When planning our trip to Finland we really wanted to take a couple of days and dedicate them to skiing. But we also wanted to go Northern Lights hunting. For the purpose we had to go North of Helsinki. Levi was the obvious choice as it is far North, but we thought it might be too crowded. So we chose Ruka.
Getting there: Just over 1h flight, operated by Finnair, from Helsinki to Kussamo and then take the bus from the airport to the centre of Ruka Village.
Prices: The bus ticket from Kuusamo Airport to Ruka Village is 10 euros/person
3-day lift pass is 105 euros/person
3-day rental equipment is 80 euros/person
Facilities: In-room Jacuzzi (I mean, seriously?!) Near by our hotel there were a couple of restaurants (a great place for dinner is Stefan's Steak House), several shops, a supermarket and a bowling.
The resort itself is divided in several valleys and this makes it feel really calm as the crowds are spread. Next to our hotel there were only two more. And the views from our room were amazing. The slopes were lightened during the entire night as part of Kuusamo Polar Night Light Festival. My excitement was so high, the first night I was always waking up to see if the lights are still on and what is their color. I'm still getting happily childish when around snow!
Talking about the Polar Night, in Ruka it was not complete. The sun rises around 9 a.m. and falls down around 3.30 p.m. And when the sun was shining the views were simply breathtaking. Take a look by yourself.
In total we had just 3 days to ski but it was enough, having in mind that we did squeeze it in a trip visiting two countries in 10 days and getting to know their capitals. The slopes are wide and all interconnected, so it was super easy to try several and see which ones we like the most. And there were no lines on the lifts!
In November Ruka has been awarded as Finland's Best Ski Resort (at the Award Ceremony of the World Ski Awards) for the fourth time in a row and I understand why.
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