About Erin – Finnish Lapland Specialist & Long-Haul Travel Guide
If you’ve landed here, you’re probably planning one of the biggest trips of your life. Finnish Lapland from the other side of the world is no small undertaking – and you deserve a guide who has actually made the journey, not just written about it.
I’m Erin Parker, a Finnish Lapland travel specialist based in Melbourne, Australia and the founder of The Long-Haul Lapland Guide. I’ve travelled to Finnish Lapland multiple times across different months and seasons – winter (December and January) , autumn Ruska (September and October) – and I’ve planned and hosted group trips there for Australian travellers. I know this destination the way you only can when you’ve stood in it, navigated it and helped others experience it first-hand.
My Lapland credentials
Multiple trips to Finnish Lapland across winter and autumn seasons
Lapland regions visited first-hand: Rovaniemi, Ruka, Kemijärvi, Posio, Kuusamo, Ranua, Saariselkä, Inari, Levi, Ivalo, Sodankyla and beyond
Finnish regions visited first-hand: Helsinki, Porvoo, Kivijarvi, Oulu and Lapland
Hosted small group tour to Finnish Lapland for Australian travellers with another coming up in September
Worked directly with Lapland operators including House of Northern Senses (Virrkula, Ruka), Karhu Kuusamo, Wild Kemijoki, Jauri Resort, Livo Arctic, Kotatieva Resort, Rather Chilly, Scandi Houses, Lumia Wear, Bearhill Husky, Lapponia Tours, Kuukeli, Arctic Snow Hotel and Igloos and Aurora Holidays
Creator of the Lapland Lowdown – a members-only Finnish Lapland planning hub used by thousands of long-haul travellers
Author of the My Lapland Adventure travel journal series, available on Amazon
Community of 10,000+ travellers planning Finnish Lapland holidays across multiple platforms
Why I built this resource
When I first started planning a trip to Finnish Lapland from Australia, I couldn’t find a single guide written for someone making the long-haul journey. Everything assumed you were flying in from London, Ireland or Stockholm. The flight connections, the Arctic packing reality, the cost of doing it from 17,000km away, the regions that suit long-haul travellers who only get one shot at this – none of that was covered anywhere.
So I built it myself. What started as personal research became Australia’s most detailed Finnish Lapland planning resource – and has since grown to serve long-haul travellers from Australia, New Zealand, North America and Asia.
Every piece of content on this site is written from personal experience. I name the operators I’ve worked with. I share the mistakes I’ve made. I tell you what the glossy brochures leave out. Because the travellers using this resource deserve real information, not recycled content.
Want to know the full story?
The credentials above tell you what I know. If you’d like to know who I am – how I got here, why I built this and what kind of traveller I am beyond Finnish Lapland – my personal travel story is worth a read.
If you’re a Lapland operator, tourism board, travel brand, or destination looking to reach long-haul travellers planning a Finnish Lapland holiday, I’d love to hear from you.
Erin Parker( Finnish Lapland specialist, women's adventure host and founder of Lapland Lowdown & Travel Her Way )
Erin Parker is a Finnish Lapland specialist, women’s adventure host and founder of Lapland Lowdown & Travel Her Way. She has travelled six continents and brings first-hand experience to every destination she writes about – from the Arctic wilderness of Finnish Lapland to the high Andes of Peru. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Erin helps long-haul travellers plan extraordinary Finnish Lapland adventures and leads small group trips for women who are ready to explore the world boldly.
