From December to March, almost everything about Finland defines a true Winter experience.
Not only are you routinely presented with stunning landscapes that only seemed possible
in movies, but the powdered snow and low hanging sun, frequently dance for your eyes.
Add all that to the forever potential presence of the Northern Lights and you have yourself
a special Winter Wonderland.
In this video, we’ll share our week in Finland, getting up close with reindeer, breaking ice
across the Baltic Sea, warming up in a cozy log cabin, exploring medieval towns with a
day trip to Estonia, and yes even meeting THE Santa Clause in Lapland.
This entire tour was literally brought to you by JEE Travels, who can book your own
bespoke trip to Finland.
If you’re new here, then welcome, we make travel movies from around the world, hoping
you might just find your next holiday inspiration.
This is Suitcase Monkey spending a beautifully snowy time, in Finland.
We’ll join our trip on the 26th of December, as we touch down early into Lapland.
Covering a vast area, Lapland itself stretches across 4 different countries.
For Finland, this is a sparsely populated region in the North, but makes up almost a
third of the country.
Here is your best chance to see the Northern Lights and take part in a myriad of activities.
Our first two nights would be spent in Rovaniemi, the heart and commercial capital of Lapland.
That heart is best on display at the official home of Old St. Nick, in the Santa Claus Village
and, if I’d have been here 30 years ago, I would have melted…
If you’ve ever sent a letter to Lapland with the name Father Christmas at the top,
this is where it would’ve been read.
Each year, half a million letters from over 200 countries are sorted right here, and there
is a palpable feeling that you’ve just stepped into your childhood.
Seeing the real life letters from children all over the world, warmed even my soul.
But there is something very pure about seeing a bunch of adults write their own Christmas
cards.
And then you get the chance to either have it sent in the next few days or have it delivered
for next Christmas.
Which, for the UK’s postal service, is unfortunately the same thing.
Although this is admittedly a very commercialised attraction centred around Christmas, there
is enough here that grounds it, in its delivery.
For example, this line here represents the Arctic Circle, marking the point where you’ve
just technically crossed into the Arctic itself.
Being inside the Arctic Circle, means that for one day a year in Summer, the sun will
never set and for one day a year in Winter, the sun will never rise.
Even now, a week later, we were only seeing about 2 hours of sun a day, and this often
causes a magical filter over everything you see.
With that filter in mind, we’d had a husky ride arranged for us, whilst we waited on
our meeting with Santa Claus.
With our husky ride complete, it was time to meet the man himself.
Even though he failed at getting me Buzz Lightyear back in ’96, I was now old and indeed wise
enough to look beyond this.
And I was getting excited.
Our 40 minute wait time was managed like a Disney queue, as you snake your way towards
his office.
Before you enter, you’ll see a bunch of celebs that went before you.
Conan O Brian, The Spice Girls, even YouTuber Casey Neistat.
Then, all of a sudden, our time was now.
There are 3 things I learnt from this experience.
One; That despite numerous photos being taken, I froze the same face for all 3 so try not
to do that.
Two; This is actually a really lovely photo.
And Three; That Elves still use 720p.
To round out the day, we returned back to Rovaniemi, to check into our hotel and have
dinner.
Although I’ve linked some of the individual activities and hotels in the description below,
this entire trip from the transport, accommodation, excursions and even some meals were all organised
by JEE Travels.
So if you’d like a full bespoke Winter Wonderland package arranged for you, then just message
JEE Travels through the link below or on screen, and you’ll receive a 10% discount by using
the coupon code code SMFINLAND.
For now JEE Travels had booked us for an early morning wakeup, as we’d be taking an Ice
Breaker Cruise across the Baltic Sea.
A 3 hour drive had taken us across the Swedish border and onto the Polar Express, an 80 meter
vessel, built with a reenforced hull, strong enough to cut its own channel in frozen water.
Once the ship had lay down its anchor, the ice was thick enough, you could actually walk
out onto the Sea…
Although even this went slightly against my instincts, it wasn’t actually the main planned
activity.
And that’s because, if you want, you can swim here.
The thought of paddling in a sea that has allowed 20cm of ice to form on top, didn’t
exactly sound like a good idea, but once I saw a 5 year going in, I kinda felt I had to
The garments provided are referred to as a double layered survival wetsuit and gave me
some confidence when putting it on…
Feeling like a Telly Tubby going through a mid life crisis, I braced myself and styled
it out.
And then….
And much like Lieutenant Dan, I had made my peace with God.
For the evening, we had our first of three nights where we’d be hunting for the sometimes
shy Northern Lights.
Our very first holiday together back in 2015 was to Iceland and after 5 nights, we still
never saw the Aurora Borealis so we hoped this time would be different.
Whilst keeping an eye on the skies above, we were treated to this Lappish BBQ, with
sausages, corn and soup to keep us warm.
To see the lights, you need 3 things.
Clear skies, darkness and solar activity, which is what the lights are: the interaction
between solar winds and the Earths magnetic field.
The Aurora season starts late August and finishes mid April, with September and March being
the most active, specifically around the Equinox.
The Northern lights can best be seen in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Northern Russia, Northern
Canada, and Alaska.
But, for this evening at least, it was not to be.
The good news is that the higher on the map you climb, the better your chances are.
So tomorrow, we’d be driving 3 hours north, staying in a glass igloo, and keeping our
fingers firmly crossed.
But little did we know, that just simply arriving at our next resort, would be a highlight on
its own.
After getting familiar with our surroundings, it was time to check into our room, for want
of a better word.
The Kakslauttanen resort we were staying in, was actually the first in the world to come
up with the idea of housing guests in a glass igloo.
The outer shell itself is made from thermal glass, heated on the outside, insulated on
the inside.
So even though it was covered in snow when we arrived, it soon began to melt away, opening
up the skies for viewing.
This has long been a personal bucket list entry for me, and this unique experience didn’t
disappoint, even with cloudy skies.
One major word of warning though.
Please only book this room if you are extremely comfortable with your other half…
Even without the lights tonight, we’d already done so much on this trip, but what we didn’t
know is that our favourite 2 days were still to come in this video…
So that we could sample different types of accommodation, our second night here would
be staying in a log cabin.
Whilst waiting for the room change, we did what became our most treasured activity.
This incredibly peaceful reindeer ride was a joy and it seems we also made a new friend
along the way…
Even though we were stationary for one hour in this -10 degree temperature, it was something
we were both used to and prepared for by now.
So despite looking like an evil bandit who didn’t know his arse from his elbow, I was
surprisingly comfortable.
There’s a chance I may make a follow up tips video about visiting Finland, covering
what to wear for such a cold climate, guides for using transport, renting a car, alternative
itineraries, and costs.
So please leave a like on this video, and let me know in the comments if this would
be useful and I’ll link the video here if I end up making it.
From our favourite activity then to our favourite room.
There’s something very special just walking around this mixture of cold white snow and
cozy log cabins.
Maybe on some primeval level, its latches onto the instinct of making a home in the
wilderness, feeling safety and warmth inside.
The room also had its own private sauna, which is an immensely popular Finnish pastime for
obvious reason.
This would be our final night in Lapland, so the last best chance we had of catching
the Northern Lights.
After a peaceful few hours in our cabin, there was a murmuring of some light activity happening
outside right now.
So we paused Golden Girls and raced into the cold.
Not prepared, I hastily threw on a handful of clothing, not layering up, so was absolutely
freezing whilst looking at the clouded sky.
So, after 25 minutes, we called it a night and got back to Blanche.
There are actually alarms in every room here that alert guest when the lights are visible.
So, this time I went to sleep better prepared, ready for a spontaneous wake up, dreaming
of that Iceland trip where we missed the lights years before…
Now, the obvious way to climax this section is to then see northern lights.
Well folks, sometimes life doesn’t go that way.
Unless of course you don’t count this…
Thank you Mother Nature.
Now, if you can remember 12 minutes ago, I said “We’ll join our trip on the 26th
of December” And that’s because our holiday started 2 days prior on Christmas Eve, as
we touched down into Helsinki.
Finlands biggest and busiest airport is obviously here in its capital, and so is the most popular
entry point for most people.
Helsinki sits on the southern side of Finland and just below Reykjavik, is the second most
Northern capital in the world.
Unlike many countries though, Finlands most important day of Christmas is actually the
24th of December.
So as the locals were opening presents, we explored the city on foot…
And so we end with Christmas Day which was about to become one of our most memorable.
I mentioned earlier that 2 of our favourite days lay ahead in this video, and this was
the second…
Just 2 hours from the West Helsinki Port, lies one of the best preserved medieval towns
in Europe and makes for the perfect Helsinki day trip.
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which if you have the
time, is definitely worth the trip.
Thank you to JEE Travels, for sending us to all these magical places.
And remember if you do contact them for your own bespoke Winter Wonderland package, just
quote the coupon code SMFINLAND for a 10% discount.
As mentioned, do let me know if you’d be interested in that Finland travel tips video
and if theres enough interest, I’ll link it here once it’s ready.
So until the next one, thanks for watching Suitcase Monkey.