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Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?

Singapore, Singapore
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21 posts
12 reviews
18 helpful votes
Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?
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Hi All

We are a couple wanting to go to Lapland over the New Year period. We are looking for more of a couples location rather than kids, Santa and elves. On our wish list:

- skiing

- northern lights

- ice/snow hotel or igloo

- husky safari

- reindeer safari

- snow mobile

There is so much information available that we are finding it difficult to pinpoint the best country/area to visit in Lapland, so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Would we be best basing ourselves in a ski resort and doing the other activities as extras? Or basing ourselves in a town near the activities and then squeezing in a day or 2 of skiing?

We will be travelling from Edinburgh and do not wish to book a tour company package holiday.

Arsy, France
Level Contributor
3,328 posts
88 reviews
212 helpful votes
1. Re: Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?
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you will get all of those in all of the resorts but if you are skiing then this really should be one of your main picking points as depending one your skill set you may find somewhere like saariselka too small with only 12 runs, but it is a lovely resort

as for the northern lights - forget them, if you see them its a bonus but dont base your holiday on seeing them

all of the resorts are small but they are different, if you want more resturants and things to do in an evening then levi has more going on than yllas, but if you are looking for secluded village with just a nice place to eat out once or twice then yllas could be for you

personally, I like saariselka over levi and yllas, however, ruka looks good and crystalski do some good deals that include all of the trips too

Helsinki, Finland
Destination Expert
for Helsinki, Oulu, Lapland
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6,762 posts
96 reviews
52 helpful votes
2. Re: Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?
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All of the places in Lapland are ski resorts (apart from Rovaniemi).

And as such all the places have grown from teenyweeny villages to smallish towns.

E.g. in Ruka the whole Ruka village has shifted from its traditional place by Rukajärvi lake to the other side of the fell where the centre of the present-day ski resort is located. The whole Ruka-Kuusamo area has over 40000 beds whereas the original Ruka village has hardly any permanent residents anymore when the construction and development has concentrated on the other side of the fell for decades. However, in the area of the present-day Rukajärvi village there are plenty of holiday cabins.

In Ylläs tourism has swollen the tiny original villages into the present-day centres on both sides of the fell. However, they have still retained some of their orginal characteristics as they are located 3.5 km from the nearest slopes. To give you some figures, there are altogether some 750 permanent residents in the villages of Äkäslompolo and Ylläsjärvi, but there are around 22000 beds scattered around Ylläs and its surroundings.

In Kittilä and Levi there are some 6300 inhabitants most of whom live in the centre of the municipality, not in Levi. Levi is actually located in a village called Sirkka which has under 800 permanent inhabitants, and there are over 24000 beds around Levi!

If you want to have town-like surroundings with wilderness at the doorstep, choose between Levi and Ruka. Ylläs is more peaceful and spread-out. Saariselkä has also a kind of a village centre but it is smaller than Ruka or Levi.

Finland
Destination Expert
for Helsinki, Finland
Level Contributor
7,136 posts
93 reviews
83 helpful votes
3. Re: Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?
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For variety and easiness, I recommend Levi.

4. Re: Help needed - which area of Lapland is best for a couple?

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