Can some experienced travellers help me with my Itinery?

Hi guys, I wondered if some experienced Lapland travellers could help me with my itinery for my trip this Christmas.

So far, all I have booked and confirmed is 5 nights at Ounasvaraan Pirtit log cabins in Rovaniemi between the 15-20th December.

In terms of travel, I have nothing decided yet, but from what I can see the options are

1) Budget flight to Helsinki, then overnight sleeper train to Rovaniemi

2) Charter flight either direct to Rovaniemi or to Kittila, Kuusamo etc

I%26#39;ll start by saying that I%26#39;m not a great flyer, so the thought of an onward flight from Helsinki, however convenient, is not an option! The overnight train is an option, especially as some of the new carriages have en-suite bathrooms and the rooms dont look too different from a budget hotel! Does anyone have any experience of doing this?

The other option is a charter flight to Kittila or Kuusamo, and at the moment this is what I%26#39;m leaning to, as I am happy to hire a car, and would be keen on spending a couple of days in a little village or town around these areas before travelling onto Rovaniemi for the %26#39;main%26#39; holiday. Firstly, does anyone know how easy it is to get places on these charter flights? I know Thomsonfly fly to Kittila from Bristol %26amp; Heathrow, but cant seem to book the flights online....there is a website called charteredflights.co.uk which offers flights, but for my hubby, son and myself it is more than £1200 which seems quite pricey! Secondly, are there any places around Kittila or Kuusamo that anyone could recommend spending a couple of days?

Sorry for the lengthy post, and I hope someone can help!

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%26quot;some of the new carriages have en-suite bathrooms and the rooms dont look too different from a budget hotel!%26quot;

Yep, the new trains are comfortable and you save one night%26#39;s charge of a hotel room.

I think the cheapest flight option is from Stanstead to Tampere by Ryanair. The train goes via Tampere, so no problem there.

%26quot;are there any places around Kittila or Kuusamo that anyone could recommend spending a couple of days?%26quot;

Yep, Levi and Ruka are probly the biggest resorts in Finland. Both far bigger than Ounasvaara.

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Don%26#39;t know anything about the charter flights I%26#39;m afraid.

But we have travelled from Helsinki to Rovaniemi on the sleeper trains a couple of times. Last year (in the summer) we went on one of the old (Russian) sleeper trains. They are perfectly nice and comfortable but not as luxurious (no own shower/toilet) as the new Pendolinos. So - as not all sleepers are the new trains - make sure you check when booking.

You leave Helsinki in the evening, and wake up in Rovaniemi. Simple as that ... really comfortable.

We picked up a Budget rent a car in Rovaniemi, which is about 15 minutes walk from the station. But I%26#39;m sure you can probably pick your car up at the station if you organise yourselves properly!

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Russian?

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%26quot;Last year (in the summer) we went on one of the old (Russian) sleeper trains. They are perfectly nice and comfortable but not as luxurious (no own shower/toilet) as the new Pendolinos.%26quot;

A bit confusing.

Yes, there are old and new sleeper cars from HEL to ROI.

The new red 2-deck sleeper cars however are not (Italian Fiat Ferroviaria/later French Alstom) Pendolinos (type Sm3), they are made by a Finnish company, Transtech in Kajaani (Wagon type Edm) and run as P 265 and P 274 trains.

The elder generation of sleeper cars was also made in Finland, by VR Pasilan konepaja in Helsinki from 1964 to 1986.

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Hi, thanks for your reply everybody....I think my favoured option would be one of the charter flights into Kittila so we could spend a couple of days around there before moving onto Rovaniemi, but I think that all depends on the cost and availability of places on these charter flights

If anyone has past knowledge or experience, I would be grateful to hear it

Thanks!

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hi, we%26#39;ve gone for the chartered flights this year , and ours goes from manchester to helsinki and helsinki to kittila, £358.00 per adult and £298.00 per child, this is with finnair.they will check our baggage right through to kittila and theres only an hour wait at helsinki when we change flights.

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%26quot;I%26#39;ll start by saying that I%26#39;m not a great flyer, so %26quot;the thought of an onward flight from Helsinki, however convenient, is not an option!%26quot;

What do you actually mean by this? Changing flights in Helsnki is actually much easier than changing from airport to a train there.

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%26quot;I%26#39;ll start by saying that I%26#39;m not a great flyer, so the thought of an onward flight from Helsinki, however convenient, is not an option!%26quot;

Read: I%26#39;m afraid to fly

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Yup, scared of flying!