Yllas Sneeuwverwachting

Our 4th time in Yllas-I think that says something?! We stayed in the much prettier part of the village-Akaslompolo in the Villa Armas cabins situated just behind the Akas hotel which is the central meeting place for ski bus, excursions etc. Predominately we are downhill skiers & have skied twice here downhill. However, even in March when we tend to go it can be extremely cold on the fell, especially when travelling the lifts which is why we decided to give the cross country a try. With Inghams quite a few of the cabins include free x-country equipment & snowshoes too so it would've been silly not to use them. We're so glad we did, the trails are immaculately groomed, well signposted & take you right out into the middle of nature. There's plenty of cute little rustic hut cafes & lean-to shelters with small fires burning so that you can cook your own toasties, sausages etc & the Siberian jays who watch your every move will take food gently from your hand if invited-amazing! The log cabins are well presented with modern fully fitted kitchen, TV, sauna etc & add the finishing touch to a truly memorable holiday. On the down side, Lapland isn't cheap once you're there. Expect to pay 6 Euros for a beer & up to 9 Euros for a glass of wine. However, there is a fantastic supermarket-food prices are generally on par with the UK & also an extremely well stocked off license-we were well impressed with the selection of reasonably priced wines on offer. On a skiing note, Yllas is an excellent place to learn how to ski, with some lovely gentle tree lined runs, but you need to really wrap up & use hand & toe warmers. You can hire thermal suits, gloves & boots very cheaply if you don't have your own. We don't normally return to the same resort year after year but the magic of Lapland has got to us, give it a go-I'm sure you won't be disappointed.