MonMon Travel

The primary reason for visiting Finland was to attend the 2024 NHL Global Series games in Tampere. Naturally, we wanted to make the most out of traveling such a long distance from Miami and pack as much fun into the trip as possible. It was such a relief to know that the hassle of setting up transportation and convenient lodging would be taken care of, as it was one of our biggest concerns when considering a trip in an unknown region. Our vacation would’ve been drastically different and wouldn’t have gone so smoothly if it weren’t for the expertise provided by Moonika and the kimkim team.

Moonika was extremely accommodating to our travel needs and was able to provide frequent and timely communication with us both before and throughout our trip. She also exceeded our expectations by keeping an eye out for a better-suited hotel in Tampere months after we had booked our trip.

Our itinerary was not only well-thought out, leaving a perfect balance of leisure time without seeming like time was being wasted, but the amount of detail provided to us left us very little room for questions and concerns. All of our drivers were on time, personable, and professional.

In Helsinki, Nadia from Green Cap Tours was a fantastic guide and provided us with so much information about both the city and Finland in general. It was the perfect way to officially begin our trip and left us feeling more confident when we were left to explore the city on our own once the tour had concluded.

Visiting Tallinn in Estonia wasn’t something we wouldn’t have considered without Moonika’s suggestion and we were so grateful that she had! The massive size of the ferry was a pleasant surprise to us as we were expecting a significantly smaller boat. Tallinn was such a beautiful city and we enjoyed our walking tour with Jorge. We appreciated that he didn’t let the rainfall that occurred throughout the afternoon and evening put a damper on our travels to many key destinations within Old Town Tallinn.

Immediately after our return to Helsinki the next morning we were driven to Tampere. Now, we’d been warned that snow was an unlikely possibility at that time of year, but we held out hope regardless…To our complete surprise we were welcomed with the first snow of the winter! Prior to both hockey games we spent most of the day exploring the city in awe of how gorgeous everything looked covered in fresh sheets of snow. Thanks to a suggestion by another traveler we made the trek to the Pyynikki Observation Tower and it was absolutely worth the walk! We could’ve spent so much more time exploring all that Tampere had to offer, but next on our itinerary was our overnight train to Rovaniemi. That too was an exciting experience as we had never traveled in a sleeper cabin like that before.

Upon our early arrival to Rovaniemi we met Joona. He happened to be both our driver and our guide for the Northern Lights Hunting excursion. He was extremely friendly and so passionate about his craft. The pictures he was able to capture of us on that phenomenal night are almost unbelievable!

We also had an exhilarating time on our Quad Bike tour with Pure Lapland. Our time was filled with laughter from start to finish and we even had a bonus drive-by look at many of the huskies they had on site! However, getting to make a face-first snow angel in the middle of nowhere was my personal favorite part of that adventure.

One of our final destinations of our trip was the Korouoma Canyon. It was one of the most scenic and breathtaking experiences we’d had! The hike was a bit more strenuous than anticipated given the icy surface, but we managed to make it through and got to enjoy a nice snack around the fire.

Without getting into any more detail than I already have I also wanted to mention just how fantastic each of the accommodations were! We really wish we had more time in the Glass Resort to fully appreciate all the amenities and gorgeous views, but we made sure to make the most of it by using the outdoor hot tub before rushing to the indoor sauna!

This trip wouldn’t have been nearly as incredible and unforgettable without all of Moonika’s hard work! We were genuinely surprised by just how smoothly everything had gone and we could not have asked for a better experience. Our expectations were very much exceeded and look forward to planning our next trip in the near future.

We recently took a tour with Emerson and had an exceptional experience! The itinerary was thoughtfully planned, allowing us to explore both popular sights and hidden gems.

The accommodations were comfortable and well-located, making our stay enjoyable. I also appreciated the seamless transportation arrangements, which made getting around stress-free.

I highly recommend Emerson to anyone looking for a memorable travel experience!

Moonika and the KimKim team made our trip an incredible experience. Moonika was fast and responsive creating a trip itinerary to Finland that was amazing and allowed us to see some incredible sights in such a condensed amount of time. We especially enjoyed the Northern Lights Ranch and the Northern Lights Tour that we were able to attend!

I would not hesitate to recommend Moonika and rebook with her in the future!

Itinerary designed by Moonika was perfect, it covered most popular activities/ places of interest, the itinerary wasn’t hectic but at the same time it was quite engaging where each day was felt extremely satisfying and fruitful. There were no hiccups I.e. none of the activities were cancelled, rescheduled etc but all happened as per the plan. We appreciate throughly your professionalism in planning, execution and more importantly being there always to answer our questions. All the activities were great. The guides Justin, oren, Anttie, Gaber, and Jyuka were best. They ensured our activities were filled with fun and
knowledge.

Our “Active Autumn” Finland and Estonia trip was perfectly planned by Emerson. It was just the eight amount of “active “ for us ( active seniors) with guided - hikes , city explorations and a bogshoe hike ! The knowledgeable guides were the best part of our adventure - Kieto from Green Cap tours gave us several hours of detailed Finnish history and culture while exploring the city center and ferry to Suomenlinna Island. We also had a food tour with him later in the week and discovered my favorite delicious Salmon soup ( Lohikeitto) . Christopher from Est Adventures provided an amazing amount of fascinating history and current lives of Estonians pre and post Soviet Union occupation. Berit was our naturalist and guide on perhaps our favorite adventure hiking in a beautiful bog an hour outside of Tallinn. Another highlight was our small group Archipelago Excursion with Jeff from Taiga Times . We hiked in yet another gorgeous setting through woods and along the granite shoreline and enjoyed our tasty lunch prepared on site by Jeff.
The hotels chosen by Emerson were charming and well located and the arranged drivers were always exactly on time and also so helpful with local suggestions. One of which was to visit Helsinki’s new Odi library which was amazing - filled with people of all ages and they let out tools, guitars for use in their studios and trailers!
All in all a well planned, wonderful nine days in Finland and Estonia.

The most memorable trip that we had of all trips till date. We would like to sincerely thank Moonika (KimKim) for the fabulous experience, meticulous planning and seamless execution. Utmost patience and giving out details with so many queries before finalization of the itinerary. Transparency and unwavering commitment towards client servicing (over so many days) was the hallmark of the entire experience.

Throughout our 10 days in Finland, there was not a single glitch. Choice of activities and more importantly choice of service providers for each of the distinct activities was fabulous (the reason I say this is because all activities were not given to a single service provider, and we did one northern light activity on our own which was a disappointment compared to the norther light hunting organized by Kim Kim).

Special mention of the service providers for each of the activities:
1) Helsinki City tour walk: Lesley was very good in taking us through Helsinki city to the important landmark. Clear in her explanation and had a lovely time

2) Antti for northern light hunting: This was the one of the best experiences and i would say blindly go for Antti if one gets a chance to go for northern light hunting. Here is the guy who has true passion for northern light hunting. He puts in slightly more than 6 hours for the hunt and just wanted to ensure that we get very good sighting as much as possible. He kept driving and outpacing the clouds and tried to see multiple places to get a good sighting. In our 3rd citing place, we got a good glimpse. While we were returning, all of us were asleep since it was well past midnight. He makes a stop (which he could have well avoided) and wakes us up since he has seen something good. Will never forget that moment.

3) Ranau Zoo visit: Another very good experience. Oren is such a lively person with very good sense of humour. During our drive to Ranau Zoo, he explained us the reason the norther lights phenomena with so much clarity and details. It was fun experience with his explanation about the animals and his capturing of the pics for the different animals. Another individual who loves his job thoroughly.

4) Korouoma Canyon Wilderness Hike: Very different and another fabulous experience of a nice trek. Gabor initially came us a kind of a reserved guy and then as the trek went by he was all fun. His one liner timings were hilarious. Very good activity and here too Gabor was very patient with us given that we were halting almost everywhere to click our own pics with nature apart from plucking and eating berries all along the way. Loved the wood chopping and fire making activity with nice plant-based hotdogs. Will definitely recommend Gabor too as a tour guide.

5) Sauna by the lake: Wow what a location just by the serene lake. Nice, pleasant weather. Justin was our tour guide and again a very good experience. She made us very comfortable and arranged everything for us seamlessly. We had nice sauna experience along with a dip in the lake and repeating this sequence more than once. Justin provided us with nice berry juice and berry tarts

6) Amethyst mine and canoeing in Pyha: So far all activities were very good experience fun and hence the bar was automatically set high. In Pyha, we meet the man Jukka who was with us for almost 3 days. He is simply superb. Always smiling, accommodating and absolutely fun loving. He kept with our changing needs with no fuss and made our stay and experience absolutely fabulous. Amethyst mine small trek and the mine experience was very unique and fun. Canoeing experience with Jukka at helm was outstanding and will remain etched forever in memories.

All our stay at Hotel Glo Art, Artic Light Hotel and Kurula's Resort were very good and comfortable. We also loved the overnight train journey both ways.

All the above experiences were made possible thanks to the fabulous itinerary prepared by Moonika without which it would have been just not possible.

Strongly recommend KimKim

Hotel Reviews

GLO Hotel Art

Helsinki

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Overnight Train

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arctic Light Hotel

Rovaniemi

Authenticity & Character

Sauna experience and the rooms

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kurula's Resort

Pyhätunturi

Fabulous location, ambience

Authenticity & Character

Sauna with Jacuzzi by the lake

Location

next to the lake, simply wow

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Helsinki City Walking Tour

Helsinki

Tallinn Day Trip

Helsinki

Flexible Northern Lights Hunting

Rovaniemi

Wow

Ranua Wildlife Park Visit

Finland

Finnish Sauna Experience

Rovaniemi

Korouoma Canyon Wilderness Hike

Rovaniemi

Reindeer Farm Visit (No Safari)

Rovaniemi

Sauna Experience by the Lake

Pyhä

Another wow experience

Canoeing Experience on Pyhäjoki River

Pyhä

Another wow experience

Amethyst Mine Photographing Tour

Pyhä

Emerson was easy to work with while planning vacation. We had flexibility to do things on our own and meet with friends, yet also have tours and activities. Everything was perfectly planned. Hotels were beautiful and in perfect locations in he cities we visited. Pick up and drop offs were seamless. Tours were fun and informational with local tour guides.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lilla Roberts

Helsinki

Wonderful breakfast, great location, clean with great character.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Short walk to many attractions.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable.

Solo Sokos Hotel Torni Tampere

Tampere

Cool hotel, clean, nice staff. Close to train station. Amazing bar on top floor to see sunset.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arctic Light Hotel

Rovaniemi

Great location. Clean hotel with character. Wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Taste of Helsinki & Tour of Suomenlinna

Helsinki

Great guides. Learned a lot about Finland.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in the Archipelago Sea

Helsinki

Great guide. Porkkalanniemi was beautiful area to hike. Traditional food was very good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sauna Tour

Tampere

Guides were so knowledgeable about saunas. Interesting to try the different saunas. The Yurt was our favorite.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Short Arctic Wilderness Hike (Summer/Autumn)

Rovaniemi

Great guide. Beautiful hiking area. Learned a lot about the plants and trees in Finland.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Luxury Log Sauna and Finnish Dinner Experience

Rovaniemi

Beautiful sauna and dining area. Food was amazing. Best salmon we had in Finland.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cultural e-fatbike Tour

Rovaniemi

Great guide. Bikes were easy to ride and a great way to see Rovaniemi. Ride up to Santa Claus Village was smooth and easy to get to with stops along the way to learn about Rovaniemi and Finland.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

River Cruise on an Eco Rubber Boat

Rovaniemi

Tour guide was so nice and kind. Nice relaxing ride along the river to a sand bar swimming area. Great traditional Finnish snack.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Northern Lights Tour

Rovaniemi

Great guide. It was like storm chasing to find the northern lights. We were so excited that we found them! Pictures taken and sent to us very quickly are amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to your amazing and trustworthy company, especially to the specialist who arranged our wonderful trip to Finland (Emerson). He was very kind, cooperative and patient with us, and made a great effort to arrange the most wonderful trip. We were there in great luxury and comfort, and lived beautiful moments that will not be forgotten. We will definitely organize all our upcoming trips in cooperation with you. 😍♥️

We had an amazing holiday in Finland, thanks to careful planning and organising by our rep Emerson. He was attentive and responsive to our requests and created a tailor-made itinerary for us. He was also very helpful and attentive during our trip too. His choices meant that we enjoyed a wide variety of activities, locations and experiences which is just what we wanted from the holiday. We even made a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, only a couple of hours away by ferry from Helsinki. We loved the vibrant cities of Helsinki and Turku, balanced with the opportunities to be surrounded by the nature and wildlife in Rovaniemi, Pyhä and Äkäslompolo. We enjoyed the overnight sleeper train to Kolari and found all our transfers to be very smooth and easy. We enjoyed our time with all the guides, who were friendly, knowledgeable and kind. This was especially so in Äkäslompolo, Rovaniemi and Pyhä and they added to our whole positive experience. Our accommodation was always first rate and there we enjoyed the wonderful Finnish breakfast selections plus access to the saunas, another great Finnish ritual. The weather was pretty good throughout our trip and we enjoyed perfect temperatures for us to sightsee and do the planned activities. We are very happy with the holiday we had in Finland and thank Emerson and KimKim for a great experience.

Hotel Reviews

Ylläs-Ukko

Äkäslompolo

Loved this private house surrounded by nature. It was spacious, tranquil and modern with all the amenities you could want. An added bonus was the private sauna there which we all enjoyed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

GLO Hotel Art

Helsinki

Characterful hotel in a great location. It had spacious, modern rooms but also unique communal areas with architectural features. Loved the amazing breakfasts!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kurula's Resort

Pyhätunturi

Beautiful location surrounded by nature. Particularly enjoyed the private sauna in the apartment and possibility to cook own meals.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Couple of kms walk to town, so not quite so easy without a car for meals/shopping.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Double room was a longer hot during our stay but comfortable enough.

Solo Sokos Hotel Turun Seurahuone

Turku

Great location and modern hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arctic Light Hotel

Rovaniemi

Wonderful hotel in great location . Friendly and helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Overnight Train

Fantastic first experience on a sleeper train. Surprisingly quiet and comfortable with pre booked breakfast. It was a punctual and smooth journey.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Taste of Helsinki & Tour of Suomenlinna

Helsinki

Great guided tour with Janica in Helsinki, who was friendly, informative and kind.

Quality of Experience

Informative tour of main Helsinki sights

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Janica was kind and personable not just informative.

Transport

Ferry ride to island was smooth and easy.

Guided Hike in the Archipelago Sea

Helsinki

Loved our visit to the archipelago and to see what is beyond Helsinki city.

Quality of Experience

Really nice tour but could have been made even better for us with longer hike.

Food

Enjoyed eating the local Finnish food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Christian very good guide

Transport

Tallinn Day Trip

Helsinki

Very positive addition to our Finland trip. Easy to get there and so much to see.

Quality of Experience

Easy ferry ride and great guided tour of city.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enjoyed our private tour with our very knowledgeable and friendly guide.

Transport

Ferry is super comfortable and easy and full of amenities

Turku City Walking Tour

Turku

Interesting tour of main sights in Turku and added to our understanding of Turku’s position in Finland’s history.

Quality of Experience

Overall very interesting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sanna was a good guide for us and gave a full and comprehensive private tour.

Transport

On foot but totally walkable

Full Day Hike in the National Park

Äkäslompolo

One of our best experiences during the whole holiday.

Quality of Experience

Fantastic tour to experience the nature of Finland at its best.

Food

Enjoyed our grill experience in one of the hiking huts

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both guides were extremely kind, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. They added to the whole experience and made it very positive and enjoyable for us all.

Transport

Very good door to door pick up and drop off and transfer to hiking area.

Bird & Wildlife Watching Tour

Pyhä

Great hiking tour in a beautiful gorge with knowledgeable guide.

Quality of Experience

Enjoyed being immersed in nature and having a great guide too.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Super knowledgeable and friendly guide.

Transport

Great transport in mini van

Canoeing Experience on Pyhäjoki River

Pyhä

Fantastic experience to canoe/kayak on the river and lake in the national park.

Quality of Experience

Enjoyed physical activity of canoeing and kayaking but also the immersive experience of being in the beautiful natural environment.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide again , same as our previous trip in the area which helped build our rapport and ease with each other.

Transport

Minivan pick up and drop off

Amethyst Mine Photographing Tour

Pyhä

A great unique experience which we all loved.

Quality of Experience

Really great to learn about this wonderful unique place and then to get the opportunity to actually mine for ourselves! We all left with some self-mined amethysts, very special souvenirs of our trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative and friendly guide at the mine.

Transport

Minivan pick up, transfer and drop off by our same private tour guide. All went very smoothly.

Northern Lights Tour

Rovaniemi

Enjoyable experience even though we didn’t get to see much activity in the sky. Enjoyed the campfire and photo opportunities at the lake at sunset.

Quality of Experience

Enjoyed the trip and liked the photography tips. Good picture opportunities at the lake at sunset too.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ryan and Aurelian were both friendly and knowledgeable.

Transport

Minivan ride smooth and easy.

Meet Arctic Animals (Summer)

Rovaniemi

Great opportunity to meet Arctic animals up close and learn more about them from the farm owners.

Quality of Experience

Great experience at both husky and reindeer farms. Owners were welcoming and enthusiastically shared their knowledge with us. The animals are obviously well cared for too.

Food

Lunch was lovely at the reindeer farm and we enjoyed the local dishes made with local Finnish ingredients. The big hut and campfire were a great place to eat in too.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly and personable and we really appreciated learning from the farm owners too.

Transport

Smooth minivan transfer from tour guide office.

River Cruise on an Eco Rubber Boat

Rovaniemi

Great experience to see the sights from the river.

Quality of Experience

Enjoyed the whole trip even though we had a rainy day.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sakke was particularly kind and friendly. As it was so rainy, he offered a sauna experience for us instead of river swimming. This was one in his own garden and was of the traditional design. He kindly offered us sandwiches, drinks and cookies too. This kind hospitality added to our overall enjoyment despite the wet weather.

Transport

Good fun being collected and dropped by boat!

We had an incredible trip to Finland - with a bonus day trip to Tallinn, Estonia - thanks to Emerson’s expert planning and advice. He made it super easy to plan and prepare for our trip. All accommodations, experiences and transportation were taken care of leaving us to simply enjoy! Our guides in each city were wonderful and the experiences in Rovaniemi were particularly memorable. Thank you Emerson!!

Hotel Reviews

GLO Hotel Art

Helsinki

Beautiful hotel and rooms, great location, delicious breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central

Staff

Super friendly and helpfull

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kakola

Turku

Nice rooms, unique building/history, and food was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Overnight Train

Convenient way to travel. Nice to be able to stretch out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Original Sokos Hotel Arina

Oulu

Convenient location, beautiful private sauna.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arctic Light Hotel

Rovaniemi

Gorgeous room and building, comfortable beds, beautiful private sauna, and good location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfort Hotel® Xpress Helsinki Airport Terminal

Vantaa

Tiny rooms, could use some deep cleaning. Convenient and served its purpose as a quick place to shower and sleep before a super early flight.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tallinn Day Trip

Helsinki

What an awesome city! Our guide Dominic was wonderful - enthusiastic, incredibly knowledgeable, and patient with all our kiddos’ questions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canoe Tour

Rovaniemi

Chris was an excellent teacher and guide. We had an amazing time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Short Arctic Wilderness Hike (Summer/Autumn)

Rovaniemi

Leo and Pierre were very friendly and knowledgeable. They matched our pace, shared great information, and made the experience fun and enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finnish Sauna Experience

Rovaniemi

Leo was wonderful, setting up the sauna as well as paddle boards for us. We were given plenty of time and privacy to enjoy the sauna and lake as a family. It was beautiful and relaxing. The homemade lunch of salmon soup and blueberry pie was above and beyond!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport