Christmas Adventure in Ruka, Finland

Transfer from Kuusamo airport to Rukan Salonki. Free time for relaxing in your cabin: light the fire, make a cup of tea and watch the kids make their first snow angel. Your guide will be there on arrival to make sure you are settling in. Ready to get moving - head out to the huge tobogganing slope, grabbing some free toboggans and snowtubes along the way. You will get your outer winter gear and boots as well this afternoon.

In the evening, you will dine at the restaurant and you can meet your fellow travellers at a welcome dinner.

Enjoy your first evening in Lapland. With no light pollution and no noise you can truly feel the beauty of the Arctic night, admire the night sky and hopefully see the Northern Lights. Hear the silence of the wilderness and breathe in the cleanest air in Europe.

Enjoy some time outside before spending the rest of the day with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the elves (11.45am - 3pm)! Santa’s Cottage is located about 30-minute drive away from Ruka and you will transfer there with your guide and group.

The program begins with tobogganing instructed by Santa’s elves, so remember to dress up warm! After having fun outdoors, we will enjoy grilled sausages, hot soup and hot juice in the kota-hut. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will soon invite you to the house, where Santa tells stories about his life.

All children will be nominated as Santa’s little helpers and their elf skills will be put into a test. We will see how well you master gingerbread and sweet bun baking and Christmas card making. You can enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, glögi or homemade berry juice in the buffet, and eat as many gingerbread cookies and chocolates as you like! Don’t forget to stop by in our small post office where you can buy souvenirs and post cards.

At the end of the program everyone will get together to sing Santa’s favorite Christmas carol to him in Finnish. Santa will reward his hard-working helpers with a small gift. All baked goods will be packed for you to take them with you.

At 6pm, join the group for a special Christmas Eve dinner (24th Dec) at Rukan Kuksa in Ruka village. You can also have a pre-dinner drink at the icebar outside to celebrate the season. While you have been away for dinner, Santa has left a greeting for all children in the chalets.

At your leisure this Christmas morning, head to breakfast before meeting the reindeers. A short transfer takes you to a family-owned traditional reindeer farm. One of the reindeer herders will greet you and take you to the corral with hundreds of reindeer, they are waiting for their breakfast. Together with the reindeer herders you get to feed the reindeer and also take pictures of the unique moment when being surrounded by a herd of reindeer.

After the reindeer have been fed, it is time for a sleigh-ride in the gorgeous winter wonderland of the reindeer farm. The 1,5km long
sleigh-ride follows the riverside to the old farm forest. The sledge seats 2 adults and 1-3 children.

A strengthening snack is served in the kota, with some hot beverages and as you leave you can visit the little farm shop with local handicrafts.

After the reindeer experience, you will make a stop in Ruka village, so you can do some shopping and have a look around, maybe have a snack or buy some snacks to the chalet (no lunch included today).

Later in the afternoon, you will be assigned time to do a 'sauna tour'. Finnish sauna is an institution, something very essential in life and a must-have. But why do the Finns love their sauna baths so much, is it not just sitting in a hot room? Your authorized sauna guide will tell you about the Finnish sauna and its health benefits and traditions. The sauna guide will advise you on how to make the perfect "löyly" happen, that is the steam in the sauna and also advise you to the use of a body scrub made of Lappish wild herbs. Between the heats you can cool off by taking a dip in the refreshing lake, or ice-hole if winter or even rolling in the snow!

There is an optional snowmobile safari if you want to add an adventure to the day. You can also jump on the local bus and head to the down hill ski slopes.

After breakfast, get ready for a full day of action. Transfer to the husky farm and on your arrival at the lakeside husky camp you are greeted by the enthusiastic barking of the huskies. The small-scale husky camp is located in lovely forest terrain and after the careful instructions on driving and safety you will take off into the landscape with your own husky team. The team carries two persons, one musher and one passenger and you can change places during the safari. After the thrill and speed of the start, you soon start to relax and enjoy the surroundings and the co-operation with these lovely arctic runners. Once you return to the camp, you are invited to the kota for a strengthening snack and some information on huskies. You can also visit the huskies in the fenced area where they have their “homes”.

Return to your chalet for some down time before the last group dinner at Restaurant Kymppi.

After dinner, get dressed warming and feed the children some sweets to keep them up for the guided Northern Lights tour. Fasten your seatbelts, relax and enjoy warm, heated luxurious AURORA-Wagon ride. You will travel to the best location to see Aurora Borealis, over true frozen lakes, through misty forests and deep snow. With a little luck, you will travel under a bright sky lit by the moon and the stars. Perhaps the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights – will appear to show you the way. The best time to see Northern Lights is late evening, around midnight. We will enjoy warm drinks and small snacks under the northern sky around a fire.

After breakfast, familiarise yourself with snowmobiling, a favourite hobby of the locals. This tour gives you good basic skills for snowmobiling and the guide will give you a full safety briefing and instructions on driving. The safari goes through the stunning snow-covered forests and two persons share a snowmobile where there is an opportunity to switch places halfway through the tour. Children ride in a sledge pulled by the guide's snowmobile.

After breakfast, transfer to the Kuusamo airport for departure.