We really enjoyed our night in the cabin and the great opportunity to see the auroras without the village lights. We were lucky to be the only guests that night so we had the kitchen and sauna at the base camp to ourselfes. Esko - who build everything himself!! - pulled us to the lake around 9pm and we stayed there till 9am the next morning. Luckily the sky was clear and we could see amazing polar lights that night :)
We visited Lapland in Feb and it was purely for aurora chasing. We werent able to see the northern light at Rovaniemi or Saariselkä and Lake Inari was our last stop. It turned out to be such an amazi experience. I wish we could stay there for some more days. Everything about it, really, i mean everything, was perfect. The lounge is cozy, you can cook your own meal or join the others by open fire. They even have a small sauna outside. You can book it, use it, and jump into snow after it, in a real Finnish way. We started to be dragged to the middle of the lake at 8pm and stayed there till 8am in the morning. The sky was absolutely clear and we could see the milky way with naked eye. 10mins after we were on the lake, a very weak green light started to rose from the horizon and eventually became an arc. The light lasted for more than 6 hours. Last but not least, Esko and Sam are the best hosts. They were so nice and friendly, always ready to help. I wish they could see this post. Thanks for the great memories! …
Our stay at Esko’s Cabins was simple incredible. This was our first trip to Finland, and we were mesmerised by its beauty. We flew into Ivalo airport, and after a night there we made our way from Ivalo bus station to Inari where Esko picked us up. On arrival he showed us to our cabin. It was perfect, lots of room for our luggage, a very comfortable bed, toilet, colour changing lights, and beautiful views from the huge windows. We headed over to basecamp. The attention to detail and design here was amazing. There was space in the communal area to relax with a full kitchen to use as needed with tea and coffee available. The toilets and showers are here too with all you could need, towels, slippers, shower gel, etc. There are also show suits, boots, socks and gloves and high vis jackets available to use too. We arrived early afternoon and used the kick sledges to explore. We headed down to the village (about 1km away) and went to the Siida Museum which was great (nice café too). We then headed down the road and had few drinks in PaPaNa (bar and pizza restaurant). Our first night we chose to eat at the cabins in the BBQ hut. Our food was cooked on the open fire in the middle of the hut whilst we chatted and drank local glogi – a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend. The time came to go out onto the lake. Flasks were available to make up, and we sat on the bed whilst being towed out into the darkness. It was an awesome experience to be there on the lake. The sky was star filled and magical, with just a hint of the aurora for us (an excuse to return to try again). We stood outside and took in the silence and stillness of our surroundings which was incredible. Breakfast was great and nothing was too much trouble – we were so well looked after. Our trips and transport were all booked and we paid for it all (by card) at the end of our trip. We went out into the forest and did some skiing which was fantastic – the beauty of the landscape was just amazing. We were picked up for our snowmobiling trip. This was across the lake and was such fun, we saw reindeer roaming around and stopped for a drink at one of Finland’s wilderness camping sites. We spent some more time in the village, having a meal and drinks. The hospitality from everyone we met was second to none. Of course, I must mention the sauna. This is log fired and simply wonderful. Standing out in the snow then getting into the sauna was an experience not to be missed. The team were exceptional, we were made so welcome and really switched off from the world for our stay. It was such a special trip and we couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Thank you Esko, Samsa, and Sari…
Incredible experience. No words to describe how amazing it is to be alone sleeping in the lake at night. Besides we were very lucky to see northern lights and it was really incredible experience. Also, we have a great dinner with Sambsa in a traditional small wood house. The owners are really committed with their job and it is amazing!
This is a „must“ if you are looking for unique experiences. What a great idea to build mobile cabins for an overnight stay on frozen lake Inari. One of my all time travel highlights. The cabins are super cozy and very tidy and have a chemical toilet (just in case). The owner-couple is very nice and friendly and helpful. Of course this is an adventurous thing and not a 5 star hotel experience. I strongly recommend to see it when doing a Lapland tour!
Very unique cabins and sleeping conditions. You get pulled out in the evening to the lake. And they come and get you in the morning. The cabins are nice and warm and very comfortable beds and pillows. Very cozy inside. We were very lucky to enjoy a beautiful 2 night show of northern lights and incredible one night of shooting stars. It was like watching a movie from your warm bed. Very intresting experience. Beside the cabins. The host was incredible. Very guest friendly and knowledgeable people. The owner build those cabins by himself wich I was very impressed by. They were very helpful with everything that we needed. I want to thank them for giving us an opportunity to experience something different.
I booked one of the cabins through booking.com after reading all these great reviews on Trip Advisor and I wasn't disappointed. Any questions I sent to Esko (the owner along with his wife Sari) via email were answered promptly and were super helpful. Upon arrival we were greeted by Sari and shown to our cabin. All the cabins (6 of them) are stationed near base camp during the day. Base camp has showers, toilets, kitchen, lounge area with access to Wifi and cold weather clothing you can borrow. I mean they covered all the bases. There are extra wool socks, really warm snow boots, cold weather jumpers, hats, gloves...basically anything you could need to stay warm while outside just in case you're not prepared. None of this was at an extra cost. After being shown to our cabin, we settled in. The cabin was a little small, but well worth the experience. You've got a 180 degree view around you, a decent size bed for two people, storage under the bed, a small cabinet to place some items in, a little table to put some items on, hooks to hang your coats on with a shelf for gloves or hats and a chemical toilet for when you're out on the lake at night and away from basecamp. While you're at base camp, you're hooked up to electricity. On the lake, your heat heat comes from oil. Both keep the cabin surprisingly warm during the night. AND...there's even wifi access on the lake! You must be back at basecamp by 8pm if you want your cabin to be taken out to the lake for the night. I think they can make an arrangement to do so a little later if you take an aurora tour, but that didn't work out for us so we just stayed in our cabin and got taken out to the lake. So glad we did because we had an absolutely amazing show of the auroras that night. They danced across the sky bright and strong from 8:15pm till 5am!!! We were in awe. In the morning, your cabin is hooked up to a snow mobile again and brought back to base camp. You're more than welcomed to keep food at base camp and cook it in the kitchen there. Breakfast is included with your cabin stay. We also opted to do the BBQ one night and had a blast eating and hanging out with the people staying at the cabins. Matt (another employee at the cabins) cooked for us. Prior to the BBQ, Matt had taken us out for a snowmobile ride across Lake Inari. Matt was really personable and willing to answer any questions we had about Inari. We very much enjoyed his company and the ride with him. While staying at the cabins, we also visited the SIIDA (Sami Museum) and the Inari Reindeer farm. Both were really informative and a great way to learn about the local culture. Sari was so helpful in arranging the trip to the Inari Reindeer farm for us. I can't say enough about the hospitality that Sari and the others at the cabin extended to us. We really felt welcomed and loved every second of our experience here. Other types of excursions are offered at the cabins or you can go through other tour companies in town. As for restaurants, the choices seemed limited to Hotel Inari (great pizza), PaPaNa (didn't offer much and mostly a local crowd) or the restaurant inside the SIIDA museum. It's crazy to know Esko constructs the cabins himself and has built this little business up along with his wife. The base cabin is quaint and inviting as are the owners and staff. Thank you to everyone at Lake Inari Cabins for making a bucket list trip of ours a wonderful experience!…
Nice place and nice guys, the cabins are tiny but warm. you may see the stars and aurora through 180* cabin windows on lake Inari, it’s so funny that when you see they drive you in somewhere on the lake.
It was an unique experience to stay in the mobile cabin. The cabins are moved out onto the frozen lake in the evening where we can watch the lights from our comfy bed and back to base camp in the morning by snowmobile. I think the Inari Iceland is a good point to view northern light. And I have to say, the host, Esko and his wife are very hardworking, helpful and attentive persons, they left me a very good impression for the overall stay. Strongly recommended! :)
We had made our booking via booking.com & were in touch with the owner Esko. He had been very helpful, prompt & responsive. I have to thank him for being so welcoming and making our stay a memorable one. The concept of mobile cabins is way too cool & Esko had built them on his own! Very impressive! The mobile cabins were pulled to somewhere near a frozen lake (as it was 16 Nov 16 Wednesday, the lake wasn't very much frozen yet. Otherwise, you'll be on the lake!). We were supposed to be able to catch the northern light right in the comfort of our bed but well I guess we weren't lucky enough. Although we didn't manage to catch the northern lights during our stay, we truly enjoyed the once in a life time experience. The only downside is the shower isn't in the cabin you're staying. You'll have to walk back to the base cabin. There's a portable toilet available in your cabin but you don't have water to wash your hands, etc . So I would suggest to bring wipes / sanitisers along. You could get your dinner cook at base cabin. Breakfast is provided at the base cabin in the morning. Free parking is available. I would suggest to make your bookings early because there are limited cabins. If I revisit Inari, I would definitely go back! I'm kinda of missing the place already!…
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