Advice for first timers

Hi,

My partner and I are looking to go to Yllas for Christmas this year. Think we%26#39;re pretty much decided on the Yllas Log Cabins through Inghams.

We%26#39;d like to have people%26#39;s advice on what to do (we%26#39;re not intending to ski), what to wear, where to eat etc. I have ski clothes, will that be warm enough for walking around or should I hire the thermal suit on offer?

Any advice would be helpful!

Thanks,

Jayne

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Jayne

It all depends on how long you are staying. And to give you accurate advise I should know more precisely where you are going, because:

Ylläs is actually two resorts. Around the fell (the word I only learned right now, in Finnish we don%26#39;t call them mountains as they are more like a flat land with a beer belly, %26quot;tunturi%26quot; in Finnish) there are two places; Ylläsjärvi and Äkäslompolo. The other on the northern side and the other on the southern.

However, there are not a whole lot of restaurants so you will soon come to terms as to where to go and the hotel reception will gladly guide you to the competitor if that is a good choice. So, take a local%26#39;s recommendation - you shouldn%26#39;t be disappointed (as long as you tell them what you like and what not). BUT: Do not miss the reindeer stew. That%26#39;s a must for every Lapland goer.

Weather can be very mild or it can be severe, you never know. Anything between a couple of minus grades Celsius to -30. So your ski clothes will be good for the mild but for the most severe you will want to have the thermal suit. The Lapps are good and nice businessmen: if you need a thermal suit you walk into the nearest ski-doo rental place and ask to rent a suit and they will get you one. And you can bargain, use your female charm :-)

br,

Antti - from 1000 km south of Ylläs

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See http://www.lapland.fruitbandit.com/

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Hi Jayne

Not sure when you intend to travel, but Inghams are offering double discounts on the yllas log cabins the W/C 6th Dec and the 13th Dec I havent looked at christmas week, I think the offer is valid untill Monday.

I have not been to Yllas but went to Levi last year and have looked at what Yllas has to offer for this year, and the trips seem fairly similar. We really enjoyed the husky and reindeer trips organized by inghams which were well run and value for money. Didnt get roung to snowmobiling but intend to do so this year. There is also a small animal farm in Yllas that arrange horse sleigh rides etc.

Found Lapland generally very expensive to eat out and the general advice from this site seems to be to take some food with you to keep costs down.

As for clothing we bought our own ski clothes (although we dont ski) and found these more than adequate along with our thermal layers and fleeces, good quality gloves, socks and boots.The clothes you have are probably a lot more comfortable than the all in one suits.Hope that helps a little.

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We%26#39;ve always hired the thermal suits. They are more comfortable than they look.

The hire shops usually have loads in stock so you could always wear your clothes and just hire a suit if the temp really drops.

Inghams usually have loads of trips on offer. We wait until we get there and they give us a list on the coach. It%26#39;s a good idea to check the weather forecast before you book. We booked a long reindeer ride in Levi last year. It was -22C on the day and not much fun at all!

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you are going to love Yllas! i love the place, it has so much charm. i have been twice and both times seen the northern lights. the snowmobile safari to the ice hotel was amazing! as long as you have plenty of layers on you should be fine, i was hot most of the time! the weather in lapland is tottaly different then back here in the uk. its a dry cold, very comfertable to be out in. the snow is like sand! my fav place to eat is on the akaslompolo side called evaskori( i think that is ow u spell it!!)they had a ymmie pizza called johnnys idol!

have a great time x