can’t actually escape. Some hotel rooms even have built in private saunas, like our hotel room at Levi Ski resort.
Aurora village had two awesome sauna spa experiences: a ‘panorama sauna’ at €20-40 (Euros) per person, and a ‘wood sauna and ice swimming’ at €10-40 (Euros) per person. Spa treatments must be booked in advance.
LEVI SKI RESORT
This ski resort has been blowing up on social media recently and as avid skiiers, we had to check it out and experience it for ourselves. Turns out, it was a huge Instagram vs reality moment.
Check out the above video for full details.
