Lemmenjoki National Park Day Trip from Ivalo – Riverboat, Waterfalls & Sámi Culture
A Slow Day in Lemmenjoki National Park: Riverboats, Ravadas Falls and a Sámi Yoik Some Lapland days are packed from start to finish. This wasn’t one of them and that’s exactly why it’s become one of my favourite memories from my recent trip. On a glorious sunny day, Hotel Ivalo took me into Lemmenjoki National…
Women’s Group Travel – Our Lapland Northern Lights Trip
Partway through our week in Lapland, with the clouds stubbornly refusing to clear, one of the women on our trip shared a feeling that I can resonate with from previous group trips I have been on. She’d come for the Northern Lights, she said, but she’d got so much more out of the trip than…
Best eSIM for Finland from Australia
…and why BambooSIM is now my go-to In partnership with BambooSIM. BambooSIM gifted me the eSIM I used on this trip. Buying a BambooSIM? Use the code LAPLANDLOWDOWN to get 10% OFF! In January 2026, I was driving a rental car through Finnish Lapland when the engine died. It was cold and dark and we…
Kotatieva Resort Rovaniemi – My Full 2026 Review
I don’t promote a product, place or partner I haven’t experienced myself or built a genuine connection with – and Kotatieva is a place I’ve now returned to twice, three years apart, because it earned a spot in both itineraries; and I would visit again! This is my full, honest review, built from a Christmas…
Arctic City Hotel Rovaniemi review – a luxury base in the heart of the city
If you’re after a Rovaniemi city-centre hotel that feels special the moment you walk in, Arctic City Hotel is the one. From the outside in autumn it’s fairly unassuming, but push through those doors and the whole mood shifts – dark, moody colours, comfortable lounges in reception and juice and water waiting for you on…
Aurora Holidays, Utsjoki – review and high recommendation
The authentic Northern Lapland experience long-haul travellers have been searching for If you’re planning a Finnish Lapland holiday and looking for something beyond the well-trodden Rovaniemi trail, Aurora Holidays in Utsjoki deserves a firm spot on your shortlist. Tucked into Finland’s northernmost region on the banks of the river that borders Norway, this small, family-run…
Women’s Group Trips Australia – What To Expect
You’ve read the trip page. You’ve looked at the photos more times than you’d like to admit. You’re 80% convinced. The thing holding you back from that last 20% is rarely the itinerary – it’s the not-knowing. What’s it actually like on a women’s group trip? Who else will be there? What happens if you…
How to Train for High-Altitude Trekking as an Aussie Woman
If there’s one piece of advice worth taking seriously before a high-altitude trek, it’s this – the better you prepare, the more you will enjoy it. That’s not about being the fittest woman on the trail – it’s about arriving with enough strength and stamina to actually be present. To chat with the group instead…
How to set up your eSIM before you land in Helsinki
You’ve booked the flights, sorted the thermals and you’re counting down to Lapland. The one thing that trips up more international travellers than it should? Mobile data. Land at Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) without a plan sorted and you’re stuck choosing between eye-watering roaming charges, hunting for airport wifi to book your connecting transport, or queueing at…
A full day in Santa Claus Village – a suggested itinerary
Planning Christmas in Lapland? Read our complete guide. “What do we actually do on Christmas Day?” is one of the questions I get asked most often in the Finnish Lapland From Australia group. Everyone knows they want to meet Santa. Fewer people realise that Santa Claus Village is big enough and full enough of things…
