Hi I am also going to Levi next xmas with my hubby and 3 children 9 and two 5 year olds. We are going with Inghams staying in the Levi Chalets. I am trying to find out the same info. Have managed to find out quite a bit, but am struggling with which Santa trip to do. Anyway hope the following helps you.

The web site www.lelakwhisnant.net gives alot of info and pics of Levi and Kittila. You can find out what trips etc from Levi tourist board which is www.levi.fi

If you have any luck with the santa trips please let me know.

Hi there, my husband, 5 year old son and I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Kuusamo, Finland. We booked several trips including the husky safari, the reindeer snowmobile safari, snowmobiling at night to see Northern lights and trip to Santas Village (The village with the Post Office, NOT the Santapark). All of the trips are more than worthwhile and all vary slightly according to which company you use. We didn't book any before we went and booked them all when we arrived in Finland, there are so many companies to choose from. The temperatures were on average between -10 and -20 in the day, we all wore thermal long sleeved tops, a lighter top, then a fleece then a ski-jacket, and on the 'bottom-half' thermal long johns, a pair of jersey tracksuit bottoms and ski salopettes, we were more than warm, my son never complained once that he was cold all week. He also wore a balaclava which was the best single thing I can tell you to take. It depends on what you are doing but plan to take a hat and balaclava each, you may need them both some days, I did take my sunglasses but never needed them, I do recommend goggles if you plan to go snowmobiling though. Although most of the companies offering excursions supply all the necessary gear you may need.

Anyway, feel free to ask me any more questions.

we are travelling to Helsinki next January after New year and I have several questions so i'll list them in point form:

Do we have to travel further north out of Helsinki,(eg. Kuusamo) to see the Northern lights and take a sled ride with the reindeer/huskies?If so, how much does a reindeer/ husky sled ride cost per person for 1-2 hours?

How long does the trip from Helsinki to Kuusamo take by train and also by plane to the local airport and how much does either cost?

these are the 2 most important questions I need answers for.

Also:

Does the local airport operate in January or is it too dangerous due to the weather?

what is the safest and easiest way to get to Holiday club Kuusamon Tropiikki ? Can the hotel arrange transfers ? or do we find our own way?

where can I find out more info for the area , I have a lonely planet guide book ,but it still doesn't answer my questions, I'd appreciate the costs(in euros) especially. -many thanks Sharon Melbourne ,Australia

Hi!

To find out more about the Kuusamo area try this website -

www.kuusamo.fi

thanx for your suggestion.I'll checkout this site some more.

Sharon,

To answer (some of) your questions:

-yes, you will need to venture further north from Helsinki to see Northern lights and sled ide with reindeer/huskies. Here a couple of ski centres in Lapland: Ruka, Levi, Saariselka, Pyha, Salla.

- cost of reindeer sled ride per person for 1-2 hours. I tried surfing the net to find out the cost for you but I could not find a price (although I found numerous service providers). I suggest you choose a location and call their central booking service who can direct you forward.

- from Helsinki to Kuusamo it is easier to take the plane. Check www.finnair.fi for rates. It takes about 70 minutes. If you want to take a train you should go from Helsinki to Oulu and either take a bus or rent a car to get from Oulu to Kuusamo. It is about a 3-hour drive from Oulu to Kuusamo. Check www.vr.fi for rates.

- Kuusamo airport operates throughout the winter.

- Easiest way to get to Holiday Club Kuusamon Tropiikki. You might want to check this from the hotel but I think getting a taxi from outside the airport is the easiest option.

thanks very much for the info. We have booked a weeks accom. in Kuusamo at Holiday Club Kuusamon Troppikkii. Can anyone give any info. about it.I already know about the amenities.What are the meals like?

I have checked out the full day tour to Santa's Village.The only website I know is for Arctic tours and they seem to only run this tour on a Saturday, but we don't arrive till later Sat. evening and leave the following Sat. in the morning.-Can anyone give me names and websites of other tour operators in Kuusamo who might do the Santa's Village tour during the Sunday or weekdays?

Hi everyone,

I'm a TA employee and was notified of this thread for its good content and travel tips. Thanks for your contributions!

I've taken some of the material here and used it to create a couple of Kuusamo Inside Pages. Anyone can edit these pages; you are encouraged to do so! These pages are just a first attempt at preserving the information here in this thread, so from now on it's up to you, the users, to keep adding more information.

Here are the pages:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g189928-c3957/Kuusamo…

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g189928-s4/Kuusamo:Fi…

To see all Kuusamo Inside Pages, go here:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g189928-s1/Kuusamo:Fi…

Thanks again!

Hi t here My husband and I and our 3 year old daughter had a week staying at the crazy reindeer Dec 05.

we picked up a leaflet at the hotel and booked our trips sorry i cannot remember the name of the company that were running the

excursions but we did loads of things in the day and a few things in the evening they were good value for money because the excursions i think were longer then ones that people did using tour operators excursions our favorite trips keeping in mind we had a 3 year were finding santa log cabin in the forrest and making cookies

also loved the reindeer sledge ride over the snowy landscape

liked the husky ride but i would strongly advised wear a balaclava when husky sledging as you going along at speed the

wind cuts into your face.

as for weather proof clothing there's a hire shop in levi i think it cost me around about £30 to hire my snow suit for a week that also include gloves boots . much less for children.

as for food we were half board at the crazy reindeer which was ok. there are other hotels near by its a bit of walk into town i think there 2/3 places you can eat like pizza we did try and walk into town one evening but it was to cold we had to turn back. so we eat

at the hotel most evenings. hope this helps

Does anyone know what sort of footwear to wear in December? Don't know whether walking boots are warm enough or whether you need moon boots.

Thanks