Our visit to Finland

 
By Kim Parker, England

 
Our first visit to Finland was in April 2003. We travelled with three other families to visit some friends in Helsinki who joined us for our onward journey to Levi.

At that time, there were no direct flights from the UK to Lapland apart from the December package trips to visit Father Christmas so we organised our own travel and accommodation. We flew from Heathrow to Helsinki on a Finnair flight and an internal flight to Kittilä. It obviously helped having Finnish speaking friends with us but it was nevertheless relatively easy to organise.
 
We spent an action packed week sampling many of the available Lappish activities. We visited a husky farm; a reindeer farm and Lappish village; went on a skidoo safari and of course sampled the traditional Finnish cuisine in a number of excellent restaurants. We stayed in a large well equipped cabin at the K5 Hotel which catered for our every need. We had our own sauna and storage for ski equipment. It was well located close to the town centre and ski lift.

The weather in April was perfect. Plenty of snow and yet not too cold, and with the transfer time from the airport being only half an hour or so, Levi is an ideal late season winter holiday destination.
 

Return to Lapland
 

The following February my husband and I and our two children returned to Lapland. This time we chose Luosto as we were able to book a package holiday with direct flights to Lapland. We booked a learn-to-ski package which was good value and by the end of the week our confidence had grown. The English speaking instructors were extremely patient and caring and the quiet resort was the perfect place to learn to ski with long easy runs and no queues for the lifts.
 
Luosto is a small, pretty family resort and whilst it doesn’t offer much in the way of evening entertainment or much challenge for intermediate or experienced skiers, it is a perfect destination for families wanting to learn to ski without feeling intimidated. We stayed in a cosy log cabin which was well equipped and an easy walk to the ski school meeting place. We hired snow suits and boots for the week which were brilliant as the weather in February was extremely cold and on some days dropped as low as -16˚C.
 

Finland - especially for families

 

We have since had two further holidays to Finland – one to Ruka and the other a return trip to Levi. On each trip we have stayed in good quality accommodation, always with our own sauna and good facilities for storing skis and drying boots and ski clothing. Hiring ski equipment has been easy with good hire shops at the bottom of the slopes. I should add though that we have found the choice of restaurants and shops to be fairly limited in all the resorts.
 
We have noticed each year that Finland is featured more and more in the UK ski brochures and it is certainly growing in popularity with British holiday makers. This is no surprise as it offers good value for money, a wide variety of activities, beautiful landscape, a long, guaranteed snow season and quick transfer times. The impact of this is that the slopes are becoming busier and the queues for the lifts are getting longer and you may need to book in advance to get a table in a restaurant. I guess this is no different to any other ski resort in Europe.
 
I am happy to recommend Lapland as a good family ski destination. What it might lack in lively après ski it makes up for in charming tradition. The people are friendly and welcoming and if you throw yourself into the Finnish culture you will have a more than fulfilling holiday adventure. You might even be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights.
 
A word of warning though – it can be extremely cold in February!