Anyone been skiing in Finland ?

[ethanjosh]

We're planning a skiing holiday next year.... (not Disney :( ) , with our children , aged 9, 8, 5. It's our first time skiing.

We've looked at loads of resorts, but we really fancy Finland. It seems the snow is right outside your door, the thought of queuing for lifts doesn't sound appealing, there seems to be loads of nice easy nursery slopes to learn on, it sounds very family friendly and it's supposed to be far less crowded.

The down sides that we are aware of it , it's cold..... but it's the same temperature as Canadian resorts.

Has anyone been ? Does anyone have any thoughts on it or any other suggestions about other good resorts ?

[ethanjosh]

Of if not Finland , Norway or Sweden they both have resorts around the arctic circle

[ccarcher]

My sister has done Finland, Sweden and also this year Norway

All were very good not crowded like other european resorts although runs are a bit limited

Norway was very very expensive, like £80 a night for a meal for 2 adults 2 kids

[I love walmart]

When we did Lapland last year we were based in Levi in Finland. It was a lovely place and I'm not a skier but there slopes looked pretty good.The snow was amazing and the slopes were floodlit as they don't have much daylight. Temperatures were cold, minus 18 some days but in the right gear you couldn't feel it. Might be worth a bit of research.

[simon and marcie]

Friends have just come back from skiing in Finland and loved it.

Any q's and i will try to ask them for you.


Marcie

[ethanjosh]

We were thinking about going in March , we just wanted to know how cold it was. Is it unbearable cold or is it ok as long as your wrapped up and how expensive is eating out in Finland ?

if you get chance to ask your friends we would be really grateful.

[marioner]

We work for a Finnish company and often have to go there, it is very expensive, like £5.00 for a coffee, but it is a beautiful place, very clean and the people are so nice. Sorry dont know much about skiing but snow biking is great.

[Deb1968]

Hi

We are off to Ruka, Finland for a week on 30 March this year. We have been told it is very very cold (its 20k from the Russian border - eek) and to wear at least 3 layers of clothing at all times. I don't plan on ski-ing as I have a bad neck and don't want to risk injury. All I plan on doing is sitting in the slope restaurant drinking coffees and reading my books LOL. I will be the bag lady of the slopes. DH, DS and DD along with our friends are all ski-ing though. My DD is going to "Learn to Ski" school, she did this last year to, but at 7 with the concentration span of a gnat, she has probably forgotten it all.

When I get back I will be happy to try and answer any questions you might have.

Debs

Edited to say: after reading Marioners post about coffee costing a fiver - think I might take my Options Chocolate sachets with me instead.....

[Jhart]

Hi,
we went to Ruka in Feb half term, and it was absolutely beautiful. Temps ranged from -1 (unusually warm!), to -14, but as other posters have said with the right clothing it's fine. Didn't ski (well, only cross country), as we were on an activity holiday with the kids, doing husky safaris, snowmobiling etc. But we did see the slopes as we went snowboarding one day. I'm not a skier, so I can't judge them, but they looked great. From comments other people there made, I think maybe that ski resort is better for beginners than very expert skiers. Finland is a really lovely country - proper snow (about 50cm deep), and lots of frozen lakes. The people were friendly, but we did find food and drink to be quite expensive.

[welshwiz]

We went to Levi and found the temps bearable on the slopes. We just wore ski suits & thermals and never felt cold on the slopes it was when we went on safaris that we felt the cold not when we were moving around on the slopes. Great nursery slopes and creche at the bottom of the kids area plus a Kota with hot cloudberry juice & hot chocolate. Really friendly ski instructors & just friendly people in general. Guaranteed snow on your doorstep too.

www.levi.fi

[LynseyS]

We went to Levi for a week at the end of January this year and loved it so much we've booked to go back in February next year after only being back a week... :blush:

It was the first time we've been on a snow holiday and it was a great introduction to being on a real slope (having learnt in one of the indoor snowdome doodahs). Even if you're not skiing/snowboarding or you need a break, there is so much to do with snowmobiles, husky and reindeer farms etc..

Depending on the time of year, the slopes are pretty quiet. I believe they pick up around the half term week in February and I know that only 12 out of 44ish runs were 'officially' open before then but there was nothing to stop you going down the other ones anyway. It's just when you end up being thigh deep in powder that you can see why it's maybe not a great idea!

The coldest we had it was -25C and apart from eyelashes freezing together, with loads of layers and a good pair of thermals on, you won't feel it!

Food is a bit on the expensive side but not as bad as alcohol! 2 vodka and cokes cost us 12 euros :omg:

[borntoshop]

Can't help on ski-ing in Finland but last year we went to North Conway in New Hampshire to ski for the first time. Nice place and lovely people, it is also a tax free state-cheaper shopping, food/drinks were very reasonable and good prices for lessons.

[sammyteach]

Loved Levi this year at new year. Coffee was not £5.00. We found prices similar to London. Loved everything about this holiday : nature slopes ,people, sledging, husky ride snowmobile etc. Cabin was lovely.Food was nice. What an experience the cold was amazing and added to the holiday . Minus 25 on a frozen lake on Newyears day. WOW. Happy to answer any Q. I found forums on a popular travel review site very helpful, lovely photos as well.

[ethanjosh]

Thanks so much for replying, it sounds lovely there, freezing but lovely.

Glad you have a good time , we're hoping to book soon for next year

[welshwiz]

BTW I posted some pics on THIS THREAD (http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=181029&highlight=lapland&page=3) a while ago.

[Deb1968]

Hi, we got back from a week's ski-ing in Ruka, Finland last night. What a fantastic place to learn to ski or improve your skills. The slopes are wide and you can ski either the "easy East" (nursery slopes and lots of varied blue and red runs) or the "wild West" (more challenging reds and scary scary black runs). We stayed at the Ruka Suites with Thomsonski/Crystal and the apartments were outstanding. Each one had a kitchenette, couple of corner sofas, tv, stereo, a double bedroom with built in wardrobes, a separate bedroom with bunk beds (the bottom bunk being more of a double), a toilet and a bathroom which was a wet room with a sauna room attached. Also another bonus was that you had a drying "room" too. After a days ski-ing it was great to be able to dry out all your clothes, boots and gloves etc. whilst you saunered and showered. As someone on our coach home remarked yesterday "they hadn't wasted a bit of space". The apartments are based in the Wild West so if you wanted to ski the easy east or you were booked into ski-school, you simply took the ski-bus from outside the apartments, which runs ever 45 mins (starting at 09.45 and ending at 03.00am) it was a 10 minute drive and your ski-passes act as your bus pass.

The ski schools were very good with all the insructors speaking good English (thank goodness, we tried to learn a few of the Finnish words to get us by but its quite a difficult language to pick-up).

There was a lot of building work going on in the Ruka Plaza (not that it caused us any problems). By next Feb they plan to have built an underground heated car park, an ice-skating rink and more apartment blocks. Hopefully, they will also build a few more restaurants as the choice is a bit limited unless you like pizza or reindeer!

The only downside (if you can call it that) is that Ruka Plaza is the centre of all the bars and clubs etc - some of which do not close till five am. So, if you are a light sleeper (which I am) or don't sleep very well when away from home, take ear plugs with you or stay in one of the surrounding hotels. We had a bit of a problem with groups of lads singing, chanting and generally making a bit of a nuisance of themselves till the early hours. However, I think they were given a final warning by management and our last night was very peaceful.

Would we go back? In a heartbeat - in fact we are already looking at prices for next year! Their Spring Break doesn't start until 14 april this year, so all the slopes, t-bars, bubbles and button lifts were open but the slopes were half empty most of the time.

We had a great time and if I can answer any questions about Ruka - ask away.

Debs

[ethanjosh]

Thanks again for your replys , it's really helpful and the pics look great