Kussamo and Ruka Blog

I have just spent an amazing week at Holiday Club Kuusamo and wanted to share my experience to help anyone else going or looking to book. This is now my sixth Lapland resort I have been to, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! We absolutely loved it!

If anyone is still looking to book and needs help, do get in touch. Ashleigh is a Lapland specialist and has travelled to all the different resorts so she can give first-hand experience. Travel Dreams also gets preferential rates, so we can get you a cheaper price than online. We deal with all the tour operators, e.g., Inghams, Santa’s Lapland, TUI, Transun, Canterbury, and many more. Booking with Travel Dreams is personal, and we’re always here to help.

The Hotel:

The hotel is fabulous. It has so much to do, so it is perfect to spend some time inside out of the cold. There is bowling, an indoor play area, a lovely swimming pool, an escape room (all payable extra), small children’s soft play, an Irish bar, and lots more going on. There are some great hills to go sledding on, too.

The Irish bar doesn’t open until 2 p.m., which is annoying, as do many restaurants in Ruka, so it's worth getting food in to eat for lunch. We did a shop at the supermarket in Ruka, which also saved us a fortune.

We had a one-bedroom apartment in the main building, and it was fantastic. It was really spacious and had absolutely everything you could need, including a washer and dryer. Hair dryer, potty, fully equipped kitchen, lots of storage I am really impressed with it.
It would have been nice if there were some shops or something within walking distance, but the ski bus takes you to Ruka, where you will find everything and definitely worth going. It’s 8 euros per adult and 4 euros per child.

Must do:

Santa’s Secret Cottage—this was simply amazing. 4 hours long, and Santa is there the whole time, interacting, taking photos, telling stories, singing, and signing Christmas cards. He gave out a lovely gift, chatted with family back home on FaceTime, and was just wonderful. The kids got to bake cookies and buns. Make Christmas cards. Sledging with the elf, followed by hot drinks and sausages in the fire hut It’s now my favourite Santa experience (I’ve done four different ones).

Lammintupa winter village:
We did the husky and reindeer rides here, and the kids went snowmobiling. Such great prices and a really lovely time. There is a little cafe too, which is really nice.

It’s 59 euros in a taxi, so it's pricey, but you can get the ski bus to Ruka and then the bus from Ruka to the winter village. We couldn’t do this as we booked trips early and buses didn’t start until 9. Booking in advance is advisable, but you can just show up too

Northern Lights heated sleigh:

This was magical. I have done a post about this wonderful trip and will pin it to featured For everyone to refer back to. It’s a highlight for us, so it's well worth doing.

Weather and what to wear:

I’ve done posts about this a few times (which can be found in the featured section of my Lapland Facebook Group), but I wanted to give an exact breakdown of what we wore.

It was -22, sometimes more, but none of us felt or moaned about the cold once, so we definitely got the layers right. Obviously, if it’s not as cold as this, a layer less would be needed. But always overdo it rather than under-do it, as there is nothing worse than being cold.

My two girls (13 and 7) wore in this order:

Thermal long-sleeve vest 
Thermal top and leggings 
Long-sleeve top
A jumper
A fluffy cardigan 
Ski coat 
Scarf 
Hat 
3 pairs of fluffy socks and their boots

Over their thermal- leggings, they wore another pair of Primark fleece-lined leggings, then their ski trousers (or the suits that are provided) 

A pair of thick, waterproof gloves 

I wore:

Thermal leggings 
Fleece-lined Primark leggings 
Ski trousers 
Thermal top
Jumper 
Ski coat (You’d probably need another top layer; I’m just a bit weird and I’m always warm and I hate being too hot so I wear one less ) 2 pairs of fluffy socks 

I have done a post about travelling with under-2s (which is also pinned to be featured in my Lapland group). This gives a breakdown of clothing, too.

️Eating out️:

Ruka has some lovely places to eat. Colorado Grill, pizza place, steak house, Subway

Northern lights:

There is a chance of seeing them in this area; download the Aurora app, and this will alert you when the chances are high.

If you have any questions at all, please do ask one of the team members by reaching out on Facebook, Instagram, or by joining and making a post in our Lapland group.