For winter travel try Finnish Lapland, to experience sub-zero temperatures, long winter nights, and perhaps see the Northern Lights.

Northern Finland or Finnmark has no shortage of ski resorts and holiday villages, but to get a feel of the real Lapland, not the tourist resort Finnmark go to Inari. On the shores of Lake Inari, 300km above the Arctic Circle, with a population of 7,000 you will feel like you are isolated from the world, and in winter even more so.

Although remote this corner of Finland is accessible by flying from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, (Santa's home) and from there you can take a five hour bus journey across Lapland to Inari through the endless expanses of snow and pine trees or flight to nearby Ivalo, and from there it is just a half hour further north to Inari. The difference between getting there by bus or air is of course time and money. However the bus is comfortable and the passing Lapland landscape is unforgettable.

There are two hotels, one bed and breakfast and a camping ground in Inari, Finland, and all are comfortable, convenient and of a high standard. The Kultahovi hotel is best known for its excellent Lapland food especially the locally caught salmon and the local Finnmark wild mushrooms. Some of the rooms have their own mini-sauna, and a sliding door which looks out over the Inari River.

The "center" of this Finnmark town consists of a hotel, a supermarket which doubles as the post office, a tourist office which doubles as the liqueur store, and a few souvenir and craft shops. Along the length of the main road is the Inari river, and in winter the ice is a meter thick and strong enough for cars and trucks to drive on.

Snowmobile driving on the frozen lake

Winter activities on offer include cross country skiing, snowmobile, safaris, husky drawn sledding and ice-fishing. Right next to the tourist office is the family run "Lake&Snow", which offers all of the local ice and snow activities. Activities can be booked on line or from your hotel once you arrive.

The indigenous Sami people have been living in Inari and the rest of Lapland for thousands of years, herding reindeer, hunting and fishing. The surrounding Finnmark areas hold sacred Sami sites. The Sami people's culture and beliefs are closely tied to the land and stark unspoiled Lapland landscape. The Sami people are extremely good natured friendly people with respect for their culture and a strong desire to make sure that their traditions are passed down to future generations.

The Siida Sami Museum, displays the heritage and culture of the once nomadic Lapland Sami. The museum is dynamic and there's extensive use of multi media showing how the Sami culture has blended with the modern world and now has their own radio, T.V., schools and their own parliament all preserving their language and traditions. In fact the modern Sami Museum seems quite incongruous in this "one reindeer town".

If you are lucky your winter trip to Inari, Finland will coincide with the Skábmagovat Film Festival which takes place in the village annually in January or February. In 2010 the focus will be on indiginous Canadian and Bolivian Indians as well as the Lapland Sami people. Indigenous people from around the world gather to screen their films, in the Aurora Borealis Theater, which is an open air amphitheater, built of ice. This means that you could be watching a film and the northern lights appear above you.

Aborigines, American Indians, Philippines, Sami and other indigenous groups gather here for this festival, and many come in their traditional dress. After the film screenings the Sami and their guests gather in the Inari Hotel pub where the various indigenous groups take turns singing their traditional sons. This is a once in a life time experience, the Sami people are extremely hospitable and inclusive of their guests.

Although Inari's high season is in the summer, during winter your experience will be more unique and you will have Lapland almost completely to yourself.. You can experience the Sami culture in northern Norway (Tromso), Finland (Inari), Sweden(Kiruna) or Russia. I highly recommend you go to the end of the earth, above the Arctic Circle and visit this charming nation.

Note: Before you do head north I highly recommend a stay at the Helsinki Glo Hotel. Here is a review of the Helsinki Hotel Glo.