Inari and Nangu – Winter Escape at Lake Inari
- Details
Details
Explore two of Finland's most sought-after destinations during this seven-night holiday to Inari and Nangu. Both locations sit close to the expansive Lake Inari which freezes over in the winter and plays host to your memorable Aurora hunts and unbelievable Arctic activities.
The special locations surrounding the gigantic Lake Inari are renowned for their pristine environments and Northern Lights track records. Many of our Artisan Travel Experts got their first experience of Finland's impressive wilderness in these areas and have since returned with their loved ones for many more adventures.
Inari and Nangu both offer unspoiled winter scenes, superb lookouts over frozen Lake Inari and brilliant Arctic and Aurora experiences, but they each have their charm which you will discover during your seven-night break.
Your first four nights will be spent in Inari, just outside the small village which is the heart of Sámi culture. Whether you have been to Finland before or this is your first time, Inari is a brilliantly authentic insight into the indigenous people that have called this area home for thousands of years. During your stay, you will visit a reindeer farm to discover how these animals have been integral to the Sámi people.
In Nangu, you'll get the full wilderness experience whilst staying in the wonderful adults-only (16+) boutique hotel for extra tranquillity. With a log interior and a beautiful restaurant, you'll find it hard to leave the cosy hotel but when there's snowmobiling and snowshoeing waiting outside, it's definitely worth it.
Due to your location, you could see the Northern Lights on any night of your stay but we have also included several dedicated hunts to maximise your chances. You'll visit the Aurora Camps set up in prime lookout spots around the lake as well as snowshoeing into the Arctic night.
Please note that the order of activities listed is for guidance only, your final itinerary will be provided on arrival at your accommodation.
Itinerary
On arrival at Ivalo Airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred* to Wilderness Hotel Inari to start your Arctic adventure.
After checking in, you’ll enjoy dinner in the restaurant and will have the rest of the evening to spend as you please. Due to the hotel’s prime location, you simply only need to step outside and if the conditions are right, the Aurora could be there to welcome you to Finland.
Your cold weather clothing will be distributed either this evening or in the morning.
Please note that the order of activities listed in this agenda is provided for guidance only, your final itinerary will be provided on arrival at your accommodation.
*Transfers are based on a scheduled group shuttle that may stop at a few nearby hotels. If you would prefer to upgrade to private taxi transfers please ask our Artisan Travel Experts for a quotation.
Included Meals: Dinner
Following breakfast, you will gain an authentic insight into the local culture when you visit a nearby reindeer farm. These animals have been of vital importance to the indigenous Sámi people, helping them survive the long Arctic winters. You will be out for around 2 to 2.5 hours (including transfers).
Lunch will be served in the restaurant and you will have some free time to enjoy the surroundings. After dinner, you will head out in search of the Aurora Borealis.
Lake Inari’s huge frozen surface is the ideal platform for Northern Lights viewing and our local expert guides have set up various Aurora camps around the lake’s shores, which you will visit tonight.
You will travel to the camp on a sled pulled by the guide’s snowmobile and upon arrival, you can enjoy hot drinks as you keep your eyes looking up for a potential display. You will be out for approximately 2.5 hours in total tonight.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Fill up on breakfast ahead of dog sledding – one of the most-loved Arctic activities. After a full safety briefing and instructions on how to drive the sled, you will meet with the excitable dogs.
Don’t worry if there is a lot of barking at this time, the dogs are simply really eager to get running on the trails! As soon as you release the anchor, your loyal team will settle into a comfortable pace and quieten down, leaving you to watch the winter landscape unfold.
You will travel two per sled, with one person driving and one person sitting as a passenger with the option to swap halfway. The activity will last approximately 3 hours in total with 1 hour of driving and you will also have time to pet the dogs and take photographs afterwards. Lunch will be served at the hotel either before or after the safari.
After dinner tonight you have a free evening to enjoy as you please. Inari’s brilliant location means that if the Aurora conditions are looking favourable, you only have to step outside of the hotel to see the green dancing lights. Or you may wish to book onto a dedicated activity, see our ‘personalise tour’ section for more details.
Today has been left free for you to enjoy as you please. You may wish to add on an additional activity, which you can find in the ‘personalise tour’ section.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant as usual before your Northern Lights hunt tonight.
This evening you will strap on a pair of snowshoes and make your way into the Arctic night. Snowshoes help you walk over the deep snow with ease so you can enjoy the peaceful wilderness as you follow your guide to an excellent Northern Lights vantage point. If conditions are favourable, you will be in a prime location to see the lights. You will be out for approximately 2.5 hours.
After breakfast, you will bid farewell to Inari and transfer to Nangu, approximately one hour away.
You will have a free afternoon to settle into your new wilderness surroundings in a different part of Lake Inari’s expansive shores.
Following dinner tonight, you will again travel into the Arctic night in a sledge pulled by your guide’s snowmobile. After driving out to a lookout spot away from light pollution, you will enjoy hot drinks around the campfire as your guide tells you all about the Aurora and you search the skies. You will be out for approximately 2.5 hours.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast, you will be back on snowshoes but this time to enjoy the stunning wilderness by day.
Snowshoeing can be physical but it is a slow-paced activity and a very peaceful way to explore the snowy surroundings.
Your guide will help fit your snowshoes before leading you through the wintery landscape, pointing out animal footprints along the way. This is a wonderfully scenic tour so make sure you bring your camera. This activity will last approximately four hours in total, including time for lunch and warm drinks around an open fire.
Following dinner in the hotel restaurant, you will have a free evening to spend as you please. Nangu’s prime location gives you easy access to frozen Lake Inari, a perfect viewing location if the Northern Lights conditions are looking favourable. Alternatively, you may wish to book a dedicated activity, please contact one of our Travel Experts..
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Fuel up on breakfast ahead of one of the most thrilling activities available in the Arctic; snowmobiling. This is the perfect way to explore further afield, and after a full safety briefing, you will follow your guide onto the trails to see more of the winter wilderness.
Two people will share a snowmobile with the option to swap halfway but please note, you must hold a valid driving licence and be at least 18 years old to drive a snowmobile. You will be out for around two hours. Lunch will either be served before or after the activity.
After dinner tonight, your last evening in Nangu is free for you to spend as you please.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today it is unfortunately time for your Finnish adventure to come to an end. Following breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your return flight home. If you have an early flight, we will box up breakfast for you to take with you.
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 are included as well as a transfer from Inari to Nangu
- 4 nights in a standard hotel room at Wilderness Hotel Inari, 3 nights in a standard hotel room at Wilderness Hotel Nangu
- Full board
- 2 x Aurora camp
- Reindeer farm visit
- Aurora Snowshoe
- Husky safari
- Snowshoeing day
- Snowmobile safari
- Cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay
- 24/7 assistance from our UK based operations team and in destination support from our local partners
Accommodation
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Situated on Lake Inari’s shores, Wilderness Hotel Inari is one of the most spectacular destinations we feature. Offering excellent levels of comfort and some serious ‘wow factor’, it is the latest addition to the Wilderness Hotels owned by our good friends Jouko and Mari Lappalianen. Importantly it is also slap, bang in the middle of the world’s best Aurora hunting territory and the hotel has implemented some innovative Northern Lights features to help maximise your viewing potential. Wilderness Hotel Inari is ideally located around 40 minutes’ drive from Ivalo Airport and just five minutes from Inari Village, which is the centre of Sámi culture in Finland. There is a variety of accommodation on offer here, including cabins, Aurora cabins and hotel rooms, all of which are separate to (but within very easy reach of), the central restaurant building. The hotel provides modern accommodation with décor which combines both comfort and charm. A huge amount of thought has gone into creating this very special place to stay. Hotel Facilities
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Wilderness Hotel Nangu is an adult-only (16+), boutique hotel tucked away in a secluded spot close to the shores of Lake Inari in North East Finnish Lapland. This is the ideal place for those wanting to escape to a real haven of peace and quiet which just oozes rustic style, charm and comfort. Think handmade wooden furniture, sheepskins, stunning log architecture, comfy chairs and roaring fires; all with a view over snow-laden trees and a vast frozen lake beyond. The central log-built restaurant and reception building is a spectacular spot in which to dine and unwind and the elegant wooden buildings which contain the bedrooms are around 20-50 metres away. The hotel was transformed in 2017 by our longstanding friends and partners Jouko and Mari and they have really put their heart and soul into making Wilderness Hotel Nangu the grown-up retreat that it is. In prime Aurora territory and just a minute’s walk from the shores of Lake Inari, this is really an incredible place in which to hunt the Northern Lights. There are only 36 bedrooms here and so there is also a real exclusivity about this place and we would really recommend booking early to avoid disappointment. Hotel Facilities
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Personalise This Tour
This traditional Finnish sport is definitely worth experiencing during your time in Inari. So, strap on your skis and prepare to travel like a local.
Your guide will give you instructions and no prior experience of any form of skiing is required. Once you have mastered the basics, you will set out for a trip on the trails close to the hotel.
Duration: approximately 2 hours
During this activity, your guides will use their local knowledge and the Aurora and weather forecasts to lead you to a prime Northern Lights viewpoint.
If local conditions are good, a specific Aurora camp will be selected, and you can spend more time trying to capture the lights on camera.
If the weather is less promising close to the hotel, you will travel further in search of clear skies.
Your guide will impart some of their extensive knowledge and you will enjoy an evening out in the wilds, hopefully gazing at the Northern Lights.
Duration: approximately 3 hours
| Tour Loaction: | Inari,Finland |
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| Tour Loaction: | Inari,Finland |
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| Tour Loaction: | Inari,Finland |
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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
