Hi,
My wife & I are heading to Finland in February 2018. We are gonna be there for 4 days before heading to Italy. The main reason behind going to Ivalo is the Northern Lights and staying at Kakslauttanen.
What can we do during the daytime? Are there any activities? Can we rent warm clothes in Helsinki or Ivalo so we can travel light?
Thanks :)
We flew into Ivalo some 15 years ago early April (Easter was late that year) so my information is very dated, but then I don't think that much changes above the Arctic Circle. We didn't stay in Ivalo, taking the coach to the Suomen Latu Kiilopää Fell Centre near Saariselkä.
Google Maps "Quick facts": Saariselkä is a resort village in northern Finland. It's a gateway to the trails and ski areas of mountainous Urho Kekkonen National Park. The village's Destination Northernmost Europe exhibition has a panorama theater with films on the region’s plant and animal life, including reindeer. To the north, the lakefront Sámi Cultural Center Sajos includes a craft shop and a library devoted to the indigenous Sami people.
The Kiilopää Fell Centre boarders the Urho Kekkonen NP noted above. We encountered a reindeer herd skiing in the National Park.
http://www.inarisaariselka.fi/en/saariselka-kiilopaa/
http://www.inarisaariselka.fi/en/activities/
We're skiers but I understand that resort areas offer snowmobile, dog sled and even reindeer sled adventures.
Depending when you are there, the daylight hours range from 5 hrs 23 minutes in Feb 1 to 9 hrs 22 minutes on Feb 28. ( Daylight is 9 minutes longer each day from Feb 1 onward). May not be that many daylight hours to 'fill' with activities
Here is a site that may be helpful
http://saariselka.com/en/about-area/ivalo/
Perhaps ask your lodging about clothes rental?
The website( above) mentioned a "second hand market"
I found the Finnish Meteorological near term forecast to be very good during our last trip to Finland two years ago:
http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/weather/inari/ivalo
Finland climate: http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/climate
Rovaniemi is inland just south of the Arctic Circle.
The coldest day of winter is usually well after the winter solstice,
at the end of January everywhere except the maritime islands and
coastal regions, where the slower cooling of the sea delays the
coldest period until the beginning of February. The coldest
temperatures in winter are from -45°C to -50°C in Lapland and eastern
Finland; from -35°C to -45°C elsewhere; and -25°C to -35°C over
islands and coastal regions. The lowest temperature recorded in
Helsinki is -34.3°C (1987). The lowest temperature recorded at any
weather station in Finland as of 2010 is -51.5°C (1999).
Norwegian website for Ivalo climate: https://www.yr.no/place/Finland/Laponia/Ivalo/statistics.html
Short hours of daylight are good for Northern Lights viewing.
Hi,
As before mentioned, main place with the range of activities is Saariselka (15 km from Kakslauttanen resort).
It is a small winter resort village with shops, restaurants, Spa-hotel (you can take day ticket there to tropical spa), activity companies (all possible Lapland activities there), skiing tracks and downhill ski slopes.
Some infornation here about this place:
https://www.finland-holiday.com/saariselka-finland.php
There is Aurora Chasing with Professional Photographer tours available at Hotel Inari, Inari. I think it should be available also in Febr.
Take a contact with showmobile companies at Saariselka. Usually they rent warm clothes
