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2012

South England
Level Contributor
87 posts
18 reviews
14 helpful votes
2012
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Hi All

I am thinking of taking my family to Lapland in Dec 2012.

What's the cheapest way of doing this, package or do it all separately.

Any suggestions of sites to visit or operators to use would be greatfully received.

Kind regards

Paul

Helsinki, Finland
Destination Expert
for Helsinki, Oulu, Lapland
Level Contributor
6,762 posts
96 reviews
52 helpful votes
1. Re: 2012
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I think that this can be answered only by yourself. You'd have to check the prices of flights and accommodation for the time you intend to spend in Lapland. Much depends also on the destination itself. Do it yourself trips can be easily arranged to larger resorts like Levi, Ylläs, Ruka and Saariselkä that have a nearby airport. The smaller and more "distant" (from an airport) might be harder to reach unless you rent a car, which would on the other hand give you much more freedom to move around as you please.

Many people have thougth Inghams to be one of the cheapest operators, so you might start from them and compare their prices against DIY option.

By looking back on the Lapland forum you'll find a wealth of information regarding different ski resorts, airlines serving the routes etc.

Stoke on Trent
Level Contributor
14 posts
1 review
2. Re: 2012
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We go to Lapland every year & we do find it cheaper to book independently from tour operators. Although Inghams are very good if you want a good company to go with. We hire a car when we go so where we stay is not a problem.

Bolton, United...
Level Contributor
16 posts
5 reviews
3 helpful votes
3. Re: 2012
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When is the best time to book a trip to lapland? I am wanting to book to go in Dec 2012. I cant see any dates that far in advance as yet. And is it generally cheaper to book in advance or do the tour operators offer good last minute deals??

Many thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give to me.

Marie

Rovaniemi, Finland
Level Contributor
73 posts
26 reviews
22 helpful votes
4. Re: 2012
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Early December might not have enough snow to really do any proper excursions/safaris. Most companies have a small print on any safaris in December or April saying "snow permitting".

February - March would be my personal choice and in fact most Finnish that go to Lapland do it in those months(and into early April for the skiing).

This also depends on what your destination is in Lapland as some are further north and get snow sooner and longer than those in southern Lapland.

Arsy, France
Level Contributor
3,328 posts
88 reviews
212 helpful votes
5. Re: 2012
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if you want to do it on the cheap then dont go in dec unless you can find a deal about - if you can wait then go after the new year and before the feb half term - there should be deals about and even if you cant find a deal, the prices will be half of that for december

Cumbria
Level Contributor
1 post
4 reviews
4 helpful votes
6. Re: 2012
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With Lapland you only get what you pay for..........Been with Canterbury Travel 3 times and all 3 have been absolutely amazing. Don't be fooled by cheap deals !

London, United...
Level Contributor
435 posts
48 reviews
36 helpful votes
7. Re: 2012
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A vote here for independent travel, look at Finnair for flights from UK airports to Kittila. There is a stopover in helsinki - if you would prefer direct look at ski-flights.com -

I agree about going in february having done christmas and feb before. The snow is deeper ( check out the snow depth right now in lapland eg yllas.fi website, its a bit risky if you are going for snow fun) the daylight hours longer, the sun comes above the horizon to give the snow a special sparkly quality and its cheaper. If you are after santa stuff you will want december though but still go for independent in my opinion it is so much cheaper and more satisfying going it alone but each to their own.

mjt
Havant, United...
Level Contributor
419 posts
111 reviews
33 helpful votes
8. Re: 2012
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in december is there always snow? we want to go dec 2012 with the kids for the santa stuff and would be very dissapionted if there was no snow.

Helsinki, Finland
Destination Expert
for Helsinki, Oulu, Lapland
Level Contributor
6,762 posts
96 reviews
52 helpful votes
9. Re: 2012
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Yes, there will be snow in December, but there's no guarantee for the date when it will fall if it happens to fall late in 2012, too. However, 2011 was the warmest autumn in some 70 years, so it is should be very unlikely that it would happen again so soon. Last time the snow arrived late in 2006, but even then it fell in late November, this time in early Dec. The later in Dec you go, the better the chances for deep snow drifts is. However, snow cover is the deepest only in late winter (March).

Nottingham
Level Contributor
5 posts
4 reviews
1 helpful vote
10. Re: 2012
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Me and the Mrs are investigating going to Lapland in December 12'. If we go, it'll either be over Christmas so departing around the 23rd or from Boxing Day.

So far Inghams seem to be the cheapest. We used them to go to Switzerland last summer and they were brilliant, so would highly recommend them to anyone. However, there don't appear to be many UK tour operators that go to Lapland now, Thomas Cook, Monarch, Canterbury, Thomson and Inghams seem to be the main ones.

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