You will be met on arrival at the airport and transferred* to your accommodation at Muotkan Maja Wilderness Hotel, your new home for the next seven nights.

You will have a meal this evening and we would suggest casting your eyes up to the night sky – the Northern Lights often welcome guests to Lapland in spectacular fashion.

* Transfers are based on a scheduled group shuttle that sometimes stops at a few nearby hotels. If you would prefer to upgrade to private taxi transfers please ask our Travel Experts for a quotation.

Included Meals:  Dinner

Your adventure at Muotka will begin with an Aurora workshop led by one of the knowledgeable guides. The guide will provide information on the science behind this natural phenomenon and advise you on what you should be looking out for during your Aurora hunts. They will also advise on the optimal camera settings that should help you capture any display on film.

After lunch, you will enjoy your first foray into the beautiful wilderness which surrounds the hotel when you head out on a cross-country ski adventure. Cross-country skiing is something of a national pastime in Finland and is enjoyed by people of all ages. There are a variety of trails which surround the hotel and your guide will lead you on one of these, allowing you to gain an appreciation of how scenic and peaceful the landscape is here. Full tuition is provided so you do not require any experience. You will be out for around two hours. As this activity can be rather addictive, there is the opportunity to hire skis from the hotel later in the week and explore independently.

Dinner will be served at Muotka tonight before your first search for the Northern Lights gets underway.

Your inaugural Aurora hunt involves heading out to an Aurora Camp on a sled pulled by the guide’s snowmobile. Your guide will drive you to one of the best locations in the area from which to witness an Aurora. The guides here have expert knowledge and a huge amount of experience which they utilise when choosing the best routes for the evening searches. If conditions are favourable you will hopefully, catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis. This activity will last for approximately two and a half hours.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Snowmobiles have become essential machines in this corner of the world, keeping remote communities connected and also providing reindeer herders with an easier means of tracking down their dispersed herd. However, for visitors to this area, they are also a thrilling way to make as much of the winter landscape as possible.

After full instruction and a safety briefing, you will head out into the vast wilderness travelling two people per machine. Your destination for the morning is a reindeer farm around 20km away so there will be the chance to swap drivers (providing you both have full driving licences and are over 18) allowing you both to take control of the snowmobile and travel as a passenger, enjoying the scenery.

Upon arrival at the reindeer farm, you will be able to chat with the herder and ask them any questions you may have. Reindeer herding has been an inherent part of life in Lapland for many hundreds of years and today you will learn a little about the fascinating history of herding and its importance to the local culture. This activity lasts for around four to five hours and includes a soup lunch, as well as a short reindeer sleigh ride.

This evening you will be provided with snowshoes and your guides will lead you to a great Northern Lights vantage point. The snow-covered trees can look like unique sculptures in the beam of your headlight and the absolute silence when you stop is something you rarely get to experience. Your guide will serve warm drinks as you wait patiently for a potential Aurora. In total, this activity is approximately two and a half hours long.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today you will have a free day to enjoy as you please. Breakfast and lunch will be served at the hotel.

After dinner, there will be another dedicated search for the Aurora as you head out in a heated minibus to try and track down a display (approximately two and a half to three hours). The mobility provided by the minibus allows your guide to utilise the weather and Aurora forecasts to determine the best route to take to avoid any potential cloud cover. Hopefully, your efforts will be rewarded with a wonderful display.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning you will have the chance to explore on foot. The use of snowshoes dates back centuries and their performance when navigating areas of deep snow should not be underestimated. With these shoes strapped to your feet, your guide will lead you through the forest, pointing out areas of interest and hopefully highlighting some of the wildlife between the trees. You will be out for around four hours in total. Lunch will be enjoyed around the campfire.

This afternoon is left free for you to set your own agenda. You may want to book an additional activity (payable locally) or alternatively, you can take advantage of one of the saunas or enjoy a good book and some downtime.

There are no Aurora activities planned with your guide tonight, however, the skies above Muotka have produced inspiring displays of the Northern Lights and you don’t necessarily have to go very far to witness a wonderful show. With any luck, the sky will be filled with a dazzling array of colours.

Guests may like to spend this evening (or any other night) in an Aurora Kota at Muotka – the ultimate Aurora hunting rooms with the chance to view a display from the comfort of your bed.

Full details can be found in the Extras section of the holiday page.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This holiday has been designed to balance activities with free time in which you can simply relax and enjoy your surroundings. Snowshoes and cross-country skis can be hired from the hotel if you wish to explore independently and there is also a selection of additional activities which can be arranged for you.

Muotka is just one of those places where spending the day with a good book, admiring the views and enjoying a sauna can also be a rather lovely thing to do.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On your final day at Muotka, you will try an activity which is a definite bucket list experience; driving a husky team across the Arctic wilds.

Following breakfast, you will meet your team of eager dogs who will no doubt show their enthusiasm and willingness to get out on the trail. After receiving instructions you will set off, two people per sled, (one person will stand on the back of the sled controlling the brake and another will sit in the sled) for around one hour. 

There will also be the opportunity to chat with the mushers who make their living here and ask them any questions you may have about their dogs and their lives north of the Arctic Circle. This activity lasts for approximately 2 hours. You will then take lunch.

After your last dinner at the hotel this evening you will head out for your final Aurora hunt. You will once again travel via snowmobile-pulled sleigh to an Aurora Camp. Fingers crossed, the Aurora will bid you farewell.

Included Meals:  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is departure day and you will be transferred back to the airport to catch your return flights. If you are on an early flight, you will be provided with a breakfast box.

If you can’t quite bear to leave just yet, then we can arrange for you to enjoy a city break in Helsinki on the way home. See the Extras section for details.

Included Meals:  Breakfast