No, absolutely not!

We don't expect you to have previous snowshoeing or skiing experience . There is likely to be both skiing and snowshoeing during the tour.

It isn't down-hill skiing, but off-road skiing. We'll have some snowshoeing training during our orientation sessions on our first day in Finland. This will give us the chance to get used to the snowshoes before we set off on the adventure.

There's no down-hill skiing in our Arctic Adventure, but you have the opportunity to visit the Ruka Ski Centre on an optional excursion on Day 7.

At the Ski Centre, you can choose to use their skiing equipment hire and facilities, as an optional extra.

Our Arctic expert team will have specialist winter gear ready for us all to hire upon arrival in Kuusamo.

Skis, snowshoes, tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mattresses, sledges, backpacks, cooking gear and utensils, ice fishing gear are all provided and included in your challenge costs.

The gear hire is at an additional cost of 100€, so please make sure to budget for this. The hired gear includes:

• Thermal underlayer (trousers and shirt)
• Woolen socks
• Fleece or heavy sweater
• Winter jacket
• Winter trousers
• Winter boots
• Small hat + big hat for extra cold weather
• Gloves + mittens
• Buff
• Balaclava to be used in the igloo

We'll supply you with a comprehensive list of everything you will need to take on the challenge well before your departure date.

This trip is suitable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. We do not recommend this challenge if you suffer from back pain, epilepsy or heart problems. By the time the challenge comes around, you'll need to be physically strong in order to set up camp.

Once you have signed up for our adventure, we'll send you a training programme, to help you get fit as the challenge gets closer.

No skiing or snowshoeing experience or training is required as we expect everyone to be at a beginner's level, but we strongly recommend that you do some strength training.

This will make it easier for you to set up camp and will also help improve your balance while moving in snow.

Please don't be! The majority of people will sign up for this challenge on their own.

Once you've registered, we'll send you a link to a private Facebook group for everyone taking on the Arctic Adventure 2024.

Please feel free to use this space to swap questions, advice and updates with your fellow challengers on your training and fundraising.

You may also want to reach out to the fellow participants in this group to see if there's anyone in your local area you can meet up to train and fundraise with.

One of the amazing things about the Arctic Adventure 2024 is that people of all ages will come together to do something very special for charity. 

Everyone 18 years old or over is more than welcome to join us for this extraordinary challenge.

If you would like someone under the age of 18 to join you on our Arctic challenge, please contact us to discuss (01590 646410 or bookings@dream-challenges.com, Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm).

We'll spend the nights of Day 1, 5 and 6 at the adventure lodge in the countryside of Kuusamo.

Once a public primary school, the guesthouse has been newly renovated to provide clean and cosy, standard-level accommodation.

The dorm-style rooms have bunk beds with a maximum occupancy of six people per room with private bathrooms. Bed linen, towels and access to the traditional wood-heated sauna are included.

During our challenge, on nights 2-4, we'll be divided into small teams, who will share tents and sleeping with proper sleeping bags and sleeping mattresses in the tents.

You may also have the option to spend one night in the igloo we build!

All camping equipment is included and designed especially for Arctic conditions, to keep us warm and dry.

Yes of course! If you wish to extend your stay in Finland, simply get in touch and we can find flight options for you.

Please let us know if you decide to do this at least 17 weeks before our departure date by emailing us at bookings@dream-challenges.com or calling us on 01590 646410 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm).

Your registration fee of £299 per person is used to administer the challenge and secure your seats with the airline.

Your challenge costs of £1,995 (ie. 50% of the fundraising target if you choose the Sponsorship option) cover:

• An exclusive pre-challenge online course to set you up for success.
• Your flights (not including airport taxes and the fuel surcharge, capped at £300).
• Meals throughout the challenge.
• Accommodation and all camping equipment.*
• Snowshoes, skis, sledges, backpacks, cooking gear and utensils and ice fishing gear.
• All transfers in Finland.
• A team of awesome, outdoor remote first aid trained Finnish/English-speaking expedition staff and our fab Dream Challenges staff.
• Full support from the Dream Challenges office in the lead-up to and during your challenge.
• Medical support, including a UK doctor with expedition medicine training, who will accompany the group the whole time.
• Your Arctic Adventure medal.

Please note, the challenge costs do not include airport taxes and fuel surcharge (capped at £250) and winter gear rental (approx. 100€).

*Accommodation is included on a twin-sharing basis while camping and dorm-style rooms at the lodge. If you would rather pay for a single supplement and have a tent to yourself on our nights spent camping, we can arrange this for you for an additional price. Just get in touch at least 17 weeks before the challenge.

In addition to paying your registration fee (£299) and either self-funding your challenge costs (£1,995) or fundraising the minimum sponsorship target for charity (£3,990), you will need to budget for:

• Your airport taxes and the fuel surcharge (capped at £300).
• Personal travel insurance.
• Additional specialist winter gear required for the challenge hire (100€ per person, to be booked and paid for in advance - we will let you know when bookings for this are available). The hired gear includes:
  ∙ Thermal underlayer (trousers and shirt).
  ∙ Woolen socks.
  ∙ Fleece or heavy sweater.
  ∙ Winter jacket.
  ∙ Winter trousers.
  ∙ Winter boots.
  ∙ Small hat + big hat for extra cold weather.
  ∙ Gloves + mittens.
  ∙ Buff.
  ∙ Balaclava to be used in the quinzhee.
• Gratuities & personal expenses.
• Optional Ruka Adventure tour. (Extra cost: £140-280 including a visit to a reindeer farm and either a short guided tour and gondola ride at Ruka Ski Center or a husky safari and husky sleigh ride. Meals, optional activities and souvenirs at Ruka are not included.)
• You may also choose to pay for a single supplement and have a tent to yourself on the nights we spend camping.

Travel Insurance
You will need to take out your own personal travel insurance covering health, accident, loss and repatriation. Please arrange your insurance as soon as you can after you sign up to ensure you have coverage for your booking as well as the challenge.

In your Arctic Adventure Welcome Pack, you will receive information about an insurance provider that specialises in our type of overseas challenges and also covers you for cancellation due to medically-diagnosed COVID-19.

You can, however, take out your own insurance, providing it covers you for a charity snowshoeing, skiing and trekking challenge in Finland. Please ask the insurer about the nature of the cover. It is your responsibility to ensure you have adequate coverage for your challenge.

Visa
Currently, UK citizens don't need a visa to visit Scandinavia. We'll let you know if this changes before our challenge in 2024.

The optional Ruka Adventure on Day 7 is not included in your challenge costs and amounts to an additional £140-£280 per person (not including lunch or optional add-ons, like skiing/snowboarding and the ice pool).

If you'd like to take part in the reindeer farm visit and either the husky safari or the ski centre visit, you'll also need to budget for this and book in advance.

When the Ruka Adventure is open for bookings, we'll send you all the details.

As we're not medically trained, we're afraid we can't offer you advice on this. We recommend you contact your GP or your local travel clinic, who will have the latest travel health advice.

We also recommend you visit the NHS Fit for Travel website here, to keep up to date with current travel health news and advice on staying healthy abroad.

NHS Fit for Travel website: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home