GLORIOUS GLASS IGLOOS IN FANTASTIC FINLAND

Any regular social media user would have seen the photos and videos being shared around of the glass igloos at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in Lapland Finland. A week ago we were lucky enough to stay here. We spent 2 nights in wilderness at and remoteness that is Lapland, Finland. Home to Reindeer, Moose, Snow, the Northern Lights, Glass igloos and perhaps the most famous SANTA CLAUSE.

Lapland is One of the northernmost regions in the world aswell as one of the largest. Its located North of the Arctic Circle and stretches across Norway, Sweeden, Finland aswell as Russia. During the summer you get the midnight sun, and during winter you get minimal sun and maximum snow.

Lapland in Finland has many resorts in all different towns for just on the Arctic circle all the way up to the very top of Finland. The most famous of these resorts are the Glass igloos. The Igloos are located in Kakaslauttanen approx 250km north of the Arctic Cirle. Being so far out its quite a mission to get too. There are a few options to get up there. I would recommend looking at travelling the day before your meant to check in.

1). There is one airport located 30mins away from the resort called Ivalo airport. You can’t fly directly here with stop overs in Rovaniemi and Helsinki on all flights. We flew here from the U.K. with most flights taking 12 hours+ due to the stopovers at the airports. The hotel does offer shuttle services to and from this airport.

2). The capital of Lapland in Finland Is Rovaniemi which has an airport located about 7mins away from the city centre. You can fly here but again not directly with stopovers in Helsinki. I found when booking it stopovers where quite long and overnight. So i booked to separate flights, one from London to Helsinki, then a separate one from Helsinki to Rovaniemi which only had one hour in between but however was quite costly. The total for both flights being 260pounds without luggage. From Rovaniemi central bus station you can get bus which stops regularly at all the major towns in Lapland. It cost about 50 euros and takes 3 hours depending on what resort your going to.

3). You can get a direct flight to Helsinki from most major cities, from Helsinki there a numerous trains the run mainly over night from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. The total time is about 12 hours and the train cost 80 euros. From Rovaniemi you have to get bus up to Lapland which is again another 50 euros and 3 hours.

It is not easy to get to but once you are there its well worth it. We arrived to land covered in snow as far as the eye could see fresh like powder, pine tress green and white in snow, the log cabin reception and welcome signs blanketed in snow. The resort is so large it is in fact separated in to two resorts, the east and West village. We checked in and given a map of the east village in which the glass igloos are located. The igloos are located about a 10 min walk away from reception which in fresh snow is more like 15 mins. Thankfully for us the hotel provides sleds to use for free and transport each other and luggage to the igloos. The reason they are so far away is to be able to see the northern lights you need to be surrounded by darkness so the igloos are away from all the lights.

After carefully following the map on our sled we arrived at igloo 7 on the very end in the darkness and complete wilderness that is lapland. Only the sound of the gentle breeze and huskies can be heard. The igloos inside are quite simple 2 beds in the middle with a shelf with low curtains around the edge and next to the door a small bathroom. The igloos is heated so no snow builds up on the outside allowing a an uninterrupted view of the landscape and sky and also making the inside a very comfortable temperature. The igloos are intended to allow you to be in the warmth and comfort of a room whilst view in full the phenomenon that is the northern lights. Even the beds accommodate for this with electric beds that go up and down on command. Unfortunately in the 2 nighSt we had there the weather wasn’t in our favour and we had cloudy nights.

The fact that we weren’t lucky enough to see them here by know means at all meant our time up here was ruined. Theres so much to do here day and night that your always busy. The resort offers numerous activities starting from 10am until 10pm. Activities include: reindeer safari, horse safari, husky sleigh safari, snowmobile safari, learn to ski, ski hire, snow tank safari, visit reindeer farm, Visit Santa in his home, ice fishing, northern lights hunting with either horse, dogs or reindeer. Options are endless however they are quite expensive with prices ranging from 40 euros to 380 euros. You don’t have to book in advance but if you want to guarantee your place i would advise it. The hotel will send you a list of activities with the price on request so be sure to have a look before hand.

We started the day off with a sled ride along the cross-country tracks take in the beautiful scenery, afterwards we went to visit Santa and northern light hunt by horse sled. We originally wanted to do reindeer but unfortunately it was booked out. I would recommend both these activities. We left the resort at 5:00pm and turned up to a house covered in christmas lights and as we arrived the door opened and Santa walked out and invited us in for photos and a chat. After reliving my childhood for 10-15 mins we left Santa for a reindeer farm where we were able to feed and pat the reindeer. We got back around 6:30 just in time for dinner which is provided by the hotel. A 3 course meal including soup, salted reindeer and berry desert. Dinner had to be short and sharp as at 7:45 we left to go on our horse safari. I don’t think there has been a more magical moment then being pulled through the snow in lapland by a horse pulled open sleigh looking for the northern lights. Truly breath taking experience. There was only one way to top this night off. As we arrived back to our igloo snow falling I had a pre planned surprise. I wrote in the snow and proposed to the love of my life and ended what was a truly magical day. Easily the best day of my life.

After waking up on a high, we decided to spend the day at Santas village before getting the train down to Helsinki. It was a winter wonderland with rides, santos post office, shops, restaurant etc.. the perfect place to channel your inner child and get excited for the up coming festive season and a perfect way to end our time in one of the most spectacular places on the world!