A group of us about 10 people are traveliing to Salla in December. We will stop over in Helsinki before moving up to Lapland. Questions:
1) Think flight is cheaper than train from Helsinki to Lapland?
2) Which airport (Rovaniemi or Kuusamo) is more convenient for transfer to Salla? We are not looking to hire a car as we thought it%26#39;s too dangerous?
Look forward to replies.
Many Thanks
Eunie
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1) You can check the train fares in www.vr.fi. One night train goes to Kemijärvi, which is the closest you can get by train. You can also take a train to Rovaniemi. In both cases, you will then have to take a bus to Salla.
2) I think Kuusamo, as there should be a direct bus connection to Salla from and to scheduled Finnair flights. See: http://loma.salla.fi/en/getting_there/by_air/
The Rovaniemi airport can be rather tricky, if you don%26#39;t manage to get flights that are convenient to the very few bus connections to Salla (or Sallatunturi, which is the ski resort) from the airport. Otherwise, you would have to go first to Rovaniemi, and the chances are you would have to wait until the next day for the next bus to Salla. This could also include changing buses in Kemijärvi, too, and the buses might then go only to Salla town, where you would have to take a taxi to Sallatunturi.
You can search bus timetables here:
http://www.matkahuolto.info/lippu/en/
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Most probably train will be cheaper but you should check the flight options as well as their prices vary a lot depending on the dates. To Rovaniemi you can choose either Finnair or Blue1 flights (latter often cheaper), to Kuusamo only Finnair.
I would actually recommend renting a car from the airport / train station. Driving is not at all that dangerous! With a car you can then see much more.
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A hire car would be useful also because then you could do your grocery shopping in Salla town (assuming you will be self catering), currently there%26#39;s only a very expensive mini market in the ski resort.
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Thank you all for your reply. I%26#39;m now checking the train option as well. Question about booking the train:
What%26#39;s the difference between individual berth and entire cabin? and what does 2 berth cabin, 2 deck car means?
Sorry to ask silly question. Thanks.
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There are 3 berths in a cabin. You can either book entire cabin (all the berths) or book individual berths. Latter means that you share the cabin with other passengers (all female or male).
Cars travel in a 2 storey wagon.
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There are two types of sleeper cars. The older ones have 3 berth cabins, and the new ones 2 berth cabins.
See: vr.fi/eng/…a2
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Thanks Polarbearfin %26amp; Nettle. I%26#39;ll have to phone up to book those tickets.
Sorry, Some more questions:
1) Can you recommend any transfer company that can trasnfer us from the kemijarvi train station to the Holiday Club Salla?
2) We drive in the UK but we are not sure if it%26#39;s too risky to drive in Salla in Dec?? Is it not icy at that time of the year?
3) Is Christmas eve or Christmas day quite quiet in Salla town?
Thanks,
Eunie
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1) Can you recommend any transfer company that can trasnfer us from the kemijarvi train station to the Holiday Club Salla?
There%26#39;s a bus leaving from Kemijärvi train station at 9:50 am that should take you to Sallatunturi.
2) We drive in the UK but we are not sure if it%26#39;s too risky to drive in Salla in Dec?? Is it not icy at that time of the year?
Yes it is icy, but the cars are equipped with winter tyres that have much more grip. If you watch your speed and take a little extra care it should not be too bad.
3) Is Christmas eve or Christmas day quite quiet in Salla town?
Yes, very quiet. In Finland, the Christmas celebrations start on Christmas Eve, so supermarkets might not be open at all (a couple of hours in the morning, if you are lucky).
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Hello,
easiest way to reach Salla is a take flight to Kuusamo airport or Rovaniemi airport. We can have sometimes very difficult driving conditions here in Lapland during winter, so if it%26#39;s not nessesary for you to have a car in Salla so my suggestion is that you take privat bus transfer from Rovaniemi or Kuusamo to Salla if it%26#39;s not suitable timetables for busses.
regards
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Thank you all so much for your replies.
It%26#39;s really challenging trying to arrange for a group of 9 people and book everything ourselves including the flight, transfer and etc...really appreciate your advice.
If we were to fly from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, and the flight will arrive at Rov at about 1330. We are thinking of doing few hours at the Santa village before heading to Salla, instead of doing a separate day trip from Salla to Rov. Is it a good idea?
And can anyone recommend private transfer for a group of 9? how much would it cost? The website that you guys recommended didn%26#39;t allow me to enter Salla as a destination?
Many Thanks.
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