Lapland December 2010

bitsandbobs

Its Saariselka we are looking at going to, just wondering how its actually cheaper to book with another company than Esprit even though the other company is actually using Esprit. Thats the sort of trip we are after, its quite difficult for me to get time off in December so 3 days and 2 nights will be perfect for what we need, all the sleigh rides ect seem to be included in that and its full board so seems a fair price

inspector_monkfish

bitsandbobs wrote: »

Its Saariselka we are looking at going to, just wondering how its actually cheaper to book with another company than Esprit even though the other company is actually using Esprit. Thats the sort of trip we are after, its quite difficult for me to get time off in December so 3 days and 2 nights will be perfect for what we need, all the sleigh rides ect seem to be included in that and its full board so seems a fair price

you'll probably find if you ask esprit nicely, they have room to manouvre their prices...

we went to rovaniemi, sky Hotel last month, and stayed in a Log Cabin.
went with Esprit, but booked via an independent travel agent, who got us a nice chunky discount.

it was perfect, and totally totally 10,000% recommend it.
Log Cabins were stunning.

if you can squeeze an extra day also, do it, it will be worth it
just gives you the extra day to relax and chill and enjoy it all, as its all quite tiring if you rush things. No idea how these people do the 1 day trip, must be shattering!


we booked about 1mth before, but people that had booked a year before got an extra excursion included, but not sure if they paid mopre or less for the actual holiday than we did.

i wud say just book it now - you prob won't save a massive amount if any by waiting, but you'll give yourself a whole year of worrying about the price instead!!

stormCat99

bitsandbobs wrote: »

Its Saariselka we are looking at going to, just wondering how its actually cheaper to book with another company than Esprit even though the other company is actually using Esprit. Thats the sort of trip we are after, its quite difficult for me to get time off in December so 3 days and 2 nights will be perfect for what we need, all the sleigh rides ect seem to be included in that and its full board so seems a fair price

We've been to Saariselka and it's lovely. Just a suggestion, but we've always ended up booking our own flights and separate accommodation, as it has worked out far far cheaper. We don't have children but due to the timing of our wedding anniversary, we've always gone over Feb half time when prices do skyrocket. Even so, we did not pay anything like £1900 for a whole 10 day trip. Even including trips out etc.

Might be worth checking out separate flight/accommodation prices. Just a suggestion - I realise maybe these options are more limited around Christmas time than at a half term though.

tesco_addict

bitsandbobs wrote: »

Its Saariselka we are looking at going to, just wondering how its actually cheaper to book with another company than Esprit even though the other company is actually using Esprit. Thats the sort of trip we are after, its quite difficult for me to get time off in December so 3 days and 2 nights will be perfect for what we need, all the sleigh rides ect seem to be included in that and its full board so seems a fair price

We booked 1 week with inghams last year for £1800 2 adults and 2 children. traved on 16 or17 dec. We booked early and recieved the early bird booking discount from them. We stayed at holiday club hotel . Food there was very basic but the swimming pool was great. we booked all our trips with inghams reps when we arrived our dd was 3 so all her trips were free. Inghams prices were very reasonable. looking on inghams web site for this year the cost has risen somewhat but we will be going there again. We did the husky ride, the snow mobile trip and vist to santa all were great fun.

shed_head_2

We went with inghams december 2008, my youngest was 4 he day after we returned. Our oldest was 13 at the time, we had a magical week in levi,
We all had private ski lessons, the little ones loved the childrens tobbogan area, My dad loved the log huts with the log fires, OH loved the relaxing peace of the place. We all loved the trips, huskies, reindeer and of course Santas secret hideaway. My kids all still talk about the trip 18 months on. I would never want to do the santa thing again as I think it would spoil their memories, my middle one who was 5 at the time thinks he was invited to santas christmas party, he was so excited. Yet I would go back to levi without a thought the place is clean, beautiful and very magical.

the skiing was great for me as an intermediate skier and fantastic for the kids and oh as beginers.
Oh and the inghams trips were by far the cheapest and best value for money that I found anywhere on the net and the trip was over a year in the planning stage so well researched.

Em

inspector_monkfish

listen to poe.tuesday
she knows all there is to know on Lapland

advised myself and family to go last December
we had a wonderful time in Rovaniemi, Sky Hotel Cabins - which i thoroughly recomend.

have alook here also
http://www.santatrips.com/MegaQuote/MQsearch.asp

Tarwbach

inspector_monkfish wrote: »

you'll probably find if you ask esprit nicely, they have room to manouvre their prices...

we went to rovaniemi, sky Hotel last month, and stayed in a Log Cabin.
went with Esprit, but booked via an independent travel agent, who got us a nice chunky discount.

it was perfect, and totally totally 10,000% recommend it.
Log Cabins were stunning.

if you can squeeze an extra day also, do it, it will be worth it
just gives you the extra day to relax and chill and enjoy it all, as its all quite tiring if you rush things. No idea how these people do the 1 day trip, must be shattering!


we booked about 1mth before, but people that had booked a year before got an extra excursion included, but not sure if they paid mopre or less for the actual holiday than we did.

i wud say just book it now - you prob won't save a massive amount if any by waiting, but you'll give yourself a whole year of worrying about the price instead!!

I have booked for a cabin in the sky hotel going on the 12th December 2010 for 4 days. What advice could you give me about this Accomodation and any thing you feel you would benefitted from knowing before you arrived. Is there a shop near? My elderly mother is determined That she will be ok... What is the walking like from hotel to cabin. And really any other little nuggets that will help us get the most from our visit.
Thank you.

poe.tuesday

tawrbach - if your mum is elderly make sure she is wrapped up really well, layers are the most important thing, I would suggest that you ensure that the boots you get her have a good grip or that you buy boot grips that you put on your normal boots (crampon type) - also get yourself a kicksledge when you are out there (you can hire them) and she can sit on the front whilst you push her about - they are great and she will not have to stoop too far to sit down

for clothing info look at https://www.lapland.fruitbandit.com and as with the elderly their circulation is not that great so take hand warmers etc

have a great time and just watch out for black ice, if the temps are warm during the day and then freeze overnight then it will be everywhere so make sure you go ahead of your mum when you first venture out on the paths etc

Tarwbach

thanks for the post. Have you stayed in the sky cabins? Is there Any thing else regarding the accommodation that would be useful to know? Really quite excited now and the children don't even know they are going yet. Would welcome any other thoughts or advice about how to make this holiday special.

poe.tuesday

I have not stayed in the sky cabins, I go right to the north of finland but check over on tripadvisor if you need more info and reviews etc

as for trips, you can do husky rides which are very fast but should be find for your mum as she will be in the sleigh, reindeer which are slow and would be ideal for your mum - one thing to remember is that the sleighs in both the huskies and reindeer are low, so as long as she can get down and back up again she will love them, just make sure she is covered up with blankets especially her feet even though she will have her boots on as with the huskies going so fast the wind chill can really be bitter, snowmobiling which will not be good for your mum but are great fun, you may find that the tour ops will say she can go on sleigh pulled by a snowmobile but I would not do it, they are bumpy and really open to the elements, she will also have to hold on which I don't think is going to be safe or fun for anyone

in rov there is the santa park and the post office - they are near each other but are very different from each other, the santa park is commercial and reports say that it is very tacky where as the post office is much better - make sure you do your research on these two places if you are considering going to either of them

are you being supplied with all your clothing or are you doing it yourself? if it is the latter then I would suggest that you get your mum an all in once ski suit over separates and this will keep the cold out around the waist and it is really important that you all have lots of light layers, in-particular you mum

as for what to take with you, if you are self catering then you can take food out with you, it is expensive in finland so anything you can take (such as soups etc) will save you money - soup btw is really expensive there, in one supermarket I went to get a small brick of soup which was about the size of a normal can of soup and it was €6! but there again, things like pizzas etc are cheap, so just watch the prices.

one thing to remember too is dehydration, the air is dry there and if you are out playing you will dehydrate so make sure you drink plenty of water

have fun, you are going to love it - have you looked at any of the webcams yet?