During our very first trip to Lapland, as Midnight Sun Ambassadors, we visited the small but cool town of Ylläs. Then of course in the middle of summer with 24 hours of light and endless outdoor possibilities. We wrote a very extensive Summer Travel Guide for Ylläs.
On our previous trips to the Arctic we have worked with Safartica several times. Safartica is one of the largest and best-known tour operators in Lapland. They are located in Rovaniemi, Vaattunki, Ylläs, Levi and Saariselkä.
Our previous collaborations with Safartica led to us recently finding each other again. Safartica opened a brand new hotel in Ylläs at the end of 2024 and of course we wanted to be there! And so last winter we went to Ylläs again and let Safartica guide us.
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This blog was written by travel writer and Traveltomtom team member Ashley. She explored Ylläs with Safartica, on behalf of Traveltomtom, and wrote this blog about her experiences.
About Safartica
Safartica is a privately owned destination management company and safari house. We reckon they are the biggest and most famous tour operator in Finnish Lapland. They operate in Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Levi and Saariselkä. Rovaniemi being the official hometown of Santa Claus, Ylläs is the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city, Levi is Finland's number one ski resort with high qualityservices and slopes in a local village and Saariselkä is Europe's northernmost outdoor resort.
Safartica offers hotel and chalet accommodation. Activities vary from one-hour safaris to one-week snowmobiling expeditions, just as you wish. Husky and reindeer safaris operate from 500 meter sleigh rides to full day adventures. On top of all this they also offer Northern Lights tours, forest skiing, ice floating and snowshoeing, just to mention a few.
They strongly believe in individual, meaningful experiences, personal service and ever improving products. Safartica was founded in 2002 and has now become an established name in the tourism industry in Lapland. They differ from other tour operators with their own safari equipment, own snowmobiles, own venues and own hotels. They are true experts in Lapland! They offer the most important thing, pure joy!
Aurora eMotion
Not only are they the best at what they do, they also look ahead and keep up with what is asked and expected in the world. This has led to the fact that since 2021 they operate Aurora eMotion, the world's first electric snowmobile tours. You can experience them in all their destinations.
We experienced them ourselves in Levi a few years back. It's truly a unique experience. The eSled is an innovative way to experience the beauty of the Arctic without disturbing the silent peace of Lappish nature. Safartica is the first company in the world offering electric snowmobile safaris.
Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe
Less than a year ago, in December 2024, Safartica opened their brand new and luxurious Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe in Yllas. Safartica already had a hotel near Pallas-Ylläs National Park, namely Hotel Ylläsrinne. Right next to this hotel, Safartica has built the new Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe. The new hotel has two floors. You can choose to stay either in rooms with panoramic windows on the ground floor, or panoramic and glass-roof windows on the top.
Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe is located only 35 kilometers away from Kittilä International Airport. This airport has many direct flights from across Europe during the winter season. It makes Ylläs and Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe very accessible.
The existing Hotel Ylläsrinne is right next door, just a few steps away. In fact, all facilities of Hotel Ylläsrinne are also for the new Ylläsrinne Deluxe. As a guest of Ylläsrinne Deluxe you use the reception, restaurant, shop, bar and all other facilities of the existing Ylläsrinne next door. Before checking out your amazing room in the new Ylläsrinne Deluxe, make sure to check in at the reception at Hotel Ylläsrinne.
When staying at Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe meals are provided in Hotel Ylläsrinne. It's just a few meters away. The hotel's own restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is included in your stay, lunch and dinner are not. The restaurant offers amazing views to the fell and forest.
Their menus are focusing on pure and fresh Lappish and local ingredients. We decided to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant on both evenings and it was the best choice. They have a large buffet with salads, hot food and desserts, and you have the choice of one main dish.
Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe is located in the middle of nature, away from the hustle and bustle. From the hotel you have amazing views on the Ylläs fell and ski resort. The hotel is surrounded by nature and the perfect place for outdoor activities, year round. Many cross country ski tracks, walking trails, mountain bike tracks and snowmobiling tracks are accessible directly from the hotel.
Aurora Twin Room
During our stay we were stayed in the fantastic Aurora Twin Room. These are located on the second and therefore top floor of Ylläsrinne Deluxe. Because they are on the second floor you not only have a large window, but this window extends to the roof. This gives you a glass-roof window with which you can see the Northern Lights even better. The rooms on the ground floor are almost the same, but they do not have glass-roof windows.
The rooms are quite basic without too much fuss, but they still feel super luxurious as soon as you step inside. This is due to the use of luxurious and calm materials. Of course, the bed faces the window, ready for those nights full of Northern Lights. Behind the bed is a desk with two stools.
The bathroom is quite large and has everything you need. The shower is really heavenly!
The great thing about booking a stay through Safartica is that not only can you book your accommodation with them, but they also offer all the activities you can think of, in all seasons! The best part is that Hotel Ylläsrinne has its own safari house and is the starting point for many popular activities and safaris. So you really have everything at hand and don't have to go anywhere else.
Of course we went on an adventure with Safartica. We stayed three nights in Ylläs and did two organized activities.
Snowshoe delight in Ylläs
The first activity we wanted to do was the Snowshoe Delight in Ylläs. We have done a snowshoe activity before and really enjoyed it. Because of the natural and forested environment in Ylläs we chose this Snowshoe Delight activity. Because it's simply the most fun to get out into nature.
You will meet your guide at the hotel and will be given the right materials to start the activity. Once everyone is ready, your guide will take you on your way.
Leaving right from the hotel straight towards the forest and frozen marshland. If you feel adventurous feel free to make your own track in the deepest snow, it's a lot of fun! During the walk your guide will tell you a lot about the surrounding area and Lapland.
Your guide will take you to a Lavvu tent, makes a fire and will offer you a cup of hot drinks and some delicious biscuits. There are plenty of opportunities to take photos along the way. Pay attention, you can find many animal tracks in the snow! It is truly wonderful to hike through Finnish nature on snowshoes. Especially because the air here is purer than anywhere else in the world. Nature at its best.
Snowmobile & ice fishing in Ylläs
Another activity we were dying to do that we had never done before was ice fishing. We were very curious about what it would be like and how much fun we would have. As it turns out, Safartica offers a unique duo safari in Ylläs, Snowmobile adventure in the wilderness with ice fishing. When we saw this we knew for sure that we wanted to do this. Snowmobiling is super cool to do. Combining that with ice fishing is really great!
You simply gather at the reception of the hotel where you will be picked up by the guide. You will receive a helmet and instructions for using the snowmobile. When everyone is ready, the guide will lead the way and you will head to the frozen lake where you will eventually go ice fishing. Enjoy the snowmobile ride on your way to the lake!
Once you're at the lake your guide will take you to a spot, takes all the gear necessary and will show and learn you everything you need to know for ice fishing. Once your confident enough start drilling your own hole and try your luck to catch something. If you're lucky you might catch some perch or white fish. Unfortunately we weren't lucky this time, but we had a great afternoon ice fishing anyway!
The lake is privately owned by Safartica, so no one else is allowed to come there. This really makes you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. We didn't see or hear anyone else for 2 hours, great!
They have their own cabin where the guide will prepare lunch while you are ice fishing. Lunch is a delicious salmon or vegetable soup with bread.
After lunch there is still time to try to catch something one last time. Then everything is packed up and you go back to the hotel by snowmobile.
Explore Ylläs
Organized activities are really great. We regularly go on an organized activity or tour. With these types of activities you often get the most and best information and can do things that you often would not be able to do on your own. However, we find it just as much fun and perhaps even more fun to just go out on our own. Exploring the area, taking walks, looking for the nicest spots.
The location of Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe, in the middle of nature, was really the perfect place for us to go out for a day on our own. From the hotel we set off on a walk. There are signs everywhere with routes and directions. We saw a cafe indicated not too far away and decided to walk that route.
Aurinkotupa
It is really cool to walk through the snowy Lappish nature, along the cross country skiing tracks. We finally ended up at Aurinkotupa. To us it felt like a cafe in the middle of nowhere. But it was busy! There was eating, drinking, grilling sausages, sledding, building snowmen, you name it! It was so inviting that we immediately ordered a drink inside and sat on the terrace in the sun.
Aurinkotupa is a café near the winter ski trails in Ylläsjärvi and about five kilometers from the Ylläs fell center. They are always open during the high season and you can always find fresh doughnuts, tasty soups of the day and delicious hot drinks here. They have a reindeer yard, children's ski area and a sledding hill.
For us it was the highlight of our day. We never expected to find something this nice and cozy. We highly recommend to take a walk from the hotel to this place, it's the best!
Northern Lights
Of course you can do Northern Lights tours with Safartica. But when you stay at Hotel YlläsrinneDeluxe you are in the middle of nowhere with very little light pollution. Keep an eye out on the Northern Lights apps and of course through the glass-roof windows of your room.
There is a perfect spot not far from the hotel to see and enjoy the amazing Northern Lights. From the hotel you walk down towards the cross country ski tracks. Cross them and continue on this path for about 5 minutes. You will the get to an open swamp area where you have the best views and as dark as possible.
During our stay at Hotel Ylläsrinne Deluxe we had Northern Lights on all of the nights we stayed there. This tip of the open swamp area was given to us by an employee of the hotel. It was the best tip they could have given us. We had two amazing nights of watching the Northern Lights literally dance in the sky!
Ylläs Ski Resort
Ylläs is Finland's largest ski resort. It offers a total of 62 slopes and 26 lifts. Ylläs Ski Resort also includes the longest slope in Finland. The resort is known for its diverse terrain, perfect for both beginners and advanced skiers. It's also a popular destination for off-piste skiing.
The sauna gondola that they have in Ylläs is extremely special. This is absolutely a one of a kind experience and can only be experienced in Ylläs. The sauna gondola fits up to four people at a time and one sauna tour lasts for about 20 minutes.
They also have sauna facilities at the top of the fell. Imagine a sauna, heated outdoor jacuzzi and truly amazing views. If you do the sauna at night, with clear skies, you might even be lucky to see the Northern Lights from the sauna.
More and more travelers and tourists want to be relieved of the burden of preparing and planning their holidays. Many people experience stress and hassle when choosing and booking holidays and trips.
At Safartica you can book your ultimate bucket list trip to Lapland with one provider. They take a lot of worries off your hands and you are done in one go. Accommodation, unique and special activities, breakfast, lunch, dinner and even airport transfers, they have and offer it all. Ylläs is a great destination. With Safartica you will experience a unique and carefree holiday of a lifetime.