Brilliant lake summer
Canoe safari Saimaa
Guided round tour with overnight stays in tents in the great outdoors. An active holiday of the gentle category, for beginners with slightly sporty ambitions.
In 7 days about 80km are paddled. Group size: 5 to 12 participants. In the evening the group sets up their bivouac and cooks food together on the fire or alcohol stove. Activities such as building camps, collecting firewood, fishing, observing animals, collecting berries and mushrooms are just as much a part of it as swimming and lazing around.
There is no fixed program, but rather a large scope for individual undertakings. Spontaneity, a talent for improvisation and team spirit are required. The German-speaking tour guide is at your side with words and deeds.
Every day about 4 to 5 hours are paddled. You can also take a day of rest and take a tour in the bright summer night. No previous knowledge is required, but you must be able to swim. Participants meet at Camp Laajalahti on Day 1 at 3 p.m. and return to the sauna and barbecue on Day 7.
Tour end: Day 8 in the morning
Minimum: 5 people booking together
Requirements
– ability to swim,
– physical fitness,
– team spirit
Services:
Accompaniment by a German and
English-speaking tour guide, full board from the start of the tour (box of provisions), use of canoe, paddle, life jacket, spacious 2-person double-roof tent, bed mat, waterproof pack barrel (50 liters), tarpaulin, cooker with cookware and alcohol, eating utensils , common equipment such as B. saw, ax, spade, horde pot, maps, bad weather protection, detailed paddling instructions, use of the sauna on the first and last evening in camp, farewell barbecue evening
Start dates 2023: freely selectable
Price per person: 820.00 € Children up to 12 years 680,- €
Single tent : 35.00 €
Canoe rental
Double and triple canoes as well as single and double sea kayaks, weekly from Camp Laajalahti, for tours on your own. For people with outdoor experience.
All canoes are unsinkable. Waterproof containers, life jackets, lifeline, map and compass are mandatory. All guests receive detailed instructions on Finnish public rights, paddling instructions and route planning. In an emergency, you can get help throughout the Saimaa via GSM – so take your mobile phone with you. In general, however, the Saimaa is stagnant, harmless water.
Our Canadians are directionally stable keelboats with foamed hollow chambers. Your luggage will be packed in watertight barrels, boxes and also in tarpaulins.
Our kayaks are sea kayaks suitable for beginners with controls and sealed off storage spaces with watertight hatch covers. You will also receive waterproof bags. The spray deck is mandatory. Double paddles are divided and can therefore be turned right or left.
Requirements:
– ability to swim
– physical fitness
– outdoor experience
– orientation
skills – knowledge of English
Services:
Use of canoes, paddles, life jackets, spades, compass and topographical maps, tarpaulin, packing barrel, packing box (Canadians), capsize bags (kayaks), instruction in public rights, detailed paddling instructions and route planning.
Equipment that can also be booked: tent, stove, tarp, Thermarest mat, light carbon paddle, food box (each equipped for 2 people per week).
Shops: 1 x per week.
Recommendations for personal equipment follow with the travel documents.
Dates 2023
daily: 28.5. – 09.09.
One-way rentals possible for a surcharge from, for example,
Mikkeli – Savonlinna – Kuopio
to Camp Laajalahti.
Out-of-season dates on request!
Prices per boat and week
canoe / two-person kayak 200.00
single kayak 150.00
group prices from 8 people on specific request
BIKE & BOAT
3 days of cycling and 3 days of canoeing on your own
predominantly earth-bound natural roads, away from traffic
from 2 people, start from Camp Laajalahti via Puumala, Koikkala, Anttola, Hurissalo, Niinisaari
A varied tour through the Saimaa lakes landscape, by land and water. Hilly bike route 130 km, paddling route 30 km without current. 3x bed & breakfast in accommodation typical of the country. 4 x overnight stays in tents.
Day 1: 20 km
Camp Laajalahti . Takeover of the bikes. Drive over the „Archipelago Road“ to the village of Puumala with its imposing Sound Bridge, guest harbor, shops and wooden church. Continue to the Lakeland Hotel Sahanlahti Resort . Nice panoramic terrace. The kitchen offers delicious local specialties. Overnight in a double room with shower / toilet
Day 2: 43 km. Breakfast in the hotel.
Cycling through forests and a varied cultural landscape. Numerous lakes tempt you to take a refreshing swim. Detour to the rocky gorge „Loketon Onkalo“
After a 26km break in Koikkala. Continue to Hatsola, Halfboard with smokesauna on a family farm in a double room . This is how you live in Finland!
3rd day: 42 km
breakfast. Cycling tour to Anttola , to the Lakeistenranta campsite. Idyllic, renovated place right on the lake, with cafereria and cooking facilities. Overnight stay in a hut.
4th day. 20 km
breakfast. Easy stage to the Hurissalo village shop .
Shopping, meeting the camp crew and switching to the canoe. Luggage exchange bike / canoe.
4th-7th On the day
after the paddling instruction, you start into the lake labyrinth. Easy daily stages of 10-20km, even for beginners, individual route planning, for example to the „lagoon“ of Rokansaari.
A few more highlights await Niinisaari on Saturday : museum courtyard, cutlery , currant vineyard and court restaurant. Last night at Camp Laajalahti.
Day 8 departure
,Services :
3x Bed & Breakfast (with the possibility of dinner & sauna)
Bikes: 28 ″ – Bergamont Sponsor Disk or Tour, trapezoidal frame, height 52 and 56 (plus suspension), 21-speed Shimano-Deore, suspension fork, continetal tires “country plus reflex “, Ortlieb handlebar bag & 2 x 20 liter back rollers, helmet, lock, repair kit, route map.
3 days Canadians (kayak on request), paddles, life jackets, spades, luggage tarpaulin, packing crate, waterproof barrels, tent (Vango Halo 300) mattress, Trangia stove with alcohol and dishes, water hiking maps 1: 50,000, paddling instructions, route planning. Exchange of personal bike / canoe luggage.
Further details with the travel documents, on site and on request
Start dates 2023 11.06. – 20.08.
Start daily (except Tuesdays)
Weekly price / person: € 450,- €
Bike tour Saimaa – Lakes / Finland
Individual tour – circular route start mondays from June 5th to August 20th, 2023
Easy to moderate, leisurely round trip in the Saimaa-GeoPark, with time for enjoyment, culture along the way and relaxation. Fascinating impressions of water and forests in the largest lake area in Europe. Overnight stays in hotels and B&B. A boat tour with a bicycle ferry and a wellness and break day
- 6 cycling days, a total of 222 km / 1700 meters in relief / 1 break or wellness day in the middle
- 3x hotel with breakfast, 3x B&B, each with the possibility of sauna and dinner
Foto: VisitFinlandJuhaKuva
Day 1: 20 km – easy –
You arrive at Camp Laajalahti near Puumala in the early afternoon and discuss the route details with the German-speaking camp crew. Repacking your personal belongings in the spacious bicycle bags is not a problem, the remaining luggage is safely stored and off you go along the „Archipelago Road“, which winds its way for kilometers towards Puumala. This first stage is easy and gives an impressive impression of the lake labyrinth. It stays light for a long time, so take your time and take a short detour on foot along the „seal trail“ . Blueberries and mushrooms are easy to find. The Puumala Sound Bridge, the fourth longest in Finland, offers a fantastic view of the waterway, the only passage for raft wood from hundreds of kilometers in the north, with its observation cafeteria at a height of 37m. Even today tens of thousands of trunks are loosened. While Puumala used to be a strategic point of defense, it is now Finland’s most popular holiday village. The guest harbor, arts and crafts & wooden church are definitely worth a visit. Just a few more kilometers off the road, and your first overnight stay at the Lakeside Hotel Sahanlahti has been reached. The first sawmill in the area was built here. Enjoy Finnish specialties on the stylish lake terrace. Of course there is – as everywhere on the tour – a sauna.
Day 2: 43 km – medium difficulty –
Well strengthened, you make your way to the second stage – it will be hilly! After an hour you will reach “Loketon Onkalo” on a short hike , a ten meter deep former meltwater canyon . Surefootedness and sturdy shoes are necessary. In Koikkala there is a break after 15 km … You follow the road and reach your halfboard with smokesauna on a family farm near Juva . That’s Finnish country life.
Day 3: 42 km – medium difficulty –
Today you are still improving, so don’t get up too late. Via Siikakoski you get to the viewpoint „Vuorilahti“ a little off the path. The highlight is after 10 km „Neitvuori“ the highest point of the tour with 110 m above the lake plateau. In the late afternoon you will reach the well-deserved wellness hotel „Anttolanhovi „ for your day off.
4th day: rest day – 0 km – difficult –
Just let your mind wander , sauna, pool & gym are included. Even on this day off there is no boredom: hikes with packed lunch, paddling, swimming, badminton, massage, … the day is far too short.
Foto: VisitFinlandJuhaKuva
Karte: Komoot
5th day
Anttola – Ristiina 33 km – medium difficulty –
A short stretch of road goes on the comfortable road towards Mikkeli, then you branch off again into the woods. At Saarijärvi Lake you will find the summer boutique “Raijan Aitta ” with local linen products and homemade cakes. Your destination for today is Ristiina . Governor General Per Brahe enthusiastically named the place after his wife Kristiina. He donated the first church in the village and built Brahelinna Castle. Your B&B „Tuukkalan Tila“ is a bit away from the village.
6th day
Ristiina – Hurissalo 45 km – medium difficulty –
Along the “Green-Golden Cultural Route” you will visit the Varkaantaipale Canal with its historic swing bridge, the small Toijala museum and the most impressive rock carvings in the north near Astuvansalmi. The Kallioniemi Manor offers food and local products halfway. Here was a summer retreat for artists like Jean Sibelius.
The village shop in Hurissalo again offers coffee and cake before we finally go on the water. „Norppa II“, a retired water protection boat, will take you to Lintusalo with your bike in about 40 minutes. Open eyes! Here you can see the only species of freshwater seal in the world. From the pier you are right at the B&B “Nestorinranta” , with its cafeteria and restaurant.
Day 7 20 km – easy –
You will experience the crowning finale on the western part of the „Archipelago Road“ , constantly over islands, headlands and bridges. A barbecue area with a view invites you to rest. You will reach the highlights of “Niinisaari” : a museum farm with a nature trail, try local currant wine and champagne, watch a blacksmith making real Finnish knives and enjoy smoked salmon in the Niinipuu court restaurant.
A typical Finnish shuttle ferry will bring you back to Camp Laajalahti.
If you cannot leave until the next day, Puumala offers overnight stays in a family hotel or B&B.
Services:
- 7 days, 6 x B&B
- 28 „Bergamont – touring bikes with trapezoidal frame, 24-speed Shimano Deore gears,
- 2 Ortlieb Backroller – luggage bags à 20 l, handlebar bag, all-terrain tires, suspension fork, saddle suspension, helmet, maps
840, – pp in a double room
Log cabin
with sauna, canoe & bicycles
At Camp Laajalahti, for two people. Real Finnish vacation in a cottage by the lake! There you live in log cabins with an individual flair, under pines and birches, on a terrace-like area on the lake. Each hut has a veranda and its own fireplace. Our wooden sauna is right on the water. The shore is flat, sandy, with rocks. The area is ideal for day trips by canoe or bike, for hiking and jogging.
The cities of Mikkeli and Savonlinna can also be reached by bus.
Nearby: vantage point, museum courtyard, rustic restaurant on a farm, blacksmith shop, currant wine production. Camp Laajalahti is not a campsite with different guests every day! The hut area is a car-free zone (loading and unloading possible; parking lot 50 m). With our camp service, you won’t be out of the world without a car.
Requirements:
– ability to swim
– orientation
skills – knowledge of English
Services:
Furnishing: double sofa bed with blankets (sleeping bags must be brought or rented), table and benches, kitchenette with 2-burner gas cooker and dishes, Coleman lantern, bed box, chest of drawers, earth cooler, garden furniture and deck chairs. Use of the communal sauna and grill hut, Canadians with paddles and life jackets, topographic maps.
Kayak course. Further touring equipment can be rented.
Bicycles of different equipment and sizes at your disposal. Distance between the huts: 20 m / Neighbor: in the camp / G4 connection in the camp /WC: dry toilet / drinking water: well / waste: collection point / restaurant: 3 km / shopping: Kirchdorf Puumala, 13 km (shops, ATM, post office, doctor, pharmacy, sports and fishing supplies, petrol station, tourist office, restaurant, alcohol)
2 x weekly free shopping transfers from Camp Laajalahti! Additional costs: no
deposit: no
changeover day: daily
pets are welcome.
Dates 2023
May 28th – Sept. 09th
High season July / 1st half of August only on a weekly basis
Price per person: 250, – € / week for occupancy with 2 people,
surcharge for 2 adults with 1 child up to 12 years: 50, – with 3- person Canadians
Nature, relaxation, socializing in a small group (14 people)
Services:
- Minibus arrival Hannover-Kiel / Oslo-Lillehammer H / R
- Ski and luggage transport
- Ferry COLOR-Line Kiel-Oslo-Kiel in outside cabins
- 13 nights in a holiday home including additional costs and final cleaning
- Cross-country skiing lessons
- German travel companion
- Local transfers
Services :
Accommodation in a wooden house (214 sqm) with fireplace & sauna, 6 double rooms, 1 large 2-bed room, 2 bathrooms with shower / toilet, complete kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, TV, ski wax room. 300 km of cross-country trails, branching out at the house, 5 mountain rooms accessible on day trips. Trips to Lillehammer. Optional dog sledding and bobsledding. Cross-country skiing lessons for beginners and advanced skiers. Cross-country skiing equipment rental
Dates 2021/2022 December 25, 2021 – January 9, 2022 March
–
Dates to follow
Prices per person: in a double / 2-bed room: 1195, – Euro
in a double bunk bed: 995, – Euro
single room surcharge (if available 4 weeks in advance): 200, – single room
surcharge if a double room is booked , but stayed single last minute: 50, –
Details at www.sjusjoen.no