Cross-Country Ski Week
Learn to XC-Ski. Explore Lapland.
Give yourself a few days, or better still, a week, to properly get into cross-country skiing and see where your new skills can take you.
Cross-country skiing is synonymous with Lapland and part of everyday life here. Rather than trying it for a couple of hours, we give you time to learn, practise, gain confidence and actually enjoy the sport.
This is a 100% beginner-friendly cross-country ski holiday. You don’t need any previous skiing experience – we’ll start from the basics and progress at your pace. And if you already ski? Come and improve your technique or join us for longer ski trips and the wilderness expedition.
Our instructors are local Finnish, certified cross-country ski instructors, and we teach both classic and skate skiing.
Stay for 3–4 days or make a week of it. The longer you stay, the further we can take you.
WHY LEARN CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING IN LAPLAND?
Because they’re both bucket-list experiences! Cross-country skiing is in our Finnish DNA. Our base in Ylläs, gives us access to a world-class network of more than 300 km of perfectly maintained cross-country ski tracks, surrounded by stunning Taiga forests, open fells and wilderness cafés. The wider Ylläs–Levi region offers more than 500 km of perfectly groomed tracks and with a short trip to the Pallas region, we are getting closer to 1000 kms!
And don’t worry if downhill skiing isn’t your thing. Cross-country skiing is very different from Alpine skiing. There are no chairlifts or steep slopes to conquer! Think of it more as hiking on skis – with the added satisfaction of learning to glide.
You get a great workout, plenty of fresh air and a completely different way of moving through the Arctic landscape, while staying warm. If you enjoy the outdoors and endurance sports, there’s a good chance you’ll fall in love with cross-country skiing.
PROGRESS AT YOUR PACE
This isn’t about perfect technique on day One. We balance learning and enjoyment.
We start with the basics: equipment, balance, kicking and gliding, braking and getting comfortable on skis. As your skills develop, the lessons turn into real ski trips through the Lapland landscape. The distances and terrain are adjusted to your level. There’s no pressure to keep up with a large ski-school group.
And if you’re staying for the full programme, there’s something to work towards:
One of the highlights of the week is skiing into the wilderness for an overnight stay in a remote cabin in the Pallas – Ylläs National Park. By this point, those first slightly wobbly steps on skis have turned into a way of actually travelling through Lapland. The expedition isn’t mandatory – but we highly recommend it!
SO, WHAT DOES THE WEEK LOOK LIKE?
If you choose our fully hosted cross-country ski holiday, we’re with you from the moment you land. We’ll pick you up from Kittilä Airport, take you to your cabin in Ylläs and, at the end of the trip, get you safely back to the airport. In between, you are with us throughout – skiing, exploring and getting around together, while we take care of the practicalities along the way.
The week has a natural progression, learn, practise, venture further, but we don’t follow a rigid itinerary. Weather and snow conditions matter up here, and we’ll adapt the skiing to your level, progress and how everyone is feeling.
A typical week looks like this:
Day 1 – Arrive at Kittilä Airport / Kolari train station. Welcome day. Introduction to XC skiing and equipment
Days 2–4 – Lessons, practice and progressively longer ski trips in the national park
Days 5–6 – Overnight cross-country ski expedition to a wilderness cabin
Day 7 – More skiing, try another Lapland activity – or simply relax
Day 8 – Departure, from Kittilä / Kolari train station. Fly home directly or via Helsinki.
And it’s not all about clocking up kilometres. Along the way, we’ll stop at fireplace huts and little wilderness cafés for hot drinks, something fresh and local to eat (our reindeer and salmon soup is the best!), and a good warm-up by the fire. These stops are very much part of cross-country skiing culture in Lapland – and part of the experience.
After skiing, it’s time to head back, warm up, put the sauna on and relax. In the evening, we’ll get together for a local dinner, share stories from the day and you’ll get to learn about the food, traditions and culture of Lapland. Whether we’re all staying under the same roof or you have your own place nearby, we’ll bring everyone together throughout the week.
On our scheduled weeks, the itinerary gives us a framework while still leaving room to adapt. On a private trip, there’s even more flexibility – including shorter 3–4 day programmes and other sports too. Already a good skier? We’ll simply adjust the skiing to your level.
This is your holiday – cross-country skiing is at the heart of it, but experiencing Lapland and Finland is the bigger picture.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN?
There are two ways to experience our Cross-Country Ski Week:
Join a Scheduled Ski Week
Travelling solo, as a couple or with a friend?
Choose one of our scheduled dates and join a small group of like-minded people. These trips are planned for around 5 participants, Groups stay small, so there’s plenty of personal coaching. You’ll learn together, but we’ll still adapt the skiing to individual abilities.Join us on:
27 Feb – 6 March 2027
13 – 20 March 2027PRICE: €2490 per person for a complete Lapland Cross-country skiing holiday. If you already have accommodation, contact us for ski-only option.
We’ll pick you up and drop you off at Kittilä Airport / Kolari train station.
Make It Private
Coming with your own group?
Choose dates that work for you and we’ll tailor the programme around your group, your pace and the time you have available.
Don’t have a full week? No problem. We can create a 3–4 day programme focusing on the lessons and ski trips that matter most to you.
PRICE: From €2,490 per person, for a complete Lapland Cross-country skiing holiday week, based on 5 people sharing. Smaller private groups are welcome with a small-group supplement.
See options for ski-only option below.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
You’re coming all the way to Lapland to ski, you might as well make a proper holiday of it! This includes:
- Pre-trip Zoom call
- Personal clothing & equipment advice
- Local hosting throughout your stay
- Certified Finnish XC ski instruction & guided daily ski trips
- Personal cross-country ski programme
- XC-ski equipment
- Accommodation in Ylläs with breakfast
- Airport & local transfers
- Overnight wilderness ski expedition, equipment and meals
- Celebrations dinner
Before you arrive, we’ll send you a personalised packing and equipment list and talk you through what you’ll actually need.
No need to buy half an outdoor shop before you get here.
No problem. If you’ve already booked your own hotel, cabin or villa in Ylläs, you can join us for the ski coaching, guiding and ski programme without the full holiday package. You’ll still be part of the experience – we’ll ski and explore together, and you can join the shared parts of the programme.
Tell us what you’ve already arranged and we’ll work around it.
DO WE SKI ALL DAY?
Only if you want to! There’s time to relax each day and recover with sauna and great Lapland food. There’s also plenty more to experience at our base in Ylläs – Levi area. Sauna and ice dips, reindeer culture, huskies, snowshoeing, fat biking, Northern Lights or simply a slow afternoon back at the cabin.
There’s flexibility if you need a rest day, or want to ski more!
Both. For complete beginners, we usually start with classic cross-country skiing, building the basic skills and confidence you need to get out onto the trails. If you’re interested in the faster and more dynamic skate skiing technique, we can teach that too.
Already an experienced skier? We’ll assess your level and build the programme around what you’d like to improve – technique, efficiency, distance and exploring some of the best ski tracks in the area. Beginners to advanced skiers are welcome.
Cross-country skiing at our base at Western Lapland is available from November to early May. Most of our scheduled weeks take place in March and April, simply because that time is hard to beat. The days are long and bright, temperatures are generally milder and the snow is still plentiful. By spring, we can have around 16 hours of daylight, giving us plenty of time to be outside.
This is also the time of the famous snow-crust season. After cold nights, the snow surface can become firm enough to carry your weight, opening up possibilities to venture beyond the prepared tracks. The Northern Lights? They are around and active through this season.
Prefer the deep winter from December to January with the Polar Night colours? We offer private lessons and programs during this season.
READY TO GIVE IT A GO?
You don’t need to arrive as a skier. That’s what the week is for. Come to Lapland, give it a go and see where your cross-country skis take you!