Why is it important to travel with children?
Travelling with children boosts their mental superpowers of creativity and curiosity. It also strengthens family bonds, creates lifelong memories and teaches the children empathy, compassion and problem-solving skills. Remote Arctic regions may seem like a too exotic travel destination, but the remote villages of Finnish Lapland, like Utsjoki, are actually very safe places to travel with kids.
Our children here in Utsjoki learn from a very young age to spend time outdoors. They follow us on skiing trips in a fjellpulken, travel in a traditional or modern baby carrier with the parents, they come to feed the reindeer and take part in reindeer roundups, they learn to fish in different ways and picking berries in a forest in the fall is a task for the whole family. As the famous Sámi singer Sofia Jannok once said, "outside is same as inside", and this is very true in Utsjoki region. Spending time outdoors is a normal part of life here, and we want to offer these same family experiences to travelers.
We have put together these suggestions of programs that we consider to be good with children, but you can also request for other tours and tailored programs for your family!
1) Visit our reindeer herd on the fells and help us feeding them. Everybody loves reindeer, and it feels very calming to be around them. Learning about agriculture is important, and especially about the nomadic reindeer herding culture, as the animals are not put in a fence and nature is not altered for food production purposes.
2) Fishing tours: Arctic waters are plenty in fish. In winter, children love to try ice-fishing and in summer, they are quick to learn to fish with a spinning rod or help with fishing nets.
3) Exploring the nature with snowshoes or on a snowmobile-sleigh ride. When exploring the nature, we can modify the length and gear for different age groups. Smallest ones can travel in a Fjellpulken, pulled by guide or parents, and a bit bigger ones can have snowshoes designed for light users. If you join our snow safari (travelling in a sled pulled by snowmobile), we have smaller helmets and extra warm gear to make sure children stay warm.
4) In summer, being around water is usually childrens´ favorite thing. You can paddle with canoe or enjoy the scenery on a boat ride, or request for a trip to a silent beach. River Teno has huge sandy beaches, in middle of most beautiful nature, and the water is nice and warm towards the end of July!
5) Walking tours/easy hikes to arctic nature during summer and autumn. We can tailor the length and destinations of walking tours according to childrens´ needs.
6) Local history and culture tour: how did people in the arctic live, dress, eat and travel hundreds of years ago? What is a gákti-dress and how do local kids spend their free time and where do they go to school nowadays in Utsjoki? This is interesting for any age group!
7) Rental gear for children: winter clothing, winter boots, helmets, skis, snowshoes, fishing rods, life vests, baby carrier, fjellpulken... We have children our-selves, so we also have put together a nice set of rental gear that makes a holiday in the Arctic a bit easier with kids! Send us email to request for the gear you need!
Finland is a high-quality destination
When you travel with children, you usually have more special needs than as adult travelers. You need to be 100 % sure about the child friendliness and safety of the accommodation, food, transportation and experiences during your holiday. Finland in general is a very good travel destination for families with children. Our legislation is very strict regarding consumer safety in activities, restaurants and accommodation, but we also have high-quality public services, such as healthcare centers, hospitals and rescue service, and also a wide set of private services for consumers. When you combine this service structure with all the beautiful nature and culture in Finland, you know you will have a nice and safe holiday with your family.
Nature as it is
Utsjoki is the Northernmost municipality in Finland. It is also the only municipality in Finland with a majority of Europe´s only indigenous population, the Sámi, which makes the everyday-life culture in the municipality very unique.
Utsjoki has only about 1200 inhabitants and a population density of 0,2 people per square kilometres.
The nature in Utsjoki is stunning: we have several protected wildlife areas, where the Sámi still practice their traditional livelihoods of reindeer herding, fishing, hunting and gathering. Utsjoki has been said to have the most beautiful nature in Finland. This northernmost corner of Finnish Lapland does not have any skiing centers, enormous hotel buildings or thousands of tourists wondering around in big groups. What we do have to offer for travellers, is pristine nature, culture in a balance with the eco-system around us, genuine and friendly local people and guided experiences that may affect your values and thinking for a lifetime.
Experiencing nature as it is, without major human alterations, is a rare thing to see in the world. Being close to nature teaches to value the most basic necessities in life: clean air, clean water, having food to eat, having a shelter.
Small, family-owned service providers
In Utsjoki, most of the travel businesses are owned by local families, so you know your money invested in your holiday will also support the local community and livelihoods, when you choose to use these local service providers. Small businesses also usually have more personalized services and can take into account also your family´s needs. For example in our programs, we always take into account any special needs as much as we can. This can be either altering program length, organizing private programs for families, bringing a baby carrier, modifying schedules to fit napping times, making sure we have marshmallows with hot chocolate and giving special attention to the children on tours. When we tailor our tours for childrens´needs, your children get a better connection with the local culture and us local people, which is a good learning experience. Learning about different ways of seeing the world also helps them to better understand their own culture.
Protected wilderness areas
Living in balance with nature is an intrinsic value for most locals in Utsjoki. This is something that children will learn when they travel to Utsjoki. Nature is not here to be governed, owned and changed by people - nature is here to provide us life and continuity and that is why we people also have to take care of the nature - the relationship between people and nature is two-way.
Dressing children for winter outdoors
Children are more sensitive to cold, so they need to be dressed properly for the weather conditions (and adults, of course, as well). This means having 1-3 layers of cotton, merino, fleece and/or wool, and and on top a warm, insulated and wind-proof winter suit (or pants and jacket), wind-proof and insulated hat and gloves, and protect the face with a balaclava and a thick, wool scarf. In winter, children should wear insulated boots with a thick sole, and the boots should be 1-2 sizes too big for the child´s feet. When the boot is bigger than the feet, you can fit 1-2 extra wool socks inside and there will still be some loose air in the boot to insulate the feet from cold.
We are happy to advice with how to dress for cold conditions, and you can always borrow warm winter clothing and boots from us for our programs. You can also rent winter gear for your stay from us.
