Activities at Kakslauttanen and Saariselkä

As I mentioned when deciding to stay in Kakslauttanen, one of main factors impacting this decision was the activities we’d have at our disposal to help fill the day. I felt Saariselkä offered the best range in the most remote and quiet setting. Was it the right choice? I think so, I’d go back there again without hesitation. We both had a ball, my only regret is we didn’t take up more of the activities that were at our disposal. So here’s a reasonably thorough list of all we could find to do, we didn’t get around to everything though.

Snow Mobiling

Probably the most enjoyable of the adventures but also quite expensive at €130 per person to share a snow mobile for 2 hours, it’s €176 per person if you want to have a snow mobile each. Take my advice, spend the extra money and get one each as they are such great fun to be on. If you’ve ever been on a jet-ski it’s a similar experience, failing that it’s like sofa strapped onto a motorbike that you can’t fall off.

We opted for the night safari in the hope we could see the Northern Lights. It was a particularly cloudy night though and we missed the display by maybe an hour or so (we saw it when we got back to the resort). You’re taken out to various great locations to stare at the sky. About half way through you stop at a little camp while the guides cook up some bratwurst for everyone and heat up a blackcurrant drink to warm you through.

The combination of the at times lunar lands, the single track through the trees, and nothing but the headlights on the snow mobile to guide the way make it a thrilling experience. And once you’re used to the handling, giving yourself a bit of space on the person in front so you can give it some throttle is amazing, as they can accelerate to 100km/hr in just a few seconds.

Husky Tour

We didn’t go on a husky tour, mostly because we had some reservations about putting the dogs through it… And because the dogs relieve themselves while they’re running and I didn’t like a face full of their mess. All we spoke to said it was fantastic and the dogs really love it. The most envy producing part though was the fact you got to play with the pups while you wait.

It’s also not quite run how I imagined, in that you’re basically given a 2 minute introduction on how it works and then thrust upon a sled of your own. Before you know it the dogs are off and running following the guide. It really did sound great, and I think if we go back we’ll look at doing it. Costs were €138 per person for 2 hours, €180 per person for 4 hours.

Reindeer Tour

Our Sami guide Pentii and his teepee

The reindeer tour was cute, but again not quite what I was expecting. Pentii, our native Sami guide, picked us up from Kakslauttanen and took us to his Reindeer farm. He showed us the house his grand parents build, the shack he was born in, and eventually the house he now lives in with his wife. We hopped into our extra warm outer layer and he took us to meet the reindeer.

We had a sled each with a blanket over us to keep warm, and off we went being towed by a single reindeer. It was essentially a leisurely stroll around the woods of his farm in a single file procession behind him. I was expecting something a little more like the rush of the huskies, but it was far from it. It would have been far more enjoyable had we had a clearer or slightly warmer day, but instead there was a bracing cold against our faces and snow and wind in our eyes. I also felt slightly nervous for Em as my reindeer kept trying to go up and walk along side her sled, and those antlers are quite large. Thankfully we all returned without any injuries.

Pentii then took us into his teepee and we surrounded the fire while he cooked pancakes and told us a little more about his life, the Sami people, and then played us a song on the drum he’d made. A cup of coffee, a song, and it was time to hop back in the van to Kakslauttanen. Cost was €100 per person for 2 hours.

Santa’s House

I’ve really no idea about this, we just heard many families planning it with their little ones. Suffice to say that if you’re travelling with there is a tour to Santa’s House where you can view all things that are bearded and jolly at Christmas.

Snow Karting

This sounded like great fun but we discovered far too late that it only runs between 4pm and 6pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So consider yourself warned. It essentially looks like a massive ice skid pan that they’ve put a track on, and then let you tear around and take advantage of the fact you’ve little in the way of traction. Costs were €80 per person for 15 minutes.

Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding

Quite a modest ski field, but it still looked like fun. There is one lift and 6 T-Bars to get you back to the top, with most runs being of intermediate level. While they advertise a few beginner runs, there is actually only one that runs the full length of hill so I’m not really sure how a beginner is meant to get back to the bottom.

The Saariselkä Downhill Ski Centre actually runs across two hills opposite each other, with a restaurant and ski hire centre sitting at the base in between. For those driving, there is a car park (which had ample parking while we were there) but the public bus also stops there hourly (€4 for a daily ticket). I was quite watching someone come skiing down the base of the run and straight to the door of the bus, skiing onto public transport is not something you can do in many places.

Ski hire was €30/day, and lift passes were €35/day (rental and passes are also available for shorter periods).

Toboggan and Sledding

I really wont be able to do enough justice to just how much fun this was. On the opposite side of the larger of the two hills at the Saariselkä Downhill Ski Centre is a toboggan run that takes you back into the edge of Saariselkä town and shopping centre. Peak to base it is reported as a 1.2km run, with I believe a roughly 400ft descent.

In reality, I think it’s just a ski run that they’ve not bothered to put a chair or T-bar on. Labelling it as a “toboggan” run means they can make people walk it instead ;) It’s a long, tree-lined, meandering run over bridges and bumps that gives you plenty of opportunity to master controlling a sled (or ending up in a powdery snow bank). The last hundred metres is overrun with children and families which only ads to the excitement and skill required.

Best of all, it’s free. Many hotels and resorts in the area have sleds available for free, we always found a steady supply of discarded ones at the bottom of the run.

Cross-country Skiing

Apart from the hill at the ski centre, it is an otherwise predominantly flat landscape. So for those of you that have an interest in cross-country or telemark skiing then it looked like a beautiful landscape to do it in.

Ice Fishing

We passed on this as we’ve had friends who did it in the past. You get taken to a lake, cut a very small hole in the ice, stick a line down, and then shiver and hope. It rates high on the authentic cultural experience scale (they take you to a Sami museum) and offers some cute photo opportunities, but we decided to fill our day elsewhere.

Cost €209 per person

Northern Lights Coach Tour

The view of the Northern Lights from Kakslauttanen resort

The same coach that picks you up from the airport, takes you out on a hunt to find the Northern Lights. The bus has been specially fitted with a glass roof down the centre so that you can see out the top. The tour is approximately 3 hours in length and costs €75 per person

Day Spa

In Saariselkä there is the Holiday Club Spa day spa which offers massages, body treatments, and a whole range of therapeutic delights. There is also a swimming pool and sauna.

Restaurants

We ate at the Kakslauttanen restaurant every night so can’t give a critique on the restaurants in town, but there did appear to be a few. Reading the local paper I did start to salivate as at least on paper they sounded quite good. If the food we did eat was anything to go by, the on the whole I’d expect the restaurants to live up to the newspaper critique. Food was generally of a good standard, especially considering how difficult it must be to get fresh produce.

Nightclub

There is a nightclub in Saariselkä, called Bepop. As tempting as it was to see exactly what the nightlife was like in a town with a total population in the hundreds, we spent most evenings staring wishfully at the sky and decided to skip as many options to be under a roof as we could.