Finnish Lapland in Winter: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

If you are looking for the Ultimate winter break in a Winter Wonderland you cannot go passed the Finnish Lapland. It is of course the home of Santa Claus and one of the most magical places in the world.

Lapland is filled with snow, fairy lights, warm food, igloos, tree houses, husky sleds and snowball fights.

In winter, Lapland makes you feel like you are in a different world. It is where all your Christmas and winter dreams can come true (as lame as that sounds!).

Visiting Lapland in winter was so high on my bucket list for so long. We visited Lapland at the end of our 4-month backpacking trip around Europe and I wasn’t sure it would meet my expectations. But it did, it exceeded them. I didn’t want to leave and cannot wait to return.

But, is Finnish Lapland in winter really worth the cost?

What is Finnish Lapland like in Winter?

Finnish Lapland in winter is a magical experience but it is also a very different experience, especially if you are not used to the short day light hours and the weather.

We visited in January and being Australian, our January’s are usually very hot!!!

Each day the sun rose at approximately 10am and began to set again around 2pm. This does not mean that it was only light between 10am and 2pm, twilight seemed to last a lot longer than normal. We had some kind of day light between 9am and 3pm.

Finnish Lapland in winter was a very unusual winter in Finnish Lapland with the lowest temperature reaching -12°. Usually the Lapland temperature in winter the maximum temperature for the day is -20°. During the day the temperature was about -2°.

As long as you bring some good cold weather gear and lots of layers the temperatures are bearable. If you get too cold it is a great excuse to head inside and warm up with a hot chocolate or Glögg.

12 Things to do in Finnish Lapland in winter

1. Reindeer Sleigh Ride

“Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen.” How hasn’t dreamt of joining Santa and reindeer for a sleigh ride?

I know when we started talking about visiting Lapland, a Reindeer sleigh ride was high on my Lapland Bucket List.

There are many places in Lapland where you can join a Reindeer Safari, including Santa Claus village and the Apukka resort. All tours are conducted in small groups, they will provide extra layers of winter clothing for you, as it can get quite cold sitting in the sleigh.

Learn about the local traditions of the reindeer and enjoy being pulled through a winter wonderland before returning to a warm drink.

Most tours take around 2 – 3 hours and do include hotel transfers.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

2. Ranua Zoo

Located approximately 1 hour from Rovaniemi, Ranua Zoo is a unique experience for any traveller.

There are so many arctic animals to see that you don’t get the chance to see any where else such as the arctic fox and the wolverine.

Tickets are 18.50€ per adult in the summer and 15.00€ per adult in the winter.

If you go after 2pm in the winter it is recommended that you take a torch with you as it gets quite dark and the paths can be slippery due to the snow and ice.

It is possible to take a small group tour from Rovaniemi and I highly recommend this as the wildlife park is a must. The wildlife park is close to the Gulo Gulo Village where you can do many of the snow activities that are provided in Rovaniemi.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

3. Husky Safari

In my opinion, a visit to Finnish Lapland in winter would not be complete without a Husky Sleigh Ride across the beautiful snowy landscape!

Learning to “drive” a Husky sled and then putting all your trust in a foot break as the gorgeous husky fly off is an amazing feeling.

The Husky Safari last for two hours (depending on the tour you choose) and all of your warm weather gear is included in the price.

As you steer the sled yourself you are required to have two people per sled. There is the chance half way to change drivers so you can both have a go at steering.

At the end of the safari as you take the husky’s back to the kennels you get the opportunity to pat and play with the huskies!

The warm winter gear is optional but I highly recommend that you use it, it is warm when you are steering the sled but pretty chilly when you are sitting in the sled.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

4. Hunting for the Northern Lights

Seeing the Northern Lights has always been something that I have wanted to experience and see with my own eyes so this activity was a must for me.

We chose a tour which included hunting the Northern Lights on a snow mobile. However, you can choose tours where you take a horse drawn carriage, a bus or a sleigh pulled by a snow mobile.

If you’re super adventurous you can also choose an ice floating experience to see the Northern Lights.

For our snow mobile tour, we were given a brief lesson on how to drive the snow mobile and then we drove out to the wilderness before pausing in a snow covered field to light a fire and cook some sausages!

As soon as we reached our break spot the Aurora’s made a slight appearance. The sight of the lights, albeit the very faint sight, was an indescribable feeling.

We were very lucky to see the lights and a few times throughout the tour.

You are not guaranteed to see the Northern Lights and I am not sure how much I would have loved it if we didn’t see the lights! I was super uncomfortable driving the snowmobile but my partner loved it!

Check out Prices and Availability Here

5. Santa’s Village

Santa’s Village is really worth a visit if you are in Rovaniemi. There are plenty of shops to look at, activities such as the ones above, crossing the arctic circle but the most exciting thing was…..visiting Santa Claus.

I felt like I was 7 again going to have my Santa photo taken and he was the real deal!! Don’t forget to stop by Santa’s Post Office and post yourself a letter that will be sent to you next Christmas

Santa Claus Village is located 8km north of the city center and can be accessed by car on highway E4 (also known as E75) or by local bus (look for bus number 8). The bus goes into the city center via the Arctic tree house hotel/Santa Park.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

6. Find Santa’s secret cavern at SantaPark

Why not continue on the Christmas theme during your visit to Lapland in Winter (it is the Christmas season after all) and visit an indoor Christmas theme park?

SantaPark is voted the top Christmas theme park in the world and needs to be on your Lapland bucket list.

Board the magical train that takes you through magical worlds, tests you at the Elf School, crosses the Arctic underground and gives you a chill at the Ice Gallery.

There are elf shows to see, letters to post from Post Office, decorate your own biscuits with Mrs Gingerbread and see Santa himself – put in a good word for yourself!

Located next to the Arctic Treehouse Hotel and 3km from Santa Claus Village, SantaPark is easy to access to both the city center and the airport. You can easily drive to the Park or take Bus Line 8 from the city center and the airport.

7. Strap on your Snowshoes and hike through the Finnish Wilderness

Head into the Arctic forest for experience like no other. Hike/snowshoe through the Arctic forest and across the Arctic Circle just outside Rovaniemi.

At the conclusion of your snowshoeing adventure warm up the fire with a BBQ meal or Finnish snacks before your transfer back to your hotel.

Most snowshoe tours are relatively short and fun for the whole family but check with your tour company before embarking on the trip as a family.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

8. Dine at an Ice Restaurant and sleep in a SnowHotel

The Arctic SnowHotel is located inside the Arctic Circle about 25 kms from the Rovaniemi city centre.

Join in on a once in a life time experience as you drink from a glass made purely of ice, explore ice and snow structures, marvel at ice sculptures, warm up in the snow sauna or challenge yourself to spend the night in a hotel room made of ice.

If you would rather just visit for the day than staying the night you are invited to join a tour, either a small group tour from Rovaniemi or if you are driving yourself, you the SnowHotel will arrange tours for you. Tours are available from 12:00 – 19:00 and needs to be arranged in advanced.

The Ice Restaurant is certainly unique as it is built from snow and as the name suggests, ice. Enjoy warm Lappish delicacies served at ice tables. Your will begin your dining experience with mushroom soup and end the night with a chocolate delight that is of course, served on an ice platter.

To make truly make this a trip to remember, try your hand at snow sculpting, head out on snowshoe trek or buzz around on electric snowmobiles.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

9. Glide across the snow on a Cross Country Skiing tour

Cross Country Skiing, also known as back country skiing is quite a popular adventure activity in Lapland in winter.

Venture into the Pallas-Yllastunturi National Park or the snow capped Ounasvaara mountain and ski through some of the most specular landscapes in Lapland.

You should join a small group tour to make the most of your experience. The tours usually last around three to three and a half hours, are perfect for all levels, and include all your gear.

Take a transfer from Rovaniemi before gliding through snow with the winters sun providing the perfect glow over the landscape.

Depending on your tour enjoy a warm drink and some Finnish cookies or a BBQ over an open fire before heading back to Rovaniemi.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

10. Try your hand at Ice fishing

To feel like a true Finn, try your hand at ice fishing on a frozen lake. Ice fishing is the perfect way to enjoy the natural environment and soak up all the beauty that Lapland has to offer.

Ice fishing seems simple enough, drill a hole into the ice and wait for the fish to take your bate. But, how many fish will you catch?

While you wait for the fish to hook onto your line, warm up by a bonfire built right on the ice and enjoy smoked salmon with bread, a warm soup or a Finnish BBQ.

Depending on where you decide to go Ice Fishing you will either walk out on to the frozen lake, this is a whole experience in itself, or you can drive a snowmobile through the arctic forest and onto the lake.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

11. Enjoy a Sauna the Finnish way

Most of picture a Sauna as enjoying a steam room as part of spa day or at the local swimming pool but it’s not quite like this in Finland.

In Finnish Lapland in winter warm up in a Sauna (there are over 2 million Sauna’s in Finland) before venturing out into the freezing cold and rolling in the snow, jumping into a lake or an ice swimming pool.

Before you ask, the Finns are not crazy, combining very hot temperatures with very cold temperatures is very good for your body and your overall health.

The Sauna experience has been a long and important part of Finnish Culture and is one enjoyed by locals and tourists.

Many hotels and apartments will either include Sauna’s in the room or at least within the grounds. This means that you can have your own Finnish Sauna experience without needing to go on a tour. Similar take some time in the Sauna before heading outside to jump in the snow before heading back inside to warm up.

As challenging as this experience may sound the adrenaline rush will have you running back out to the snow or jumping in the icy water more than once.

Check out Prices and Availability Here

12. Explore the Capital City, Rovaniemi

Last by not least, your trip to Lapland in winter (or summer!) would not be complete without a visit to the city centre of Rovaniemi.

Rovaniemi is the capital city of Lapland in northern Finland and is a small but unique city as it is a small urban city that is surrounded by arctic forests and nature.

When you are visiting Rovaniemi check out Provincial Museum Arktikum, the forest-themed Pilke Science Centre, the town square, the Rovaniemi Church and the Korundi House of Culture.

If you are into theater and live performances there is a small theater in Rovaniemi where you can see musicals, classic plays and children’s performances. There are also plenty of restaurants to choose from where you can try some local cuisine.

Best time to visit Lapland for Northern Lights

One of the main reasons travellers head to Finnish Lapland in winter is to try and catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights as they dance across the Arctic sky.

The Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis, are natural phenomena which are caused solar storms charging particles that release bright lights. The colour of the lights depend on the elements present at the time.

In Northern Finland, the chances of seeing the lights are much higher than in southern Finland in places like Helsinki. In Lapland they put on a display every other night, usually between September and March.

To see the lights you need a very dark clear night and with no cloud cover.

How to get to Lapland

Train

There are a few options for getting to Lapland but we took the Santa Claus Express Night Train. Waiting at Helsinki Train station I have never been so excited. I felt like a little kid the night before Christmas.

The train journey takes around 12 hours from Helsinki and to Rovaniemi, we loved going to sleep in Helsinki and waking up in a Winter Wonderland.

🚂 Book Your Train Tickets Here

Fly

The quickest and easiest way to get to Lapland is to fly from Helsinki. The are a number of flights each day (depending on the day) and take between one and one and a half hours.

The airport in Helsinki is a 27 minute train journey from the city center and will cost around $5 or you can take a taxi/Uber will also take approximately half an hour.

✈ Book Your Flights Here

Drive

Lapland is accessible by car and the highways are well-maintained, especially if you are taking the E75 from Helsinki to Lapland. On the E75 you will travel via Lahti, Jyväskylä and Oulu. Along the drive you will find many beautiful towns, villages and natural beauties to break up your drive.

The drive from Helsinki will take you around 9 and a half hours, depending on the weather. You can rent a car from the city center or from the airport and there are plenty of rental car companies to choose from.

🚗 Book Your Car Hire Here

Where to stay

We stayed three nights in Lapland and in two different locations. The accommodation was not cheap at all but it was something that we allowed for in our budget.

Arctic Fox Igloos, Ranua

The Arctic Fox Igloos were an amazing experience. Laying in a nice warm, cosy bed whilst looking out at the snow and the stars above. This has always been a dream of mine and I was super excited to be able to wake up on my birthday inside my very own igloo.

Situated on the shore of the frozen Lake Ranuanjärvi and surrounded by a snow covered woodland forest.

Each igloo consists of a bedroom for two, a small kitchenette (it is possible to cook a meal in these kitchens), a bathroom which includes a private sauna and a view out of the igloo.

The glass walls are heated which prevents snow or frost from lying on the igloos. There is a timber box at the back of the igloo to provide privacy in the bathroom and sauna and you can pull curtains around the bottom two thirds of the glass walls.

The igloos are approximately a one hour drive from Rovaniemi but they do offer return transfers for 48€ per person.

One the way from Rovaniemi the driver will stop at the supermarket for you to pick up some supplies.

The restaurant at the igloos is nice but they have the same menu every night so if you like variety I would buy some snacks or a meal to cook.

The igloos were built in 2018 and it seemed that the customer service was still being worked on.

However, we absolutely loved out two night stay here and would stay again.

When we weren’t out doing activities (see below) we were content to sit in our igloo with the lights off gazing out the moon lit frozen lake.

It is possible to see the Northern Lights from your igloo and the second night were there the Northern Lights did put on a show. However, we were on a Northern Lights trip so we did not see them from our igloo.

Room Tip: As soon as you book your igloo ask for a front row igloo.

We noticed that some of the front row igloos were empty but people were still staying in the second row so it is important that you ask for the front row.

Most of the rooms have twin beds but you can push these together.

The Arctic Treehouse Hotel

Arctic Tree House Hotel is a slice of heaven. Located 2km from Santa’s Village if feels as though you are in the middle of no where.

The Tree Houses (or nests) are beautifully decorated and it feels as though everything has been thought of. Each nest has a full length window to enjoy the beautiful snowy view outside the window.

The staff seemed as though they couldn’t do enough for you. We had mentioned that it was my birthday whilst we were staying with them and we arrived to a beautiful bottle of champagne.

The food at the restaurant is amazing and so is the restaurant itself. On the day we were leaving we spent a few hours enjoying lunch and a few drinks by the fire place. It was just amazing.

The only downside to our stay was that we were only staying one night! We will most definitely be back to stay at the Tree House.

Room Tip: After reading some reviews saying they were facing a car park I emailed (maybe more than once!) to request a front row room facing the forest.

When we were walking around the hotel we did not notice any rooms facing a car park. If you want be sure I would ask for a room facing the forest, we stayed in room 51.

Before you go

Don’t forget your travel insurance

I always recommend travelling with travel insurance but I think in a place like Lapland it is super important.

The amount of snow around and the winter activities that you can participate in are likely to increase your chances of having an accident or needing your travel insurance.

Find Your Perfect Policy Here

Packing warmly

Packing for Lapland in winter can be overwhelming and hard to know where to start. Layers is going to be the key for your trip to Lapland, it will be warm inside and very cold outside. Make sure you have thermals, merino woolen thermals are the best (check out this top and these pants) a good quality jacket like this one here, and these boots are perfect for the cold and the snow.

For a more in depth look into what to pack for Lapland in winter check out my post on the Ultimate Lapland Packing List.

FAQs: Lapland Winter Holidays

Wrap Up: Is Finnish Lapland in Winter Really worth the cost?

I have found that there are many experiences and accommodations that you pay a lot for and they don’t quite seem worth it.

In total (transport, accommodation and activities) Lapland cost us $4001.73 for three nights.

Please note this cost includes our overnight train, which we received a huge discount on because we had a bought a Eurail pass.

$4001.73 for three nights? Was it worth it? Yes! 100% it was worth it. We were travelling for four months on a BUDGET but we put aside money for especially for Lapland.

We said it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip but we have already said how we are saving to go back to Lapland again. We wouldn’t change a thing about our trip.

I would suggest to anyone considering going to Lapland in the winter to save as much money as possible to go to Lapland.

If you would like to do it on a smaller budget, I recommend staying one night in the Tree House (if possible) and then staying in an Airbnb and saving your money for activities.

Even without staying in fancy accommodation, there are so many experiences in Lapland in winter that you are guaranteed an amazing time.

Are you planning a trip to Lapland Finland in the winter? Check out how to get from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.

RELATED POSTS:

♦ The Ultimate Guide to visiting Finnish Lapland in winter: 12 INCREDIBLE things to do in Lapland

♦ The Ultimate Lapland Packing List: Everything you need for winter in Lapland

♦ The Santa Claus Express: The Perfect Guide for the overnight train from Helsinki to Lapland

♦ The Ultimate Guide to visiting Santa Claus village Rovaniemi

♦ Arctic Fox Igloos: A night in luxury under the stars

♦ Arctic Treehouse Hotel Rovaniemi, Finland: The most beautiful hotel in the world

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