Jeris Family Winter Cottage Adventure
- Details
Details
Treat the family to a range of fabulous activities and experiences on this fun-filled holiday to Jeris, Finland. You'll get to try out a host of classic activities on the snow, stay in a wonderful winter cottage, and explore a true wilderness.
As a family, you will journey through this landscape in a range of ways. Sled dogs are some of the most enthusiastic creatures you will ever meet and you'll enjoy their company on a 15-kilometre husky ride and, during a snowmobile safari with net fishing, you'll see some superb scenery and witness the scale of the wilderness. Another awesome adventure included in this holiday is to head off into the wilderness by Snow Shuttle to hopefully catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Jeris, Finland has a phenomenal track record for seeing the Northern Lights so it makes the ideal location for your trip.
Not that the line-up of local delights ends there. There will also be a visit to Torassieppi Reindeer Farm, which has stood since 1847. Learn to throw a lasso and take a reindeer-pulled sleigh ride through the forest.
Jeris is perfectly placed to spot the Northern Lights, so we've organised a workshop with an expert guide who will tell you all about the myths, legends and science behind the Aurora. Hopefully, you will get the chance to witness them at their shimmering best during your stay.
At the end of every adventure, you will return to the warmth of your very own cosy winter cottage accommodation.
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
Your family getaway begins as you land at Kittilä Airport and are transferred to Hotel Jeris. The transfer will normally take around 45 minutes. Once you have settled in and made your cabin your own you will walk to the main building to have dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Included Meals: Dinner
After breakfast, you’ll be transferred to Torassieppi. You’ll tour its incredible reindeer farm, which has been around since 1847 and travel further into its history with a visit to the small but fascinating on-site museum. After that, you’ll learn how to throw a lasso like a real reindeer herder before being taken on a magical three-kilometre reindeer sleigh ride around the woods. Lunch will then be served at the hotel restaurant.
In the afternoon, it is time for you to learn about the incredible Aurora Borealis, during a Northern Lights workshop which will last around one hour. You’ll hear the myths and legends associated with the Aurora and be introduced to the science behind them.
Jeris is in a prime location for witnessing this phenomenal light display, so remember to keep an eye on the sky each night.
Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant this evening.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This morning features one of our all-time favourite activities – a husky safari! You will get to tour a husky farm close by and meet the energetic team that will be leading you on safari.
The dogs will be harnessed, and the adults will receive full instructions on how to control the sled. You will then all depart on a magical dog sled ride which covers an amazing 15 kilometres. It may be noisy to begin with, but the dogs soon quieten down, silently slipping you over the snow. You will travel in pairs with children typically travelling in the guide’s sled and the adults sharing one team between two.
Dinner this evening will be served in the lakeside restaurant or in a traditional kota with an open fire. Afterwards, you will be joined by a local Sámi and you can listen to traditional Sámi joikus. These are sometimes haunting mixes of chant and song, tell of Sámi life and the natural world with which their lives have been so tightly intertwined over the centuries.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today it is time to rev up the action with a snowmobile safari. Full instruction and a safety briefing precede your departure onto the trails for a thrilling ride along the snowy trails. You need to be 18 years old and hold a full driving licence to take the controls and adults will travel two people per machine. Children will travel in a sled pulled by the guide’s snowmobile.
You will stop on one of the frozen lakes (the ice is incredibly thick) and learn the techniques of ancient net fishing. Your guide will demonstrate how the Sámi people have traditionally fished here using nets and will also get a fire going and cook up lunch out in the open. Food always tastes better in the fresh air!
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today has been left free for you to relax or book additional activities (payable locally). If you’re addicted to the outdoors, it will be possible to hire snowshoes or cross-country skis and explore more of the natural routes around Jeris at your own pace.
Whatever you decide, you can either have lunch in the hotel restaurant or take a packed lunch with you on your personal adventures.
After dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, you will head off on an adventure to search for the Northern Lights. A carriage pulled by the guide’s snowmobile (the type of carriage will depend on the weather conditions on the day) will take you out into the Arctic night. Once you arrive at the campfire site, your guide will get a fire on the go. You can enjoy a warm drink and a snack while, hopefully, catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights. You will be out for around 2 hours in total.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
There’s a classic Nordic sport after breakfast today. After a short transfer, a guide will lead you on a snowshoe hike through the surrounding wilderness of the Pallas fell. Lunch will be enjoyed back at the hotel.
Afterwards, you will get to indulge in one of the Finns most favoured pastimes. It is said that the sauna is the first room any Finnish architect considers when planning any building. You can, of course, then take on the challenge of either a dip in the lake or a roll in the snow to really complete the experience – but it is entirely optional and only for those who are in excellent health.
Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant this evening.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
We’ve kept the end of your holiday free for you to have some free time and try your favourite activities again. If you would like to discuss or book any additional activities in advance please speak to one of our Travel Experts.
This evening a very special Finnish dinner will be served at the hotel.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
It is time to wave farewell to Lapland and once you’ve had breakfast, you will be transferred to Kittilä Airport for your journey home.
Included Meals: Breakfast
What's included?
- Return flights from London to Kittilä, either direct or via Helsinki depending on departure date. Flight routes are subject to change
- Return group airport transfers
- 7 nights’ accommodation in Type A Winter Cottage (upgrades to larger cottages are available on request)
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners (If you’re travelling between 29th January and 16th February on direct flights, you will receive 7 lunches)
- Reindeer farm visit and short sleigh ride
- Northern Lights workshop
- Husky safari and Sami evening
- Snowmobile Safari and net fishing
- Aurora Snow Shuttle
- Snowshoeing
- Arctic Sauna World and Lappish Dinner
- Cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay
- Fully qualified guides and instructors during activities
- 24/7 assistance from our UK based operations team and in -destination support from our local partners
Our Expert Opinion
It might be clichéd to say that the best things come in threes, but it’s definitely the case when it comes to this Jeris holiday. There are several trios in this trip which make it all the more special: activities, winter cottage, and spa pools…husky, snowmobile, and reindeer safaris… snowshoeing, ice fishing and Northern Lights!
Accommodation
| |||||||
| Hotel Jeris occupies an enviable location which is 20 kilometres from the nearest village and is located directly on the shores of Lake Jerisjärvi. It is this remote position that makes the hotel an enchanting forest retreat. The hotel is owned and run by the Pietikäinen family, who also manage the neighbouring sister hotels of Harriniva, Kittila and Torassieppi. Their hotels are some of our most popular accommodation options in Finland, having received high praise for their knowledgeable guides and exciting activity options. The hotel consists of a central building and 32 winter cottages in the adjacent forest. Hotel facilities
|
Tour Map
Key Facts
For your best chance to see the Northern Lights, contact the UK’s only Aurora specialists
