Our family traveled to Lapland, Finland in December of 2021 to celebrate the Christmas spirit with snow and holiday magic! We stayed at the Santa Claus Holiday Village and while some may think it has more kid-specific activities, you are very wrong!
While there are tons of activities to keep the kids busy, including meeting Santa (!!!); there are a number of fun adult activities to experience the winter magic on the arctic circle: Northern light hunting, snowmobiling, Finnish sauna experience and much more.
Hot to get to Rovaniemi, Finland
Rovaniemi is the major city in Lapland where you will find a number of activities to do or commute from to destinations nearby Rovaniemi. In order to get to Rovaniemi you will most likely need to fly to Helsinki first.
From Helsinki it’s a short, 1-hour flight to Rovaniemi using Finnair. For parts of the year there are direct flights to Rovaniemi from London, Paris, and even Istanbul.
For those that want a unique experience getting to Rovaniemi from Helsinki, you can board the Santa Claus Train! This is a night train that departs Helsinki in the evening and arrives 12 hours later (direct route) in Rovaniemi in the morning. Be sure to book the sleeping cabin so you and the family can rest in one of the beds and even take a shower! Santa Train- https://www.vr.fi/en/night-trains
What to pack for the Arctic Circle
The average high in Rovaniemi in December is -4C. When we were there in the beginning half of December, the temperatures were -11 to -14C during the day.
What our family wore during our stay in Lapland started with a wool base layer (shirt and pants), a wool sweater and pants over my wool base layer, waterproof pants (ski/snow pants), long winter coat, wool socks and snow boots, gloves, hat.
Be sure to pack:
- Wool layers…lots of them
- Winter gloves
- Winter boots
- Snow pants
- Snow/ski jacket
- Wool socks
- Balaclava
- Snow hat
If you don’t have snow gear and don’t want to spend money buying expensive clothing for a one-time vacation, the hotels do have snow suit rentals for guests! While we were there the majority of the guests seemed to have come from Spain, and they all had on the hotel onesie snowsuits!
Where to stay in Lapland
If you want to stay in the Santa Claus Holiday village for all the attractions the area has to offer, then choose a hotel in the village is your most convenient option. We personally stayed at the Santa Claus Holiday Village due to availability and price compared to the other hotels in the village.
The Santa Claus Holiday Village Hotel has a number of detached cottages for the whole family to stay. They also have a number of suites for those not needing the space of a full cottage. The cottages are open concept with the bed, living, and kitchen all in one space.
Our family opted for a suite because the bedroom could be closed off. Our two small children stayed in their cots in the living space while my husband and I enjoyed time to ourselves with a door shut so we didn’t disturb our sleeping children.
And no hotel room would be complete without a Finnish sauna in the bathroom!
Below are all the hotel accommodations within the Santa Claus Village:
- Santa Claus Holiday Village https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/santa-claus-holiday-village/
- Santa’s Glass Igloos https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/santas-glass-igloos-arctic-circle/
- Nova Skyland Hotel and Restaurant https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/nova-skyland-hotel-restaurant/
- Glass Resort https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/glass-resort-igloo-lapland-arctic-circle/
- Arctic Snow Hotel & Glass Igloos https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/arctic-snow-hotel-glass-igloos-rovaniemi/
- Apukka Resort https://santaclausvillage.info/services/accommodation/apukka-resort/
Restaurants
If you are staying within the Santa Claus Village, then it is likely your accommodation has a buffet breakfast included with your stay. We ate at the Santa Claus Village Hotel buffet breakfast each morning. It was a large amount of food with many choices for everyone.
There are a number of restaurants within the village that serve lunch and dinner. It’s always a good idea to make a dinner reservation each night as tables can book up fast. So decide where you would like to eat each night and book a table for that night so you don’t run into issues.
- Three Elves Restaurant https://www.santaclausholidayvillage.fi/en/restaurants/three-elves-restaurant-en-us/
- Santamus Restaurant https://santamus.com/en/restaurant/
- Ice Restaurant and Bar https://arcticsnowhotel.fi/restaurants/
- Santa’s Salmon Place https://santas-salmon-place.com/
- Nili Restaurant https://www.nili.fi/en/home.html
- Nova Skyland Restaurant https://novaskylandrestaurant.com/en/
12 Things to do In Lapland, Finland
Below is a list of 12 winter activities to do in Lapland, Finland. Many of these activities are within the Santa Claus Village or surrounding area.
Hunt for the Northern Lights
https://www.visitrovaniemi.fi/main-activity-category/northern-lights-tours/ Rovaniemi is one of the best places in the world to see the aurora borealis, also called the Northern Lights. There are many tour opportunities to hunt for the lights at night.
If you’re not into going out in the middle of night in the freezing cold, you can catch them from your bedroom in a glass igloo for those staying in these accommodations. The staff at the Glass Resort or Santa’s Glass Igloos even have an alert for guests to know when the Northern Lights are viewable.
Dog Sledding at Husky Park
Meet the dogs and enjoy a husky dog sled ride! They have a short track for the little kids and a longer track for adults that want more adventure.
Family Fun at Elf’s Farmland
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Farmyard with reindeer, alpacas, sheep, llamas, goats, rabbits and different birds. You can watch domestic animals in their daily activities under Arctic weather conditions and, best of all, you can pet and feed part of them.
There is also a hill with sledding equipment provided to get some sledding in.Guests can use the Lapland hut (kota) and campfire/barbecue. Buy snacks and drinks from the elf’s store.
Reindeer sleigh rides
Directly within the Santa Claus Village, you can walk up and book tickets for Reindeer sleigh ride! Or, take a longer reindeer safar at Christmas House Safari: https://christmashousesafaris.com/service/reindeer-safaris-lapland-rovaniemi/
Ranua Zoo
The Ranua Wildlife Park, established 1983, specializes in arctic and northern animal species. The spacious animal fencings are located in the midst of northern conifer forests, the natural habitat of most of the animals.
The zoo is about an hour south of Rovaniemi, but the public bus system runs everyday between Rovaniemi and the zoo:https://english.ranuazoo.com/plan-your-visit/ranua-as-a-travel-destination/.
Snowmobile Park
Experience the thrilling excitement of snowmobiling through snowy forests and beautiful nature.
Arktikum
The Arktikum is a science center and museum that brings northern nature, culture and history you at the University of Lapland.
Snowman world
Snowman World is a snowy playground where you can enjoy a day of thrilling winter activities. They have snow and ice slides and an ice rink with skating snowmen. You can enjoy lunch here at the Snow Restaurant and Ice Bar, while admiring some fine snow and ice sculptures.
Skiing
https://www.visitrovaniemi.fi/main-activity-category/skiing/
Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing or snowboarding – no matter what the style is, Finns love sliding on snow with their winter equipment – cross-country skiing is even called the national sport of Finland! From here you’ll find services from beginner’s level private cross-country skiing classes to equipment rental and Alpine skiing school. Discover winter sports in a group or book a private class.
Ice Fishing
https://www.visitrovaniemi.fi/main-activity-category/ice-fishing/
A true Finnish experience is ice fishing, an activity that can be experienced in Rovaniemi in multiple ways. You can reach the ice fishing spots by a car, by a snowmobile or by snowshoeing. However, you’ll enter a remote wilderness location and if you catch a fish, you might be able to prepare it for dinner.
Santa Park
An indoor Christmas amusement park just down the road from the Santa Claus Village. See an ice gallery, cross the arctic circle underground, send the kids to elf school, decorate gingerbread cookies or see an elf show!
Visit Santa and Cross the arctic circle
You can’t make a visit to Rovaniemi without meeting the big man, Santa Claus! On your way to Santa’s Office, you will cross the arctic circle! Stop for a moment and say hi to the live webcam on the circle and get a picture with the outdoor thermometer to let everyone know cold it is!
