Riverboat Cruise from Rovaniemi
Lapland, Finland
Trip Type: Day Cruises
Duration: 45 minutes
Cruise along a former timber-rafting route on this 45-minute riverboat tour from Rovaniemi. Aboard a wooden boat known as a ‘jokivene,’ you'll drink in the idyllic summertime scenery as you travel along the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers, both used to transport timber in the 19th and 20th centuries. While you admire the views of woodlands and riverbanks, listen to commentary from a driver-guide about the raftsmen who once floated down the river on rafts made from harvested logs.
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Cruise along a former timber-rafting route on this 45-minute riverboat tour from Rovaniemi. Aboard a wooden boat known as a ‘jokivene,’ you'll drink in the idyllic summertime scenery as you travel along the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers, both used to transport timber in the 19th and 20th centuries. While you admire the views of woodlands and riverbanks, listen to commentary from a driver-guide about the raftsmen who once floated down the river on rafts made from harvested logs.
Your tour starts with pickup from select Rovaniemi hotels for the drive by coach or minivan to the shores of the Kemijoki River. The longest river in Finland, the Kemijoki merges with the Ounasjoki River, one of its tributaries to the north of town, and snakes through swathes of delightful countryside and woodlands.
Listen to a safety briefing and put on a provided life vest before hopping in a jokivene, a traditional style of wooden, motorized boat that seats up to 12 passengers, plus your driver-guide. As you take off along the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers, sit back and soak up the picture-postcard scenery, following the old timber-rafting routes used in Finnish Lapland’s forestry trade during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Snap photos of the surrounding riverbanks and woodlands, and admire pretty wooden homesteads on the water. Learn about local geography and wildlife, and pause every now and then to hear stories of the role the rivers played in Finland's timber industry. Your guide will tell you how raftsmen would tie together harvested logs to form large rafts, and then row the floating platforms down the river to local mills.
When your cruise ends, step back on shore to end your tour with hotel drop-off.
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