All of our arrangements have been specially designed to incorporate a reason to travel and, for ease of choice, these have been categorised under the titles shown below.
Making the most of long hours of daylight, taking a steamboat cruise on one of the loveliest lakes in the world, travelling through timeless topography to age-old settlements, and learning to bake traditional Karelian pies, this is a fabulous tour of Finland’s landscapes, history, and culture. Largely based amid the forests, lakes, and islets of the Great Saimaa system, the tour calls in at easy-tempo Mikkeli enroute to impossibly beautiful Savonlinna, spread across three islands linked by bridges, in the clear blue waters of Lake Sainaa. We visit Olavinlinna Castle, the sturdy stone fortress rising from the rocks of an islet to guard the Kyrösalmi strait. It’s said that if the walls could talk, they would tell a thousand stories; some are recalled in the castle’s museum. From here the route runs to little Kerimäki village, home to the largest wooden church in the world; to the Veijö Rönkkönen Sculpture Park, with hundreds of strange folkloric statues; and on a stunning journey across the lake-sprinkled landscape, leading to Rakokivi’s extraordinary, ice age formations. The stark bunkers of the Salpa Line mark Finland’s modern history; while 15thcentury, photogenic Porvoo is its second-oldest city, renowned for the red riverside houses.
Like the Hairy Bikers before you, discover the old art of making tasty Karelian pies at Paula’s country farmhouse. Traditional pies usually had a rye crust and usual fi llings were barley and talkkuna. Today they have s a thin rye crust with a fi lling of rice. Butter, mixed with chopped-up boiled egg, is spread over the pies before eating.
This is a full itinerary with most visits on foot and sites with steps/inclines and uneven surfaces.
Extra nights are on request, please call to discuss your requirements
Klaus K (per night) £95
Single supplement £85
per person in a twin/double room
Finnair from Heathrow
Sorry - there are currently no available departure dates available for this tour.
Air travel and taxes, transfers, 6 nights’ accommodation, breakfast daily, 2 lunches and 1 dinner, itinerary as described, services of guides and local representatives. If our specially negotiated airfares are unavailable at the time of booking, a supplement may apply.
Travel insurance, optional excursions, tipping, any government taxes or compulsory charges introduced after publication.
Baltic Capitals
Four countries, four capitals, and seven centuries of architectural styles, in their street-scenes and monuments, form the focus of this intriguing Baltics tour, as we travel to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and take the ferry across the Gulf for a final day in Finland
Ice & Lights
With dramatic landscapes at your feet and the brilliant Aurora Borealis in the skies above, this is a tour to remote locations and remarkable sights, from Iceland’s glacial lagoon to its largest icecap, steaming geysers, gleaming icebergs, and frozen waterfalls
'Ice' Land of the Northern Lights
Icelandic winters are a wonderland of hot springs and frozen waterfalls, glaciers and growling volcanoes, and the ethereal Aurora Borealis dancing in dark skies. This five-night tour takes you through the unique topography of ‘the land of ice & fire'
