Wilderness Hotel Juutua – Arctic Aurora Activity Holiday in Finnish Lapland
- Details
Details
Important Information
The order of activities listed in this agenda is provided for guidance only. Your final and detailed itinerary will be provided either with your final travel documents (which will be emailed to you around a week prior to departure), or upon arrival.
Itinerary
You will be met by a driver and transferred to Wilderness Hotel Juutua upon arrival at Ivalo Airport (approx. 40 min). After a welcoming dinner, you will have time to settle into your hotel room or enjoy a drink in the hotel bar. Cold weather clothing is provided to you either the day of your arrival or the day after, depending on your arrival time.
Included Meals: Dinner
After breakfast, you will have the chance to embark on an exhilarating snowmobile trip to explore the wintry surroundings. The trail will incorporate snow-covered forests and vast frozen lakes as you explore your new surroundings in style!
Prior to heading out on the safari, you will receive thorough safety training. Two guests share the snowmobile and each has the chance to drive (assuming both are over the age of 18 and have a full driving licence).
You will then return to the hotel for lunch and a free afternoon. We highly suggest a visit to Sámi Siida Museum at some stage during your holiday (small entrance fee payable locally). Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre are located just a short walk from the hotel and are home to exhibitions about Sámi culture and the Northern Lapland environment, including a short film about the Northern Lights.
Aurora Camps have been established throughout the local region by the hotel’s expert guides. They are all located in locations with clear views of the north and completely dark skies. You will arrive at the camp in a sleigh pulled by your guide’s snowmobile. As you wait for the Northern Lights, a fire will keep you warm and hot refreshments will be provided. Hopefully, the lights will shine brightly overhead.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A husky safari is one of the real core adventures strongly associated with the Arctic. The sense of adventure you get from hitting the route with an excited team of dogs pulling your sled along is quite simply unmatched by anything else. It is a tried-and-true mode of transportation that has never lost any of its appeal.
A short transfer from the hotel, you will find your excited huskies. Before you meet the teams, you’ll receive a thorough safety briefing and be shown how to operate the sleds. You’ll hear their barks before you see them; the huskies will be ready to get moving but don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for pictures and cuddles later! As you travel along the route, you will enjoy the beautiful winter wonderland surrounding you – these memories will stay with you for an exceedingly long time!
After returning to the hotel to warm up and enjoy some lunch you will explore in a very different way. As in any new destination you visit, walking is normally the best method to experience your new surroundings. If you were to try to navigate the deep snow on foot, you would rapidly find yourself knee-deep; however, if you put on snowshoes, it becomes much easier. There will be plenty of time for you to take in the tranquil silence of this area as you explore where even snowmobiles and huskies cannot reach. The pace will be gradual, allowing you and your knowledgeable guide to pause and take in the beauty and fauna.
This evening, a gala 5-course dinner will be served in the locally renowned restaurant Aanaar situated in the hotel. The restaurant is known for its fine dining interpretation of classic dishes by using as many local, freshly sourced ingredients as the chef can.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Through today’s activity, you can gain a rare insight into the daily lives of Lapland’s traditional reindeer herders and their animals. Both today and historically how each season impacts how and where the reindeer live. You will transfer to a local reindeer farm where the peaceful animals will be the star attraction. The reindeer herder will provide you with information about the reindeer’s life and value to the community and economy.
To mark your final evening in Lapland you will head out with your guide on a final Aurora hunt by car or minibus. Being mobile has the advantage of allowing you to travel farther and, as a result, increase your chances of finding clear skies. You’ll set up in one of the Aurora Camps close by if the weather is suitable in the area around the hotel. Or if there is cloud cover in the local area, you will move further away in an effort to avoid it.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
You will take a transfer back to the airport this morning to catch your flight home. We are confident that you will have loved your stay in Lapland, and our travel specialists are here to assist you if you wish to arrange a repeat trip to the same area or somewhere different such as the Arctic Fjords surrounding Tromsø, or the unique hotels such as the ICEHOTEL® or Treehotel in Swedish Lapland.
Included Meals: Breakfast
What's included?
- Return from London to Ivalo (either direct or via Helsinki). Flight routes are subject to change
- Return scheduled group shuttle airport transfers
- 4 nights in an Arctic Room
- Full board (including five-course taster menu in Aanaar Restaurant)
- Snowmobile Safari
- Aurora Camp
- Husky Safari
- Snowshoeing
- Reindeer Farm Visit
- Aurora Hunt By Car or Minibus
- 24/7 assistance from our UK-based operations team and in-destination support from our local partners
- Cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay
Accommodation
The newly refurbished Wilderness Hotel Juutua is situated right in the heart of Inari village.
Tour Map
Additional Info
Price is based on 2 persons travelling
Tour terms, click here
Booking conditions click here
Payment and Cancellation Terms:
Please note that the following cancellation terms supersede in part those mentioned in Section 7 of our general booking terms and conditions.
If you are travelling between, and including, the dates of 15.12-06.01, the following cancellation terms apply:
– Prior to 25.09 – Loss of deposit (including the full cost of the flights or other services where paid at the time of booking)
– 26.09 up until departure date – 100%
For all other travel dates, the following cancellation terms apply:
– Up to balance due date (this is normally 16 weeks prior to departure however some holidays differ. If this applies to your holiday you will be advised at the time of booking) – Loss of deposit (including the full cost of flights or other services where paid at the time of booking)
– Between balance due date and 43 days prior to departure – 60%
– 42 to 16 days prior to departure – 85%
– 15 or less days – 100%
Key Facts
For your best chance to see the Northern Lights, contact the UK’s only Aurora specialists