Amazing Finland & Estonia Trip - and Emerson Saved Our Itinerary When Flights Were Cancelled!
Finland
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Feb 14 - Feb 22, 2026
We can’t say enough wonderful things about the trip to Finland (with a side trip to Estonia) that Emerson organized for our family. Simply put, Emerson was the hero of our trip. Our flight to Helsinki was cancelled, and then our return flight home was delayed by a blizzard in the U.S., but Emerson immediately sprang into action. He quickly reworked our itinerary and helped minimize the additional costs caused by the delays, turning what could have been a very stressful situation into something completely manageable.
Emerson's communication was outstanding from start to finish. He responded quickly to every message and always provided thoughtful, detailed answers to our (sometimes silly!) questions during the planning process. When our flights were cancelled and we were sending panicked WhatsApp messages, he stayed calm, responsive, and incredibly helpful. We truly can’t thank him enough for his professionalism, competence, and kindness; he was an absolute pleasure to work with and genuinely saved the trip (and our sanity!).
The trip itself was fantastic. The hotels Emerson selected were perfect for our family, including a “bonus hotel” (Home Hotel Jugend) that we needed during our unexpected extended stay. The tours were excellent -- especially the dogsledding and Northern Lights tour led by Niko from Johka.fi, which were both truly unforgettable. All of the transfers were smooth and perfectly on time. My husband wasn’t the biggest fan of the overnight train to Kemijärvi, but the kids thought it was a great adventure.
Our hotel in Pyhä (Kurula’s Resort) was wonderful. While the walk into town was a bit long, the weather was beautiful and the road passed a public sledding hill that quickly became a highlight for our family. The warming hut at the base made it extra special because we had fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire.
The kids also loved visiting the amethyst mine, and the dinner after our snowmobiling tour was outstanding—especially the moose soup. Estonia was a fantastic addition as well: the ferry ride was relaxing, the tour of Tallinn with Jonas from Estadventures was fascinating, and the city itself is absolutely gorgeous.
This was truly an unforgettable trip for our family, and Emerson played a huge role in making it such a success. We recommend kimkim and Emerson wholeheartedly to anyone planning a trip to the region.
Hotel Reviews
Quiet, friendly, great breakfast
Kids thought it was the greatest thing ever! One adult found it interesting but had some trouble sleeping. The other adult couldn't sleep at all and was fairly grumpy.
The rooms are fantastic! Sledding right outside the front door of the rooms (on the provided sleds) is fun. It would be nice to have a shuttle to town since there are functionally no ubers/taxis and bus is very infrequent & expensive.
Nice and quiet, quick walk to town, excellent breakfast
Activity Reviews
The city tour with Jonas with Estadventures was fantastic, we learned a lot! We enjoyed traveling on the giant ferry through the partially frozen sea - it was like traveling through a slurpee.
Enjoyed the tour - it was a nice way to orient ourselves.
The kids really liked this activity. The Pendolino was fun & the scenery was amazing.
This was awesome! The dogs are very high energy. Strongly recommended.
It was very very cold and I am not sure that we are natural-born snowmobilers. The dinner afterwards was fantastic and cozy. There were some northern lights above the lake & the proprietor came and got us from dinner to look at the lights, letting us stay a bit late. Excellent hospitality
This was awesome! We saw the most amazing lights - it was otherworldly. Our tour guide (Niko who works with the company Johka) was a man on a mission to get us to see some lights. He drove so far to get away from the clouds, and we had brilliant success. While I know that we were lucky, I have to give some credit to Niko's very intense reading of his solar activity apps and knowledge of the area. He's also very chatty, funny, and pleasant.
Since we were in Lapland it's only proper to see some reindeer, and we saw some. This was a well-organized tour. Unfortunately, the other guests in our group tour were talking/translating over the tour guide and interrupting her constantly. She seemed really exasperated and I felt bad for her.
Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to share your experience. It was a pleasure helping your family with this trip, and I’m really glad it turned into such a special adventure in the end. I appreciate your trust throughout the process, especially when the travel plans changed along the way. If you ever decide to return to Finland, Estonia, or explore more of the region, I’d be very happy to help plan another trip for you.