Finland Beneath the Northern Lights
Overview
Itinerary
Helsinki gets straight to the point: sea-facing streets, clean design and one of Europe's most unusual churches. Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers, then follow an orientation of Finland's capital that takes in Senate Square, the cathedral, the waterfront and market area. Visit Temppeliaukio Church, built into solid rock and topped with a copper-lined dome, a bold piece of Finnish architecture. Return to the hotel for small bites and get to know your fellow travellers and Travel Director over a drink.
Fly north from Helsinki to Ivalo, gateway to Finnish Lapland, and continue to Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, tucked deep in the Arctic wilderness. Settle into your surroundings before heading to the resort's planetarium for a Northern Lights presentation, learning the science and stories behind the aurora borealis.
Later, gather at the hotel for dinner, before you join your Travel Director for an Aurora hunt, heading into the Arctic darkness to watch the sky for shifting colour above the snow and open northern landscape.
Dive into Culture on a husky safari, learning how to guide your own sled team through the snow in the Finnish wilderness. With the dogs ready to run and the trail stretching ahead, you'll take the reins for a classic Lapland experience.
The rest of the day is free to relax at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort or choose from guided Optional Experiences, including cross-country skiing, a horseback riding trail or ice karting.
Later, visit Santa's Home and meet Santa himself before gathering at the hotel for dinner. Keep watch again for the Northern Lights over the Arctic sky.
Meet the reindeer of Finnish Lapland on a reindeer safari, learning about Sámi traditions and the role these animals have played in Arctic life before taking a sleigh ride through the snow. Near Ivalo, join local hosts Kati and Juha in their home for your Be My Guest experience. You'll try tasty family recipes, learn about life in Lapland and even get stuck into some crafting.
The afternoon is yours at Kakslauttanen. Walk the snowy resort paths, relax in the quiet of the forest or choose an Optional Experience, from snowmobiling across frozen trails to ice fishing. Check into your glass igloo for your Stays with Stories experience, with the curved glass roof framing the Arctic sky above your room.
Say goodbye to Lapland and fly south to Helsinki, swapping Arctic wilderness for Finland's capital. With time at leisure, perhaps head back out into the city for a final look at the waterfront. Join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner, raising a glass to your Arctic adventure from Helsinki to the snowy landscapes of Finnish Lapland.
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before saying goodbye to your Travel Director and fellow travellers. Leave Helsinki with memories of rock-cut architecture, Arctic skies, husky trails, reindeer sleighs and nights spent watching for the Northern Lights.
Trip Inclusions
- Vist Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki, Kakslauttanen Planetarium, Santa's Home, a husky safari and an Arctic reindeer sleigh ride in Lapland
- View Helsinki Cathedral, Senate Square, Market Square, the waterfront and the Northern Lights, weather permitting
Iconic Experience
- Helsinki: Get your bearings in Finland's capital with an orientation that takes in Senate Square, the cathedral, the waterfront and market area. See how Helsinki fits together, from its neoclassical centre to its harbourfront streets, giving you an easy first feel for the city.
- Helsinki: See Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral before continuing to Market Square and the waterfront. You'll pass neoclassical facades, harbour stalls, tramlines and ferry piers, with the Baltic close to the streets.
- Kakslauttanen: Inside Kakslauttanen's planetarium, you'll learn what creates the Northern Lights, from charged solar particles to the Earth's magnetic field, alongside the stories that have surrounded the aurora in the north for generations.
- Kakslauttanen: Join your Travel Director for an Aurora hunt in Finnish Lapland, where clear skies, low light and local knowledge matter. You'll look for the aurora borealis beyond the resort's glow, reading cloud cover, weather and northern conditions while snow, pine forest and open ground surround you.
- Visit Santa's Home in Finnish Lapland and meet Santa himself in his Arctic. You'll step inside, see the details of his Lapland home and spend time with one of Finland's best-known festive figures, surrounded by the snowy scenery of Kakslauttanen.
- Kakslauttanen: Travel by reindeer-drawn sleigh through the snow as your reindeer guide leads the way across the Arctic landscape. You'll meet the animals up close, hear about Sámi traditions linked to herding and see how reindeer remain part of daily life in Finnish Lapland.
Dive Into Culture
- Kakslauttanen: Take the reins of your own husky sled team and follow the snowy trail through Lapland's winter landscape. After instruction on handling the sled, braking and working with the dogs, you'll guide the team across packed snow, sharing the run between musher and passenger as the huskies lead you through the forest.
Trafalgar Difference
- Kakslauttanen: Sleep in a glass igloo at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, set among snow and pine forest in Finnish Lapland. From the warmth of your room, the curved glass roof opens the view to the Arctic sky above your bed, with the chance to watch for the Northern Lights without stepping outside.
Be My Guest
- Ivalo: Step inside the home of local hosts Kati and Juha near Ivalo for a warm Be My Guest experience. Hear stories of everyday life in Finnish Lapland, share a delicious homemade lunch of Finnish soup prepared with locally sourced ingredients and try the traditional wilderness skill of feather-stick crafting. You'll take home your creation after enjoying tea or coffee and a typical Finnish sweet treat.
- Internal flights between Helsinki and Ivalo, plus Arctic road transfers through Lapland
- 5 Breakfasts (B)
- 4 Dinners (D)
- 1 Lunch (L)
- Itinerary and inclusions are subject to change
- Price is for land, cruise and internal flights as specified. Flights not specified are not included
You’ll enjoy the icons and hidden gems with a Local Specialist by your side. Read more
With one on every itinerary, Be My Guest ensures your journey is truly one-of-a-kind, wherever it takes you. Read more
Find yourself overnighting in accommodations with stories as rich as the destinations you’re exploring. Read more
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Trafalgar Worldwide Tours (2027-28)
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A definite departure means minimum numbers have been reached for this departure to operate. Your Global Journeys Travel Advisor will check the availability of your departure date when you Enquire. Additional savings may apply. T&C’s apply.
Tour & cruises prices are per person. Prices shown have savings applied, are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Pricing and trip details are correct at this point in time, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking and are subject to change by Trafalgar. For cruise itineraries, cabin images are sourced from the cruise-line and should be treated as indicative only. Cabin inclusions, upholsteries and room layout may differ to the image(s) shown depending on the ship selected and your sailing dates.
