Lapland
13 March 2013, 09:37 PM
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Lapland
Hello has anyone done this holiday with the kids?
Looking at going this year with our two boys before the eldest is to old and the dream is gone for him, the boys will be 6 and 3 and a half by christmas
Ive had a good look around at different travel agents and so far Thomson seem to come out best. I know its expensive but its a once in a lifetime trip for them so we dont care as it will also be our only holiday abroad this year.
What does pee me off slightly is we have been collecting clubcard points as cosmos also go there, with cosmos we can triple our points towards the cost of the holiday, id been on line and priced it up woth them at £2800 ish, so with our vouchers we were looking at £1300 which then makes it a bit of a bargain.
Well today I called cosmos and to say i was stunned would be an understatement, they wanted £4065 for the same holiday i priced plus i can only use 300 points per person so max £1200 off, i explained how id priced it up the exact same and how it had come out at 2800 and they just replied that if i use the vouchers then i get no on line discount. I was flabbergasted by this as it worked out we were no better off and they were simply taking the vouchers off us for nothing.
Anyway i can get 4 nights with thomson for just over 2k so looks like we will go with them but wondering if anyone has been with them before or to lapland that can advise us in anyway
Looking at going this year with our two boys before the eldest is to old and the dream is gone for him, the boys will be 6 and 3 and a half by christmas
Ive had a good look around at different travel agents and so far Thomson seem to come out best. I know its expensive but its a once in a lifetime trip for them so we dont care as it will also be our only holiday abroad this year.
What does pee me off slightly is we have been collecting clubcard points as cosmos also go there, with cosmos we can triple our points towards the cost of the holiday, id been on line and priced it up woth them at £2800 ish, so with our vouchers we were looking at £1300 which then makes it a bit of a bargain.
Well today I called cosmos and to say i was stunned would be an understatement, they wanted £4065 for the same holiday i priced plus i can only use 300 points per person so max £1200 off, i explained how id priced it up the exact same and how it had come out at 2800 and they just replied that if i use the vouchers then i get no on line discount. I was flabbergasted by this as it worked out we were no better off and they were simply taking the vouchers off us for nothing.
Anyway i can get 4 nights with thomson for just over 2k so looks like we will go with them but wondering if anyone has been with them before or to lapland that can advise us in anyway
13 March 2013, 10:41 PM
#2
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Hi,
My Mrs tried doing the same thing with Tesco vouchers and in the end realised we wouldn't really save anything.
Anyway, we've been twice for both kids (big gap) and it's great.
IMO, you're in a situation where you need to decide if the eldest is too old, or the youngest is too young. On balance, I'd leave it another year, as I think the younger one is a little bit too young. Of course the older one will be another year older, but I think you'd be okay. My kids are now six and fourteen; we went in xmas 2011 and some years before that for the elder one. Clearly the young teenager knew the whole thing is bollocks, (Santa Claus that is....), but still enjoyed the holiday.
Another thing to consider is the cold. Small/young children don't tend to hold heat very well, and you really can't put enough layers on them. Sadly, no matter how many times people are told, some parents insists on taking their kids out in just a ski jacket, which leads to lots of tears and crying - anothe reason why I think another year on the young one would help.
Last time around we stayed at the Hotel Levitunturi. You will probably get some spare mornings or afternoons, so the swimming pool is v.handy. Just ensure you take proper swimming trunks, as you are not allowed to wear shorts.
Whatever you decide to do, you'll not go far wrong, but just ensure you take plenty of layers of clothing to wear, especially for the little people, as they may be sat, for example, on the back of a skidoo in some trailer type thing for quite a lenght of time whilst you drive it, and as they can't move about, their temperature drops - then they start to cry, then the parents get annoyed.....*sigh*
If you get chance, go on one of the night time skidoo excurtions as well, take plenty of money to spend - you'll need it, and take plenty of layers of clothing to wear.
Oh and another thing, take plenty of layers of clothing to wear to keep warm.
My Mrs tried doing the same thing with Tesco vouchers and in the end realised we wouldn't really save anything.
Anyway, we've been twice for both kids (big gap) and it's great.
IMO, you're in a situation where you need to decide if the eldest is too old, or the youngest is too young. On balance, I'd leave it another year, as I think the younger one is a little bit too young. Of course the older one will be another year older, but I think you'd be okay. My kids are now six and fourteen; we went in xmas 2011 and some years before that for the elder one. Clearly the young teenager knew the whole thing is bollocks, (Santa Claus that is....), but still enjoyed the holiday.
Another thing to consider is the cold. Small/young children don't tend to hold heat very well, and you really can't put enough layers on them. Sadly, no matter how many times people are told, some parents insists on taking their kids out in just a ski jacket, which leads to lots of tears and crying - anothe reason why I think another year on the young one would help.
Last time around we stayed at the Hotel Levitunturi. You will probably get some spare mornings or afternoons, so the swimming pool is v.handy. Just ensure you take proper swimming trunks, as you are not allowed to wear shorts.
Whatever you decide to do, you'll not go far wrong, but just ensure you take plenty of layers of clothing to wear, especially for the little people, as they may be sat, for example, on the back of a skidoo in some trailer type thing for quite a lenght of time whilst you drive it, and as they can't move about, their temperature drops - then they start to cry, then the parents get annoyed.....*sigh*
If you get chance, go on one of the night time skidoo excurtions as well, take plenty of money to spend - you'll need it, and take plenty of layers of clothing to wear.
Oh and another thing, take plenty of layers of clothing to wear to keep warm.
13 March 2013, 11:07 PM
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We did a four day trip a few years back, with Canterbury Travel.
Stayed in a log cabin in the grounds of Hotel Revontulli in Salla (Finnish Lapland) but used the hotel facilities.
As part of the package we were issued with boots and thermal waterproof all in one suits - only needed thermal base layers, jumper and jeans underneath.
Everyday had an excursion to an activity centre to play on sleds, reindeer sleds, dog sleds, skidoo-ing, skating etc...
Fantastic time, culminating in a vist to Santa in the middle of the forest knee deep in snow.
As above, the night time snow mobile trip is something not to be missed!
My kids were young - 1 and 4 years old, too young really but the time financially, was right.
Stayed in a log cabin in the grounds of Hotel Revontulli in Salla (Finnish Lapland) but used the hotel facilities.
As part of the package we were issued with boots and thermal waterproof all in one suits - only needed thermal base layers, jumper and jeans underneath.
Everyday had an excursion to an activity centre to play on sleds, reindeer sleds, dog sleds, skidoo-ing, skating etc...
Fantastic time, culminating in a vist to Santa in the middle of the forest knee deep in snow.
As above, the night time snow mobile trip is something not to be missed!
My kids were young - 1 and 4 years old, too young really but the time financially, was right.
13 March 2013, 11:59 PM
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Cheers for the replies, my youngest would be 3 an a half as i said so wasnt sure about him to be honest but i dont want to leave it to late an lose the magic with the older one, its a once in a lifetime , best had be for that money haha, so i want to do it this year i hope unless loads say dont due to age.
Winter clothing are included and we would buy loads of base layers and thick warm clothing before we went anyway. out of the 3 places thomson does its Saariselka that appeals more due to the fact you get to see the northern lights. Is it really expensive when you get there as well then? i can imagine it is as the wife was in Sweden for work not long ago and said it was really expensive there.
Thomson do some hotels with kids clubs so may go for one of them as i dont fancy going in the pool with some budgie smugglers on haha.
Winter clothing are included and we would buy loads of base layers and thick warm clothing before we went anyway. out of the 3 places thomson does its Saariselka that appeals more due to the fact you get to see the northern lights. Is it really expensive when you get there as well then? i can imagine it is as the wife was in Sweden for work not long ago and said it was really expensive there.
Thomson do some hotels with kids clubs so may go for one of them as i dont fancy going in the pool with some budgie smugglers on haha.
14 March 2013, 09:34 AM
#6
My grand parents lived in Rovaniemi in Finland, which is probably where you'll be landing.
I spent many winters up in the forests around there, and it's surreal if you're not used to it, especially if it's a clear night (which is all but maybe 1-2 hours if you go around Christmas time). The northern lights really look as good as they do on TV, and if you've never been to a really dark place before you'll be amazed at what the stars look like too (and how many there are!).
Absolutely *do* make sure they lend you thermals, because it can get very cold (I'd say less than -30 (i.e. colder) would be quite rare in december, but if you go in jan-feb, it's entirely possible that it gets quite a bit colder (coldest I've ever been was somewhere slightly below -40, which is not pleasant even with "proper" clothes).
I've never been a "tourist" as such around those areas, but the tourists I've seen around there definitely seem happy, so it's probably good, and the scenery and forest is completely different to what you'd get on more southern latitudes
Just mind the bears...
I spent many winters up in the forests around there, and it's surreal if you're not used to it, especially if it's a clear night (which is all but maybe 1-2 hours if you go around Christmas time). The northern lights really look as good as they do on TV, and if you've never been to a really dark place before you'll be amazed at what the stars look like too (and how many there are!).
Absolutely *do* make sure they lend you thermals, because it can get very cold (I'd say less than -30 (i.e. colder) would be quite rare in december, but if you go in jan-feb, it's entirely possible that it gets quite a bit colder (coldest I've ever been was somewhere slightly below -40, which is not pleasant even with "proper" clothes).
I've never been a "tourist" as such around those areas, but the tourists I've seen around there definitely seem happy, so it's probably good, and the scenery and forest is completely different to what you'd get on more southern latitudes
Just mind the bears...
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20 March 2013, 12:53 AM
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well its all booked, going the 4th December for 4 nights with Thompson, staying in the Snowflake hotel in the apartments. Looking forwad to it big time, hopefully not going to tell the kids till the morning we go as i think that will make it so much better.
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