Today I will tell you about the city that has a very special place in my heart, now and forever.
ROVANIEMI - The Shining Star of Finland's Lapland!
Winter 2017-2018 was very different for me - compared to other winters during the last, say 10 years, in such a cool (literally) way!
I spent it entirely here in Finland without any trips to tropics and in my opinion, I spent most of it in Finland's best place, namely Rovaniemi, the official hometown of Santa Claus and the city of endless summer nights.
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| Jätkänkynttilä bridge and an ice swimming hole "avanto" (ice swimming translates to avanto uinti) |
I was born in a very small town called Salla, near to Russian border in Lapland but raised in Rovaniemi. Some Sami blood runs in my veins from my dad's side so I'm proud to say I'm a true "lappilainen" (someone whose roots are in Lapland, have been for generations).
As most of you know I've been in hospitality industry more or less for the last 20 years.
I got an opportunity to import some wonderful travel bloggers to visit Rovaniemi in January-April 2018 and to co-operate with a company called Santa Claus Holiday Village as well as with Visit Rovaniemi Oy along with many local vendors.
I have to say it was a lot of work to organize all that, sometimes felt like I was working 24/7 but at the same time I enjoyed it a lot and had so MUCH FUN!
Rovaniemi is located about 900 km up to north from Helsinki, with the population of approximately 62 000. The city center is relatively small, however geographically the rural area is quite wide and thinly populated, which is actually one of Lapland's charms - if you want to go wander by yourself, you can. Lapland is the place where you can hear the silence, you can hear the wind, and that is the beauty of it.
In this blog post...
I will briefly introduce you the 3 travel bloggers along with links to their websites.
Further, you get to learn a bit more about Rovaniemi, accommodation, dining and activity service providers that sponsored my blogger guests and, I will also briefly share some information of a few dining options in town.
I've mostly chosen to introduce you places that sponsored these bloggers because, well, let's face it, sponsors deserve to be acknowledged and, besides, I only chose the type of sponsors to cooperate with that I could warmly recommend to any of you, my dear readers.
However, please don't get me wrong, there are plenty of absolutely wonderful other service providers and tour operators in Rovaniemi area as well. On this blog though, I mainly focus on those that we cooperated with.
Links to their websites are also added hereto so that you can perhaps start planning your next holiday to this magical place called Rovaniemi!
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| This was taken in January, this is the brightest it gets that time of the year. |
BLOGGERS and a brief introduction and links to their sites
Pip & Luke Jones
The first visitor in early January 2018 was a travel blogger Portia Jones and her husband Luke Jones. This couple lives in Cardiff, UK and it's safe to say, despite their relatively young age, they've been to many wonderful places and certainly have done trips worth sharing and stories worth telling.
Pip and Luke stayed in Rovaniemi for an entire week and during that time they stayed at 4 different places.
As I later realized, every time my blogger guests arrived in town, it got more and more snow - as if the universe had known that now is a good time to provide these guests of the taste of what it's like living in Rovaniemi during the winter season!
You may read more about this wonderful, cheeky beautiful young woman here:
Pip in the City (click this to open the link)
Portia aka Pip is a lovely, sparkly world traveler and if I had to describe her by two words, I'd say: laughter and adventure.
Her writings are about travel, food (and wine) and good living, she has a lovely, fresh way of expressing herself and painting pictures with words of places she visits. I warmly recommend to follow her via social media!
Pip's Blog Post of Rovaniemi (click to open)
You should definitely read her writing, she has done an excellent job in describing their experience whilel visiting my beloved Rovaniemi!
Dante and Alexander (Alex) Harker
My second travel blogger/travel influencer/writer visitors were Dand and Alex. They are a funny, outgoing and adventurous couple from northern England. Dante writes also fiction, not just blogs and has many professions other than being solely a social media travel influencer, whereas Alex is the one who gathers all the details, makes sure they have all the necessary facts and plenty of photos and also in cooperation with Dante is responsible for the content on social media. Alex also has his own career in another industry but on this trip he was very much involved in gathering information, taking photos etc.
Dante and Alex experienced activities mainly at the Arctic Circle, or at least that's where their activities started from (got picked up from there).
More of them here: Dante Harker's website (click this to open)
Dante and Alex were in Rovaniemi for 4 nights in early March and they spent all nights at Santa Claus Holiday Village.
Family McCool - McCool Travels
My third travel blogger/travel influencer guests were the McCool family;
Charles McCool of McCool Travel (click this to open the link) is an independent travel writer, speaker, and a consultant, as well as an ambassador of fun travels and positivity.
His lovely wife Julie Bingham-McCool of Fun in Fairfax VA (click this to open the link) mainly shares her experiences in dine, wine and fun play in Northern Virginia, the area they live in. They traveled with their wonderful, adult daughter Katherine who was at the time studying in Sweden.
This super cool, fun loving and adventurous family visited Rovaniemi 5 days, at the end of March-early April and stayed at Santa Claus Holiday Village for 3 nights and at Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi for 2 nights.
Their schedule was probably the busiest and they got to experience perhaps more than the others, mainly because the season was almost over so area's service and tour providers had more time to host them too. I had such an awesome time with them, in particular, I enjoyed watching them trying local winter activities...
Our circle of "travel tribers" is large, when our network is put together, we easily reach millions of social media users, which means we get information and experiences shared quickly around the world, in a way that is pretty much impossible to get done in any other way and, that makes us such a powerful marketing tool for travel and hospitality companies. Not just macro but also micro influencers truly are a force to be reckoned with!
We are influencers, marketers, storytellers, adventurers, wanderers and friends, basically normal people around the world with strong passion, which makes us truly dedicated to whatever it is that we do.
ROVANIEMI
The best way to find out wonderful facts and information of my old (and future) hometown, this magical gem and center of Finland's Lapland is to check out the website of Visit Rovaniemi (click to open the link) - it has pretty much all the info you need and much more!
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One of the things many travelers miss even though it's right next to the city center is our beautiful church. In particular, around Christmas, walking in the area is truly calming.
Rovaniemi is well known for many things, here are just a few:
1. Of course, the most famous person and reason to visit Rovaniemi is probably our very own
Santa Claus (click to open)
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| Charles, Julie & Santa Claus taking an "elfie"! |
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| Northern lights on a Northern Lights tour |
4. We have these beautiful endless summer nights when you can see that unreal midnight sun (click to open) and as a contrast to that, we have our unique "Kaamos" - the time in the middle of the winter season when the sun doesn't rise at all.
If you ask me, Rovaniemi is so much more than just those 4 things.
Life in Rovaniemi is very much in connection with nature and seasons, of which there are 4;
Winter can be brutal in someone's opinion but I always say, it's about having the right kind of gear. It's dark, it's cold, but it's also magical, snowy and filled with joy, especially among tourist who feel that festive ambiance due to snow, all the trees decorated with Christmas lights and of course because our dear old Santa Claus is there all year round.
Spring in Rovaniemi area is stunning, weather can be a bit unpredictable but also so beautiful with clear, blue skies and the night sky filled with dancing northern lights.. Days are getting warmer, snow starts to melt, colors are changing from shades of white, sparkly snow to many shades of blue sky, snow turning into the water when melting, then nature starts to change it colors to greener and greener, migrant birds start to return...
Summer, that is the most magical time in Rovaniemi - you can literally say it's a place where you don't have to sleep if you don't feel like it because there will be no darkness when the night comes. Midnight sun will shine even at 1 am. At first, it may be confusing but you get used to it and soon you grow to love it because it makes your days feel so much longer; you can go wander in the woods at 2 am and you do not need to worry about getting lost in the darkness, you can go fishing at 5 am and it's beautiful and bright.
Well, I do want to mention one thing though, that might be a bit of a shock to people who come to Rovaniemi at summer time for the first time: mosquitoes. I honestly can say that I have never seen so many mosquitoes than in Lapland, the density is quite unreal - but again; after a few days you get used to it, there are so many spectacular things around you that you just don't want to waste time worrying about mosquitoes.
Rovaniemi at summertime is filled with countless opportunities to try all kinds of activities. One of which is canoeing and with two major rivers; Kemijoki and Ounasjoki, you have excellent circumstances for that. Want to plan more fun things to do? Go to: Visit Rovaniemi - what to do?
Fall in Rovaniemi and Lapland area is super colorful before it turns the world grey. Foliage can be spectacular, and even before that those warm August nights when days are getting shorter, nights darker, you may even get lucky and see the first northern lights.
September-November brings the foliage; colors of the trees take your breath away, just like the fall seems to take trees' lives away - but it doesn't, they just drop their leaves and get ready to sleep over the winter. Nature takes its course and the circle of seasons starts all over again...
The beauty of life in Rovaniemi 💖
When you plan your trip to Rovaniemi, Visit Rovaniemi website is the place to find the info, the accommodation, the tours etc. They are always happy to help and at your service!
Sponsored ACCOMMODATIONS that bloggers got to experience
Santa Claus Holiday Village
Santa Claus Holiday Village (click this to open the link) is located in Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle, about 8 km from Rovaniemi's city center. You get there easily either by taxi or by bus, although the last bus goes, I think around 5 pm.
If you are staying at this lovely holiday cottage resort, they provide you with free airport transportation, which is really handy as most people have quite a lot of luggage when coming to the north, for obvious reasons; cold weather requires many layers of warm, thermal gears. Although, in case you want, you can rent thermal suits and boots from the resort, so no need to take all of them with you.
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| Santa Claus Holiday Village's Gate and its cottages |
Each of the cottages accommodates either 2 adults (+ 1 adult on sofabed or 1 or 2 children on a sofabed). So, for example for bigger groups getting two, adjoining apartments i.e. one cottage is an excellent solution, as well as to bigger families.
There are Superior Cottages and Classic Cottages which both have same basic amenities and superior cottages have some lovely extras along with some extra services as well as breakfast served in Three Elves Restaurant.
All of the bloggers stayed here, Pip and Luke for 2 nights, Dante and Alex for 4 nights and McCools for 3 nights. You may see more photos and information also on their social media channels, so make sure you check them out!
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| Inside the cabin |
There is a free wifi for all the guests.
Sometimes there can be fire in the sky by nature and sometimes by humans...
Santa Claus Holiday Village is owned and run by Inga and Marko who you can meet daily working around the premises. The village has been established years ago and Santa Claus Holiday Village is still run by the same family that established area's first souvenir and gift shops decades ago.
I very much enjoyed wandering around the village at night time, whether it was chasing northern lights or the magical full moon. It is so peaceful there. For me, it's self-explanatory that it's safe to wander around, whether it's in the village or in the woods, but I just want to emphasize that here as well, Rovaniemi is a very safe place in so many ways.
Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi
Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi (click this to open the link) is a city hotel right in the middle of the city. The hotel has been there for decades and for me it's an essential part of the city center.
It's part of the Scandic hotel chain. Scandic's beautiful, uniquely furbished rooms provide you with a relaxing stay within a walking distance of all the main attractions of the city center. Scandic Rovaniemi has 178 rooms and its own restaurant as well as a public sauna and a gym.
Breakfast is included and served daily for its guests. For non-guests it can be served for certain small charge.
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| The entrance of the hotel and a centerpiece inside of the lobby area |
Rooms really have this relaxing, Lappish vibe and I have to say I was a bit envious that I couldn't stay here, only my guests Pip & Luke and McCools did, both for 2 nights and they all had only good things to say about this wonderful hotel and its services for which reason I can warmly recommend this city hotel to anyone who wants to stay at a hotel that has wonderful service, great, recently renovated modern rooms, with all the necessary amenities.
There is also an outdoor parking space here in case you have a car at your disposal. However, I do want to emphasize that this hotel is perfect if you want to explore Rovaniemi without driving!
By the way, I love their family room; the beds for children are hidden into the wall and can be put away for the day and then pulled out for the night - how smart use of space is that?!
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| On the left, the family room with wall integrated beds. |
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| Lobby bar of Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi |
Apukka Resort
Apukka Resort (click this to open the link) is located about 20 min drive from the city center. This authentic, beautiful resort stands by Olkkajärvi (lake Olkkajärvi) and is ideally situated in terms of chasing the northern lights and enjoying a pristine Lappish nature.
Apukka resort has 117 beds and you can choose from private rooms, apartments, holiday homes and Aurora Cabins.
Following photos are all of Aurora Cabins, wherein you get to sleep under the stars, but lucky for you, in a warm, very cozy, comfy bed! That spectacular glass ceiling provides you with a unique panorama view and the best part is; it's heated, which means it stays clear even on the coldest winter nights. All cabins have shower, minibar and a wifi.
I did not have an opportunity to see Apukka's other accommodation options but based on what I've heard, they are pretty fantastic too!
The one thing that I would, in particular, like to experience, just because it's so different from anything else is their Aurora Wagon, which can be transported anywhere to spend the night under the starts, watching the northern lights and enjoy the sounds of Lappish nature - and by this I mean, in Lapland, you truly CAN to hear them, because there's just you and the nature!
Read more about Apukka's exotic and interesting accommodation options here:
Apukka Accommodations
There is also an exotic, supercool - eh, I mean hot sauna world at Apukka resort wherein you can enjoy the igloo sauna and then cool of in a heated jacuzzi under the stars - it doesn't get much more exotic than that!
Apukka Resort also provides its guests with multiple activities to choose from.
There is also a restaurant in the resort and breakfasts are served daily free of charge for resort's guests.
Pip and Luke stayed here for 2 nights and McCools experienced a sauna & jacuzzi night under the stars during their visit to Rovaniemi.
Apukka is an exotic resort with a relaxed vibe and true feel of nature as there is no traffic or disturbing city lights, you really get that feeling of being in the middle of Lapland's unspoiled nature, you can see the stars, you can watch the northern lights dancing above the lake...
Hands up, who would love to experience that? Well, you know what to do if you do!
Lapland Hotels Sky Ounasvaara
Lapland Hotels Sky Ounasvaara (click this to open the link) is located on top of Ounasvaara hill, in the Ounasvaara Winter Sports Center. The hotel is part of Lapland Hotels hotel chain.
This hotel has been part of Rovaniemi's travel scene for a long time. It is surrounded by a spectacular nature and views from the top are incredible. Here, you can experience the culture, the cuisine and the sports, all in one place. Sky Ounasvaara's restaurant serves breakfast daily for its guests.
Sky Ounasvaara has accommodation options from basic hotel rooms to high-quality holiday apartments. Most of the rooms have their own sauna, which, naturally many travelers find very luxurious. Those beautiful holiday apartments are located about 200 meters from the hotel and are in semi-detached houses, with plenty of space for families and for example group of friends.
Pip and Luke stayed in this nature surrounded hotel for one night on their trip to Rovaniemi.
Snowman Word - Lumiukkomaailma
None of my blogger guests stayed here but we got an opportunity to visit the place.
During the winter season, there is an amazing snow structured ice hotel Snowman World (click to open) in Santa Claus Village area in the Arctic Circle. The place is filled with unique snow carved figures, like the snowman Charles poses here with. (cf. below)
It has a cool (literally!) ice bar, actual hotel rooms made out of snow and they also have beautiful hotels rooms in Igloo Hotel. If you wonder how on earth can you sleep in a hotel room made out of the snow; well, your bed is actually heated and you get proper sleeping gear for it. I tried the bed and it actually felt really comfortable and I wish I had a chance to actually stay there overnight! I sure hope I get to fix this next season!
They also have the more (a lot more) luxurious accommodations in their Glass Resort. They are currently building more of these fantastic Glass Resort accommodation units, and once they are finished this place will certainly be one to beat in the area. You will hear more of these from me, for sure!
In these beautiful Glass Apartments have pretty much everything you can ask for: pristine Lapland nature view is the best part and probably the reason people from all over the world come here for.
These luxury apartments have also fully equipped kitchen, beautiful sauna, lounge area and on the top of the circular staircase is the sleeping area, what could be more appealing that fall asleep watching the stars and northern lights?
These high standard Glass Apartments are very well executed, well designed with high-quality products, they have services that make guests' stay very effortless, which for me is one of the main definitions of luxury, for example, tablet computers that provide guests with a direct connection with the front desk is something I know I would appreciate as high-end guest - in particular when guests often come from Asia wherein technology in hospitality industry is so much further along than ours is.
Staying in one of these Glass apartments is, for sure, truly a service-oriented, unique experience that I can warmly recommend to anyone that wants to stay in the middle of the Lappish nature and yet enjoy all the services and facilities of a luxury resort.
Drinks by this bar are, for sure, cool, straight or on the rocks! So if you think you may not stay warm enough, a shot of Finlandia Vodka will certainly help you with that!
Snowman world was open until early April and will open again next fall, i.e. later at 2018.
Stay tuned with what's happening by checking out their website: Snowman World
ACTIVITIES
Many of the activities mentioned below were experienced by all the bloggers.
Outdoor activities
Husky sleigh rides
One of the most liked activity was a husky ride, organized by very professional BearHill Husky (click to open) again, conveniently located at Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle. (They do have their actual farm elsewhere but we went to our rides here.)
I went to one ride myself too, with Dante & Alex and it was fun, I do have to admit, although, unlike other days, the weather wasn't the best, about 0 degrees and very hard for the huskies as the snow was so wet. They did seem to love running though so no worries, no animals were harmed - nor humans!
All of my hosted bloggers got to experience husky sleigh ride provided by BearHill Husky.
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| On the left: Charles practicing snowshoeing - it's fun but also hard work! On the right; Charles & Katherine saying Hello! to one of the huskies. |
Reindeer Safaris
All of my blogger guests got to experience a visit to a reindeer farm as well as a reindeer sleigh ride.
There are many companies that provide such safaris but my guests' safaris were all arranged by ChristmasHouse Safaris.
Guests got picked up from the Santa Claus Holiday Village's reception lobby and got driven by a minibus to a local reindeer farm wherein an authentic reindeer farmer told our guests more about the life of reindeer farmers and facts of reindeers as well, which foreigners, in general, find very interesting. Guests got to feed some reindeers and they were also taken to reindeer sleigh ride, which everyone spoke very highly of after the experience.
If you are worried about how you tolerate the weather, don't. The storytelling will happen by a bonfire in a tepee, while having a hot drink and if necessary, the tour operator will provide you with all the necessary thermal gear and boots.
I don't have photos of reindeer farm trip & safaris because I wasn't there with my guests.
Here are 2 photos of Pip and Luke's experience, thank you Pip for letting me publish them here!
Here is a link to a wild, wild video of a reindeer sleigh ride, filmed by Julie Bingham-McCool:
Reindeers gone wild!
(No animals or humans were harmed during the filming, it's just their competitive nature.)
The Ranua Wildlife Park
The Ranua Wildlife Park was established in1983 and it specializes in arctic animals and species. There are actually about 50 different animal species in the area, living as close to their natural, authentic environment as possible. The Ranua Wildlife Park is a member of European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), which has several programmes with aim of healthy, genetically well-varied populations of endangered species in wildlife parks, in order to ensure their survival in the future.
Ranua zoo is about an hour drive from Rovaniemi and it is open every day of the year.
The only bloggers that got to experience this wonderful place were McCools. Their trip was organized in cooperation with ChristmasHouse Safaris (transportation & guide) and Visit Rovaniemi as well as Ranua Zoo (the tickets).
Ranua Info by Visit Rovaniemi
This is how Julie Bingham-McCool described their visits to Ranua Zoo:
"It was excellent! Loved the boardwalk through the woods. Felt like a woodland hike with wildlife stops. Our guide was very informative. Watching the big cats was the highlight!"
Unfortunately, I don't have photos of my own of Ranua excursion as I didn't join McCools for this one, but Julie was kind enough to allow me to use these photos:
Meeting Santa
Pretty much every one of the hosted guests was like a child again; smiling from ear to ear and being nervous when they got to sit down and meet with the big boss. Who? Well, the Santa Claus of course! We went to meet him in his chambers and my guests got to have a nice chat with the man himself. Who is, by the way, old enough not to be able to count the years of his age because he falls asleep before he gets to the end! If adults get this excited over meeting this kind man, you can only imagine what happens when kids get to do the same, their energy and excitement are probably at the point where they are ready to go through the roof.
Both Santa Claus visits, as well as Reindeer farm safaris, were organized by Christmas Houses Safaris (click to open) - which has a sales desk adjacent to Santa Claus Holiday Village's reception (i.e. inside the same building). You can also book these tours online.
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Further, bloggers and their families all got to try some various winter activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, sliding the down those snow hills, making snow angels etc.
There's probably about a hundred other outdoor activity - winter and summer based that you can try out in Rovaniemi, these were only a few of them. One, very traditional, another crazy Finn thing to do is ice swimming. Yes, you read right; not ice fishing (although we do that too, very much so) - I did say ice swimming.
Another, very old tradition that we Finns love is our saunas and in particular, rolling around in the snow between the löyly (that moment when hot steam arises, caused by throwing water to the hot stones in the sauna is called Löyly).
Now that people live more and more in cities, this crazy but actually fun tradition is vanishing. We do cherish it where ever possible; in our summer cabin saunas, in rural areas etc and we certainly recommend everyone to try it at least once when in Rovaniemi / Lapland in the winter time and going to saunas. It may be best to wear your swimming gear though if you feel it's a bit too much to roll around in the snow out on the open, naked and afraid. The choice is yours, though, trust me, Finns have seen plenty of people doing that and we really don't pay That much attention to it!
Northern Lights
Above, at the beginning of this post is a photo of one of the ice swimming holes, located by the Kemijoki river. There is a sauna next to it so you can experience a true extreme experience by being in a hot sauna first and then walking into ice cold "avanto" (hole in the ice) and go for a short swim. Experienced ice swimmers normally have some type of socks our wetshoes (something similar that you'd wear on a beach with many corals) on as well as a swimsuit (regular, summer suit) and a beanie on, that makes it more tolerable, I presume. I've done that myself but without any of the extra gear, I didn't know about them so I just went for it - yes, not going to lie, it was freezing cold! However, when the weather is way below zero, say -20 C, the water is actually warmer than the air, as the water is around zero!
Dante and Alex had no luck with northern lights as the weather was very cloudy and snowy during their visit. McCools actually got to go on the Northern Lights' tour, but unfortunately only saw one minor light.
However, Pip and Luke were lucky in that respect and based on their reactions, it was worth getting really cold and waiting for the phenomenon for hours outside. You should check out Pip's social media accounts to read more about their experience!
Northern light tours were organized in cooperation by Christmas House Safaris and Santa Claus Holiday Village. However, there are plenty of Northern Lights tour operators in Rovaniemi to choose from. There are even Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis flights - however, I would like to remind you that regardless of what anyone tells you, there can be no guarantee that you actually do see northern lights on these tours. There are ways to predict the odds of seeing them but still, it's a nature's phenomenon, so no human can control it and either turn them on or off. Although the aurora forecasts are getting more and more accurate along the technology, for example, a cloudy night may prevent you from seeing them. The best month to actually see them is statistically March due to its most amount of clear sky nights.
I did some private excursions to the wilderness, which is one of my favorite things to do in Lapland in the middle of the winter. And my waiting was rewarded: I saw multiple mind-blowing northern lights! It was -25 C and I had about 5 layers of cotton & woolen clothes underneath my thermal winter clothes. I also made a little fire for myself so I was just fine. It's an incredible feeling to be in the woods, all by myself, no one else but me and about a million stars and then, all of a sudden, those breathtaking northern lights are dancing all over the sky!
I also attended to two of the Christmas House Safaris Northern Lights' tours, it's pretty awesome to join a group of Santa Claus Holiday Village guests as they are so excited even for the experience; being in the woods at night time, when it's way below zero. This tour operator luckily have these two lovely little huts with firepits in the middle so guests can get inside, get warm, have some hot drinks and they also get to fry some Finnish sausages above the fire, which is, by the way, very traditional thing in Finland, we always do that when camping.
Snowmobiles
McCools and Dante & Alex got to try out snowmobiling too, provided in cooperation with Visit Rovaniemi and Arctic Snowmobile Park (located conveniently at the Santa Claus Village).
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| On the left, McCools are getting their training on how to handle a snowmobile, on the right; Dante & Alex. |
Many travelers are excited and yet a bit nervous to do this. I noticed that among the visitors, women often rather sit back and enjoy the ride whereas men take care of the driving. This is not always a case, but it does happen quite often. I think the reason for this is that women think snowmobiling to be harder than it actually is. If you've done jet skiing, this is piece of cake!
Snowmobile safaris/excursions can last from 30 minutes to days!
However, remember if you book a snowmobile safari, with this wonderful company or any other company, you cannot drink and drive, it is an absolute no. Further, in order to be able to rent a snowmobile, you have to have a valid driver's license (with you, not sufficient if you left it to your hotel room).
You get all the necessary gears from head to toe from the operator so you don't need to worry about that. They will tell you how to operate a snowmobile and what are the rules for driving on those routes.
So, all you need is a driver's license, an open mind, and willingness to have fun!
City activities:
One city activity that pretty much everyone loves is going to Rovaniemi's museums. Visit Rovaniemi was kind enough to sponsor these guests Culture Passes (click to open) so they got to visit all the museums they wanted. My favorite is, without a doubt, Arktikum museum (click to open) as it is interactive and tells so many stories that involve Lapland, Finland, our culture etc. I've visited it multiple times and each time I see something I haven't seen before and learn something new. This time they had an exhibition called "Hot Stuff - Arctic Dating and Mating" and I have to say if I was a prude, I would have had some blushing cheeks - good thing I'm not. It was actually quite enjoyable and humorous, especially since the signs and art were based on facts and people's stories.
Another fun thing to in Rovaniemi, which we didn't try though, is Fat Biking (click to open) - I bumped into a group of bikers on top of Ounasvaara and that looked like a lot of fun, I hope I get to try that myself one day and I sure hope you do too!
One of the most popular places to go for a walk is by the beautiful Kemijoki river that has 3 bridges that provide you with fantastic views.
This sunset photo I took at 1.30 pm - yes, you read right, not much after noon. In January, that's what's life like in Rovaniemi, full of nature's wonders!
DINING
All guests had breakfasts included to their stays at all resorts.
I will not comment in details the menus of restaurants as they are very often changing after seasons so by the time you get there one day, they are not what they were this past season.
However, I can give you one great tip though: You can't go wrong if you choose reindeer or salmon!
Three Elves Restaurant
In Santa Claus Holiday Village all of the above-mentioned bloggers dined at Three Elves Restaurant which is located in the main building. There is also a lobby bar at the imminent vicinity.
You may check out the menu here: Three Elves Restaurant (click to open)
By the way, even though I was basically always the designated driver, I heard that the drink list and the cocktails here at the lobby bar are quite great and worth checking out so go for it once you're there! I mean, after all, most likely you're on holidays!
My favorite meal was, without a doubt the grilled chicken. However, most of the guests said the reindeer burger was the best. Well, we all have our own favorites...
Sky Ounasvaara Restaurant
Pip & Luke also had a lovely dinner at Sky Ounasvaara Restaurant (click to open), which by the way got to be among 50 best restaurants in entire Finland, that's is such an honor. and a huge achievement. Although, I'm not surprised. I know their head chef, Tero Mäntykangas and he truly is a superstar of Finnish chefs, he knows Lappish food inside and out and he is very innovative with new ingredients and dishes. In Lapland Hotels' restaurants, you often get to try combinations that have not even been invented elsewhere yet.
Unfortunately I do not have photos to share of this experience, however, if you check out Pip's social media, you will certainly find some beautiful foodie shots!
Nili Restaurant
I took all of my guests to Nili Restaurant (click to open) - the most Lappish restaurant in town.
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| Love & marriage and bread & shots |
The interior design is simple, based on all natural materials such as logs, reindeer hides and horns, old skies, etc. which gives the restaurant truly an authentic vibe, makes you feel as if you have been taken about 50 years back in time, and yet they serve superb food made of local ingredients, as organic as possible.
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| Our waiter, Waltteri and our shared starter/appetizer: Rovaniemen Markkinoilla - a mixture of local delicacies |
The drinks are often very Finnish, such as Finnish Lingonberry Vodka, which every guest got to try and also liked. The yellow drink on the left was my sea buckthorn berry shot - non-alcoholic, of course. This particular berry happens to be extremely healty, very rich in vitamin C.
I was always the designated driver so I didn't have any of the alcoholic drinks, although, I did take my family to Nili as well as I sincerely love the place and wanted them to experience it as well. Food will never let you down, I can promise you that, neither does the service.
Everyone seems to really enjoy working there and part of Nili's charm comes from people who work there; serving their customers with joy and always smiling!
Rakas Restaurant and Bar
With McCools we had an early dinner at Rakas Restaurant (click to open) which is located nearby the SantaPark, only about 1 km from the Santa Claus Village. We all were extremely satisfied with our meals and both my guests and I loved the warm atmosphere of the place.
Word Rakas translates to "My love", which I think is a superb name for such a cozy and yet stylish restaurant!
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| The lobby area of Rakas - our table is the furthest one on the left. |
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| On the left: starter: King of the Arctic Ocean (which Julie commented to be absolutely delicious!) |
Serving the King of the Arctic Ocean
On the left upper corner (of the photo above) was our table, right next to the floor to ceiling windows, providing us with views to Finnish nature along with the houses of Arctic TreeHouse Hotel (click to open) - which is part of the same company with Rakas Restaurant and Bar.
If you don't feel like dining, you can just sit down by the bar or relax by the beautiful fireplace, which, in my opinion, was the real centerpiece of the lobby area, I just couldn't walk by and not take some photos, as the area had such warm vibes. I could easily imagine myself sitting there with a drink, reading some magazine... Such a lovely ambiance!
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| On the left; Mccools and on the right; my starter from the All day menu: |
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| Delicious local dishes; reindeer stew "Poronkäristys" & whitefish dish (hope I remembered it right) |
Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi - À la Carte
Both Pip & Luke and McCools had the opportunity to dine at Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi's new restaurant Scandi Deli, which was opened just recently, at the end of last year. The menu changes seasonally, offering the best flavors and ingredients of each season.
Unfortunately, since I was not with my guests here, I have no photos to share. However, Pip kindly let me publish two of her photos of their absolutely delicious meals at Scandic's à la carte restaurant:
You may read more about it here:
Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi - À la Carte Restaurant
Miscellaneous information:
Car rental
Since I hosted my guests basically the entire time and drove them around they didn't need a car. I However, if you need to rent a car in Rovaniemi, I can warmly recommend Herz Rovaniemi (click to open) - they provided me with a car in early December when I needed one for three days and it was such an effortless renting experience and that Toyota was an excellent choice, much appreciated, thank you!
I have to admit, I could write stories of Rovaniemi to the point you wouldn't want to read further. It's the city that has given me so much, I was raised there and now that Rovaniemi is becoming more and more popular and draws more and more travelers each year we plan on moving back there as I can work anywhere with my broad education and decades of experience in hospitality and marketing & sales.
If you have any questions regarding Rovaniemi, do not hesitate to contact me, either with the contact field on the right side column of this blog or just by emailing me (or feel free to DM me via any of my social media accounts!).
Which reminds me, make sure you follow these wonderful bloggers and companies also on social media too!
Special thanks to all of the above mentioned local vendors that were kind enough to sponsor our guests' accommodations, tours, activities, dinners etc. You are all a superb example of Lappish hospitality - no wonder everyone wants to visit Lapland - you are all superstars, reasons why everyone thinks Rovaniemi certainly is worth visiting!
I'm very proud to say I'm originally (and will soon be again) a citizen of Rovaniemi, the gem of Finland's Lapland and I warmly welcome all of you to visit this exotic and exciting town!
Visit Rovaniemi (website) and you will soon find yourself booking a trip to Visit Rovaniemi for real!
But be warned, you may fall in love with the place, nature, and the people!
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| Photo taken by Pip Jones, published on her permission. |
Thank you for reading and I hope to see you all one day in Rovaniemi. Let me know if you're coming, would love to meet you!
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As always, all photo rights belong to me, unless stated otherwise, like in the above with some photos. Kindly respect that. If you find photos here or in any other blog posts of mine that you would like to use for your own purposes, which are not related to topics mentioned here, please contact me first.
