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Nellim Aurora Quest

prices from £1,645.00

overview agenda accommodation

Included in the price...
• Duration: 4 nights
• Group size: approximately 4-16 people
• Flights from London Heathrow to Ivalo (via Helsinki)
• Return airport transfers
• 4 nights hotel
• 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners
• Activities: Aurora workshop, snowmobile safari, 2 searches for the Northern Lights, husky safari, visit to Aurora Camp, visit to reindeer farm (The order of activities is subject to change)
• Cold weather clothing for the duration of your stay
• Fully qualified wilderness guides and instructors

Departure dates from: 07 December 2012 to 21 March 2013

If you want to see the Aurora in all its glory then you need to escape the towns and cities and their associated sodium glare. That’s where places like Nellim come into their own. The village shop only opens in summer because so few people live here during the winter. It’s Aurora hunting heaven.

Day 1: Flights, arrival and introduction
On arrival at Ivalo Airport, you’ll be driven to Nellim (approx 1 hour) where dinner awaits.

Day 2: Aurora workshop, snowmobile safari and Northern Lights search
A busy first day starts with a presentation from your local guide and keen Aurora hunter/photographer detailing how the search for the Northern Lights will proceed and why Nellim is the place to be hunting them down.

It’s not all about the Aurora however. The daytime landscapes of Lake Inari and its environs are just waiting to be explored and a snowmobile is the very best way to do just that. A 30km safari will demonstrate the contrast between the frozen, flat lakes and the immaculate undulating trails through the forests. (2 people per snowmobile)

Tonight you’ll venture out with your Northern Lights Guide in search of the magical Aurora. Mobility is a massive advantage when hunting the Northern Lights so armed with the latest weather and geophysical reports you’ll be driven in a nicely heated minibus in an endeavour to track down the “Magic Sky”.

Nobody knows the local terrain or the Northern Lights better than our guides who live and work here in Nellim. If anybody can find the “Temperamental Lady” then it’s these guys.

Day 3: Husky safari and Aurora Camp
Today is again about Lapland day and night. Nellim has its own small husky farm and you’ll spend 3 to 4 hours driving them across the frozen ice of the lakes and through the more technical forest trails.

This evening, a snowmobile-pulled sled will take you out onto Lake Inari and our Aurora Camp. The views of the Arctic night sky from Aurora Camp are North facing and completely and utterly unobstructed. If the Aurora is in the vicinity, there are few better chances of seeing her.

Day 4: Reindeer farm and Northern Lights search
You can’t come all the way to Sami Land and not meet a few reindeer so today you’ll visit a local farm and learn about the art of reindeer husbandry which has sustained the Sami people for centuries in this often hostile environment.
After dinner, it’s back in the mini-bus for another Aurora hunting session lasting between three and four hours.

Day 5: Departure

Nellim Wilderness Hotel & Apartments
Built in traditional Finnish style, this one-storey hotel was formerly the village school. It offers cosy, clean and very comfortable accommodation in just 18 double and three single en-suite bedrooms. There are also a few larger bedrooms which are suitable for families. These rooms are all housed in the main building which is the hub of the hotel's activity.

To be honest staying at the hotel is more like being part of the family than enduring a soujourn in some characterless and standardised chain hotel. After dinner in the restaurant, why not get a drink from the bar and join the rest of the family watching the unfathomable Finnish TV?

Seriously, nightlife is not high on the agenda here so you may want to take a few books or games as additional entertainment. However, after exploring the amazing Lapland vistas, a drink and sheer relaxation are more likely to be the preferred option. Either that or a stroll down to the lake to peer skywards.

The Facilities

All the food is home-cooked and, as far as possible in this far-flung corner, locally sourced and produced. Suppliers include local reindeer herders and fishermen. Generally speakng the dishes will be pretty much what the family would eat on a daily basis. Good, wholesome and nutritious.

There are two saunas and a well-stocked bar but make sure you keep your coat on the pegs near the main entrance. That way you can grab it quickly for the dash outside when the Aurora Borealis starts dancing across the night sky.

As you will doubtless have gathered, Hotel Nellim is not a large establishment so availability is often limited.

in our opinion...

Sitting on a warm reindeer skin, in the middle of a frozen lake, hot berry juice in hand, gazing at the stars and watching the Northern Lights dance and shimmer across the sky was truly unforgettable. An amazing experience.

mini moons in finland

in our opinion...

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