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.

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	*   A wish-list of birds in the Land of the Midnight Sun
	*   Owls, grouse, waders, Arctic specialities and Russian rarities
	*   Itinerary perfected after 12 trips with our Finnature friends
	*   Our best ever top-to-bottom holiday - see it all
	*   From Finland's forests and bogs in the middle ...
	*   ... to the top of Norway's famous Varanger Fjord and back again
	*   All before the mosquitoes spoil the fun!

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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Day 14	We fly back to the UK, via Helsinki.

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