You are here: Home » Family » Family summer holiday in Kalevala

Family summer holiday in Kalevala

Enjoy the Finnish summer at the terrace of Hotel Kalevala

Prices from £1049/adult when sharing twin room, from £614/child
Travel period: May – October 2012

Hotel Kalevala in Kuhmo, Finland, is a unique attraction for the whole family. It offers relaxation and wellbeing as well as culture and heritage. The hotel, by the lake and near museums, offers an excellent base for exploring the Wild Taiga region either on guided short tours or independently.

Hotel Kalevala offers a full programme of guided activities like hiking, cycling and canoeing in the summer. And between the activities you can pamper yourself in different types of saunas, swimming in the lake or having a relaxing herbal bath.

The hotel restaurant overlooks the Lammasjärvi Lake, and offers meals made from local ingredients in the Kainuu region. On the menu are many local delicacies like fish soup, wild boar filet and smoked reindeer, and also a good selection of vegetarian alternatives. There is a special wellbeing-menu for those aiming to eat healthily. In the summer you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a drink on the terrace enjoying the view to the lake.

Culture and heritage

Kuhmo is world famous for its chamber music festival, and there are concerts and other events around the year at the local arts centre Kuhmo-talo. It promotes the spiritual development of people through arts and science. The building hosts concerts, meetings, a dance studio and a music school. The Winter War Museum reminds of the closeness to the Russian border. Many battles took place on Kuhmo soil during the war, and the village was bombed several times. The Petola nature centre tells of local predators brown bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine. The centre provides an insight to the life of these species. The Kalevala information centre Juminkeko is a masterpiece of modern wood architecture, and presents Finnish history and folklore with multimedia shows and exhibitions. It also has one of the largest collections of editions of Kalevala.

Wellbeing

Besides the traditional Finnish and special smoke sauna available, Hotel Kalevala has offers two other types of sauna for wellbeing. Infrared sauna helps to detoxify body, improves the heart and vessels, helps to lose weight and cellulite, and helps to unwind. You burn about 600 calories in a 30 minute session, more than during a 30 minute run. Infrared radiation causes heavy perspiration without uncomfortable feeling of high temperature. Peat sauna relaxes, helps your metabolism and leaves your skin soft and firm. The whole-body peat mask also helps with allergies. The hotel also offers various herbal baths including a romantic bath with champagne for two!

Summer programme 2012
Group size: min. 2 persons
Valid: 1.5.-30.10.2012

Day 1
Arrival to Kuhmo, accommodation in double rooms/family rooms with connecting door. Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Day 2
After breakfast Kuhmo’s area information and hotel hostess introduces week’s program. Short sightseeing tour with a motorboat and short hiking tour with a guide in the Kalevala area with a visit to Petola Nature Centre with Large Carnivore Exhibition (duration about 2 hours). Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner.

Day 3
Breakfast. Today you will have a possibility to learn some fishing, canoeing, rowing and other nature tasks. The guide, Mr Reki-Pertti, will take you to his home which is situated about 10 minutes drive away from Hotel Kalevala by the lake Ontonen. Picnic lunch with coffee/tea. Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner.

Day 4
Breakfast. This is a free day for optional activities, please take a look at our summer weekly programme. You can visit Juminkeko which is the information centre for the Kalevala and Karelian culture or maybe do a hiking tour on your own. Rowing boats are free to use and next to the hotel there is sandy beach if you prefer just taking it easy. Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner.

Day 5
Breakfast. After breakfast a guided mushroom and berry picking trip in the pure wilderness of Wild Taiga. Best season is from mid-July to mid-September. Trip starts from Hotel Kalevala by rowing boat to an island or we can also walk to the forest near the hotel depending on the best growing places. During the tour we will enjoy coffee/tea/juice on the sandy beach. Duration of the trip is approximately 3 hours. Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner (chef will prepare a special menu from the ingredients we collected today).

Day 6
Breakfast. This is a morning for optional activities, please take a look of our weekly program with bicycling, bear watching, canoeing etc. In the afternoon you can do your own rowing trip to Harakkasaari-island (500 m from the hotel). Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner.

Day 7
Free day for activities or resting. Also free use of bicycles, kick boards and rowing boats. Evening sauna, jacuzzi and dinner.

Day 8
Breakfast and departure.

What is included in the price?

accommodation at Kalevala-Hotel in double rooms (7 nights) (bathrobe, hairdryer, minibar, TV, shower/VC)
small welcoming gift in a room on the arrival
evening sauna and jacuzzi daily
meals (7 x buffet breakfast, 7 x half board 3 course dinner)
small hiking tour around the area with visiting Petola Nature centre
motorboat sightseeing tour (1/2 hours)
nature task tour
guided mushroom and berry picking tour
free use of rowing boats, canoes, kick-boards, badminton, beach volley, DVD-movies, Playstation and Nintendo Wii games, wireless internet access
transfers from/to airport (Kajaani)
flights from/to London Heathrow