In September 2023, we were invited to visit the „European Region of Gastronomy 2024“ with selected tour operators and really got a taste for it on this FAM trip. Not only were we spoiled with culinary delights, but the lake, the people and the beautiful landscapes also made us feel welcome and left a lasting impression. And as a special highlight, we were able to marvel at the Northern Lights on our last evening. The program for this FAM trip was created in cooperation with goSaimaa.
Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland: 193 km long and 114 km wide (the fourth largest natural lake in Europe). Due to its size alone, there is lots to see and experience in the entire lake area. On our 4 day trip, we limited ourselves to the two regions of Lappeenrananta and Imatra, which can be reached in about 3 hours by car from Helsinki airport. The region offers a fantastic combination of nature and city at any time of the year, so everyone gets to enjoy themselves on vacation.
At the invitation of goSaimaa, we welcomed a total of 7 tour operators from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands in Helsinki and set off on our discovery. First we visited Lappeenranta and started with a culinary welcome at the restaurant “The Kitchen”. The heart of the restaurant is a charcoal grill, which gives the dishes their unique taste. The ingredients are carefully selected depending on the season. Lappeenranta is especially known for its beautiful harbor, which we explored the next day, along with the historic old town and fortress and a stop at the award-winning coffee roastery Satamatie 6. After more hotel and restaurant visits, we spent the rest of the day on the sauna boat M/S Emma, accompanied by the Finnish TV station YLE. As the name suggests, we had some lovely sauna visits and cooled off by jumping in the lake. We also had a very successful mushroom and berry picking visit to on one of the small islands in the archipelago.
The region is hoping become more popular through additional charter flights. For those who find Lapland too “crowded”, Lake Saimaa offers seclusion and tranquillity, untouched nature and many varied nature experiences, as we were to experience the following day. We visited the 5000-year-old Imatra Rapids, or rather the valley, as the rapids shows are limited to certain days and times and offer a spectacle, accompanied by the music of Sibelius, which you should definitely plan into your visit. We got very close to nature with Hossukan Helmi: a sauna complex directly on Lake Saimaa. After a ride through the Finnish forest trails on e-fatbikes, we were invited to go floating, which was great fun and really suitable for everyone. Our laughter could be heard far across the lake and probably caught the attention of one or two ringed seals. The sauna that followed offered a wonderful view of the sun setting over the lake.
In the evening, we went on an aurora safari together in the middle of Lappeenranta. At a late hour, they actually appeared in the sky above the harbor and provided a crowning finale to this eventful FAM trip, which left all participants with many sources of inspiration.
Here we list the accommodations, restaurants and sights we visited for you to browse through:The fam trips with NordicMarketing are organised together with the partners and clients from Finland, Sweden or Norway. They are aimed exclusively at selected tour operators from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands or Belgium who already offer the Nordic countries in their product portfolio or would like to offer them in the future.
If you are interested in our fam trips, find more information here: