 Poster: A snowHead
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Dear Snowheaders,
I am after some honest advice if I can.
My Fiancee and I are getting married on 13th March 2010 and we wanted originally 2 weeks in Alaska as our honeymoon, well, once i picked myself up off the floor at the cost we diecided that as my Fiancee really wanted to go and see the northern lights that why not go to Finland.
Heres the thing, weve been into tour operators (thomas cook and First Choice) and as usual they feed you the same old lines about isnt it wonderful and oh how i wish i could go etc... Having been in marketing and sales for many many years ive cottoned onto their speak so wanted from you guys an honest aparisal:
We would ideally like a log cabin for the two of us - where's good, which ones are near bars/restaurants/shops etc...
We would ideally like one near the slopes - looked at Yllas and Levi and although neither are really challenging, its a honeymoon so wasnt that bothered.
We wanted a bit of luxury without the price tag - Budget is £1500 for two, thats it, all I got, no more lol.
We did like the look of one in Yllas, but were worried that it was going to be remote as it was part of a hotel complex but 3km away from the slopes, so probably 3km away from eveything else.
We do like our food and drink so eating out choices a must, we have also been known to like shoping so that would be nice.
I have no clue as to Finland having never ski'd there before, so any help/advice you can give would be great.
Thanks
Adam
www.a2bdesign.co.uk
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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adam_button, if by Yllas you mean Akaslompolo the whole village is not near the slopes. There's a regular bus (every half hour or so). I'm guessing that the log cabins you looked at were part of the Akas hotel "complex". It's not that far from the rest of the resort and the ski bus stops at the hotel. Inghams also do some nice (well the ones we've stayed in were) log cabins there for a fairly reasonable price (they call them Yllas log cabins). You also get free (but not the best) snowshoes and xc skis if that's of interest. The whole village is also rather spread out so it may involve a bit of walking but not as much as 3km.
However Alaslompolo isn't the largest resort so there isn't much of a choice. Off the top of my head I can only remember four eateries but there are probably a couple more; shops are similarly few in number. Levi is larger but still isn't massive. However, they both are great places if you want to "get away from it all" (Yllas slightly better).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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adam_button, a lovely idea, to see the Northern Lights. My daughter has long wanted to do that - she will done day. But you can't guarantee they'll appear in just two weeks, can you? Hope you find something to suit you.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ADAM
I don't know Yllas but I've had a good weeks skiing in Levi
Transfers are great - its only 15 minutes from the airport
The village is small so getting to the slopes is easy - you can even pole across the frozen lake to the lifts.
Snow quality is brilliant but you won't get the variety of more traditional resorts - basically its one big hill with runs coming off from the top in different directions.
You can tell the size by the fact the run back to Levi is floodlit - great for extened skiing into the night or the dark days of winter - take a look at the webcams
We went for New Year and it never really got light the whole day - it was like dusk at midday - plus it was VERY cold
Accommodation is good but the Finnish hotel food is just about passable.
We stayed at the Hotel Levitunturi - supposedly 4* but not the meals
Unfortunately there's not many places to eat out either & only one supermarket.
Drinks are very expensive even by ski resort prices
You can do all the other shops in half an hour as well - not a place for shopaholics.
Best for me though was the other activities - had a great morning on a snow mobile safari and a days cross country skiing on the nearby lakes.
Plus you had the Northern Lights which have to be seen.
Overall a great place to go for a more rounded holiday as long as you know the limitations
Let me know if you need anything else more specific
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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pam w, tell me about. We spent a fortnight there an didn't seem them once  .
janner, remember though that by March (date of wedding) the days will be as long as here in March, if not longer.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I suppose there has to be an inverse relationship between the length of the days and the chances of seeing the Northern Lights?
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pam w, I guess so but that's when the OP is going. Also it's (obviously) very weather dependant. When we were there most the time (ie nearly the whole two weeks) there was a layer of cloud obscuring the sky. And the sun isn't at it's most active right now and probably won't be in a year.
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I enjoyed a few days skiing in Levi in 2006, also staying at the Hotel Levitunturi. janner has summed up everything pretty accurately (though I didn't see the Northern Lights). On the Internet I found this link to an organisation offering cabins in Levi: http://www.finnishlakesidecabins.com/Lap150-151.htm. You could investigate them further, if you thought they might be of interest to you.
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None of two villages, Yllas or Levi, is big. So shopping is out of question to be honest. I agree hotel food is far from best, but it's good enough to survive just with it. Next to that, there's whole bunch of small places where you can get really great food. My choices for Yllas (Akaslompolo part) is Julli's Bar and Restaurant, and one of really good options Levi (Sirkka) is Hullu Poro Ämmilä.
As for skiing goes, I agree that none Yllas or Levi are best resorts you can find. Of course I'm talking about alpine skiing, since for xc skiing, Lapland, or to be honest most of Scandinavia, is pure paradise. But even for alpine skiing, it's not all that bad as someone might think. You have few runs which can easily compare with any Austrian resort, and considering they are difficult enough for World Cup races, they are most likely difficult enough for most of people here  I just came from Levi yesterday, and I had week of great skiing, even though it was a bit too warm for my taste. Sure I was skiing mostly on WC course, but on the end of week, I still wasn't disappointed 
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adam_button
We "did" Swedish Lapland in Feb for our 10th wedding anniversary. Main reason was to spend a night in the Ice Hotel but we skied 3 days as well.
The Ice Hotel is just incredible - absolutely breathtaking and I can't recommend it highly enough. It would be fantastic for a night on a honeymoon. Here's the link to photos of this year's creation - this was our room: http://www.icehotel.com/Winter/Icehotel/Art/2009/337/
It's expensive - but we did a DIY trip at about half the price of a tour operator package. A 5 day trip (flights, modest hotels apart from the Ice Hotel, car hire, skiing, food and drink) came in around your £1500 budget. We flew to Kiruna with Scandinavian Airlines then hired a car, staying in Kiruna and also at Riksgransen ski area.
At the Ice Hotel we paid about £300 for a night in an "Art Suite" which featured carved ice sculptures etc. On a Tues & Wed night these are the same price as a normal "Ice room."
We then skied 3 days at Bjorkliden and Riksgransen. Bjorkliden is worth a day for cruising about while Riksgransen is excellent - steeps and great off piste, plus great piste skiing. The Arctic wilderness is just stunning - ice covered roads and hire car with studded tyres - and it's a trip we'd love to repeat. The skiing at Riksgransen is the world's most northerly - about 250km inside the Arctic Circle and 900km north of Stockholm.
We were there on 10th March - it was very cold but daylight hours at that time were longer than the UK - it got light at about 5am. We also saw the Northern Lights, which was just amazing.
I can advise on specific hotels, or if you need any more info. give me a shout.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Oo err missus! Not unless you want frostbite in your nether regions....
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You'd be surprised!! Although it was -5C in the hotel, you get the thickest sleeping bags (doubles also available that you've ever seen and also sleep on reindeer skins (on a proper mattress on a bed made of ice)......Luvly and warm missus!!
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If you go to Yllas/Levi with a T/O they offer day trips to the Swedish Ice Hotel. You can also go from either of them (I think) to the "Snow Village" (no connection to the Ice Hotel) by snowmobile.
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