Ruka - Christmas 23

[incognitodorrito]

Ski Beginners - 2 adults, 13 yr & 4 yr kids. Has anyone been & would you recommend ? Planning 7 nights, we‘d like to learn how to ski and other activities. Any hotel recommendations etc most welcome !

Not to that particular resort but friends went to Finland for Christmas 2022 and it was -25. I think that was unexpected, its usually cold but not that cold. They'd planned 3 days skiing and only managed a matter of hours because it was so cold.

I’ve been to Ruka, though about 15-20 years ago when I was about 10. We had an apartment with a sauna. We did snowmobiling, a dog sled ride, went to this reindeer place where you could do reindeer rides in a sled behind the reindeer. The place we stayed had a big gym in the complex with those professional style trampolines. And we went to see Santa.

I realise this was this was quite a while ago but I remember it being awesome.

I was at Ruka in February. Nice resort to learn to ski, the ski school is English speaking, the pistes are generally not too busy. I've only ever stayed at the Ruka suites - nice enough rooms, though the smallest studios are really only suitable for 2 people. Good ski storage in the basement, drying cabinets in the rooms.

There is accommodation on the 'valley' side which was only built in the past few years. Valley is better for falling out of bed straight into the ski school meeting point, but there's a lot fewer amenities, only a corner shop and a couple of cafes. You can ride the gondola from village to valley side on your ski pass so you can get around without the ski bus.

Thanks everyone. @kittykarate your right, the accommodation does look newer on The Valley side, however we would like to be close to amenities & restaurants with a 4 & 13 yr in tow. We’ve also been looking at a 2 or 3 bed Appartement at the Ruka Suites. The gondola sounds like a nice way to get from side to side !

@incognitodorrito I've just got back from Ruka! It is amazing, I am obsessed with Finland for skiing now. Not sure the Alps would ever be the same again. Yes, daylight hours are shockingly short, it can be very cold (highest we had was minus 2, lowest was minus 18). But good grief it is so very beautiful. And powder snow everywhere. Not an ice patch to be seen.
If you are learning to ski, I'd stay in the valley. That way you can fall out of bed and straight onto the slope as the poster said above. It's a bit of a faff every morning to go Village to ski school if you are beginners and need to rely on the gondola. If you are not beginners you'd still need to take a chair lift and then ski down a blue to ski school.
The Camp Kitchen restaurant / bar in the valley is lovely, and there is another big restaurant within a 2 minute walk at the bottom of the slope. The gondola is lovely, but was frosted up all the time so you don't get the amazing views unless you stand up and peer through a window you can open. It takes about 10 minutes one side to the other.
The supermarket in the Valley is small but the one up in the village isn't really that much bigger. We did a shop in the village first night and then topped up at the valley supermarket through the week.
Will your 4 year old still be 4 when you go?! Or are you saying he will be 4 at Christmas? It might be painfully cold for him. My DS was fine with skiing in -13, but the last 2 days my DD aged 11 cried twice as it was so cold for her. I believe Tui advise against under 5's going on their santa trips for that very reason.

Thank you @PavoReal for your feedback ! Yes, he will be 4 and a half by then. I’m planning to layer him up underneath like a woolly merino onion, I’m quite insensitive to the cold (as long as my feet and hands are dry & warm) and he seems to have taken after me 🤞. We’ve opted for the village, just incase it is too cold, so we’ve got other activities. We’ve already booked the camp kitchen for Xmas eve (will need to get a taxi) based on the reviews on trip advisor. Is there anything you would especially recommend whilst we are there ? Thanks again !

Oh how fabulous! I love the concept of a “merino onion”. He’ll be fine I’m sure, you might not get below -10 anyway, also it’s a dry cold up there so -3 is much more tolerable than here in the UK for example.

I know what review you are talking about, you may be fine going back on the gondola on Christmas Eve as long as you check the timing of the last one as they are digitally displayed at the entry (I have no idea how that reviewer got it so wrong).

We just did a pure ski holiday so I can’t really comment on things like husky rides etc. But you really have picked a corker of a destination, I’m quite jealous!

One of our top trips ever was Ruka (and we have travelled a lot). I booked trips via the local tourist information and we had ski lessons, dog sledding, father Christmas visit (he was amazing), we didn’t do the northern lights or ice Hotel but would do if we went again

we stayed in the village and it was great.

I’ve posted on here before if you search.

Hey;) we fly on Xmas eve. That’ll make it our 3rd skiing trip to Ruka. We love it and chatting about it makes me super excited. I’m just looking for places to eat on Xmas eve as apparently that is the big celebration in Finland. Our kids are 14&17 and excellent skiers but still absolutely love it. I’m a terrible skier but Ruka is the place where I feel confident, more so than the alps.

Hi all, can you tell me how you travel to Ruka? It looks like a bit of a pain...!

Crystal ski/ Tui have direct flights to Kuusamo ( nearest airport - maybe 30 minutes away) from several UK airports during December/January/February . Otherwise its to Helsinki and fly on from there.

We just got back and it was amazing. Excellent place to learn how to ski and we had luck with the weather as it only went down to -15 one day, all the others were around -4 to -8. We flew with a tui flight and taxi-ed to & from airport (20 mins eur 80 one way). Would thoroughly recommend.

@incognitoincognitodorrito Could I ask about where you stayed in the valley? We're looking at going out next year. Did your 4yo go into ski school?

We're on our last day of a week in Ruka and I can confidently say that the Alps are ruined for me!

Excellent resort, just excellent.

We stayed village side, much more to do here. Next year we'll not ski every day (sad times for me, but it's not all about me...apparently) and will take some time to do the safari, husky rides, husky puppies, snow mobil, horse riding and hikes.

We've found our holiday, thank god!!