December getaways to Lapland with direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester.

For those who want to get away for a short break in December and benefit from beautiful locations, romantic accommodation, great activities, direct flights but do not want to be part of a group or to visit Santa, Emagine is offering four Exclusive Arctic breaks locations. They will appeal to couples wanting to get away from the crowds or families that may have visited Lapland before and this time wants to do things at a more leisurely pace. Departures available pre Christmas, over Christmas and for the New Year!

Hotel YllasHumina in Akaslompolo / Yllas, western Finnish Lapland, is a small family run hotel with cosy cabin room accommodation for one to four people. It allows easy the excellent ski slopes or you can choose from a wide range of optional activities. You set the pace.

Direct flights from: London Gatwick with holidays from 4 to 6 days.   

Departures: 07 Dec, 10 Dec, 14 Dec, 17 Dec, 21 Dec, 23 Dec, 27 Dec.

Activities available in the resort: Skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, reindeer safaris, husky safaris.

Hotel Kakslauttanen near Saariselka, Finnish Lapland. This is a popular location for those looking for a quiet romantic break. Accommodation is in pretty cabins set among the forest all with private sauna and fireplace. Meals are take in the log cabin restaurant in front of roaring fires. Explore the area on cross country skis or joining one of the exhilarating safaris. A highlight of staying at Kakslauttanen is the opportunity to overnight in their unique glass igloos while watching out for the Northern Lights!

Direct flights from: London Gatwick with holidays from 4 to 6 days.   

Departures: 07 Dec, 10 Dec, 14 Dec, 17 Dec, 21 Dec

Activities available from the hotel:  cross country skiing, snowmobiling, reindeer safaris, husky safaris.

Hotel Jeris – Adult Activity break 10-14 Dec 2007.

A chance to experience amazing activities and stay in a wonderful, quiet setting deep in the forest either in a hotel or in a lakeside wooden cabin. Jeris is located in western Finnish Lapland.

We are aware that some adults are looking for longer activities that are just not possible when there  are children in tow they have designed this trip with longer safaris and just for adults.  

Direct flights from: London Gatwick for a 5 day holiday..   

Departures: 10-14 Dec.

Activities included in your holiday: 50km snowmobile safari & 5 hour husky safari.

Other activities available from the hotel:  cross country skiing, reindeer safaris, ice hole swimming, snow shoeing.

Hotel Rukahovi in the wonderful resort of Ruka in Northern Finland.

18-22 Dec 2007.

This is a great location for anyone wishing to ski or snowboard. The slopes and lifts are just a few steps from your hotel door. If that doesn’t appeal join a great range of safaris, the activity company is next to the hotel. Ruka always has a great buzz about it, with a great range of cosy bars and diverse restaurants to relax in after an energetic day. The dates make this the ideal trip to start your holiday break allowing you to get some pure fresh air and exercise before the Christmas gluttony!

Direct flights from: Manchester for a 5 day break   

Departures: 22 Dec 2007

Activities available from the hotel:  Down hill skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, reindeer safaris, husky safaris.

For further details of the holidays click on the headings above of click here.

As the number of foreign visitors to Finnish resorts continues to increase.   

Finlands most popular ski resorts, Yllas and Levi, located in Lapland, will see the addition of new lift systems over the coming months to meet the demands of the ever increasing number of domestic and foreign skiers.

Further south in the resort of Ruka a new lift system is already in place and plans are in place to make the resort car free. Further investment also sees the addition of a new apartment hotel by the slopes.

For the full story in Helsinki Sanomat click here.

To visit Yllas click here.

Tonight sees the start of the Genesis 50 date World tour!

Genesis kick off their ‘Turn It On Again’ tour in Helsinki’s Olympic stadium on 11 June 2007.

The band, who sold 130m albums during the 1970 and 1980’s, have said that the tour is not about making money. It is about playing classic songs.

The tour will include 50 dates across Europe and North America.

Tour dates:

June 11 - Helsinki, Finland Olympic Stadium

June 14 - Herning, Denmark Messecenter  

 June 15 - Hamburg, Germany AOL Arena

June 17 - Berne, Switzerland Stade de Suisse

June 19 - Linz, Austria Gugglestadium

June 20 - Prague, Czech Republic Strahov Football Stadium
June 21 - Katowice, Poland Slaski Stadium

June 23 - Hannover, Germany AWD Arena
June 24 - Brussels, Stade Roi Baudouin
June 26 - Dusseldorf, Germany LTU Arena 
June 27 - Dusseldorf, Germany LTU Arena
June 28 - Stuttgart, Germany Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadium

June 30 - Paris, France Parc Des Princes
July 1 - Amsterdam, Holland Arena 
July 3 - Berlin, Germany Olympiastadion
July 4 - Leipzig, Germany Zentralstadion

July 5 - Frankfurt, Germany Commerzbank Arena 

July 7 - London, UK, LIVE EARTH CONCERT

July 7 - Manchester, UK Old Trafford Football Stadium 
July 8 - London, UK Twickenham Stadium 
July 10 - Munich, Germany Olympiastadion
July 12 - Lyon, Gerland Stadium
July 14 - Rome, Italy, Circo Massimo

North America Dates:
Sept. 5 - Toronto, Ontario (Canada) PRODUCTION REHEARSAL

Sept. 7 - Toronto, Ontario (Canada) BMO Field
Sept. 8 - Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena
Sept. 9 - Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
Sept. 11 - Boston, MA TD Banknorth Gardem
Sept. 12 - Albany, NY Times-Union Center
Sept. 14 - Montreal, Quebec (Canada) Olympic Stadium
Sept. 15 - Ottawa (Canada) Scotiabank Place 
Sept. 16 - Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center  
Sept. 18 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center  
Sept. 19 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center 

Sept. 20 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
Sept. 22 - Columbus, OH Nationwide Center  
Sept. 23 - Washington D.C. Verizon Center
Sept. 25 - New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sept. 27 - East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium
Sept. 29 - Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena  
Sept. 30 - Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
Oct. 2 - Chicago, IL United Center  
Oct. 3 - Chicago, IL United Center
Oct. 4 - Chicago, IL United Center
Oct. 6 - Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Oct. 9 - San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
Oct. 10 - Sacremento, CA ARCO Arena
Oct. 12 - Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

Stunning scenery, wide open spaces, magical never ending days AND the sun is coming........Summer Finland, heaven!

The coming weekend in Finland sees forecasts of 20-25C and above. The population are already heading out of the cities on weekends to their lakeside cottages and putting their yachts into the water along Finland’s extensive and beautiful coastline.

The country blossoms with the arrival of summer, which is made, even more special due to those never ending days. In the north of the country, Finnish Lapland, the sun will not set for two months. This means the normal daily timetable goes out of the window. It is not unusual to be invited to midnight picnics, take saunas and lake swims in the early hours.

Midsummer celebrations, this year the weekend on 23 & 24 June, sees the summer city exodus in earnest with many families starting their long summer vacations until late July or even into August.

Even above the Arctic Circle summer temperatures are taking hold and the regions most famous resident will be donning his summer outfits and making plans for his summer vacation.

For Finnish weather forecasts click here

Swamp Soccer World championships celebrates 10th Anniversary!

As the football season ends in the UK those of you that cannot survive without a football fix until the Charity Shield may want to check out the Swamp Soccer World Championships.

This years sees the 10^th anniversary of this fun event that takes place in Hyrynsalmi in Finland each summer. The 2007 event will be held from 12th - 15th July 2007 in the original and now legendary Vuorisuo swamp.

The event now attracts up to 30,000 visitors with teams and supporters from around the globe, many of whom that have returned home over the years to set up their own leagues.

If you are interested in seeing the crazy event please do not hesitate to contact us for help with your travel arrangements. The nearest domestic airport can be found at Kajaani. Hyrynsalmi is approximately 600km drive from Helsinki, in eastern Finland.

For further details on the event click here to enter the official website

For further details of visiting Helsinki and beyond click here.

Locals take to 2 wheels when summer arrives thanks to great urban planning.

According to Helsingin Sanomat Helsinki, the Finnish capital, boasts about 1,150 kilometres of bicycle paths and each year nearly 20 kilometres are added to this.

Antero Naskila of Helsinki's City Planning Department says "We have estimated that during the summer period, nearly 200,000 Helsinki residents cycle on a daily or nearly daily basis”

To read the full article in Helsingin Sanomat click here.

For further details on visiting Helsinki click here.

An exciting range of holidays throughout December from London and Manchester to meet Santa!

Emagine are once again offering an exciting and diverse range of holidays to Lapland and Northern Finland this coming December.

Choose from holidays packed with activities in  a range of wonderful accommodation where you are

guaranteed personal care and attention.

Hotel Riekonlinna in Saariselka, Hotels Harriniva and Hotel Jeris in Muonio, Hotels Syote Keskus and Hotel Iso-Syote in Syote.

At all of these locations Emagine includes meeting Santa twice (once as a family in a forest cabin and again at a Christmas party), snowmobile safari, reindeer rides, a husky safari, ice fishing, full board, outer thermal clothing and the Emagine team on hand throughout your stay.

For those wanting a little more independence, new for this year is Simply Saariselka featuring   Hotel Holiday Club and Hotel Tunturi. The concept allows you to decide on the level of activity and meals included in your holiday. We have included the essentials such as flights, accommodation, breakfast and a fun activity day where you get to meet Santa as a family, then they let you decide what to do with that precious free time.

Emagine clients frequently comment on the levels of care and the attention to detail that goes into making their holiday to Lapland so special. They love the small finishing touches and the personal, thoughtful and friendly sevice from the guides  

To learn more about the holidays contact reservations on Tel: 0870 902 5399 

Click here to order a brochure.

To look at the holidays on the Emagine website click here.

Mr Wogan is enroute to Helsinki - it must be that time of year again!

As Terry heads to Finlands capital, Helsinki, to prepare for the coming weekends Eurovision final we are guaranteed a couple of mornings, thanks to his popular BBC2 radio show, filled with gems and insight about this small, pretty city and the Finnish people.

Lets hope he is more popular in Helsinki than he was in Copenhagen. Finnish friends in the UK that live for the annual Eurovision fix are not keen on Mr Wogan. They are disgusted that he does not take the whole thing more seriously. They simply don't believe that Brits only watch the Eurovision for Wogan and not for the event........

So tomorrow we can awaken to comments about the Finnish language (impossible), people (initially perceived as dour but once the shyness wears off friendly), hopefully how pretty Helsinki is when the sunshines and how wonderfully efficient everything is (Finns in the UK never fail to mention how inefficient Uk transport, banking, etc, etc is but then there are only 5.6 million people in Finland)

To learn more about the Eurovision click here.

To visit Helsinki one the Eurovison circus has left town click here.