Our stay at Esko’s Cabins was simple incredible. This was our first trip to Finland, and we were mesmerised by its beauty. We flew into Ivalo airport, and after a night there we made our way from Ivalo bus station to Inari where Esko picked us up. On arrival he showed us to our cabin. It was perfect, lots of room for our luggage, a very comfortable bed, toilet, colour changing lights, and beautiful views from the huge windows. We headed over to basecamp. The attention to detail and design here was amazing. There was space in the communal area to relax with a full kitchen to use as needed with tea and coffee available. The toilets and showers are here too with all you could need, towels, slippers, shower gel, etc. There are also show suits, boots, socks and gloves and high vis jackets available to use too. We arrived early afternoon and used the kick sledges to explore. We headed down to the village (about 1km away) and went to the Siida Museum which was great (nice café too). We then headed down the road and had few drinks in PaPaNa (bar and pizza restaurant). Our first night we chose to eat at the cabins in the BBQ hut. Our food was cooked on the open fire in the middle of the hut whilst we chatted and drank local glogi – a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend. The time came to go out onto the lake. Flasks were available to make up, and we sat on the bed whilst being towed out into the darkness. It was an awesome experience to be there on the lake. The sky was star filled and magical, with just a hint of the aurora for us (an excuse to return to try again). We stood outside and took in the silence and stillness of our surroundings which was incredible. Breakfast was great and nothing was too much trouble – we were so well looked after. Our trips and transport were all booked and we paid for it all (by card) at the end of our trip. We went out into the forest and did some skiing which was fantastic – the beauty of the landscape was just amazing. We were picked up for our snowmobiling trip. This was across the lake and was such fun, we saw reindeer roaming around and stopped for a drink at one of Finland’s wilderness camping sites. We spent some more time in the village, having a meal and drinks. The hospitality from everyone we met was second to none. Of course, I must mention the sauna. This is log fired and simply wonderful. Standing out in the snow then getting into the sauna was an experience not to be missed. The team were exceptional, we were made so welcome and really switched off from the world for our stay. It was such a special trip and we couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Thank you Esko, Samsa, and Sari
Outstanding
74 Reviews