Leaders | Darren Rees and local guide |
Flights | Finnair, scheduled
Outbound: Morning, Heathrow-Oulu
Inbound: Morning, Ivalo-Heathrow
(outbound and inbound via Helsinki) |
Day 1 | Morning flight to Helsinki, then onward flight to Oulu -
4 nights Hotel Airport Oulu, Finland. |
Days 2-4 | Wildlife and birdwatching exploration. |
Days 5-7 | A day’s transfer to Kuusamo - 3 nights Holiday Club Kuusamon Tropiikki, Finland. |
Day 8 | Transfer to Ivalo, birdwatching enroute -
1 night Hotel Ivalo, Finland. |
Days 9-10 | Transfer to Båtsfjord - 2 nights Polar Hotel, Norway. |
Days 11-12 | Transfer to Vardø - 2 nights Hotel Vardø, Norway. |
Day 13 | Transfer back to Ivalo - 1 night Hotel Ivalo, Finland. |
Day 14 | Morning flight via Helsinki, arriving in the UK in the afternoon. |
Weather | Mixture of sun and showers though difficult to predict given the area that we'll cover (-5°-15°C). Can be warm and sunny but certainly cold in the north with a chance of a shower and even some snow possible. |
Walking | Some short easy walks on wide paths, with one or two over uneven terrain away from tracks. |
Meals | All included from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 14. |
Insects | Biting insects are mostly unlikely to be a problem until we return south on our last day, when at dusk and in forests mosquitoes can be a nuisance. |
Accom | Twin and single rooms, all ensuite |
Group | 12 |
Boats | A short crossing to Hornøya. |
The magic of the Scandinavian Arctic - the ultimate tour
of wild Lapland, with our favourite guides who seem to
conjour up birds of myths and legend.48uep6bbph|00000E4E|Spey_BESQL3|HolidayTypes|Subheading 48uep6bbphidval|FINANDNOR
| * A wish-list of birds in the Land of the Midnight Sun
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| * Owls, grouse, waders, Arctic specialities and Russian rarities
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| * Itinerary perfected after 12 trips with our Finnature friends
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| * Our best ever top-to-bottom holiday - see it all
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| * From Finland's forests and bogs in the middle ...
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| * ... to the top of Norway's famous Varanger Fjord and back again
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| * All before the mosquitoes spoil the fun!
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Days 1-4 | We fly to Oulu where we meet our local guide and transfer to the nearby hotel, our base for four nights, where we can explore the landscape of sandy fields, dotted with lichen-covered pine forest. Icterine Warbler might be singing outside our window!
The beautiful boreal forests around Oulu hold Red-backed Shrike, Wryneck, Black Woodpecker and marvellous displaying Temminck’s Stint. Rare Terek Sandpipers and Pallid Harriers occur, yet perhaps the most treasured birds will be the northern owls - in good vole years, Pygmy, Great Grey, Tengmalm’s, Ural, Short-eared and Long-eared Owl can all be seen!
Within the forests, Ortolan Bunting and Common Rosefinch sing in beautiful meadows dotted with rustic barns. Colourful male Ruff lek here too and at the important wetland of Liminka Bay we’ll see Common Crane, Garganey, Marsh Harrier and Whooper Swan and above we’ll enjoy displaying Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit.
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Days 5-7 | We travel north-east to Kuusamo, through forests and quaking bogs holding Black-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Green Sandpiper and delightful Smew. Arriving at our hotel, local guides may have surprises in store, a Hawk Owl, Capercaillie or maybe a long-legged Elk?
The beautiful Kuusamo region at Oulanka and Valtavaara is a thrilling boreal wilderness, where birdlife is the stuff of legend – Rough-legged Buzzard, Rustic Bunting and Hazel Hen to name but a few! Climbing higher, the pristine, narrow-shouldered Siberian Spruce forests are cloaked in beard-lichens and littered with snow patches. Siberian Jay can be quite tame here, whilst we search for elusive specialities such as Pine Grosbeak and Red-flanked Bluetail.
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Day 8 | Farther north still, at our hotel in Ivalo, Redwing herald the start of summer. In the lichen-clad spruces at Saariselkä, parties of Siberian Tit occur and there may be scarce Three-toed Woodpecker. Waxwing and Brambling are two of the regular breeding birds and the vast bogs hold gems such as Bluethroat, black velvety Spotted Redshank and Wood Sandpiper.
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Days 9-10 | Travelling north towards the Norwegian border, the lakes, rocky islands and stunted spruces and birches look like a troll’s playground – we’ll look for the Rough-legged Buzzards, Golden Eagles and Long-tailed Skuas that hunt here. Barren hilltops hold Dotterel and Snow Buntings and we’ll follow the River Tana that carves through dramatic cliffs and snow-clad mountains to reach the fjord seashore - we’ll check the Eider flocks for scarce King Eider, sadly now a declining species. In the far north we reach Båtsfjord, our base for two nights, where regular birds include Arctic Redpoll and Lapland Bunting. Low, rolling tundra has Rough-legged Buzzard and Short-eared Owl on the wing, Willow Grouse are here and unmade tracks take us into the barren fjells of snow and scree, the home of Ptarmigan where, in good lemming years, an elusive Snowy Owl can be a prize for careful scanning.
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Days 11-12 | We drive south then east, with Russia appearing on the skyline and the famous Varanger Fjord around us. Here, in the bleak-yet-beautiful high Arctic, the waves of the Barent’s Sea wash against rocky shores, where rare Steller’s Eider might be among the Common Eider and Velvet and Common Scoter. Long-tailed and Arctic Skuas, plus Arctic Tern and Glaucous Gulls drift by and divers include Red-throated and Black-throated, uncommon Great Northern and, the special prize, White-billed Diver - in breeding plumage. Small lakes have pairs of Long-tailed Duck and Scaup and the barren, treeless landscape is broken by colourfully painted timber fishing villages, where old wooden racks are adorned with fish drying in the dry Arctic air. Finally, we arrive at the small fishing port of Vardø.
To the north and west the scenery is wild and dramatic with snowy mountain peaks, steep fjords and sea cliffs, with rocky pinnacles sculpted by glacial ice. The village of Hamningberg seems to be at the very end of the world, where stony desert moraines are dotted with arctic-alpine plants at sea level and Shorelark and Snow Bunting nest. There might be White-tailed Eagles and Gyrfalcon on the prowl!
Weather permitting, our boat trip to Hornøya island is a treat - 7,500 pairs of Kittiwake throng here and amongst nesting Guillemot, Puffin, Black Guillemot and Razorbill, the prize is the true arctic auk, Brünnich’s Guillemot - we’ve seen Orcas here in the past as well!
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Day 13 | We make the long drive back to Ivalo, looking on high tundra areas for Dotterel and savouring the scenery - late evening in the vast forest bogs here is magical and as the sun finally dips towards the horizon, we’ll look for Broad-billed Sandpiper and dainty Red-necked Phalarope, whilst Jack Snipe give their amazing ‘galloping horse’ display flight high in the sky.
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Day 14 | We fly back to the UK, via Helsinki.
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Just some of what we hope to see..
White-billed Diver | Terek Sandpiper | Great Grey Owl |
White-tailed Eagle | Red-necked Phalarope | Tengmalm’s Owl |
Rough-legged Buzzard | Long-tailed Skua | Black Woodpecker |
Gyr Falcon | Glaucous Gull | Three-toed Woodpecker |
Hazel Grouse | Caspian Tern | Red-throated Pipit |
Willow Grouse | Brünnich's Guillemot | Red-flanked Bluetail |
Crane | Eagle Owl | Siberian Tit |
Temminck’s Stint | Hawk Owl | |
Broadbilled Sandpiper | Pygmy Owl | |
Jack Snipe | Ural Owl | |
"Too many to list them all - but a few were:
Seeing the Ruff at the lek, a long held dream since receiving my first bird book as a child! They really do have a splendid ruff and in many colours from pure white to dark brown - amazing.
A Tengmalm's Owl popping its head out of a nest box in response to a scratching sound made on the tree trunk by the guide.
Watching a Kittiwake grabbing a Razorbill and flying overhead as the poor Razorbill struggled and succeeded in escaping its grasp and capturing pictures of the incident!" Lynn and Steve Osborne
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"There were so many highlights, the beauty of the forest and lakes of Finland and coastline of Norway. The great views of the Tengmalm, Pygmy and Hawk Owls. The close encounter with the Capercaillie was sheer delight. The wonderful short boat trip to Hornoya Island which was full of sea birds and being so close to them in beautiful sunshine was amazing. It was just brilliant to get great views of all the wildlife,with good guides Pirita and Simon. The main magic moment for me was the White Tailed Sea hunting. Many thanks to everyone on the trip for a wonderful time" Neil Avis
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"There were many holiday highlights, seeing the Great Grey Owl was a real highlight for me, plus all the other owls that Finland has. It was my main reason for picking the Finland trip, I'd always hoped one day to see the Great Grey Owl. I also love the waders and seeing lekking Ruff, was a treat."
" We had a great group, one morning while in Norway we had a coffee break and little cakes that Roy had bought for Daphnes birthday. So with beautiful landscapes all around we sang Happy Birthday and Roy gave her a card we had all signed, and to see her face was a lovely surprise for her, it was great. Every day was great with new birds coming thick and fast but I have to say that coming back along Varangur Fjord, Roy spots some white shapes in the fjord. We stop and to our surprise and delight they are Beluga Whales, what great views, we have about 20 altogether. Harri said they follow the coast on their way to their breeding grounds in Russia, he has only seen them himself 3 or 4 times. Fantastic what a finish to a great holiday." Ann Thitchener
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"We had really hoped to see a Dotterel on this holiday, as we'd never been lucky enough to see one in Scotland. We had told Harri and Roy of our hopes, but we had been diappointed at a couple of sites that we'd searched, including Ailigais Hill. On our last morning, a few hours before we were due to fly home, Harri said there was one last possible site at a ski slope not far from Ivalo airport. When we arrived there was sleet falling and only Reindeer to be seen. Suddenly Harri signalled that he'd heard on his walkie talkie from Roy's group that one had been spotted. There he was a beautiful male dotterel sitting tight on his nest a few paces away. A lovely end to a lovely holiday!!" Theresa Nicholas
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All rooms are ensuite.
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Situated near Oulu airport, providing a great base. The hotel has a restaurant, bar and sauna.
Room facilities: TV, telephone, hairdryer, kettle.
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Situated in a lovely setting, surrounded by lakes and forests. The hotel has a restaurant, bar, sauna, swimming pools and hot tubs.
Room facilities: TV, telephone, hairdryer, bathrobe.
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Located in the heart of the village of Ivalo on the shore of River Ivalojoki.. The hotel has a restaurant, bar, sauna and indoor swimming pool.
Room facilities: TV, telephone, hairdryer, kettle.
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Comfortable, basic rooms, hotel has a good location. The hotel has a restaurant, bar/lounge and sauna
Room facilities: TV, telephone, hairdryer.
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Good location, facing the Barents Sea in northernmost Norway. The hotel has a restaurant and bar.
Room facilities: TV, telephone, hairdryer.
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