Finnish Wilderness Holiday - Winter Activities: X-Country Skiing, Dogsledding, Snowshoeing And More

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 86 reviews.

Gareth Wynne-Jones

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
A great trip to try various winter-activities and return feeling healthy (if tired!).
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The optional full-day dogsledding into the National Park for a feeling of true wilderness.
What did you think of your group leader?
Teddy was a very relaxed and helpful group leader - ably assisted by the other staff at the lodge.
Michelle Rogers
FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
We chose this holiday as it gave us the chance to try out lots of new activities so even if we didn't see the Aurora Borealis, we'd have a great time. We had high expectations of this holiday - and it exceeded them all!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Hearing the cry 'Northern Lights! Northern Lights!' at about 1230 a.m., scrambling into our clothes to run down to the lake and watching the Aurora was fantastic.
The brilliant blue sky against the almost lunar landscape of the Riisintunturi National Park on our dog-sledding trip.
Cross-country skiing through the woods
The Little Bear trail - a great morning of walking with some of the other members of the group: beautiful scenery, lovely company
The guided trek to Castle Rock - the guide's knowledge really added to our enjoyment
What did you think of your group leader?
Teddy/Bjorn was brilliant: good fun, knowledgeable, great teaching manner.
All the staff should be commended for their work - always smiling, ever helpful.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
You really don't need to take very much luggage at all - we used our own thermals, socks and hats but everything else we used belonged to Basecamp. Do take a belt.
If you want to take photos of the Northern Lights, you'll need a camera that you can set to an exposure of 30 seconds to a minute.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Our best holiday ever. We're still smiling!
Helen Charnley

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
Great week that allowed the group to be as active as they wished. Amazing food and lovely, warm accommodation.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Too many although the memory of trekking through the forest at night to make and throw a snowball of " wishes" into the rapids will stay with me for some time.
What did you think of your group leader?
Marti was great - passionate about the Park and ensuring that everyone enjoyed themselves in a non competitive environment.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Took me a full week to recover in return to the UK!!! I was shattered but it is really up to you how much activity you do on free days and afternoons. Extra activities are a tad expensive so be prepared.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you have any doubts, just go for it - an excellent taster of many winter activities in beautiful surroundings.
Jillian Davis

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
Such a beautiful winter paradise. Just point your camera in any direction and click.A great range of fun activities.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The magic of the wonderland of the Oulanka national park.
Husky sledding - the amazing snow scene - stunning sculpture-like landscape - the beautiful dogs.
Cross country skiing - an achievement that I learned a few basics and managed to keep upright!

What did you think of your group leader?
Martti gave clear instructions for all the activities and shared his knowledge and enthusiasm of the country with us throughout the week. He was well supported by all the centre staff team.
All the staff provided over and above service to fit in everyone's needs and preferences eg for extra activities and timings.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
It does work out quite expensive with the additional activities.
However, if you want a special winter holiday, this is the one!
Gillian Murray

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
I really enjoyed the weeks activities, I had been concerned about my fitness levels before I went on the trip but as the sessions were usually half a day this was not a problem. All the activities were well supervised and mostly well organised although as nearly all the group wanted to do the whole day optional dog sledding it did give the organisers a few logistical issues.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The scenery in the national park was stunning, we were lucky enough to have sun shine on the day we tried the dog sledding and it gave the park a magical quality.
What did you think of your group leader?
Although Teddy was our designated leader for the week we were looked after by a team of individuals all of whom were great.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
If you want to try a selection of winter activities then just book this trip it is alot of fun. Just make sure you check the trip notes for the additional extras as these are expensive and so is the alcohol - 5 Euros for a can of local beer and 21 Euros for a bottle of wine.
There is no need to worry about packing any winter gear other than your thermals as the rest is supplied for you although I may have been more tempted to sleep in the quincy if I had taken a winter coat and pair of waterproof trousers with me.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I thoroughly enjoyed my week away, it had been over 15 years since I had been on a winter holiday. The snow shoeing, cross country sking, dog sledding, quincy building and ice climbing were all throughly enjoyable and I did find muscles I forgot I had by Saturday morning. This did stop me from going on one of the optional snowshoeing trips, but I spent an enjoyable couple of hours with 2 other members of the group cross country skiing around the lake which was great.
I have to say I was a little disappointed with snow shoeing as for some reason I did not expect it to be quite so noisey which means you don't get to see/hear much wildlife when walking through the forests, unless of course you give yourself lots of time and have lots of long stops.
All in all a very good trip.
Katie Bell

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written February 2013
Great winter holiday away from the madding crowds with lots of new experiences and activities to try
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Husky sledding through the snow-clad trees
An amazing Northern Lights display before spending the night in a Quinzee snow shelter while the outside temperature was -20C
What did you think of your group leader?
We had no Exodus leader but the Basecamp staff were very friendly and spoke very good English. Slightly disorganised at times but always helpful with lots of useful and interesting information.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Although all clothing was provided, we found particularly the base layers weren't always well-fitting so preferred to use our own. It was too cold not to wear several layers and if the base layer was baggy or a bit short etc, it had a big impact on overall comfort and keeping warm.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We chose this holiday as we had skiied before and wanted a change but didn't know what activity to choose. Finland appealed as it was a bit off the beaten track, and the Wilderness Week offered lots of different exciting activities. We also really hoped we might see the Northern Lights, which we did!
Several activites are included in the trip price but there are a lot of optional extras which we found quite expensive. Instead, we found there were lots of opportunities for self-guided day, half-day or evening trips from base using the provided snow-shoes or cross country skis. The routes were not particularly promoted/explained by the staff, but they can be found on the map boards located by the base and on the lake-shore by the village. Having cross-country skiied before, we particularly liked the three ski trails that went out from the base, although they are apparently only prepared as ski routes from mid-February onwards.
There were two Exodus holiday groups staying at Basecamp at the same time, our Wilderness Week, and also a snowshoe week group, so the group size for meals etc was around 36. Some activity groups overlapped with theirs. The holiday itinerary should be used as a guide only, as some activities such as husky-sledding have a max group-size of 5-7 so some people were allocated different times/days to those stated on the itinerary which in some cases meant people did two activities on the same day, creating an additional "free day" to amuse yourself.
The food was lovely, featuring lots of tasty elk and fish, and just what was required after an energetic day in the cold. Lunch was provided at base every day for an additional cost of 11 Euros per person. You could get a packed lunch for the same price, or just take your own lunch snacks with you (there are no shops apart from the base reception which sells various food items).
Our best day was the last free day where we did the optional full-day husky expedition, which was brilliant. The weather was beautiful (if it had been snowing hard it might have been less pleasant) and the dogs loved every minute. Lunch by a fire was provided and the food was extremely nice. This day was well worth the extra cost.
Louise Stringer

FINNISH WILDERNESS WEEK

Written January 2013
Amazing scenery, great activities and a good group of people from diverse backgrounds made for an interesting and very enjoyable week. Staff were extremely helpful and accomodating throughout and the facilities at Basecamp Oulanka were comfortable and fit for purpose.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Stood on the crisp snow covered riverbank, gazing into the break of white water cascading past 'The Mill' as I placed my snowball and thoughts in a secret position to be remembered upon my return to 'the real world'.
Standing back to admire the 5 hours worth of hard work from our group of four quincee builders, before creating a 'Benny Hill' style sketch around them! Thanks girls - such fun!
What did you think of your group leader?
Superb! Very approachable, chatty and knowledgeable of the local area.
All staff gave every effort to their jobs but also created a relaxed atmosphere whilst efficiently going about their work - from the cook to the group leaders, excellent.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
You really don't need to take much with you to wear, other than personal items such as underwear and thermals. A holiday where you could almost get away with hand luggage!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Two disappointments - not bad on the whole!
1. Expensive additional activities
2. Mix up by Exodus with flights caused a VERY long day of travelling at each end of the trip and a few dashes through airports to make the connecting flights - it is not advised to repeat this scenario and I would likely cancel next time if a similar situation arose.