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Ski and snowboarding

For ski chat, join the Mumsnet Ski forum. Check out our guide to the best resorts in Europe and our family ski holiday packing list.

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Original poster

Yllas or Levi, Finland

14 replies

juneau · 02/05/2018 21:11

We're considering going to Yllas or Levi next year for a week in Feb half-term with my parents. We ski, they don't, so we're planning to do a mix of skiing + other activities.

Can anyone tell me anything about these towns and the skiing? I know the skiing is quite easy, which is fine. DH and I can potter around quite happily and the kids are learning.

How cold will it be in Feb? And how dark?

OP posts:

GozerTheGozerian · 02/05/2018 21:16

Levi is fantastic! I think it’s more of a village resort than Yllas and probably has more to do in the way of bars, restaurants etc. It’s small though and easy to get round.

Both resorts have excursions going from them so there’s plenty to do. We’ve been to Levi 3 times and would try Yllas next time.

Cold - well it depends. It’s been anywhere from -5 to -31 when we’ve been. Weirdly, it doesn’t feel as cold as a winter at home because it’s so dry. Layers are definitely your friend, silk inners for gloves and socks etc.

Ski school in Levi is brilliant, slopes on both sides of the hill, great for kids learning.

It’s probably daylight from 8/8.30am until 5 ish so like a winter day here?

You’ll have a great holiday. It’s a wonderful place!

GozerTheGozerian · 02/05/2018 21:17

By the way how old are your kids? First time we took the kids DS2 was only 2 which in hindsight was too little but he was 3 this time and it was fine.

Original poster

juneau · 02/05/2018 21:39

Thanks Gozer, that's great to hear! Our kids will be 11 and 7 by then and have been skiing since they were 4-years-old.

Can you recommend any accommodation? We were planning to SC, but a lot of the places seem to only have one bathroom between everyone and that's not going to suit six of us.

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GozerTheGozerian · 02/05/2018 23:21

Oh that’ll be brilliant for kids that age

Are you going on a package? We went with Inghams last time and the K5 cabins were brilliant. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and the obligatory sauna! Self catering too. Supermarket is in centre of town, not too expensive either.

Original poster

juneau · 03/05/2018 18:45

The thing we're struggling with is to find accommodation that suits us. My parents want a double room with private en-suite bathroom. We would like the same, if possible, although don't mind sharing a bathroom with our DC, but trying to find somewhere suitable within our budget is proving really hard. I've found huge great chalets that sleep 10 with 1 loo and 1 shower

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Original poster

juneau · 03/05/2018 18:46

Not sure about packages yet - there seem to be 2 kinds from what I can tell:

Budget and very pleasant, but with the bathroom issue;
Eye-wateringly expensive and we can't afford them!

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Original poster

juneau · 03/05/2018 18:56

OMG I've just found the K5 hotel and it looks perfect!

Tell me, did you have a family room and can you describe it to me? Specifically, what is the children's bit upstairs like, please?

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Original poster

juneau · 03/05/2018 19:13

And it's not available for the dates we need ... back to the drawing board!

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Original poster

juneau · 04/05/2018 13:20

Where are the K5 chalets GozerTheGozerian? Are they next to the K5 Hotel or the Hotel Panorama? I think a large one of those could be fine for us. Thanks again.

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Helipad · 04/05/2018 20:26

Finns don't really do private en-suite bathrooms. There usually really is only one bathroom ( with possibly two showers side by side though lol), no matter how many bedrooms there is.

Lapland is so beautiful though, don't let the en-suite issue put you off. I can't help you with the resorts, I've been to Rovaniemi and Saariselka only. Saariselka is small but we enjoyed the skiing there this Feb.

willstarttomorrow · 15/05/2018 21:32

Can I just throw Saariselka into the mix? We did not ski whilst there but we booked excursions with Inghams who operate in the resort and run ski packages. We booked everything independently. Flights with Finnair to Ivalo (very cheap and we chose a long layover in Helsinki so we could explore). All flights are met by a transport bus to get you to Saariselka and it is a very compact resort. We booked an apartment online very easily which had its own sauna. The resort is stunning and much further north. We went for a week over Christmas for a diy 'Santa trip' and paid about 1200 for the three of us including flights, excursions (gate crashed Ingham's welcome meeting) and amazing accomodation. Late DH who hated snowy holidays loved it and said everyone should experience it once in their lifetime. And the Northern Lights came out!

willstarttomorrow · 15/05/2018 21:34

Sorry just realised you were going this year so slightly too late. Hope you had a great time!

Bananalanacake · 15/05/2018 21:35

Thought this was a baby name thread. Was about to suggest Finland

Original poster

juneau · 16/05/2018 09:02

LOL banana and why not? There's Ireland Baldwin and India Hicks, so why not Finland Smith?

We booked btw! Staying in a K5 chalet, doing some skiing, husky-sledding, reindeer something-or-other, and hoping the Northern Lights grace us with an appearance. My only wish is that it was only costing £1200, but it's a lot more than that.

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