Travelling

[Oakenpalace]

Since I couldn't go on holiday this summer, I was thinking of doing a Northern Light vacation the first week of February 2009. So this question is to the Finnish (Scandinavian) people on this board. I was thinking about going to Lapland but is:
1) The first week of February a good period for seeing the northern light? And is there any daylight in that period?
2) I'm not used of travelling/hiking during winter so I actually don't know if there're any hiking possibilities or other activities (I'm not interrested in snowscouter things). So if you know good activities, places to sleep, websites that I should visit,.... let me know

Thanks

[atolonen]

February should be a good (if not the best) time for seeing the northern lights, and the further north you go, the better your chances for seeing them (anything on or above the arctic circle should be fine). I don't have personal experiences of other places than ski resorts (and my dad's old cottage, that he had to sell) up north so I'm not the best person to ask about hiking possibilities. Nevertheless the ski resorts usually offers almost all possible activities (guided and non-guided), including hiking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, etc. those are also the places where you're guaranteed to get service in English (and German and a couple of other languages). If you're interested in this, I recommend you check out these places:
- www.yllas.fi (I've been here the most)
- www.levi.fi (another good place)
- www.ounasvaara.net/ (conveniently located right in the "capital of Finnish Lapland", so you get the conveniences of a bigger city while staying there.)

and here's a list of all the resorts in Finland: www.ski.fi/ski_resorts

[ganymedes]

Yes, I agree what was said above, but I like to extend this a bit (sorry, for replying so late, I forgot earlier).

Hiking in February in Lapland ... eh, I hope you know what you are up to ;D . I understand that you are not committing yourself for staying overnite in the nature, because that would be quite a different story - when you say that you have not experience on that.

I mean that it is COLD in early February, expect -20 C - -30 C. On the otherhand it may be VERY COLD, which means up to - 40 C. Well, it COULD be milder as well. If it is more than -20 C and any wind - well, there are no trees, it is easily a bit windy - frost bites are easy to get.

So, I would not TRUST in being outside more than 1 hour at a time. And if it colder than -30 C, that is already a long time. Well, if it is -10 C you can be outside the whole day without worries (with proper clothing).

As for "hiking", any place outside your cabin in any skiing resort is good, I think. The nature is unique everywhere - just step out from your hotel and you are pretty much in the nature. For actually going into the nature, you cannot just walk in the winter. Either you ski or use special snow shoes. I would ski, because there are very nice tracks outside every skiing resort and you can easily go longer distances (longer than with walking). 15 km day trip with skies is not a big deal, if you just can ski. Better skiers in a good condition can easily double that distance (when there are tracks, of course, like there are a lot of them in skiing resorts - you could also ski between skiing resorts if you like longer distances).

As for Northern Lights, if it is cold, you would expect to see nice Northern Lights - it is kind of a contradiction for skiing long distances (my personal limit would be -25 C for cross country skiing - I do not have any better skiing boots). But well, I am from the southern Finland - ok, you would need time to adjust to the cold as well (several days or a week would be good).

I think it was in Saariselkä (one of those nice resorts), there they have small cottages with a glass roof. You can sleep there under the Northern Lights if you are lucky. They say that Japanese are very keen on those. Better check from the WEB where they are if you are interested (I am sure they all have English pages).

I was once at Ruka, Kuusamo, which is below the Arctic circle and not really in Lapland, in mid-February (week 7). Anyway, the scenery at Ruka is very nice (with forests of tall trees, which are missing in real Lapland) and the resort is excellent. It had been COLDER than -35 C for about 3 weeks when we arrived in there. During the first evening it was -37 C. The Northern Lights were excellent during that night. Then the next day it was around -26 C and then milder. Then we could do downhill skiing for the rest of the week. And we still saw Northern Lights in the evenings.

That reminds me of one aspect of preparing to be outside. If it is as mild as -10 C, it is enough that you just "have warm and decent clothes". If it is - 25 C or colder that is not enough as an attitude. Well, even with -15 C and strong wind you need to worry about frost bites, but I do not mean that. I mean that with colder temperatures, if you plan to spend time outside more than 15 minutes at a time, each and every piece of you clothing must be good. For instance, you MUST have proper boots, gloves, hat and everything suited for those temperatures - none of those can be bad.

So, yes, there are excellent opportunities for your activities in many places in Lapland. I just wanted to write a few things down so that you know what to expect. Beginning of February is good, since it is off-season (because of the coldness) and so the accommodation prices are down.

And yes, there are daylight hours. But if the sky is bright, it is not very dark even during the night since the white snow makes it bright. In a moonlight, you could for instance drive a car without lights easily in there (I am not saying it is safe because of other possible traffic).. Even in the star light you can walk around without problems. (Although I would not go alone skiing during the night - there is no one to get you out from the forest if something happens and during the night it is also much colder).

I hope this helps.

[Oakenpalace]

Thanks for the information guys!