Kuhmo - A traditional Finnish New Year - Dog sledding Trip

Accommodation

The Hotel
The hotel enjoys an enviable location on the shores of frozen Lake Lammasjarvi and with just 41 en-suite bedrooms, overcrowding is never a problem. With a cosy and convivial atmosphere, friendly staff and an excellent restaurant serving both traditional and international cuisine, we are sure you will be more than comfortable during your stay.

While the adults relax in one of the three saunas or the new Wellness Centre, the younger ones can occupy themselves with the Playstation games in the children’s room. Your stay includes free use of the hotel’s kick sleds and toboggans.

The Kalevala Cross-Country Skiing Centre is next door to the hotel and has several floodlit trails. In total there are approximately 100km of cross-country skiing trails and 440km of snowmobile tracks locally so variety is not
a problem. You can rent skis as well as ice skates, snowshoes and winter fishing equipment.

Most exciting of all for families with young children is the Kalevala Christmas Village. In winter, we walk through the forest to the village where a truly magical Christmas experience awaits including the elves’ workshop, gifts, gingerbread, decorations and best of all, an audience with Father Christmas in his office.

Just watch the sparkle in your child’s eyes as they enter the

Itineraries

Flights, Arrivals and Dinner

After arriving at Kuhmo Airport you will be transferred to your accommodation where a warm welcome and a four-course meal awaits.

Free Day

Today is free to explore your new surroundings or partake in optional activities which are not included in the overall package price but can be booked at the hotel: snowmobiling, snowshoeing, husky safaris, reindeer safaris, horse-pulled sleigh rides, cross-country skiing and more.

Winter Activities

This morning there will be a range of activities available on the frozen lake next to the hotel including horse-pulled sleigh rides, a short husky safari, a reindeer sleigh ride and a short snowmobile tour.

In the afternoon, the children can help the guides to make the New Year decorations while the adults can relax in the new Wellness Centre.

At midnight everybody gets the chance to relive their childhood with a sledging competition at the tobogganing site. Simple, but great fun in the snow.

The Father Christmas Trail

After a late night, the morning is left free to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and prepare for your fabulous Santa visit this afternoon.

Forget about fleeting and over-commercialised Father Christmas trips. This is your chance to enjoy a genuine and intimate winter experience which children both young and old will absolutely love.

On leaving the hotel you will walk through the wintery forest. Ice candles and open fires light your path through the pine trees to the elves’ workshop where you can help make and wrap gifts. You will also be invited to make decorations and bake gingerbread. From the workshop you continue to the Forest Lodge where the elves will regale you with Christmas stories while you sip a warm drink and await the arrival of the man who makes children’s dreams come true.

Watch the sparkle in your children’s eyes as they enter Santa’s private office for an audience. Each child gets to chat with the great man and will receive a small gift as a momento of a truly fabulous Christmas experience.

If this afternoon was designed to keep the children happy then this evening will suit everybody. The New Year celebrations start in the evening with tin casting (a Finnish New Year tradition) by the fireplace and a visit from “Mrs Fortune Teller”. After all, can there be a better time to be looking towards the future?

The festivities continue with the excellent New Year buffet before moving to the Winter Garden for the midnight countdown and fireworks. Celebrate the first day of 2008 with a drink from the ice bar and dancing into the early hours. Not a bad start to the New Year!

Free Day

On the assumption that there will be a few sore heads today, we have left the day free to relax or try one of the treatments at the new Wellness Centre.

For those with a stronger disposition, there will be plenty of optional activities available to see you through to this evening’s New Year Concert at the Kuhmo Arts Centre.

After dinner the fun continues next to an open campfire where you will meet a local Shaman.

Free Day and Folklore

Today offers the chance to try your favourite activities again which can be booked and paid for at the hotel.

Dinner is followed by a folklore dance programme and provides the perfect finish to a very different New Year.

Depart & Flights

After breakfast you will be transferred back to the airport for your return flights.