This is Dannie’s blog from her four-day trip to Lapland, a place many people instantly associate with children, Santa, and festive magic.
Lapland, you say? Isn’t that just for kids?
Well… not this kind of Lapland.
This trip is designed entirely around adults (who are still kids at heart). Think longer husky safaris, extended snowmobile rides across frozen landscapes, late nights chasing the Northern Lights, and fully immersing yourself in the breathtaking winter wonderland that Lapland truly is.
Lapland doesn’t have to revolve around Father Christmas. It can be adventurous, peaceful, thrilling, and genuinely magical - just in a very different way.
And this trip? It’s exactly that.
Saturday 3rd January - Departure Day
Today was departure day for our third annual Lapland trip, and I was so excited. We left home at 4:45am to begin the journey to Gatwick for our flight to Enontekiö.
After a super-quick check-in at the Enter Air desk, a big breakfast, and (of course) a game of Yahtzee, we were ready to go.
The outbound flight from Gatwick to Enontekiö took around 3 hours and 10 minutes. As you travel north, you slowly move from daylight into darkness. Because we’re visiting Lapland at the very start of January, the region hasn’t yet seen its first sunrise of the year. Instead, there’s a soft twilight between roughly 10am and 2pm, where the sky moves through a continuous sunrise-to-sunset glow, without the sun ever actually breaking the horizon.
We landed in Enontekiö at around 5pm (Finland is two hours ahead of the UK). And I have to say, Enontekiö Airport is tiny. It genuinely looks like a little gingerbread house covered in snow, and it’s completely unlike any airport you’ve ever experienced.
Our trip was booked with Transun, a wonderful tour operator who charter Enter Air flights directly into Enontekiö for their Lapland trips. This week, we were on the Northern Lights Hunting 4-night trip, staying at the Davvi Arctic Lodge.
After a quick passport check, we were greeted by the incredible Transun team, allocated our coach, and set off towards the lodge.
Arriving at Davvi Arctic Lodge
The drive to Davvi Arctic Lodge takes around 50 minutes, passing through the most beautiful winter landscapes. The lodge offers three types of accommodation:
• Hotel rooms (in the same building as the restaurant)
• Individual lodges
• Fell houses (slightly further away, perfect for larger families or groups)
Once we arrived, we were given our room numbers, unpacked, and headed straight to dinner. The food at Davvi is always amazing - buffet-style, home-cooked, and incredibly warming. There are always two meat or fish options and a vegetarian option, and after travelling all day it really hits the spot.
After dinner, we collected our snowsuits and boots (included with Transun - and absolutely essential). Wrapped up in our new gear, we took a walk up the hill behind the lodge, which is one of the best spots for Northern Lights viewing thanks to the low light pollution.
Sadly, we weren’t lucky on our first night, so we wandered back through the snowy forest and headed to bed after a very long day.
Sunday 4th January
We accidentally slept through our alarm and didn’t wake up until 8:50am, leaving us a very speedy 10 minutes to get down for breakfast - which was still delicious, thankfully!
After breakfast, we grabbed some toboggans, wrapped up warm, and headed out for the morning. It was cold, around -32°C. Just down the road from Davvi Arctic Lodge there’s a small café and gift shop, so after a few sneaky toboggan runs we popped in to buy souvenirs, pick up some extra warm bits, and enjoy a well-earned hot chocolate.
After lunch (more delicious food), it was time for our first official activity: snowshoeing, which is included on this four-day Transun trip. Even though this was my fourth time in Lapland, it was actually my first time snowshoeing, I’d only ever done the three-night stays before.
Snowshoeing was hard work but great fun. You strap these big, racket-like plates onto your boots so you can walk across deep snow without sinking up to your waist. Halfway up the hill we stopped for a cup of glögi, a traditional Lapland hot berry drink, before heading back down, which was much easier than going up!
Afterwards, we were exhausted, so it was time for a nap before dinner. That evening’s activity was a forest trek, a guided walk where the guide shared stories about the local wildlife.
Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and snowing heavily, so we headed back to the lodge, ordered hot chocolates, played Yahtzee, and went to bed.
Monday 5th January
This morning was an early start, after a quick breakfast we were off to see the huskies at 8:30am.
Because temperatures had dropped below -35°C, the husky rides had to be shortened for safety reasons. Even so, we had an amazing time. Adam got to mush the huskies, and I happily took on the role of passenger princess. It was freezing, but absolutely worth it.
After the ride, we had time to cuddle the huskies, and they were surprisingly affectionate for working dogs. If you stop stroking them, they literally paw you for more.
We headed back to the lodge to warm up, had lunch, and then set off on our walk over to Sweden. Davvi Arctic Lodge sits right on the Finnish-Swedish border, and Sweden is just across the bridge opposite the hotel, about a 20-30 minute walk.
We walked to the church, which is actually the northernmost church in Sweden, and then attempted to visit the café… which sadly was closed, meaning we missed out on trying a Swedish latte. We walked back across the frozen river and accidentally went on a bit of a forest adventure (we got lost), before finally rewarding ourselves with a Finnish latte back at the café near the lodge.
That afternoon, we booked the hotel sauna. You can reserve it privately for 45 minutes, which was exactly what we needed. After warming up, it was time for dinner, again!
Later that evening, we checked the Aurora app. The KP index was rising, with a 40% chance of seeing the Northern Lights, so we wrapped up warm and climbed back up the hill behind the lodge.
We were lucky to see beautiful green auroras danced across the sky.
Tuesday 6th January
Our last full day, so we were determined to make the most of it. Our next activity, the reindeer farm, wasn’t until 1pm, so we spent the morning tobogganing and walking down to the café again.
At the reindeer farm, our group was split into two. We started in a cosy hut with hot glögi and ginger biscuits while a local reindeer herder shared stories about the animals and explained the Sámi culture.
Once warmed up, it was time for the reindeer ride. Wrapped under blankets in -35°C, we glided across the frozen lake. Our start was delayed slightly when one reindeer decided it simply didn’t want to work anymore, so it was swapped out and we were off.
Back at the lodge, we headed straight for another sauna, had dinner, and then it was time for our final activity: snowmobiling.
Due to the extreme cold, the ride was shorter and slower than usual, even with double buffs, the wind stung, but it was still such a thrill.
We didn’t see the Northern Lights that night, but we were lucky enough to witness a moon halo, a glowing ring of light around the moon caused by ice crystals in the clouds. It was absolutely stunning.
After that, it was straight to bed to warm up.
Wednesday 7th January - Departure Day
Last day 😢
We were up early to pack, enjoy our final breakfast, and check out before 9am. We attempted one final walk to Sweden in the hope of finally getting that Swedish latte… but forgot Sweden is an hour behind Finland, so once again we missed it.
Instead, we made the most of our last morning with more toboggan runs before returning our suits and boots, having lunch, and boarding the coach back to Enontekiö Airport.
Final Thoughts
Thank you once again to Transun for another incredible trip. This was our fourth time in Lapland, and somehow it just keeps getting better.
If Lapland is on your wishlist, whether as an adults-only Arctic adventure or a magical family trip, we’d love to help you plan it.
