lapland, finland: the perfect winter wonderland
last week i embarked on a journey of a lifetime to finland! if you followed along on my #KeepingUpWithFinland journey on instagram, you would know i was invited by the zapwater team, visit finland, and arctic treehouse hotel. finland has always been a country on my must-visit list and i was so excited and honored that the team invited me to not only join, but photograph the trip!
after my new puffer coat, one thousand hand warmers, and bunch of sweaters were packed, i was off to jfk and made the 8-hour journey to finland. i flew in style in finnair’s business class courtesy of the company and the flying experience was truly the best of the best. after enjoying my in-flight dinner, i reclined my seat to be a flat bed and was able to get some much needed hours of sleep. before i knew it, i woke up in helsinki for my layover. i spent some time in the beautiful finnair lounge before i met up with jenn, stuart, christine, and amy and we boarded our second flight to rovaniemi where we officially began our adventure! once at the airport we met up with our guide and driver to make our way to the beautiful arctic treehouse hotel in lapland…only a 7-minute drive from the airport! talk about convenient!
when we arrived to the arctic treehouse hotel property, i was stunned by its beauty. the property was absolutely beautiful and so incredibly magical. all of the rooms had spectacular views of the treetops and the property had an atmospheric lounge which was so cozy and inviting. we dropped off our bags and got ready for dinner at the rakas restaurant & bar. the restaurant could be from a scene of the movie as it was so cozy, had beautiful windows that opened up to the woods, and not to mention delicious food. this first night, we had king crab soup, bear-meat meatballs, and beef stew over veggies. after a great meal with lots of laughs and getting to know the girls a little better, we finished the evening with some delicious apple pie and called it a night!
day one
after a great night's sleep, i woke up to the most incredible view of the freshly fallen snow and tall pine trees from my bed. the sun in lapland rises a little on the later side in the winter time so it was so nice to sleep in just a bit after our long travel day the day before. sleeping paired with my view, i honestly felt like i was in heaven! even though i could have spent the entire day in my cozy bed looking at the view, i knew it was time to get ready and start my first official day in finland! we started the morning off with a delicious buffet-style breakfast at the rakas restaurant where we ate dinner the night before.
the day started off to a great start with a husky experience thanks to bear hill husky tours. this was by far one of the coolest things i have ever done! despite it being absolutely freezing outside we put on some gear that was already arranged for us (so we didn’t have to bring all of those things from the us) and embarked on a journey where we were able to sit in or drive a sled and powered by huskies…or sled was a 6-husky power to be exact! this was incredible and now I can say my life is now complete.
after our husky experience, we had the most delicious lunch in the yurt on the property to learn a little bit more about the dogs and all they do. can you believe they have over 150 dogs on their property!? and they are always sure to give each dog the attention, roaming, and exercise they need. we finished up lunch and then made our way to santa park where we met up with our very own elf where he gave us a tour and took us on an unforgettable journey! this indoor christmas theme park is the real deal and we hopped on the magic train and traveled through many stops which included the ice sculpture forest, elf school (courses included how to peek through windows and learning some elfish!), santa’s post office, mrs. gingerbread’s kitchen where we decorated some incredible gingerbread cookies (an elf-favorite), and the final stop where we saw some very talented acrobatic elves! this was an absolute dream and i kept pinching myself throughout this experience!
up next was our delicious meal (honestly the food here in finland is incredible) at the nili restaurant where I had reindeer for the first time…it was actually really good! the dinner was full of laughs with the team and kippis, which means cheers in finnish!
the final activity of the day was an exclusive private aurora floating experience thanks to safartica on the joutolampi lake. once again, this was an incredible experience where we were able to dip ourselves into the frozen lake under the snowy sky and just relax! we obviously had very chic protective suits on (we looked like seals) but they kept us warm in the freezing water. it was truly an adventure of a lifetime. the one downside was that the weather was a little on the cloudy side so unfortunately, we were unable to see the northern lights but just another excuse to go back, right!?
we made our way back to the hotel and sat by the fire and enjoyed idyllic nightcap drinks and snacks in the forest. after this we definitely were ready for bed and catch up on some sleep before day two!
day two
once again we started off our morning at the rakas restaurant & bar for a delicious breakfast before spending the rest of the morning shooting photos in the arctic scene executive suite. you know, casually complete with a living room, 1.5 baths (and bathtub!), sauna, and indoor/outdoor patio! needless to say, i just made myself quite at home and refused to leave haha! after we wrapped, we made our way to the snowmobile track. we started off the day on a private snowmobile safari hosted again by safartica. on this adventure we were able to become pros (so we think) at driving a snowmobile as we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and views of finland. this was something that i haven’t done since i was in high school so i felt so lucky to be able to do it again in the most beautiful place in the world!
after snowmobiling we went and hung out with some adorable reindeer at the farm hosted by our friends at sieriporo safaris. we were able to learn about this important aspect of lapland’s life and culture while playing and meeting some pretty cool new friends. did you know that there are more reindeer than people in lapland? 50,000 more to be exact! and each farm has their own ear marking on their reindeer so when the roaming season is over, they know which farm they belong to (searchable by an online index)!
we ended our final night at the santa claus secret forest where we met the cutest and “oldest” elves and were able to hear their incredible stories and not to mention some of the biggest elf secrets! we sang christmas carols along the paths in the forest and stopped for hot chocolate before ending up at the secret command center. a few password tries, and we were in! we helped the elves with some very important christmas tasks such as transmitting messages through the radio to rudolph and the others, overseeing santa’s flight routes, sorting out letters, and keeping an eye on the toy factory! and then, to our surprise, a hidden wall opened up right to santa’s office! we were so excited to meet the man himself in his hometown! all in all, i’m pretty sure i did an a+ job because i earned a santa’s helper’s diploma (my parents are so proud) accompanied with a very emotional graduation ceremony.
our last meal was a private 3-course dinner served by the elves in the warm and cozy schoolhouse. the meal once again was delicious as it was fresh lappish food. we had the best time laughing and talking about the incredible experiences we’ve had this trip and not to mention how we did not want to leave the next day!
after our stomachs were full and our hearts happy, we made our way back to the hotel and opened up the curtains and embraced the winter forest views one last time.
day three
we ate our final breakfast at the rakas restaurant & bar before making our way back to the airport and on our journey back to the states! once again, we had a layover in the helsinki airport where i was able to relax and get some major photo editing done in the stunning finnair lounge.
on dasher, on dancer, on prance and vixen, on comet, on cupid, on donner & blitzen! and before you knew it, i was back in my apartment in nyc and already missing finland!
i want to sincerely thank the teams at zapwater, visit finland, finnair, and arctic treehouse hotel for the most incredible experience. this is a trip that i will never forget and i definitely want to come back asap!!
what i packed
