Journey through the rugged Helvetinjärvi National Park in lightweight packrafts, wild camping on remote lake shores
Paddle the length of Helvetinkolu Crevasse, an ancient rift that cuts through the forest, to Lake Haukkajärvi
Enjoy a crackling campfire at the unique Haukanhieta dune beach, and relax in a traditional lakeside sauna
Day 1
Travel deep into the aptly named 'Land of a Thousand Lakes'. Set up camp by Lake Kovero, review the plan for the weekend and enjoy a delicious dinner around a flickering campfire.
Day 2
After a safety briefing, spend the day paddling the scenic Lake Kovero – surrounded by dense forests and pale rock formations. At one point you'll deflate your craft and portage it across a narrow isthmus to the adjacent Lake Luoma. Set up camp on the shoreline and enjoy a peaceful evening exploring the area, before lighting the fire and settling in for a well-earned meal.
Day 3
Wake up in the heart of the Finnish wilderness, then paddle and hike along a chain of small lakes to Helvetinkolu – an ancient crevasse that splits open the forest. Cook up lunch around the campfire before paddlng the length of that water-filled crevasse, ending on the shores of serene Lake Haukkajärvi. Enjoy a final campfire on a dune beach, then watch the sun set over one of the best views in the park.
Day 4
Start the day with a traditional Finnish sauna right on the lake shore. Relax, take a refreshing dip in the clear water, clean up and then enjoy lunch in the adjacent restaurant, before heading back to Tampere Airport in time for your flight home.
Tez September 2022
Dan July 2022
Aine September 2019
Rahul August 2019
Bronwyn May 2019
Angela September 2018
Brian May 2018
Lois June 2023
“thus is a great trip for enjoying the splendour of the Finnish lakes and forests.... just magical carrying a featherweight pack raft through the forestsurrounded by birdsong and the scent of forest plants. we enjoyed clear blue skies and all water. Perfect”
Helen May 2023
“Beautiful scenery and true Finnish camping and sauna experience. Man or woman Vs bog then trees whilst carrying the raft!”
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Packrafting means paddling in a lightweight inflatable boat, then packing it away and hiking with it to reach new terrain. Originally developed for wilderness travel in Alaska, it’s still a bit niche, but fast-growing in popularity. The full paddling kit (raft, paddle, buoyancy aid and helmet) weighs around 5kg and packs down small, making it easy to carry. It’s tough, stable, and simple to paddle, definitely not a pool toy.
Remember that you will add the weight of the packraft to your personal items when hiking, so you will have to be prepared to carry around 10kg on your back.
Unfortunately it is not possible to leave luggage behind on this trip. We recommend that you pack light and follow the kit list to make this trip as enjoyable as possible.
If there are no suitable connecting flights to Tampere-Pirkkala Airport to coincide with the group transfers, we recommend flying in and out of Helsinki and taking the train between Helsinki Airport and Tampere. This is an easy and relatively cheap option, with trains costing roughly €10 each way. You should book a flight that arrives in Helsinki by 13:00 on Day 1, and departs Helsinki no sooner than 19:00 on Day 4. There are usually two trains per hour of approximately 1h 35m to 1h 50m in duration. You will need to take the commuter train from Helsinki Airport to Tikkurila Railway Station (about eight minutes) and change onto the train to Tampere. This can be booked online, or on the platform or train itself. If travelling by train, please ensure to arrive at Tampere Railway Station by 15:30 on Day 1 and depart Tampere Railway Station no sooner than 16:00 on Day 4 to coincide with the group transfers.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).
For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way. Check out our Community Values – a shared code to make sure that everyone's experience is safe, inclusive and brilliantly unforgettable.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 39kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
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