The trip has two bases. It starts in Helsinki, where the group explores the city centre and visits the Suomenlinna sea fortress, and continues at the Piispala youth centre in the Finnish countryside, roughly five hours from the capital.
Teenagers aged 14 to 17. The programme is residential and is run in French, so participants travel and share the stay with French-speaking peers.
Each intake lasts eight days, arriving and departing on a Saturday. Zigotours runs several winter intakes on the same programme.
Yes. Return scheduled flights between Paris and Helsinki are part of the package, along with local and private ground transport in Finland. If your child needs to travel from a French regional city instead, the operator can arrange it for a supplement — the cities and amounts are listed under extras on this page.
A director and qualified group leaders accompany the group for the whole trip, at a ratio of one adult for every eight young people. Zigotours runs the programme with a minimum of twelve and a maximum of twenty-four participants.
At the youth centre the group stays in a chalet on the grounds with full board. In Helsinki the group stays in a youth hostel, where catering is self-managed with a small restaurant used as well.
Cross-country skiing, curling, snowshoe walks, sledging and an introduction to cold-weather survival techniques such as making a fire and building an igloo. The centre’s swimming pool, ice rink and sports facilities are used during the stay, and there is a traditional sauna beside the frozen lake. In Helsinki the group takes part in a city game and an excursion to Suomenlinna.
Zigotours asks for a travel authorisation for a minor, a European Health Insurance Card, a health record, a valid passport or national identity card, parental consent for the activities and for the use of images, and a copy of the vaccination certificate; DTP vaccination is required. Check that the identity document is not only valid but also in good physical condition — damage can lead to boarding being refused.
