In February 2024 myself and 4 colleagues, travelled to Lapland with Transun to experience their Northern Lights trip. We travelled from Bristol Airport to Enontekio, a 3.5 hour flight, then onwards to The Davvi Arctic Lodge, which was an approx. 1 hour coach ride. The Arctic lodge is in Finnish Karesuando, 300km inside the Arctic Circle.
On arrival, we checked into The Fell House, 5 of us shared this 3-bedroom accommodation, which also had a lounge and bathroom. It had everything we needed for our 3-night stay. It was quite basic but had comfy beds, is well heated with views of the snow-covered pine forest from the windows.
We then collected our suits and boots from the onsite store, these are included in the package. (Tip: Make sure you are happy with both of these before you leave the store as several of our party had to swap boots or suits the next day.)
Dinner was in the main building, a pleasant 5-minute walk through the forest on a well-lit path from the Fell House. You will not go hungry on a Transun break, all included meals are buffet style: soups, salads, choice of main courses and desert. Warm and cold buffet breakfast was also available. All was hearty and substantial.
On our first night we walked from our accommodation through the snowy forest uphill to the viewpoint. This I am told is an amazing place to see the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, it was too overcast for us to see them.
Day 2 started after breakfast with a walk into Sweden! This took around 40 minutes, passing a couple of shops, a pretty church, then over a bridge, where in the middle you pass into Sweden, so can have a foot in each country, a great photo opportunity.
We then walked to the Davvi Star. This hotel is more contemporary as opposed to the rustic Davvi Arctic Lodge. The room we saw had a lovely view over the frozen river. Our afternoon experience was a reindeer sleigh ride through the snowy forest. This was just a 20-minute minibus ride away.
(Tip: Sit down first to avoid falling over if the sleigh moves suddenly). We also learnt about Sami life, whilst sitting around a fire inside a traditional tepee and enjoyed some local hot berry glogi.)
In the evening, we took part in a group walk uphill to a viewpoint where we sat around a fire hearing about local life, wildlife and culture. (Tip: Drink lots of water as this is an active trip and the weather also makes you dehydrate quickly.)
Day 3 was all about snowmobiles. During the day we enjoyed the optional excursion to a fell, this was challenging but full instructions were given. Originally, we were booked onto the Husky Safari but it was too windy to safely do this, so excursions were seamlessly re-arranged.
In the evening a couple of us joined the group Snowmobile Northern Lights Safari, where we travelled along a frozen river to a vantage point, although the sky did finally clear we were not able to see the lights. It was however still a fantastic and quite surreal experience: drinking non-alcoholic glogi, listening to Sami tales and gazing up at the sky, whilst wearing helmets, snoods and snowsuits.
(Tip: Never wave at the Northern Lights as many cultures believe this would lure demons down from the skies!) We returned to the Davvi Lodge at around 1am! So, a long but exhilarating day.
Our very last activity and my favourite was The Call of the Wild Husky Safari. We travelled around 30 minutes by coach to the Husky Centre, where we were given information about the huskies. They stay at the centre their whole life, work for around 8 years but live for around 15 years. They are trained to pull sledges which they clearly enjoy. I was able to have a go at mushing myself after being given clear, simple instructions, mainly do not let go and use the brakes when needed! Happy to say myself and my passenger stayed upright!
(Tip: If the dogs look back at you, it means you are doing something not quite right, in my case I needed to step off the brake.) After the ride we were able to say hello to the very friendly huskies.)
We returned to the hotel and just had time for a quick walk down the road to the local shop for souvenirs. Then it was lunch before our coach return to the Airport.
I enjoyed my Transun trip to Lapland and all the activities included. All was well organised, even when weather conditions made it necessary to rearrange the itinerary. I liked having some free time to go on a few walks e.g. to Sweden. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants an authentic, active experience.
