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Lapland Activity Week

Ylläs, deep within the Arctic Circle
 
Get a taste of magical Lapland through a range of activities. Experience the thrill of dog-sledding and snowmobiling, explore the serene wilderness on snowshoes, and receive a cross-country skiing lesson, while staying at a welcoming hotel with a sauna. You might even see the Northern Lights…
Lapland Activity Week. 7 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Lapland Activity Week. 7 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A winter activity holiday in Lapland

Winter is a truly unique experience in this magical part of the world, and there’s no better way to learn about Lapland and its people and to get the most out of your time here, particularly if it’s your first visit, than by trying out a wide range of different snow-based activities.

Experience the thrill of dog-sledding, take a trip by snowmobile deep into the forest, enjoy the serenity of the wilderness on snowshoes or, after an introductory lesson, take to the trails on cross-country skis. Add to this a stay at the Ylläshumina – a welcoming hotel with beautifully decorated log cabins and a superb restaurant – and you have all the ingredients for a holiday you will remember for years to come.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the spectacular Northern Lights, too – a sighting of this extraordinary natural phenomenon could well provide the icing on the cake for such a wonderfully varied week.
 
 

Our expert says

“The activities, the insights you gain into Sami culture, the traditional cuisine and, of course, the hotel’s first-rate saunas, mean you’ll come back from this holiday feeling as though you’ve had an all-round Lappish experience.”
Rebecca Bruce, Inntravel snow holiday expert
 
Gallery

 

Winter activities

There is an included activity on most days; below we’ve detailed our suggested itinerary for the week, but the hotel will confirm the exact schedule on arrival.
  • Arrival in Ylläs
    Depending on your time of arrival, you may like to take a stroll into the village or just settle into the hotel ahead of your first activity the following morning.

    All the included activities are provided by the hotel’s own activity company, and for all tours appropriate clothing and equipment are supplied – including thermal jackets, trousers, boots, hats and gloves.
  • Snowshoeing
    For a wonderful introduction to the area, your first trip is by snowshoes, arguably the best way to appreciate the utter stillness and tranquillity of Lapland’s unique wintry environment. Head up onto Kuertunturi Fell, from where there is an excellent view over the village and in good weather as far as the magnificent Pallas Fells in the National Park. A warm drink and small snack are served during the excursion.
    Snowshoeing
  • Cross-country skiing
    With 330 kilometres of trails, Ylläs’ cross-country ski area is the largest and best in Finland. The hotel has its own instructors and equipment, and during your 90-minute lesson you will learn the basics of how to glide effectively before taking to the easy trails that lead away from the hotel and across the frozen lake (classic cross-country ski and shoe hire is included for the day).
    Cross-country skiing
  • Snowmobiling
    For a completely different experience to snowshoeing and cross-country skiing today you try your hand at the most common mode of transport in Finland’s northerly reaches, the snowmobile. After being kitted out in appropriate winter clothing and given a safety briefing by your experienced guide, you embark on a thrilling guided trip through the silent forests of the Arctic wilderness.

    NOTE: To drive a snowmobile you must be 18yrs or over and hold a full driving licence and carry it with you whilst driving. Please also note that most individual winter-sport travel insurance policies will not cover damage to a hired snowmobile and you will be liable to pay for any damage to the vehicle up to the excess on the local insurance policy, which is €1500 per machine; this will be payable directly to the supplier of the snowmobile excursion. You will be asked to sign a form agreeing to the above before undertaking the excursion. In the unlikely event of major damage, you will only be charged the excess and not the full cost of repair.
    Snowmobiling
  • Dog-sledding
    Your thrilling half-day expedition starts with a visit to a nearby husky farm where you will be introduced to these wonderful animals and learn about the traditions and training methods associated with this exhilarating form of transport. You then enjoy the thrills of dog-sledding for yourself as you whizz through the snow-clad forest, hearing only the sled runners swooshing along the snow and the eager panting of the dogs. The trip finishes with a warming drink around an open fire in a traditional Lappish kota (tepee-style tented shelter).

    Please note you must be 18 years old to drive a sled and the trip includes sharing the driving of a 2-person sled.
    Dog-sledding
  • Reindeer safaris & more
    You may like to spend your spare days trying out some of the other winter activities on offer:

    Fatbiking
    With their oversized tyres and excellent traction, fatbikes are perfect for use on soft, uneven terrain, and as such are becoming an increasingly popular means of exploring in the snow. They also offer a quieter alternative to the snowmobile – with no engine noise to distract, fatbike riders are able to pedal in peace. Guided tours lead past Ylläs’ frozen lakes and into the National Park, and include hot drinks and snacks.

    Reindeer safaris
    Reindeer herding is an important aspect of Lappish culture, and on a visit to a nearby reindeer herder you can learn all about their livelihood before undertaking a short sleigh ride into the nearby forest.

    Winter walking
    In addition to its many cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails, Ylläs also offers 106 kilometres of winter walking paths. There is a good choice of routes for all levels, with paths leading through the forests and along the top of the fells.
    Reindeer safaris
    Fatbiking ©Visit Ylläs
 

Where you stay

Set on the northern side of the Ylläs Fell, on the banks of a frozen lake, Äkäslompolo (altitude: 400m) is a traditional village where the focus is mainly on the myriad winter activities available in the surrounding wilderness. Although small, the village offers a good number of facilities, including a shopping centre with sports and souvenir shops, cafés and a well-stocked supermarket. The hotel is an easy, 20-minute walk from the centre of the village, on the opposite side of the lake.
Ylläshumina Hotel

Bedrooms

 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel
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  • 7 nights: 25 November 2023 - 14 April 2024 & 23 November 2024 - 13 April 2025

    Start varies* | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Adults
    25 Nov - 17 Dec 2023 £2300
    24 Dec - 24 Dec 2023 £2965
    31 Dec - 31 Dec 2023 £2835
    07 Jan - 17 Jan 2024 £2290
    18 Jan - 31 Jan 2024 £2520
    01 Feb - 07 Feb 2024 £2600
    08 Feb - 14 Feb 2024 £2930
    15 Feb - 21 Feb 2024 £2680
    22 Feb - 07 Apr 2024 £2390
    23 Nov - 15 Dec 2024 £2180
    22 Dec - 22 Dec 2024 £2650
    29 Dec - 29 Dec 2024 £2840
    05 Jan - 15 Jan 2025 £2220
    16 Jan - 29 Jan 2025 £2270
    30 Jan - 05 Feb 2025 £2415
    06 Feb - 12 Feb 2025 £2535
    13 Feb - 19 Feb 2025 £2835
    20 Feb - 06 Apr 2025 £2315
    Single traveller supplement £145 to £200

    Includes all elements of the holiday itself (accommodation, meals and any additional elements as described), plus flights (usually from London) and onward travel as described.

    *Start days: 25 Nov-17 Dec any day; 24 Dec-18 Feb Sunday;19 Feb-14 Apr any day
     

    Included travel 25 Nov-17 Dec 2023; 23 Nov-15 Dec 2024: Easyjet Gatwick or Manchester-Kittilä (times vary; hold luggage included) & connecting transfer (0h50)
    Included travel 24 Dec 2023-18 Feb 2024; 22 Dec 2024-16 Feb 2025: Inghams charter Gatwick, Manchester or Bristol-Kittilä (times vary, hold luggage included) & connecting transfer (0h50)
    Included travel 19 Feb-14 Apr 2024; 17 Feb-06 Apr 2025: Finnair Heathrow-Kittilä via Helsinki (out dep 1020, home arr 1700; hold luggage included) & connecting transfer (0h50)

    The 'Single traveller supplement' applies for solo travellers. A supplement is also payable for a single room – see 'Additional prices' below

    Prices are subject to availability and flight supplements may apply. Book early for Christmas, New Year and school holidays. We can also book different flight routes (see flight section below). Please contact us to discuss any pricing implications.

  • Room upgrades (supplement in £ per room per night)

    Ylläshumina Hotel, Ylläs
    Single room: 25 Nov - 21 Dec 2023 £46
    Single room: 22 Dec - 06 Jan 2024 £64
    Single room: 07 Jan - 17 Jan 2024 £46
    Single room: 18 Jan - 14 Apr 2024 £64
    Single room: 23 Nov - 19 Dec 2024 £50
    Single room: 20 Dec - 04 Jan 2025 £55
    Single room: 05 Jan - 15 Jan 2025 £50
    Single room: 16 Jan - 13 Apr 2025 £55
    Suite: 25 Nov - 14 Apr 2024 £200
    Suite: 23 Nov - 13 Apr 2025 £200
    Superior deluxe: 25 Nov - 14 Apr 2024 £172
    Superior deluxe: 23 Nov - 13 Apr 2025 £172
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Kittilä (latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time both flexible)

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  you may need to fly to an airport not listed here. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book onward flights and connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Kittilä Charter (contact us) 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Kittilä (via Helsinki) Finnair 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Kittilä British Airways,  Charter (contact us),  easyJet 
    Gatwick - Kittilä (via Helsinki) Norwegian 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Kittilä (via Helsinki) Finnair 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Kittilä Charter (contact us),  easyJet 
    Manchester - Kittilä (via Helsinki) Finnair 
    Manchester - Kittilä (via Paris) Air France 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  you may need to fly to an airport not listed here. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of alternative flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated above, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice if you would prefer to fly via a different route to the one included in our standard arrangements. A supplement may be payable for other flights.

What is included
  • 7 nights
  • 7 dinners
    7 breakfasts
  • 3 guided excursions
  • 90-minute cross-country skiing lesson
    1 day's cross-country ski hire
  • use of cross-country trails
  • detailed information about the area
  • flights from London (regional flights available)
  • transfers from/to Kittilä Airport
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 7 reviews
  • Mr M Clarke
    London
    10 February 2024

    This was one of the best holidays my wife and I have ever been on. A lovely hotel with a great room, great food and very helpful staff. Excellent activities for four days. And, once we learned to do it, miles of well-marked cross-country ski trails starting within yards of the hotel, across the frozen lake and through snow-covered forests to lovely cafes. Or you can take a hotel-organised bus to a drop-off point and ski back! There's a great website with all the paths shown so you need never get lost. Snow shoeing was amazing - hiking up a mountain, with a stop in a remote hut with an open fire and hot drinks to warm up. Husky sledding is an experience worth doing once, although it does get very cold as you are largely inactive. Likewise snowmobiling. Also great hiking up nearby hills/mountains on a route suggested by the hotel. And Finnair were very good too, despite some delays going home in heavy snow. Hope to come back, next time maybe getting the overnight sleeper train from Helsinki to Kolari which is nearer than the airport at Kittila. We happened to be there when it was particularly cold (-20 to -25) but the hotel lent us extra-warm coats, gloves, boots etc. Overall, an almost perfect holiday. 

  • Mrs E Priest
    Warrington
    22 January 2023

    We had the most amazing week, pristine snow, cosy hotel, wonderful food, loved every minute!

  • Mummy I
    15 January 2023

    - Seamless transfers from/to the airport
    - Accommodation and activities were perfect. Lodges were perfect. The jacuzzi and both the personal sauna in our lodge and the resort sauna were great. The food was fantastic - plenty, and a great selection for pescatarians. Staff were wonderful and helpful and the activities booked through them were well managed. Made even more special by the small groups on these (predominantly just the 6 of us!)
    - Activities included - The huskies were an incredible, totally magical experience. You could tell that the tour company are passionate and care about their dogs. The skiing was really fun (led by friendly guide). The snowshoeing was dreamy
    - The perfect family holiday and have already recommended to friends and family that this is the experience to choose if they wanted to visit Lapland

  • Mrs Underwood, Surrey
    06 February 2022

    At the age of 62 this holiday in Akaslompolo was my first ever snow holiday and it lived up to everything I was hoping it would be. Simply loved the week and every activity.  Our ski instructor gave clear guidance and we felt confident after the 90 minute lesson to tackle the trails alone. We experienced 'warm' daytime temps of minus 4 to start but the latter half of the week the weather was more normal between minus 10 and minus 25. The cabin was very hot and the remedy was to open a window! The hotel staff were very friendly, as were all the guides. We were disappointed with the hot elements of our meals given the glowing reports about the chef. There is plenty of other good food to choose from though. Unfortunately we didn't see the northern lights due to cloud, but that's the excuse to visit again. 

  • Iain and Lizzie - Wiltshire
    23 January 2022

    2nd time that we have done this holiday - even better than we remembered - would highly recommend it !!!

  • Mrs C Sloan
    Bedford
    16 January 2022

    This was a fabulous bespoke holiday, the hotel is very niche and I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a snow holiday with a lot of activities included. It was both exciting and relaxing and had the perfect balance. Still felt we had the personal touch as the tours weren't overbooked and were well managed and informative. We would definitely go back and definitely book with Inntravel again.

  • Dr J Stobart
    Sheffield
    09 January 2022

    A great winter break, the staff at the Yllashumina Hotel were really helpful and spoke excellent English. We enjoyed the buffet meals and also had lunch a few times in the bar. Staff and visitors all adhered to the Covid advice with face masks or shields.

    The activities were fabulous and all the staff and operators helpful and encouraging. The winter landscape is just so beautiful and despite it being -33 C the night we arrived, with the correct thermals and ski wear we were not cold.

    The highlight for us was the amazing display of the northern lights one evening. I for one was mesmerised.
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • If you are travelling over Christmas or New Year, or during school holidays, you should definitely pre-book lessons. After you’ve booked your holiday with us, we’ll send you a link to a list of options that we can arrange for you in advance.
    Sometimes we can’t make bookings on your behalf. In these cases you should phone or email the ski school well before your holiday to arrange a date and time; do not wait until you are on holiday to make arrangements. 

    More about Inntravel's pre-booking service >
  • Living far from the capital ourselves, we know better than most that flying from London can be a bind, so we are very flexible with our travel arrangements. Call or email us, and one of the team will be happy to list the different options available to you, and any price implications.
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can incur a five or six-figure bill.

    Many insurers offer travel insurance (you can find details on our insurance page of a policy that you may like to consider if you are a UK resident), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    When you purchase a policy, be sure to check that it covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Finland, but not a visa (please note, however, that a new travel authorisation system is being introduced). If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • The official languages are Finnish, Swedish and, in Lapland, Sami. The currency is the Euro. Finnish time is GMT/UTC + 2. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 2.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.

    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
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