Why Finland? : It is not just about Northern Lights: Our 9 days itinerary
Hello all,
Finland: the happiest country in the world for consecutive 7th time
Finish Lapland:
A magical place.
A place where dreams come true!
A place where true tranquillity lies!
A place where we can relax and rejuvenate!
The Danish secret to happiness is Hygge, the Swedish secret is Lagom, and the Japanese is Ikigai.
What is the Finnish secret? We understood from our nine days in Finnish Lapland that the secret to their happiness is their contentment. Their ability to slow down. Their willingness to help others. They say Finnish people are introverts and so introverts that they will look in your shoes when you talk with them. Is it true? No!! They are the kindest people we have ever met. Be it our guide for reindeer safari to the lady who drove us from the airport to our hotel on our first night. Their kindness, politeness, and willingness to help others is the true essence of their happiness.
Lapland is the northernmost region of Finland and Sweden, popularly known as Finnish Lapland and Swedish Lapland. We visited just the Finnish Lapland for nine days. Do you want to know why? Here are the reasons why you should visit Finland….
Northern lights:
Finnish Lapland is one of the main regions where we can see the mesmerizing Northern Lights. It is said that on clear nights, lights can be seen approximately 200 nights of the year. And if you stay for at least three nights in this Lapland region, your chances of seeing the Northern Lights are very high.
Meet Santa in his village:
Apart from the northern lights, this was the reason we selected Finland. As the kids are relatively younger, we wanted to visit this place with them. But regardless of age, this place is exciting for everyone, whether young kids, their parents, or grandparents. Located at the Arctic Circle, this winter wonderland is like pure madness and pure joy…it is like a dream come true…
Living a slow life in Finnish style:
Mökkielämä, also known as cottage life, is a Finnish way of relaxation and rejuvenation and one of the quintessential components of their lifestyle. There are almost a half million cottages in Finland, and people love to spend summer or winter together with friends or families along the lakeside cottages with regular saunas with the cleanest of air and cleanest of water…what more do we need? As we get entangled in the quotidian life; we have learned a few things about maintaining work-life balance by embracing nature from this amazing culture…
Skiing and other snow activities:
Be it skiing, tobogganing, snowmobiling, fat bike tour, or snowshoe walking, Finland has everything for everyone…be it the wilderness of Lake Inari or the Ivalo River, enigmatic endless snow with the quietness of surrounding forests will definitely give immense happiness and calmness to our souls.
Magnificent, majestic landscapes:
We fell in love with Mother Nature in her pristine form—endless snow, pure wilderness all around dense forests, and frozen lakes. Finland is also known as the land of thousands of lakes, with almost 187,888 lakes. This wilderness is the pure form to connect with the universe, which might be why Finland is the happiest country. There are beautiful hiking trails near Lake Inari and the Arctic Circle. There is a hike to the frozen waterfall in the Kournounom Canyon. Finland also has plenty of forests, and you can hike safely.
Finnish Sauna culture:
This is the most peculiar culture we have noticed here. Finland has over 3 million saunas and a population of 5.5 million. The sauna is integral to Lapland and has been part of this culture for over a thousand years. Saunas are found in most resorts and apartments, as well as by lakes and forests and in homes and offices.
Kahvi or coffee, anyone??
I cherished this the most! I had never enjoyed black coffee until now, but here in Finland, I have become a fan of one…Finland is the second largest country in the world regarding coffee consumption, with each Finn consuming approximately 12 kilograms of coffee annually.
They say their coffee is Kahvi. As I mentioned earlier, Finnish people are shy and less talkative but not antisocial. They love their silent talks over coffee, per one of our guides. They say silence and coffee with friends and families are the best companions. During work hours, they also have two coffee and lunch breaks. They love their coffee on every occasion. They love to have coffee with a sweet, and together, they call it “kakkukavhi,” which means coffee and cake. We also loved the traditional sweet ‘pulla’ (sweet bun topped with vanilla icing). It is also considered impolite to say no to coffee. Per our Reindeer safari guide, wasting a single drop of freshly brewed coffee is a sin. Their wooden coffee mug, Finnish Kuksa, is a popular souvenir.
While most of the world is obsessed with medium or dark roast coffee, Finnish people enjoy light roast coffee with a drip brewing coffee machine…simple yet effective and comforting. And this might be the reason why I loved it! So cherish the warmth and togetherness over coffee while you are in Finland.
Lappish Hot Berry Juice:
Don’t forget this while you are in Lapland. This warm drink can help you withstand the cold and harsh weather while you are on safari, skiing, or ice fishing trips. They almost invariably serve this to kids, but we enjoyed it equally.
Beautiful Arctic animals :
Whether it is reindeer safari, Husky rides, arctic animals in the zoo, or random encounters with arctic hares near your cottages, Lapland has all these in store… Animal safaris are the best way to witness the wilderness of Finnish Lapland.
Stay in unique hotels:
Finland is famous for its amazing glass igloos and unique stays, such as snow hotels. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in a glass igloo at Holiday Village Inari. From your cabin, you can enjoy breathtaking views of Aurora. There is no need to go out and freeze yourself in bone-chilling cold and wind.
Flight connections:
Last but not least, we had planned this trip solely for the lights, so we wanted to avoid cities and southern regions. Our main aim was to see the lights for the maximum number of nights. For that, we had to go to the region beyond the Arctic Circle, and flight connections are amazing from New Delhi to the northernmost airports of Finland, Ivalo, and Rovaniemi.
A 7-9-hour flight from Delhi to Helsinki and a short layover at Helsinki airport, and you are in the Arctic region! How convenient is that?
No more hours of waiting at the airports.
Our itinerary:
Day 1 – New Delhi —-> Inari
The best part of Finland is that we have direct flights from New Delhi to Ivalo, the northernmost airport of the Lapland region, via Helsinki.
(Finnair). Our flight from Helsinki to Ivalo was delayed, so we reached Holiday Village Resort, Inari, late. We had our igloo stay there.
Day 2 – Explore Inari
Walk in Inari village
Visit the Sami museum
Evening
Skiing lesson in the resort
We saw terrific lights from the igloo and the resort only.
Day 3 – Reach Ivalo.
We stayed in the Arctic River resort, Ivalo
We stayed in a three-bedroom cottage
Walk along the frozen river
We first saw a mesmerizing Aurora near the resort and outside our cottage.
Day 4 –Ivalo and Saariselka
Visit the Saariselka Ski Resort
We had a thrilling experience Tobogganing at the ski resort
Visit a Reindeer Farm in pure wilderness.
At night, it was cloudy, so no luck with the lights.
Day 5 – Ivalo
Visit the Husky Farm
Snowshoe walk along the river
Again, night weather was not suitable for the lights.
Day 6 – Ivalo —> Rovaniemi
We stayed at The Santa Claus Holiday village
Visit the Arctic circle
Meet Santa
Visit Santa’s post office
The best part was that the entire day was snowing, so we got a Christmassy December vibe!
Day 7 – Mine tour
We moved to an apartment in Rovaniemi city
Visit to Amethyst Mine in Lampivaara
At night, we went for Aurora safari via Auroravanlapland
Day 8 – Ranua and Rovaniemi
We visited the Arctic Zoo at Ranua
In the evening, we visited the Arktikum Museum in Rovaniemi
We visited the Arctic Snow Hotel at night and saw one of the most amazing northern lights!
Day 9 – fly back home
Flight from Rovaniemi to New Delhi with memories of a lifetime!
So, as you can see, we stayed in the northern town for five nights. (two nights in Inari and three nights in Ivalo)
The reason was that the more you move northward and away from the main cities, the better your chances of seeing the lights are.
Holiday village Inari is far from town lights and at the lake in itself, so the absence of light pollution makes it a fantastic spot for light viewing.
The Arctic River Resort is a little way from the town of Ivalo, and we were lucky to see the lights from the cottage.
You can stay in Rovaniemi for all days, but then you must book Aurora tours for more days.
Other options for the north stay are:
- Saariselka
- Utsjoki
- Kilpisjärvi
If you are going with kids and, if possible, staying in the Santa Claus holiday village for a night, the night vibe is amazing!
Activities:
We booked a few of our tours via Get Your Guide. Here are the links. Click on the blue icon.
Amethyst Mine Tour: we booked this tour through Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park.
Ranua Zoo entry ticket with lunch: The service provider was Northern Future Oy
Reindeer Safari : It was a last-minute booking as our resort safaris were all booked. But it was one of the best with the most amazing person, David, as our guide. He took us to Saariselka Skii resort also for tobogganing.
Northern Light Tours: Auroravanlapland
The rest of the activities were booked through our hotels and resorts only. But if you plan to do all these, please book in advance, as they fill fast in pick season.
Internal transport:
Our internal transport was via Ivalo Taxi Services. Their staff is amazing, punctual, and prompt.
Contact number: +358 50 514 6585
Other activities you can do are:
Korouoma Canyon and frozen waterfall hike – We didn’t do this as Pappa was with us.
Polar ice breaker cruise—This activity is all the rage nowadays and is on many people’s bucket lists. But the kids were not keen on it, so we opted for the Mine tour instead.
Why didn’t we go to Norway or Iceland?
Many of our friends are asking us this question. The main reason for this was Santa Claus Village. I mean, we as adults are fascinated to meet Santa, so obviously, you can imagine that of the kids. And we want to see the midnight sun over fascinating fjords. In Iceland, we want to go hiking in the lava fields in the summer with a road trip. For the northern lights, almost all Nordic countries above the Arctic Circle have equal chances; it’s just that you have to be at the right place and at the right time.
I hope this helps you plan your next trip to this wonderful country.
Thanks.
Amazing experience u had
Superb👍🏻
Thank you sir..
Very nicely planned and written..
Thank you..
Very nicely planned… After reading this we are definitely visiting the happiest country very soon.
Thank you…
How can i forget You guys
Indian family with Dad who was very proud to travel with you all .
Hope u remember me 👍😁
Thank you…same here…how can we forget you..
👍
Thanks..
Excellent information about Finland and northern lights 👍👍👍
Thank you so much..
Love the smooth sailing we feel when we read it !
Thanks a ton…
To the Point and Well written !
have never been to europe but sure this is in our bucket list
australia baju avo
am dhaivats friend who used to stay near you and now in USA !
Thank you so much.. oh!great.. yes it is on bucket list. let’s see..
I bow to You for this blog !
while reading it momentary i thought am visiting Lapland !
Keep on writing !
keep on inspiring
Thank you so much…truly grateful..
Well scripted Doctor !
love the continuity in your writing !
i must appreciate the time you take to pen every minute detail !
which is the best time to visit !
Thank you so much for kind words… If you want to see auroras then March or September-October (spring and autumn). Otherwise they say Finland is beautufl in each and every season. But we feel that March is better as you can enjoy snow activities also..
Amazing !
why dont you share this to travel agents !
Thank you…
Wonder experience… Meticulously planned too…
Thank you sir…