Week 115: 5 days in Finnish Lapland

The Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort–home of the iconic glass igloos–is a dreamy destination at the top of the world on the edge of the Urho Kekkonen National Park.

Lapland spans 4 countries. One of them is the northern part of Finland–the land of fells (mountain-like hills), reindeer, northern lights, glass igloos, and Santa Claus’s residence.

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort was founded in 1974 as a small cabin and cafe in the middle of nowhere and has since grown into Finland's most internationally renowned travel destination.

Wednesday

We drove to Munich, flew to Helsinki, and then boarded a second plane to Ivalo.

*View from the window seat when we arrived in Helsinki*

After 12 hours of total travel time, we arrived. Finnish Lapland is the northernmost place we have ever traveled. It truly felt like a different world the moment we stepped onto the tarmac at Ivalo Airport. A world where the landscape is flat and deserted, with the exception of a few fells, and where there are more animals than people.

Most of Finnish Lapland is untouched wilderness with 93,057 square kilometers of land equivalent to 17,308,602 American football fields. Within this vast wilderness live brown bears, wolves, wolverines, lynxes, red and arctic foxes, Elk, squirrels, hares, and various birds. We learned there are no wild reindeer because virtually every reindeer has an owner, but that does not stop them from roaming the wilderness in search of food.

Once we landed in Ivalo, we stepped out of the plane and into our first dark polar night.

The resort shuttle was waiting for us along with 25 other people going to the same place. The resort is split into 2 sides. The east side and the west side combined offer 65 glass igloos, 40 kilo-glass igloos (cabin+igloo), 64 log cabins, 2 restaurants, 5 saunas, and a wide range of photo spots and excursions.

Like most people, I thought polar nights meant everything was pitch-black darkness for months at a time, but this is not true. In fact, I think it is a photographer’s dream season to capture a wintery landscape. Typically, the golden hour (the moments just before the sun rises when the light is soft) only lasts an hour, but in Lapland during polar nights, it can last for 5 hours. From 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM, fairy-tale shades of blue, pink, and purple appear in the sky.

15 minutes into the shuttle ride from the airport, the driver slowed down because we were passing two reindeer walking along the road. All twenty-something people on the bus let out a long, drawn-out “awe” in unison. After 30 minutes and 3 separate reception building stops, we were checking in along with two other Americans staying in the igloos. We were so excited to finally be here and went to have our first dinner.

Restaurant Aurora is one of the biggest log restaurants in the world and is home to a Glass Igloo bar.

We were really looking forward to the nice 3-course meal that was stated on the website, so we sat down and waited for someone to come over and take our order. No one came by. We audibly gasped when we saw the drink menu prices. Eventually, we got up and noticed the buffet tables. Three of them. Each table offered one of the “3-courses”. Feeling a bit duped, we opened each silver container of food, there was maybe a half scoop left in every other one. There were a few vegetarian-friendly options. Boiled potatoes, steamed veggies, pasta, a butternut squash something or other, and cheesecake for dessert. For meat eaters, your option was reindeer or fish. If we were not already disappointed by the lack of service and food choices, the potatoes were cold, the pasta was watery, and the butternut squash was gross (and this is coming from someone who is not picky at all and eats all the things). The cheesecake was good though.

We chalked it up to arriving late and having to eat the very end of all the dishes. We went back up to the reception area. The lady asked how the food was almost like she already knew the answer. We politely and hesitantly said it was not terrible, but was not good. We were just thankful there was at least something to eat upon arrival, but we had high expectations reading the “3-course menu” on all the documents before arriving.

The receptionist said our bags have been delivered to our igloo already, so that was a nice surprise. As we were walking to our igloo, the excitement really kicked in. I have had “sleeping in an igloo” on my bucket list and literally pinned this exact resort to my “favorite places” Pinterest board for nearly a decade. It truly felt like a dream.

*Our igloo from the inside. The bathroom is on the left side.*

We walked into Igloo #3. The igloos are made of thermal glass, so even though it might be icy cold outside, inside it is always warm. There was no shower in the igloo, just a bathroom, and sink, which we knew and were fine with. All the igloos and cabins come with an aurora alarm, so if the northern lights are active, the alarm will go off at any time of day.

Our igloo was across from the shower and sauna building so we felt like we were in a good location out of all the igloos in our area. We were winding down for the night and noticed people walking in between the igloos to reach the showers. Our ideal igloo location turned out to be one where people constantly walked by which made getting dressed…interesting.

Kakslauttanen prides itself on being one of the best places in the world to watch the magical glow of the northern lights. We felt like we had a good chance to see them being in the igloo only if the clouds could just part ways.

Thursday

8:30 AM - After a restless night of sleep, because I was worried I would miss the northern lights, we were awake. Unfortunately, it was another grey, overcast day. We flipped the lights on and crouched down on the floor while pulling and pushing ourselves into several layers of warm clothes.

We stepped out of our warm igloo and walked 5 minutes back to the Aurora Restaurant. The breakfast buffet was fine. Typical breakfast items of various pieces of bread, cereals, eggs, and fruits were spread out over the three tables.

10:00 AM - We started out on our first excursion of the trip. A snowmobile safari!

The description of the excursion went a little something like this–

“This is the fastest and most adrenaline-pumping way to get around in Lapland’s nature. On our snowmobile safari, we'll ride down the fell into the snowy forest, enjoying some of the best scenery the region has to offer.”

After we put on the designated snowmobile suits and the guide finished his safety briefing, we mounted our own snowmobiles and headed out into what was highly anticipated to be a fast and adrenaline-pumping ride.

*My snowmobile suit. Not flattering, but keeps you warm.*

I was the first snowmobile in line and Eric ended up in the middle of the pack behind a really slow driver. The trail was extremely bumpy and after 30 minutes of going 15mph, I began replaying the photos of the excursion in my mind. I was waiting for the moment when the landscape would change from the tight, extremely bumpy trail into the vast open space.

12:00 PM - We stopped after an hour for lunch at a wooden cabin restaurant in Kiilopää.

As we mounted our snowmobiles again, I asked the guide if Eric could move up in the line so we could be together and he could go slightly faster. The guide agreed and Eric was the new line leader.

1:00 PM - The safari was over and while we got up to 30mph and thought it was cool to actually be snowmobiling in Finland, it just missed the mark for our expectations.

We bought a couple of drinks and bars of chocolate and hung out in the main building for a while, then walked around the resort before heading back to the igloo.

7:00 PM - Dinner was good! We were hopeful that the Wednesday dinner was truly just a fluke. There were good options for us as vegetarians.

I started to notice servers bringing food out to certain tables. Food that was not a part of the three-course buffet options. We were curious and felt like we were missing something, but we ignored it and went about our own dinner.

Friday

Another night of hoping for lights and another morning crouched down pulling and shoving into layers of clothes while avoiding people walking by.

8:30 AM - We opened the igloo door to a deep violet world quickly shifting to blue. We were finally getting a clear day!

9:30 AM - We ate our breakfast and were picked up for our next excursion of the trip–a one-hour Nordic skiing lesson in the east village.

The description of the excursion from the website–

Suitable for everybody and extremely good for the body and mind, with beautiful winter scenery serving as an inspiring backdrop. There are 200 km of tracks starting in front of Kakslauttanen – thus no traveling is needed to try this wonderful sport. Your teacher will provide you with the gear and profound instructions for 1 hour.

We were really excited to learn Nordic skiing, which is the national sport in Finland. The Kakslauttanen region has frequently been ranked as one of the world’s best cross-country skiing destinations.

*Getting ready to learn how to use the Nordic skis*

Eric and I picked up on the technique rather quickly. Our instructor said we were doing well and could go ahead on our own.

The scenery we experienced was not the same scenery pictured in the activity description and we only got to go along 6km of trails out of the 200. It was still really fun the learn and we are excited to find trails in Austria.

12:30 PM - Our hands and feet had enough of the cold, so we got back on the shuttle and headed to the west village for lunch. Lunch is not included in the overall resort price. So it was an extra €17 per person for a literal bowl of soup. There are no grocery stores or other restaurants nearby we could walk to, so while not ideal, it was the only option and they had Pumpkin soup!

2:00 PM - The colors began to fade as the night began to fall

7:00 PM - To our surprise, dinner was the same meal as our first night… The only thing different this time was the amount inside each silver platter so people were not scraping the bottoms. We were picking up on a pattern that they repeat the same food and perhaps leftovers are used for the next meal. Boiled potatoes from one day are potato patties the next. The bowls of picked beets from lunch are now the same picked beets on your “first-course” buffet table. But once again the cheesecake saved the day, lol.

New people were arriving and we watched them as they sat down waiting for someone to come to take their order and never did. Opening the drink menu and jaws dropping at the prices. From what we could tell, everyone was unfortunately experiencing the same thing we did on our first night.

We noticed servers bringing different food out again to certain tables. We ended up asking what that was all about and we learned there is an a’la carte menu offering other food items for purchase. Since we had already paid for this 3-course buffet, we weren’t going to pay even more.

9:00 PM - We were back in the igloo and I downloaded an aurora tracking app. The percentages and lines were off the charts which means the northern lights were highly likely! However, the clouds had rolled in and were too strong so on our 3rd night, we still had not seen them. We were holding onto hope for Saturday night though.

Saturday

10:00 AM - We slept in, ate breakfast, and asked for a shuttle to go to a nearby town to a ski resort. The receptionist said the shuttle does not go to the ski resort, but they could call a taxi. A one-way taxi was €50 to go 12 minutes down the road which was a €100 round-trip expense we were unwilling to go along with.

We stayed at the resort and walked a few trails we had not yet been on. It was certainly the coldest day, but we ventured over to the art gallery and the 30-meter-high Glass Igloo tower.

The tower is supposedly the only one of its kind in the world. Visitors are able to enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding arctic wilderness and get even closer to the magical arctic sky. To our delight, the tower admission was free, so we stepped into the elevator and stepped out to a beautiful aerial view of the resort and the surrounding arctic landscape.

No drones are allowed at the resort, so the tower fulfilled my need to see things from up high.

After leaving the tower and art museum, we continued to explore the resort property. It truly is a beautiful place.

*Wooden sleighs to help transport luggage*

6:00 PM - Our last dinner at the resort we were hoping for the meal from Thursday since they seem to repeat the menu. It was not the same, but it was the same kind of things served over the past few days.

7:30 PM - We signed up for a Husky safari at the last minute.

Pack mama tip:
If you do not have excursions booked, you run the risk of feeling bored. So if anyone reading this decides to go, bring books and playing cards with you.

There are two large husky farms located next to Kakslauttanen. The farm we visited was a 5-minute drive from the west village reception area and it is home to 200 huskies!

After adding more layers of clothes to prepare for the freezing temps, a short intro to the sport of dog sledding, and a quick instructional/safety demo, we were sledding through the wilderness drawn by 5 eager and friendly dogs.

Lead dogs: Becky & (I am blanking on the name of the other lead dog) These are the clever dogs and most likely the alpha of the group. They find the trail and react to the musher’s commands.

Swing dog: Swane. The one who ensures the turns are executed properly.

Wheel dogs: Arnie & Willie. These dogs are the strongest and provide the most horsepower…or should I say “dogpower”.

The husky excursion was the highlight of our trip. It was truly a fun and unique experience. We mushed the huskies to a field where we stopped and enjoyed a hot drink by the campfire under the moonlight.

*The campfire in the middle of a Finnish Lapland Forrest*

Sunday

On our final morning in the igloo, we packed up, ate one last buffet breakfast, and got on the shuttle back to the airport. Our time at the resort felt incomplete not seeing the northern lights, but we have a few other trips planned this year that may give us another chance at seeing them.

*Boarding the airplane on the Ivalo airport tarmac*

From nordic skiing through Finnish forests, mushing huskies around snow-drenched trees, and cruising around in the arctic circle on a snowmobile. From traditional smoke saunas to modern glass igloos. Finland was a dream, but knowing what we know now, we would have done things differently.

If you plan to take a trip to this resort, here are some recommendations and things to keep in mind:

Rent a car and take a day trip to the resort versus staying there the entire time.
- You can rent a car for an entire day for the same price as a one-way taxi to drive 12 minutes down the road.
- The resort shuttle will not take you to the ski resort. It only goes between the west and east villages.
If you really want to experience the igloo, just stay for one night, not 4.
This is not a luxury resort. It is a remote resort. The prices are steep.
Stock up on drinks and food at a grocery store before arriving because it costs so much for their À la carte menu items.
The 3-course dinner is actually a buffet. I promise I have nothing against buffets, in fact, I love them. But, it is not what we expected or thought we were paying for.
As a vegetarian, be prepared to eat various potatoes for every meal.
The excursion images on the website are not exactly realistic of the landscape you will actually see. The winter scenery is beautiful no matter what, but it’s just not what is shared in the excursion description.
If you only pick one excursion, do the husky safari!
Just because the resort claims to be on of the best places in the world to see the northern lights, you are not guaranteed to see the northern lights.

Food - 2 out of 10
I cannot get over how disappointing the food experience was. It wasn’t always bad. Just disappointing. A large reason for the disappointment was the high expectations of a nice “3-course dinner”. Since Lapland is extremely remote, perhaps this is a leading factor as to why the kitchen chose to recycle and repeat food which we are fine with, and in some ways respect. But, for the price we paid to stay at this resort, the food was not good enough.

Service - 6 out of 10
No one ever came by to check on us or help us understand what was going on. The staff ran around clearing tables and seemed more concerned with making more tables available than tending to the people who were already occupying the tables. The receptionists are friendly, answered our questions, and helped keep things organized for the excursions each day.

Transportation - 5 out of 10
The shuttle that goes between resorts is convenient, but the fact that they won’t drive an extra few minutes the nearby ski resort was not ideal.

Excursions - 8 out of 10
Really really awesome experiences (especially the huskies). The only reason it doesn’t get a 10 out of 10 is that the images advertised for the tours were not the real-life experience we had.

Accommodation - 7 out of 10
This igloo was a cool experience, but privacy was non-existent. They are glass igloos so of course we were aware people would be able to see inside to some extent. But people walking right up to it, tour groups taking photos inside the igloos, and having to change practically crouched down on the floor were not fully anticipated. I always thought about being able to look out at the sky, I never once actually thought about other people having the ability to look in at us.