EDXC Conference, Tampere (Finland), 18-20 August 2017

EDXC Finland Tour

--- UPDATED 9th June 2017 ---

The turnout for the tour was too low for having a coach. So the tour will be made by private cars and at this moment the tour is fully booked. If you should now have an interest to join the tour, you can contact Risto Vähäkainu, rv at sdxl dot org, to ask for possible cancellations.

Preliminary plan

The Finnish Lapland has during the recent years increased its popularity a lot, and today the flow of tourists from all around Europe and also from Far East (especially China) is continuous. The high seasons are December (Santa Claus land), February-April (Nordic and downhill skiing and other winter activities) and September (autumn colors, hiking).

The idea is to leave for this tour after the conclusion of the conference on Sunday 20th of August 2017 around 14.00 by a good quality bus, if a participation of 15 or more will be achieved. A possibility of doing the tour by private cars exists, if the turnout would be smaller.

Our tour is on the lower season. The holidays in northern Europe are over, but in central and southern Europe the holiday season still continues, and some tourists find their way to Lapland every summer, some will come only once-in-a-lifetime. During our visit the weathers should be moderate but the “mosquito season” should be over.

Possible agenda and targets (subject to changes)

Sunday 20th of August

14.00 Leaving Varala
16.00 Visit to Scandinavian Weekend Radio site in Virrat
17.00 Drive to Oulu area
22.30 Oulu, accommodation

Monday 21st of August

7.00 Breakfast
8.00 On the road
10.00 Tornio, drive up to north on the Swedish-Finnish border, part of trip will be done in Sweden
14.00 Levi ski resort
17.00 Visit to Lemmenjoki DXpedition site
20.00 Inari, accommodation

Tuesday 22nd of August

7.00 Breakfast
8.00 Visit to Aihkiniemi DXpedition site
11.00 Karigasniemi, Norwegian border
16.00 Nordkapp, northernmost point of Europe
Evening, accommodation in Nordkapp area or elsewhere in northern Norway

Wednesday 23rd of August

7.00 Breakfast
8.00 On the road
18.00 Rovaniemi, accommodation. Also a possibility for those who want or need to continue by night train to Helsinki, night train leaving at 21.15. Flights available on Thursday (last flight on Wednesday is at 18.10 and that is too early for us).

Thursday 24th of August

8.00 Breakfast
9.00 Tour in Rovaniemi, Santa Claus park etc.
12.00 End of the EDXC Lapland Tour

From Rovaniemi there are good flight connections to Helsinki (you might try to book your home flight all the way from Rovaniemi) and also good train connections to Helsinki (8-12 hours). It is also possible to travel to southern Finland by our bus.

This very basic document should give you an idea of the tour. Beautiful sceneries are guaranteed and special attractions on the route will not be missed. A lot of time will be spent on the drives.

Basic idea of costs: accommodation for four nights (sun-thu) about 200 euros per person (in a double room). Meals are not included in this basic calculation (breakfast is included in the accommodation). Costs for the bus could be 150-250 euros per person. The costs will iterate with the plan and this trip is planned to fund itself but not gain any meaningful profits. The idea is to have as many hobby friends to join as possible (including spouses and other companions).

At this point we would like to have your thoughts and questions on this trip. A preliminary (not binding) announcement from those who plan to attend would be needed during March. Depending on the feedback we’ll then release future plans. Please send your emails directly to rv at sdxl dot org.