General Information about Holidays in Lapland
In Search of Santa tours are set in wilderness locations amidst the ancient snow-filled forests & fells of Finnish Lapland; evoking fond memories of a traditional Christmas past. Yet, today it is possible to recapture the magical spirit of Christmas and families and friends can gather together to celebrate the festive season.
Each of our quality tours includes activities such as snowmobiling, reindeer & husky sleigh rides, tobogganing & other simple snow games together with an individual meeting with the real Father Christmas, where children can deliver in person their Christmas letters and receive a present from the great man.
If you wish to travel post-Christmas, then our Winter Wonderland tours could be just for you. Available from January to April, choose a ski or snowboarding holiday based in Luosto, where wide open pistes & generally excellent snow conditions prevail. You can even create your own bespoke package by adding an optional excursion from a selection of husky, reindeer & snowmobile safaris.
A small family company with a big heart; we at Canterbury Travel believe that your holiday to Lapland should be a fun-packed adventure, providing families & friends with the opportunity to spend quality time together. We aim to offer not just a package holiday to Lapland but a magical once in a lifetime experience. Join us in our magnificent Winter Wonderland!
The real Lapland with Canterbury Travel
When purchasing a tour of this specialist nature, we recognise that it’s very important to consider the services you are purchasing. It is easy to appreciate that, in general terms, flight costs to a destination may be similar in nature. However, it is the land content that is the main variant. At Canterbury Travel we believe whether you purchase a 1 day trip or a longer stay, it’s important to enjoy the best standards of service & tour content available. Therefore we try to provide that extra content, such as presents for children, special souvenir licences and other services as shown for each tour. Day trips are full of activity rather than standing around in shopping centres, but to some degree are rushed due to time constraints. Longer tours provide for a more relaxed atmosphere, an enhanced activity programme in wilderness locations and the romance of searching for Father Christmas.
Letter to Father Christmas
You will be asked to follow certain guidelines with regards to children's letters to Father Christmas. You can imagine the delight on children's faces when Santa is able to discuss the contents with them. For day trips, children should take their letters with them and present them to Santa when you meet him. For those on overnight tours, there is a separate instruction and indeed it may be that Santa is even able to supply a gift from the items mentioned!
Special Enhancements
On certain tours, the following Special Enhancements are included. Please look out for the icons on the individual tour pages.
FREE Special Souvenirs
On departure from Lapland you will receive a selection of souvenir licences to commemorate your visit to Lapland, including an Arctic Circle Crossing certificate covering the activities undertaken.
Fun for all
Children’s entertainment is available in certain resorts, with details of each days programme available locally. The professional children’s entertainers perform in the late afternoon/early evening except for arrival & departure days. Parents can join in the fun, or may take this opportunity to relax in the hotel. Musical entertainment will be available for adults during the evening.
Magical Effects
Being the original specialist Lapland tour operator, we constantly strive for excellence & review the quality & magic of our tours. In Lapland, where all things are possible with the assistance of Santa’s elves; special magical effects are created in Luosto for overnight tours of 2 nights or more in duration. Here, Santa has the magical ability to fade away & children and adults alike will be captivated as their dreams of meeting the real Santa come true, Arctic weather conditions permitting.
FREE Souvenir DVD
(Only where this icon is shown).
Canterbury Travel recognises that for many clients this will be a ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday to Lapland. To ensure that your fond memories of Lapland stay with you forever we provide a special souvenir DVD of Lapland. Your DVD will include general footage of Lapland plus 1 or 2 clips of your party meeting Santa. (1 DVD per booking form, additional copies may be purchased separately).
FREE Souvenir CD
Where the duration of your stay is more than 1 night, throughout your stay you & your children will have the opportunity to sing along to our very own special ‘ In Search of Santa & his Elves’ song. We provide 1 souvenir CD per booking form, prior to departure from Lapland.
Limited FREE child places
Free child places are available on selected departures (subject to availability) and must be booked prior to September 2012. Each booking must consist of a minimum of 2 adults and 2 children (aged 2-11 years at the time of return travel) and the youngest child in the party will qualify for the free child place (see booking condition no.22).
Group Booking Offer
On selected tours & departure dates a generous group booking discount is available. For each 9 paying persons, the 10th passenger travels free. Discount is calculated on the basis of the least expensive person travelling free of charge. Please call for further details.
Our Inclusive Tours
We offer fully inclusive tours with the exception of beverages or souvenirs. Our holiday arrangements are inclusive not only of flights, accommodation, transfers and meals as per itinerary, but outdoor activities as specified using huskies, reindeer, snowmobiles, the hire of snowsuit and boots, plus entertainment & presents for children aged 2-11 years inclusive.
Our representatives
Our experienced personnel will be available to assist you throughout your stay in Lapland and all speak very good English. When you visit Santa he will fully understand your children and provide appropriate answers to questions, befitting your expectancy of Christmas.
Father Christmas
We pay great care & attention to all aspects of our tour operation & when you experience your personal meeting with Santa you will with no doubts that you have met the real Father Christmas.
Your flights
Tours in this programme are undertaken by charter flights. Charter services are based on the use of Thomsonfly, Monarch and other carriers from airports specified in the programme. Flight times shown are subject to final slot confirmation by the airport authorities. Your flight duration is on average 3 & ½ hours each way. With this in mind we attempt to make your journey as comfortable as possible. There will be a traditional Christmas sing along onboard, with the cooperation of the airlines & crew.
Infants (free of charge)
Infants (aged under 2 years at the time of travel) are welcome on our tours. No charges are made for infants travelling on charter flights & cots are provided free of charge, in the family accommodation where appropriate. You will be required to provide suitable over garments, boots & other provisions as required for your infant, for the duration of your tour. Prior to booking, you should consult your GP and receive his/her professional advice about taking your infant to Lapland.
No smoking policy
We operate a strict no smoking policy for our charter flights & coaches to Lapland. Hotels & restaurants used in this programme are non-smoking in all areas.
Snowmobile Driving
Anyone wishing to drive a snowmobile must be in possession of a valid driving licence with the following exception – where all driving is undertaken on private land the minimum driving age is 15 unless driving a children’s snowmobile where the minimum age is 4 years (subject to height restrictions).
CLIENTS SECURITY
Canterbury Travel (London) Limited is a fully bonded tour operator, registered in England No. 995587, registered office 843 Finchley Road London NW11 8NA. The air holidays & flights in this brochure are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 0739. Clients’ travelling from the Irish Republic are protected by the Tour Operators Licence no. 096, issued by the Commission for Aviation Regulation. Thus clients booking with Canterbury Travel are fully protected. Canterbury Travel is a full time agency member of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA.) Currently for United Kingdom departures protection is provided in the form of an ATOL protection contribution of £2.50 per passenger. Canterbury Travel have accounted within the current tour price for this fee, so the price you see for your tour will remain correct. Reliability remains assured.
What’s more you can take advantage of a selection of special offers including free child places, free group places and much more (subject to availability at the time of booking). Book early to avoid disappointment.
