Finnish Lapland Winter Family Holiday

This area of Finland can be extremely cold during the winter – when this trip operates. Please bring appropriate clothing for adverse weather conditions. Please see the Packing section in the Essential Trip Information document for more details.

There may be the rare occasion where your leader has to alter the itinerary and activities due to the weather. In this case an alternative will be offered.

Please also note that even though it will be cold, there may not always be snow cover, especially on the departures earlier in the winter season.

The Northern Lights (also known as the Aurora Borealis) are a natural display of coloured lights in the night sky of the northern hemisphere. While Northern Light displays can never be guaranteed, as they are a natural phenomenon, you have a higher chance of seeing them in locations at high latitudes, away from areas of light pollution. Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies during your visit.

The average age of children who travelled on this trip in the last year is 9 years old. Most children on Intrepid Family trips are between 10 and 14 years old

FAMILY TRIPS: Please note that these trips are for adults and children travelling together and there must be at least one child under 18 with you.

MINIMUM AGE
Minimum age for children on this trip is 5 years. However, please read the trip notes carefully to decide whether the strenuous nature of this trip is suitable for your family.

DISCOUNT
A discount of 10% applies on this trip to children under 17 years of age at time of travel.

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: A single supplement is available to book subject to availability and is inclusive of all nights. 

WEATHER: Lapland can be extremely cold at this time of year. Please bring appropriate clothing for adverse weather conditions. Please see the Packing section in the Essential Trip Information document for more details on what is available for hire in location and what we recommend you should bring along.

WINTER TEMPERATURES
During the winter months in Lapland, temperatures can drop to well below zero. Winter boots and overalls are available for hire in location for the included activities, however in order to ensure you have high quality equipment with the right fit for your entire time in Finland, we recommend to all our guests to bring these items from home. This includes good sturdy shoes for walking across snow or ice (good waterproof walking boots), warm wind and rainproof jacket and trousers, gloves or mittens, thermals underwear and base layers, extra wool or cotton socks, fleece, good head wear that covers your ears, scarf or other face protection, and sunglasses.

DARKNESS
We also suggest you bring along a torch/flashlight, as days are short, and street lighting in the village will be turned off in the evening to increase the chance of spotting the northern lights.

RECOMMENDED
- Personal medical kit. Your leader will carry a large kit but we recommend you carry items such as blister relief, mild pain killers and bandaids.
- Water bottle. We recommend at least a 1.5 litre capacity. The sale of bottled water contributes to an enormous environmental problem around the world. In addition to the water in bottles, the production of a 1 litre plastic bottle takes 2 litres of water and 200ml of oil. A large proportion end up in limited landfill or discarded in waterways and natural environments.
- Swimwear & flip-flops - for visits to one of Finland's famous saunas

OPTIONAL
- Camera with spare batteries. You won't be able to recharge during the day. Keep in mind that cold weather conditions drain batteries much quicker compared to warm weather. Keeping your camera or phone close to your body can be a solution.
- Earplugs and eye mask (for light sleepers)

This trip can be enjoyed by just about anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. Some trips may have individual inclusions that may be of a higher physical rating compared to the overall rating of the trip. Please read the day-to-day itinerary carefully to find out more details on each day's activities, and whether they are suitable for you. Activities can be opted out of if you don't want to participate.

Hotelli Aakenus, Koskikatu 47, Rovaniemi, FINLAND, Phone: +358 16342205

Hotel Aakenus is located 500m from central Rovaniemi and just around the corner from the bath house Vesihiisi. It offers freshly decorated rooms with TV, desk, fridge, hairdryer and free Wi-Fi. The hotel also offers access to their sauna (at an additional cost) and serves home cooked meals at their in-house restaurant.

Alternate Joining Point

Hotel Hullu Poro, Rakkavaarantie 3, 99130 Sirkka,, Levi, FINLAND

Alternate Finish Point

Breakfasts included: 4

Lunches included: 1

Dinners included: 1

While travelling with us you and your family experience the vast array of wonderful food available in the world. Your group leader will be able to suggest restaurants to try during your trip. Please ensure you tell them of any dietary requirements you and your family may have. We know children can be fussy eaters at times so we do recommend you bring any snacks from home to have throughout the trip.

To give you the maximum flexibility in deciding where, what and with whom to eat, generally not all meals are included in the trip price. This also gives you more budgeting flexibility. As a rule our groups tend to eat together to enable you and your family to taste a larger variety of dishes and enjoy each other's company. There's no obligation to do this though.

The winter months in Lapland can be extremely cold. The average temperature between November and March ranges from minus 5 to minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit), but cold snaps of below minus 35 degrees Celsius (minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit) are possible. Heavy snowfalls are common, and snow remains on the ground until the thaw in spring. Please read the 'what to pack' section for information on how to stay warm.

While we always endeavour to provide the best possible holiday experience, due to the nature of travel and the areas we visit sometimes things can and do go wrong. Should any issue occur while you are on your trip, it is imperative that you discuss this with your group leader or local representative straight away so that they can do their best to rectify the problem and save any potential negative impact on the rest of your trip.

We recognise that there may be times when your group leader or local representative may not be able to resolve a situation to your satisfaction - if this is the case, please ask the group leader or local representative to speak to their direct manager.

You may also choose to provide details in your online feedback, which we ask you to complete within 30 days of the end of your trip. Please do be aware that it is very difficult for us to provide any practical help after the trip is completed, so informing us while still travelling will give us the opportunity to resolve the issue in real-time.

For general contact details please use the following page: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/contact-us

In case of a genuine crisis or emergency, you can reach our local office on the numbers below:

If you have booked an arrival transfer, and you experience severe delays at immigration, baggage collection or customs, or if you are not able to find to the driver, please contact the transfer operator directly on the number listed in the joining point instructions in the section above.

Intrepid’s Local Operator: +49 8024 4679 540

GENERAL ROOMING CONFIGURATIONS:
Family of two: All family groupings of two will be accommodated in a twin room.

Family of three: Wherever possible we will put you in a triple room. Please be aware that in some places triple rooms are in short supply. This means that a triple room will often be a twin room with a rollaway bed or mattress on the floor. Where triple rooms aren’t available it will be at your discretion which of your family takes the single room.

Family of four or more: You will most likely be accommodated in two twin rooms. Where possible, we will accommodate your family in a quadruple room.

While we do our very best to ensure that family groups are roomed close together (in some cases, we can arrange adjoining rooms), we can’t guarantee this. Most family holidays occur during peak season and we sometimes have little to no control over the exact placement of rooms within a hotel. Please be understanding if we are unable to room your family in immediate proximity of one another.