My trip began in Tromso, Norway – gateway to the Arctic Circle/Lapland.

Lapland:   

• Tromso - Aurora Dinner cruise - arranged which did not result in any Northern Lights due to weather.
• Arctic Cathedral, Troll Museum, Polar Museum (history of the Arctic people), Olhallen/Mack Micro Brewery which is the Oldest, Northern most brewery and brewpub. We did a site visit here and had a beer tasting. Family owned and operated since 1877.
• Kilpisjarvi – Reindeer farm operated by a local Sami Family
• Sami family experience – meet with a local family, learn about the culture and heritage of these indigenous, nomadic people.
  Snowmobile excursion – roundtrip, 2 person snowmobiles over ice and land to the point where the 3 countries meet on the lake. This area is quite remote and located in Finland. Snowsuits, boots & driving mittens included. Guests will travel as a group.
• Levi – Husky safari. The Husky camp is located close to Northern Lights Village. Best spot for us to see Northern Lights. Lots of family friendly, outdoor activities like cross country and back country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling of course seeing Santa in the flesh with real Elves. On site is a Santa’s village, Elf Camps, reindeer sled rides and more are available for the kids. Around the holidays, kids can make cookies,and have a snow ball fight with the elves.
• Haparanda/Tornio – IKEA’s northernmost location on the River Torne on the Sweden and Finland border. Ice Breaker cruise is the absolute highlight here. The Polar Explorer offers a 3 hour cruise as you watch the ship break through the Arctic Sea. Your admission on board the ship gives you the opportunity to float in the cold waters in a dry survival wetsuit covering all extremities but your eyes and mouth. There is a cafeteria, gift shop, cinema about icebreakers and plenty of indoor seating while you wait your turn to float. While the ship is parked in the sea, you can get off and walk around on the ice. We also had access to the captain’s bridge while ship was docked on ice and speak to him personally. Only available December through late March.
• Rovaniemi – Capital of Lapland and Santa’s official home & village. Guests can see and sit with Santa, write a letter or send a postcard to Santa as they have a post office on site. Many family friendly activities relating to outdoors – reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobile park and husky park and of course plenty of Christmas shopping. We had a chance to sit and take a picture with Santa. Rovaniemi is a vibrant city on a river and about 1.5 hrs flight from Helsinki.

 Transportation:

• Tromso – very small airport, no money exchange. Local city bus - $10 USD. Makes several stops in the city – some properties like Scandic Hotel and Clarion The Edge. I had to walk from the drop off point to hotel. Streets and sidewalks are snow covered and for the time we were there, very icy. Shoe spikes are a must.
• Rovaniemi – small airport, a bit bigger than in Tromso. We arranged a private transfer from our hotel for $75 total.
• Plan on at least a double connection for your arrival and return flights from these airports. I flew AA/Iberia via DTW/ORD/MAD/TRO and then FinnAir/AA via ROV/HEL/DFW/DTW.

Key notes for this region/destination:

• If you travel in January, it is important to note that outdoor weather activities are subject to weather conditions. This includes wind and clouds (for seeing Northern Lights). Snowsuits/boots provided for any of the outdoor excursions. Pack base layers, a second layer, wool socks, snow boots, gloves and hat. I would also suggest shoe spikes, as they are helpful navigating the icy streets and sidewalks. They do not use salt or brine for streets/walkways and spread a small stone down that is cleaned up once the snow melts. One can wear snow pants as second layer if they prefer. Wind is your biggest enemy!
• Sweden, Norway and Finland are exclusively cashless. Hotels do not exchange money nor have any on site. Cashless extends to all hotels, restaurants and shops and rarely accept cash! You must ask first if cash is accepted. No need to exchange currency prior to your arrival, you will be staying in 3 countries that use 3 different currencies, although Euro would be most accepted.
• Fins and Sweds are two symbiotic countries and often consider themselves one in the same family, like a mother and a father. The area where the two countries may only be divided by a river, these people speak a very specific language that is a mix of Swedish and Finnish words. Most Fins and Sweds do not speak this particular language, but they understand each other.
• Sauna’s – A integral part of the Scandinavian people of this region. With huge health and well-being benefits that not only combat the long, dark months of winter but are essential to the Finnish and Swedish culture. Every home has one either in their home or on property – separate out building. Finns take hygiene very seriously.
• App for Northern Lights: We used the Aurora App and the Northern Lights Village uses a different app (more accurate but only for certain hotels). You can receive alerts on your smartphone when sightings are made. Very accurate! We saw them 3x in one night.
• 24 hour clock is used for time and many of businesses close up early (4pm). Daylight is subjective to the area/country (June 21 & Dec 21 being the longest days with light). This was quite an adjustment for anyone. We did not see any sunrise/sunsets in Norway or Finland, only in Sweden. The light is not bright. Scandinavians use a lot of ambient lighting (candles) in restaurants, rooms and common areas and to Americans, it appears dark.
• If you have an affinity for the outdoors, Santa Claus and anything Christmas, you will NOT be disappointed!
• Food: If one doesn’t mind trying local foods, we had reindeer (similar to venison) and a lot of fish. Very Scandinavian breakfasts offered at all the hotels.

This was an amazing experience!