Chan Brothers Travel Tour Singapore – Arctic Circle Adventure with King Crab Safari
Chan Brothers travel ushered us all the way in the new year to the Arctic Circle. The Chan Brothers Arctic Circle Adventure Package Tour brought us on a domestic flight from Singapore to Ivalo (via Helsinki), an enchanting lappish city which is also known as the “gateway to the north” because from here our tour group got to explore farther into the northern Finnish regions through the wilderness of Inari, Saariselka, and even crossing the border of Finland into Kirkenes of Norway, all of which lie within the Arctic Circle region.
You’ll get to see a preview of where Chan Brothers Travel brought us over the first three days of the Arctic Circle tour itinerary in the short video below. The reindeer sleigh ride was not exactly what we’d envisaged; these wild deers are not as domesticated as we were told. They were reluctant to pull our sleds; in fact, ours managed to cut itself loose from the harness and attempted to escape. The sky was dark throughout during winter months, so there was not much arctic landscape to make out of. The ride was slow and seemed arduous on the animal, because the reindeer was being led by a human to do the job. This would be the segment we wished we’d opted out.
Chan Brothers Travel Tour Package Travel to Finland & Norway
Chan Brothers Arctic Circle tour package included both Finland and Norway, particularly Kirkenes for the latter, in their itinerary. So if you are into eating wild arctic seafood, you are in luck. Wild salmon is being served in almost every meal provided. From smoked salmons to baked salmon with butter sauce, you get to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner – mostly buffet-style. Are you also a lover of King crabs? We got to ride on a sled led by snowmobiles (we would ride one of these ski-doos as you read on) across the frozen Norwegian fjord on a king crab safari, followed by an all-you-can-eat King Crab feast.
We also visited the Snow Hotel in Kirkenes. This tour package does not include any stay there, but just taking in the ice-carved interiors from the foyer, lobby and hotel rooms sculpted in wintery themes was a treat in itself.
Chan Brothers Northern Lights Tours Package
Chan Brothers has included a few northern lights hunting expeditions in this tour package. We had our first Aurora sighting in Kirkeness, Norway on Christmas night. We had much luck in catching the Aurora Borealis as Kirkeness was clear of clouds around 9-ish pm. The activity got even better towards 11pm that night.
And then we also caught glimpses of the northern lights at Rovaniemi on another occasion, this time with a professional photographer’s help through her lens.
Santa Claus Holiday Village & Husky Sled Ride
Santa Claus Holiday Village and the husky sled ride are other highlights of this trip. We met Santa in the flesh at his Rovaniemi North Pole home and took a studio photograph with him. It took us slightly less than an hour to queue for our turn but it was well worth it once you see those lovely photos with Father Christmas himself. The Santa Claus holiday village is also the place where you get to cross the boundary into the Arctic Circle and get a certificate for it!
The husky sleigh ride was quite enjoyable because, believe it or not, the wild dogs have so much adrenaline rush in them they dashed faster than the snowmobiles. Decide between yourself and your partner on who will have to steer and who to, well, just be riding along in the pulled sled. Be warned that the dogs can get loud whenever you step on that brake, but once your sled is cruising, these wolves are just a pack of silent but powerful engines. A sneak peek of all these are in the short video below.
Glass Igloo Hotels
The glass igloo hotel was arranged for us to stay for one night, in the hope of catching the aurora light from the comfort of our beds. Unfortunately there wasn’t any northern lights activity that night; neither did the aurora alarm we set to alert us activate. However the view we got at the crack of dawn through our glass igloo hotel windows were of icicles on the panes and snow-flocked pine trees around us against the pink skies – and that was enthralling enough.
Optional Tours in Rovaniemi
Snowmobile Riding & Arctic Ice Floating
We had the option of riding the electric snowmobile, or the eSled, across a frozen lake. We journeyed as a group led in single file, so as not to veer off on to areas where the ice may be thin and risk sinking. The snowmobiling experience was fun, and the snowscape was more visible this time, but not nearly as exhilarating as the husky ride as the speed was controlled to a minimum.
Another optional tour was the arctic ice floating. We had to wear a cold water immersion suit (or survival/ rescue suit) before being slowly led into the freezing Arctic waters. A pity this was done with no daylight, or we would have found ourselves drifting amidst white sea ice and wintery treescapes.
Chan Brothers Cruise to Estonia
Chan Brothers also took us on an optional tour, on the MyStar cruise to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, across the Gulf of Finland, a branch of the Baltic Sea. The day covered a day tour led by a very informative native guide who took us through the history of the UNESCO world heritage old town of Tallinn and beyond, including the accounts of the first two world wars, to finally gaining back independence from the Soviet Union. The walking tour brought us through medieval architecture from gothic to baroque buildings, one of which, Saint Olaf’s Church, was interestingly restored with a Baroque spire to its gothic structure. We traversed Tallinn old town to the new town, akin to time travelling through part of the defense fortress, the Viru Gate; all the time in awe of how the old world meets today.
Note: The snowmobile ride, Arctic ice float and Tallinn trip are optional tours requiring additional charges.
Temppeliaukio Church and Jean Sibelius Monument
The Temppeliaukio Church made quite the impression not just because it was constructed out of a blasted-out interior from a solid rock, but it has a massive copper domed roof which also functions as great acoustics for the sound waves radiating from the concerts held there.
The Jean Sibelius Monument was highly controversial shortly after its completion because critics were of the opinion that the sculpture was too abstract in honouring Finland’s greatest composer. Jean Sibelius is famously known for his music works, notably the national song, Finlandia, composed in patriotism & political protest against the Russian Empire. The monument was created from more than 600 hollow stainless steel pipes, simulating organ pipes that are set out to form a pattern of sound waves, in appreciation of the spirit of Sibelius’s music. A portrait sculpture of the man himself was added at a later stage.
Chan Brothers Travel is currently taking bookings for their Arctic Circle Adventure with King Crab Safari tour package. Departure dates from January to November 2025 are available at this point.