Father Christmas family holiday, Finland
| country: | Finland |
| departures: | December 2008 |
| price: | From £925 (4 days) per adult (twin share) and from £655 per child (2-12 yrs) sharing with 2 adults excluding flights. Single supplement £60, extra night from £55 per adult, £35 per child. We can arrange flights from the UK |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Father Christmas trail
Kuhmo - The Father Christmas Trail. A truly magical and refreshingly uncommercialised Christmas experience including a winter walk to Santa’s house where children can whisper their wishes directly to the man who can make their dreams come true. This holiday also features a husky dog safari allowing you to take the reins for a “mush” through the snowy winter landscape.
Included in the price
• Return airport transfers • 3 nights accommodation at the Hotel Kalevala • Half day husky safari • Father Christmas Trail
Kuhmo - The Father Christmas Trail. A truly magical and refreshingly uncommercialised Christmas experience including a winter walk to Santa’s house where children can whisper their wishes directly to the man who can make their dreams come true. This holiday also features a husky dog safari allowing you to take the reins for a “mush” through the snowy winter landscape.
Included in the price
• Return airport transfers • 3 nights accommodation at the Hotel Kalevala • Half day husky safari • Father Christmas Trail
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival, Transfers and Introduction. Transfer to the Kalevala Hotel. 4 course dinner. |
| Day 2: | Husky Safari (2 people per sled). After breakfast you travel to a local husky farm situated close to the Russian border. After meeting the dogs you will be taught how to handle your sled and the team of huskies pulling it. Then you head for the winter trails to explore the breathtaking scenery of “The Thousand Lakes”. The afternoon is free to try optional activities. Dinner at the hotel. |
| Day 3: | The Father Christmas Trail. Buffet breakfast at the hotel. The morning is free at leisure for snow activities or taking a dip in the hotel’s swimming pool. In the afternoon we head into the woods on a truly magical Christmas trail. Your Fairy Tale Christmas Tour is led by one of Santa’s elves. You will visit the Pohjola House where the Master Elf and his assistants make Christmas gingerbread and you can sample the freshly baked biscuits with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The tour continues through an underground passageway leading to Santa’s Cave of Treasures and the Land of the Elves. Snowy paths are lit by ice lanterns and the silence is only broken by the sound of gently tinkling bells. You will see a blacksmith elf forging red-hot iron and the Forest Man brewing a magic potion in his lodge. At the end of the tour you arrive at Santa’s house where Mr and Mrs Claus are waiting to greet their guests. Inside the house you will see elves making handicrafts before meeting Santa in his office where children can whisper their Christmas present wishes into his ear. (Warm clothing is recommended for this tour). Finnish Christmas dinner with traditional dancing at the hotel restaurant. |
| Day 4: | Free day, depart or Extend your Stay. Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Transfer back to the airport by car or mini coach. Alternatively, extend your stay in Finland and try some of the additional activities available such as Snowmobiling, Ice Fishing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing, Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides and Ice Sculpting. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Our aim with our product in Kuhmo, eastern Finland, is to introduce low impact tourism to an off-the-beaten-track region far from the normal tourist trail.
 Our hotel is selected as much for its idyllic natural lakeside location, in a sparsely populated wilderness region, as for its quality and friendly Finnish family service. With 44 rooms its never going to be too busy and the extensive nature surrounding the hotel always maintains its peaceful feel, as the product can never become upscale and detrimental to the natural environment. Far away from Lapland and the hustle of the many UK charter planes, it’s a region fairly unknown to foreign tourists, but popular with Finns. There is a good opportunity to interact with locals, who are pleased to meet, and are fascinated by, foreigners who have made the effort to visit their little-known part of Finland. The product utilises exclusively local Finnish activity staff, and the small scale Father Christmas Trail is as much an educational cross-cultural experience for the local Finnish school children who participate as it is for foreign visitors. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |