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excursions saariselka

Nottingham, United...
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excursions saariselka
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Hello,

My fiance and I are heading to Saariselka in two weeks time with Inghams and are looking into the activities to book.

We quite fancy several:

Husky farm and sleigh ride

Reindeer farm and sleigh ride

Snowmobile and hunt for the Northern Lights

Snowshoeing (daytime)

Sami museum

Reindeer sleigh hunt for Northern Lights

Snowshoeing hunt for Northern Lights

We have been looking online at the activites which are available and are getting really unsure of who to book with once we are out there.

Ighams do offer husky, reindeer, Sami museum and snowmobile and the pricing does look cheap as it ranges from £35 - £45 - has anyone done these activities with Inghams? Did you book before you went or when you arrived?

Also, I have found Lapland Safari, North Village and Top Safaris - has anyone used these for the excursions? How did they find them? Are they just in the centre of town?

Sorry about all of the questions, it is a once in a lifetime dream holiday for us and we want to get it perfect!

Also, we are booked half board so am wondering what to budget per day for lunch and a few night time drinks.

Are there any places you found lovely to eat? Have researched the pizza place and it looks lovely so will head there for sure.

Any advice or information would be brilliant.

Thank you very much.

Arsy, France
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3,328 posts
88 reviews
212 helpful votes
1. Re: excursions saariselka
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i have used inghams for their trips many times and I have found them to be good and great value for money - you can book with the rep when you get there

the other places you mentioned are also good but get in touch with them and ask them for their prices and compare them against inghams - they are also in the town - there is also a sami museum in the shopping centre (down by the burger and garage place) which you can visit, not sure if its the same one as inghams take you to but you will get shown about the sami life etc when you do the husky and reindeer trips - we did when we went to yllas with inghams

you are also going at peak time (feb half term) so get researching now so you know what your options are

as for places to eat, there are lots of places, from restaurants in the hotels to cafes etc - I would say that pizza lunch will cost you £10, its the drinks that will cost you so if you like wine, take a brick of wine out with you from the airport

i would suggest, where possible, you do the snowmobiles first as if you like them then you can hire them yourself or go on an extended trip - we did them on our second trip and loved it so much we booked a half day trip with inghams a few days later so best to do it first so you have the option to go on them again should you love it

the reindeers are sweet but its a slow plod of a trip where as the snowmobiles and huskies are fast and great fun - also the snowshoeing - you could do this yourself rather than being on a tour to do it but if its a cheap trip then go with them but it is afterall, just a walk in the snow so dont pay over the odds for it

you are going to have an amazing time - saariselka is wonderful

Nottingham, United...
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9 posts
67 reviews
39 helpful votes
2. Re: excursions saariselka
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Thank you so much for your response, I do appreciate it.

I think that I will book with the rep when we get there then. I was worried with it being peak week in Feb half term but as a teacher it is the only time we could go but you have reassured me by saying that the rep can book activities when we arrive.

I am a wine drinker so I will be picking some up from the airport as that means I can get cosy by the fire and not have to venture out after a fun packed day.

You are right, a walk in the snow means we can always save the money and do this ourselves which would probably be better as it is 58euros each when in fairness we could go for a walk ourselves.

I think a Reindeer trip just the once sounds better then if they are slow paced, that way means we have the money for snowmobiles to hire them out as that sounds amazing.

Thanks again for your help, I am counting down the days.

Arsy, France
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3,328 posts
88 reviews
212 helpful votes
3. Re: excursions saariselka
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remember the toboggan run too and its free - if you take the bridge over the road at the end of the run and then walk along there down hill you will have a lovely little walk - some of it is on the cross country tracks so walk in the middle of them and not on the tracks at all - this route runs parallel with the road down to the ski centre so as long as you have that in your sights to your left you will be ok - you may have to clamber abit across the woods buts its all fun - dont go when its dusk though as it does get all a bit disoriented in the dark

if you do the super reindeer and husky trips with inghams rather than the shorter ones, they are well worth it and if you get a late afternoon reindeer trip then you get to do it when its getting dark which is magical - we did it in late dec at about 4pm and it was snowing - it was like being in narnia

take an extra blanket with you (cheapy fleece one from primark will do the trick) just to wrap you up a bit more as sometimes the blankets they give you are wet - great for the reindeer and the husky trips

Nottingham, United...
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9 posts
67 reviews
39 helpful votes
4. Re: excursions saariselka
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Sounds brilliant, thankyou so much for the tips.

The walk sounds wonderful and we can easily do that ourselves without having to pay for the snowshoe which is alot better.

I didnt realise that Inghams did super reindeer and husky trips so thats good as I was worried that we may not get very long on them, a long shot but do you remember the pricing at all? It says on the site but wasnt sure if they were accurate or not.

I will be buying blankets then to wrap up and get super cosy on the magical trips.

Helsinki, Finland
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for Helsinki, Oulu, Lapland
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If you want to do the snow shoes you can rent them e.g. from Top Safaris and venture to the (marked) paths on your own. Walking with snow shoes is really good excercise and rather different from "normal' walking.

Arsy, France
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3,328 posts
88 reviews
212 helpful votes
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just checked on the inghams pages and this is the price they have for levi - it will be about the same for saariselka

the difference between the mini and super safaris is the on the mini, they are just really taster, where the super is about an hour with the reindeer and 15km on the huskies (about 30 mins which is plenty) plus you get all the talks and petting in addition to that time - the mini safari people come with you and they have to hang about whilst you are on the longer trips :)

the first price is the mini, the second is the super (price per person)

reindeer £25 / £39

husky £35 / £65

snowmobile (sharing) £49 each

the prices at the location should be about the same but will be in Euros - why dont you call up inghams and see if you can book now from the Uk so to save on the exchange rate?

Nottingham, United...
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9 posts
67 reviews
39 helpful votes
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Oh brilliant, I didnt realise you could hire the snow shoes. That means we can go and explore and have a lovely walk while experiencing/exercise the difference of the snow shoes.

I will be ringing Inghams and get some booked in ready.

Your help has been brilliant. Thankyou very much.

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Once you've had a go at snow shoeing and seen the area from a different perspective, get out and try cross country skiing! You really feel like you're out in the wilderness and getting great exercise at the same time.

We are thinking of Saara in 2014, just can't decide best time to go. Would like to get an early XC in before Xmas but only 5 hrs of daylight and pretty cold. Otherwise March would be good but it seems that Inghams only go to the end of February.

glasgow
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I just returned yesterday and can offer my thoughts on the excursions. We pre booked cross country ski lessons/ski hire/suits and boots for the week, super husky safari and snowmobile safari with Inghams before we left - and added the reindeer trip with David the rep once we arrived and had a chance to look at the programme for the week - you are given all of this in a pack when you get on the transfer bus so you can work out what you want to do and when etc.. We wanted to go to Inari for the Sami museum but as this is on the Saturday no one else wanted to go - I guess all the skiers want to spend their last day on the slopes. You can make the trip on the local bus yourself on Wednesdays but as we had ski lessons booked that morning we didnt go.

Cross Country Ski - Inghams offered a three lesson deal and whilst this was good value if you are reasonably fit and confident you really only need a basic lesson and then you will be fine to go off and practice yourself. Inghams use Top Safari for most of their activities and we found them to be excellent and their staff so friendly. You can just pop down there and speak to them about what you want - one lesson, two lessons, just ski hire etc etc

Our week was very quiet so we had only 5 people in our group for lessons. The ski trails are amazing and I cant understanbd why Inghams dont make more of the cross country ski attraction - or maybe they should keep it quiet so as not to spoil the peace!!!

Reindeer safari - we booked and paid for this once there - and so glad we decided to do it - more so for meeting the Sami family and hearing about their lives. The reindeer sleigh ride was very enjoyable, tranquil and gentle, lasting around 30 mins through some beautiful forest settings. Would recommend - thought it was excellent value.

Husky safari - do the longer one!!! You are out for around 40 mins and can swap places half way round - it was absolutely brilliant and great fun. The dogs are amazing and afterwards you visit the 'kota' for some warm juice and a chat with Ali - he came over from Scotland and is living with his family and those wonderful dogs in the most beautiful remote spot. You will get to see the two wee puppies!

Snowmobile safari - we had pre booked this and just had to decide which day to do it from a few different options. We went for an evening trip - we were out for approx 2h 30 mins and it was exhilerating but hard work for me as I was the driver for the whole trip - my husband cant drive so when other couples were swapping over I had to carry on! I enjoyed it but probably my husband enjoyed it more as he could enjoy the view!

Other trips are available, mostly with Top safari if you go through the Inghams rep - I cant comment on the other companies as we didnt use them. We hired snowshoes ourselves from them for a day for 15 euro each and went out at night on the trail to the top of the fell, take a head torch and just go for it - its very safe and was brilliant fun.

Any other questions I'd be happy to answer. Oh, and no, we did not see the Northern Lights, but we hadnt expected to so werent too disappointed! It didnt distract from what was a brilliant trip!

Nottingham, United...
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9 posts
67 reviews
39 helpful votes
10. Re: excursions saariselka
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Thank you so much for the detail, it makes me feel much more comfortable about going with Inghams - I am pleased that we will get a package with all of the information in it.

The husky and reindeer safaris both sound magical to the point I think I will want to do them more than the once, I am not living in hope that the Northern Lights show but I think that getting out at night anyway will be wonderful whether they show or not so will be trying the snowshoe walking then and having a go at night renting a some.

Can you remember pricing for the activities? On the Inghams site it states around £39 - £69 is this about correct as I worry about budgeting and want to make sure we get in the activities that we want to do and not have to worry about running short on money. I am aware it will be in euros but did this cross over to about the right pricing or am I way out?

£15 for snowshoes is brilliant value as can take it where we fancy and explore a little bit.

Am really looking forward to the snowmobile rides and I will make sure that my partner takes his driving liscence as well so I am not doing all the driving while he relaxes.

Thank you very much for taking the time to give us advice etc - If you could let me know an idea of pricing that would be great, if not then no worries.

I am glad that you had a great time and your experience has made me so much more excited.

Thanks again.

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