Come Discover the Finnish Path to Happiness with Me

There comes a moment when travel becomes less about getting away and more about choosing how you want to live, explore, and feel in the world. This journey to Finland is an invitation to do just that — through curiosity, shared experiences, and meaningful connection.

This journey is designed for women who are curious, thoughtful, and drawn to travel with intention. Women who enjoy beautiful places, meaningful conversation, and experiences that feel enriching. If you value learning through culture, connection, and lived experience — and want to travel alongside a supportive circle of like-minded women — you’ll feel at home on this trip.

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for years, not because life is perfect, but because people here have learned how to live well. Balance, trust, creativity, nature, and connection are woven into everyday life. On this trip, we’ll explore that path firsthand — moving from vibrant city life to lakeside stillness, and discovering happiness through food, culture, design, nature, and the people we meet along the way.

We’ll begin in Helsinki, a city that feels creative, calm, and effortlessly livable. Happiness here shows up in the rhythm of daily life — walkable neighborhoods, thoughtful design, great food, and long summer days under the Midnight Sun. We’ll explore the Design District, experience urban sauna culture, and spend time learning from locals through conversation rather than lectures.

From there, we’ll shift into Finland’s Lakeland region, where forests and water shape a slower, more grounded way of life. Days unfold at an easy, intentional pace, balancing gentle exploration — canoeing on quiet lakes, forest walks, and traditional sauna rituals — with time to rest and recharge.

Throughout the week, connection deepens naturally as we move through the journey together. Shared experiences, conversations, meals, and rituals create a sense of ease and belonging, while thoughtfully placed downtime allows space to rest and reflect. Some moments are lively and social, others quieter and contemplative — all part of a carefully curated group experience.

This is not about checking boxes or “working on yourself.” It’s about traveling with openness, curiosity, and joy — and sharing the experience with other women who value ease, learning, and meaningful connection.

If you’re ready for a journey that blends culture, nature, exploration, and community — and want to experience Finland in a way that feels authentic and deeply enjoyable — I’d love for you to join me.

This journey is intentionally limited to 12 women to preserve an intimate, connected group experience.

It is thoughtfully curated with a clear structure and an intentional daily rhythm. Each day blends engaging experiences with shared meals and built-in pauses, creating a natural flow that allows time to rest, absorb, and enjoy the journey as it unfolds.

All experiences are private and designed exclusively for our group, creating a sense of traveling together rather than alongside others. Accommodations have been selected for comfort, design, and a strong sense of place, and everyone will have their own private room — there are no shared accommodations.

Luxury on this journey is defined by ease and care: seamless logistics, beautiful settings, meaningful access to people and places, and enough space between activities to recharge. Days move naturally from city exploration to time on the water, cultural visits, sauna rituals, and nature-based experiences such as canoeing and forest walks.

As we finalize reservations with local creatives, hosts, and restaurants, the order or timing of some experiences may shift slightly to support the best overall flow of the journey.

Arrive in Helsinki, where this journey begins. Guests will fly into Helsinki Airport (HEL), with group airport transfers arranged by arrival windows to ensure a smooth and relaxed start to the trip.

Upon arrival, you’ll be transferred to our home for the next few nights, the beautiful Hotel St. George, ideally located near Old Church Park in the heart of the city. You’ll be staying in Serenity Studio rooms, offering a calm, comfortable base in a beautifully restored historic building known for its art, design, and wellness focus.

After check-in, enjoy time to unpack, refresh, or unwind at the hotel’s spa and pool before we gather in the evening for a relaxed welcome dinner at a nearby restaurant — an easy introduction to Finnish cuisine and the beginning of our time together as a group.

This morning, we’ll explore Helsinki through the lens of architecture and urban planning on a privately guided walk through the city. With a professional architecture guide, we’ll trace Finnish design from the 19th century to today, exploring how values like balance, functionality, and equity are reflected in the built environment.

Our walk includes a mix of historic and contemporary spaces, from Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture and Alvar Aalto’s modernist influence to some of Helsinki’s most thoughtful recent projects. Highlights include the Kamppi Chapel of Silence, the extraordinary Temppeliaukio Church carved directly into natural rock, and the award-winning central library Oodi Library.

After our morning exploration, we’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel for time to rest and recharge.

In the afternoon, we’ll gather for coffee and conversation with Miia Huitti, Sustainable Happiness Coach and Founder of The Finnish Happiness Institute.

Miia’s work focuses on sustainable happiness, stress management, and the realities of modern life in Finland — particularly for women navigating work, caregiving, and high expectations in a high-performing society. This session is intentionally designed as an open conversation rather than a lecture.

Over coffee and a traditional sweet bun — and possibly a gentle stroll through a nearby park — we’ll explore what happiness in Finland really looks like beyond rankings and headlines. There will be space for questions, shared reflection, and honest discussion around balance, wellbeing, and the habits and perspectives that help support a meaningful life.

We’ll close the day with dinner at a local restaurant.

This morning, we’ll explore Helsinki’s Design District on a privately guided walk through one of the city’s most creative neighborhoods. Home to independent studios, galleries, and iconic Finnish brands, the Design District offers a window into how design, craftsmanship, and daily life intersect in Finland.

Rather than focusing on shopping alone, we’ll visit a curated selection of local designers and creatives to gain a behind-the-scenes understanding of Finnish design as a philosophy — one rooted in functionality, sustainability, and harmony with nature. We’ll enjoy lunch together in the area before some free time to wander or relax.

In the afternoon, we’ll take to the water on a one-hour private cruise through Helsinki’s archipelago, passing islands such as Suomenlinna, Vallisaari, and Kaivopuisto, and seeing the city from a new perspective.

We’ll then step ashore on Uunisaari for a private urban sauna experience by the sea. Guided by a senior representative from Terhen, this experience introduces Terhen’s Bathe Like a Finn philosophy — a modern expression of traditional sauna culture rooted in ritual, simplicity, and wellbeing.

The session is currently planned to be led by Anna Velten, a partner at Terhen with a background in hospitality and wellness, who will guide us through the sauna ritual while sharing how sauna remains an integral part of everyday life in Finland, even in an urban setting.

We’ll end the day with a relaxed dinner on Uunisaari Island, enjoying seasonal cuisine and sea views before returning to the hotel in the evening.

This morning we leave Helsinki behind and travel into the heart of Finland’s Lakeland region, where forests, lakes, and long summer light invite a slower pace for the days ahead.

Often described as the soul of Finland, Lakeland is home to over 188,000 lakes, endless forests, and serene islands. It embodies many of the values at the heart of Finnish happiness: closeness to nature, clean air and water, and the freedom to slow down and reconnect.

We’ll pause along the way for a relaxed lunch at Tertti Manor, a historic family estate known for its seasonal, locally sourced cuisine, before continuing on to our lakeside home for the next four nights, Kuru Resort.

Set directly on the water, Kuru is designed for quiet immersion in nature. You’ll be staying in private Lake Suite rooms with expansive lake views, offering a peaceful base to unwind and settle into the rhythm of Lakeland life.

The afternoon is intentionally unstructured — time to rest, explore the grounds, or simply take in the stillness of the lake — before we gather for dinner at the resort.

This morning begins gently on the water with a guided canoeing experience on Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest lake, led by an expert local guide. We’ll paddle at an easy, relaxed pace through the serene landscapes of Linnansaari National Park, taking in forested islands, quiet bays, and the stillness of the lake. No prior experience is needed — this experience is about presence, not performance.

After returning to the resort, we’ll enjoy lunch and time to rest before gathering for a private, two-hour lakeside sauna experience reserved exclusively for our group. Set right on the shore, these traditional Finnish saunas invite us to move slowly between warmth and water, with time to enjoy the heat, cool off in the lake, and relax outdoors as part of an unhurried, shared ritual.

In the evening, we’ll gather for dinner at Järvisydän’s Fire Kitchen, where seasonal local ingredients are prepared over open flames — a memorable way to end a day shaped by water, warmth, and good company.

This morning we head out on a guided Saimaa ringed seal safari, cruising the vast waters of Lake Saimaa with an experienced local skipper. The Saimaa ringed seal is one of the world’s rarest freshwater seal species and lives exclusively in this region, making this a uniquely Finnish experience.

We’ll travel by boat toward the quiet shores of Linnansaari Island, an important habitat for the seals and a protected part of the lake system. The pace is relaxed, allowing time to take in the forested islands, open water, and sense of scale that defines life in Lakeland. Along the way, Sawolax espresso and light Nordic snacks are served, reinforcing the easy, unhurried rhythm of the morning.

After returning to shore, we’ll enjoy lunch at the resort.

Later, we shift from nature to history with a guided visit to Sulosaari Island and Olavinlinna Castle. Our walk through Sulosaari introduces the area’s early 20th-century spa culture, when these islands were a retreat for rest and renewal. We then continue to Olavinlinna, Finland’s most iconic medieval castle, dramatically set at the meeting point of water, land, and trade routes.

We return to the resort in the late afternoon, with time to rest before gathering for dinner in the evening.

The day begins at an easy pace, with the option to join one of Kuru Resort’s included wellness classes. The classes focus on breathing exercises, meditation, sound baths, and gentle yoga, offering a calm start to the final full day.

Later, we’ll head into the forest for a private guided walk with Reetta Ranta, who joins us in Lakeland to help bring together the themes we’ve explored throughout the journey. Part storyteller, part modern-day nature guide, Reetta weaves Finnish mythology, cultural tradition, and lived experience into a reflective walk through the forest. Through quiet conversation, storytelling, and time in nature, she offers perspective on how Finnish happiness is rooted in everyday rituals, connection to place, and a deep relationship with the natural world.

This experience is less about learning something new and more about integrating what you’ve felt and experienced during the week — and considering how it might carry home with you. The walk concludes with traditional Finnish coffee and a light picnic by an open fire.

In the afternoon, we’ll experience a traditional smoke sauna at Kuru’s Sauna World — a very different expression of sauna culture from the urban and lakeside saunas earlier in the trip. Often described as the pinnacle of Finnish sauna tradition, the smoke sauna offers a softer, more enveloping heat and a gentler atmosphere than modern saunas. This slower, more elemental experience reflects the rural roots of Finnish life and offers a quiet, grounding close to our time in Lakeland.

We’ll end the day with a farewell dinner at the Kota Restaurant, gathering around an open fire in a warm, intimate setting to close our journey together.

After breakfast, we’ll check out from Kuru Resort and travel by private group transfer to Helsinki Airport (HEL).

To ensure a smooth and unhurried departure, guests should plan flights departing after 4:00 pm. This timing allows for a relaxed morning, comfortable transfer, and buffer for traffic or airport formalities.

Final transfer details and recommended departure windows will be confirmed closer to travel once group flights are known.

• 7 nights accommodations in Helsinki and Finland’s Lakeland region

• Airport transfers- Private airport transfers on scheduled group arrival and departure days

• Ground transportation- All private group transportation, including transfers between Helsinki and Lakeland and transport for included activities

• Private guided Helsinki Architecture Tour

• Private guided Helsinki Design District Walk and visits with local creatives and shop owners

• Guided discussion with Miia Huitti, Sustainable Happiness Coach and Founder of The Finnish Happiness Institute

• Private guided Archipelago Cruise

• Private urban sauna experience in Helsinki

• Private guided canoeing experience in Lakeland region

• Private traditional and heritage sauna experience in Lakeland, including whisking rituals

• Private guided forest hike and picnic in Lakeland

• Private guided visit to Olavinlinna Castle and Sulosaari Island

• Guided seal safari in the Saimaa region

• Meals- breakfast at hotels, group lunches and group dinners as outlined in the itinerary

• Beverages with meals- Still/tap water, tea, and coffee included with meals listed as included

• Trip hosting by Kiron, with support before and throughout the trip, and on-the-ground coordination with trusted local partners.

• International or domestic airfare to and from Finland

• Meals and beverages not specifically listed as included

• Alcoholic beverages unless explicitly stated

• Optional experiences not listed in the itinerary

• Additional sightseeing or vehicle use outside the planned program

• Travel insurance- It is strongly recommended. After booking, I’ll share guidance and recommended options to help you choose coverage that fits this journey

• Personal expenses such as spa treatments, laundry, shopping, room service, or phone/internet charges