Brown bears and Wolverines in Finland

A long weekend in a magical place in Northern Finland where we’ll have the opportunity to observe and photograph Eurasian brown bears and other wildlife from a number of different hides located in the forest and next to lakes. Lots of sightings are often incredibly intimate and it’s quite common that bears will pass by right in front of our hides. On my last trip we saw somewhere between four and nine bears in every session with several encounters so close you could hear them breathing. At this time of year there is 24 hours daylight and we’ll become nocturnal for four nights – heading into our hides at about 5pm and coming out the following morning. We’ll be two people in each hide which have comfortable chairs and even a small bed. This is useful if one person needs to grab some sleep while the other keeps watch which is a good system to make sure no wildlife is missed. In the morning we’ll come back to a well earned breakfast and catch up on sleep during the day at our lodgings. We’ll be based next to a lovely lake which is great for swimming if you fancy a cool but refreshing dip. Late afternoon we’ll eat an early home cooked supper together before walking to our next hide for our night’s adventure. Coffee, tea, sandwiches and other snacks are provided in our hides.

The simple bear necessities

Along with close up sightings of Eurasian brown bears we can expect to see other wildlife too including wolverines, several bird species and with luck even wolves are sighted here occasionally. Spring time in this part of Finland is a lovely time of year with 24 hours of daylight. The sun will skim behind the trees about midnight and then rise again an hour or so later. When you are rested during the day there are a number of walks that we can do around this area including a wander up to the Russian border which is under a kilometre away. We’ll be in different hides each night allowing a range of photographic opportunities including plenty of reflections of bears in the small lakes located right by some of the hides.

Dates, costs and bookings

NEXT DATES

NEW Bears in the snow – April 21st to 28th 2025 Contact me here for more info

Cost

£1600 per person including everything apart from our flights to get there – timings to be advised and these cost approx £250 return from the UK.

Itinerary

Day 1 – We’ll fly from London Heathrow together leaving about 7am for Helsinki. Transit in Helsinki airport and then fly to Kajaani arriving approx 4 pm. Exact flight timings to be advised – people travelling from other parts of Europe can meet us in Helsink. Airport pick up and drive north. Check in at our lodgings, briefing and then short walk to our hides for our first evening of bear watching.

Day 2 – 7 Enter hides at 4pm each afternoon and come out at 8am for breakfast. Daytimes spent sleeping at accommodation and we can also work on processing our photos and Lightroom techniques.

Day 8 – Airport pickup and return flights home.

A few more photos from this gorgeous place – click on any thumbnail to view them larger.