travel books on lapland

£ 17.99   £ 16.19

Lapland Travel Guide – Expert travel advice and tips including the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian regions, ice and treehouse hotels, northern lights tours, Sámi art and culture. Also covering itineraries, winter and summer activities such as dog-sledding and hiking, Laponia World Heritage area, Luleå, Tromsø, Narvik, Finnmark Plateau and Jokkmokk.

1021 in stock

Related products

Croatia: Istria

Sao Tome & Principe

An Educational Journey

About this book.

This thoroughly updated fourth edition of Bradt’s Lapland is the only standalone guidebook in English to this wintry wonderland, a region spanning the northernmost fringes of Norway, Sweden and Finland where there are as many reindeer as people, it never gets dark in summer and never gets light in mid-winter. In this new edition, expert author James Proctor covers all the latest developments, including the most up-to-date information on where to see the Northern Lights (Lapland is the best region in the world for Northern Lights viewing) and where to go husky sledding, reviews of the treehouse hotels which have sprung up across the region, the latest details of how to fly directly to one of the Europe’s most far-flung destinations from the UK and USA, plus information on a wide range of summer and winter adventures, from hiking and wild swimming to snowmobiling, wilderness stays and staying in the Icehotel. Everybody has heard of Lapland. Everybody knows it’s the home of Father Christmas. Yet remarkably few people can accurately pinpoint Lapland on a map. Bradt’s Lapland lifts the lid off this little-known, enigmatic region and shows that there’s much more to Lapland than the man with the long white beard and the red suit. This is a land of elemental beauty with plenty to offer anyone who’s looking to explore the great outdoors without the great crowds. Lapland is vast and empty, a place of indigenous villages, sweeping forests, mighty waterfalls – the raw side of nature here is the region’s defining and inescapable characteristic and no visit is complete without leaving the creature comforts of the nearest town well behind. Whether on an organized tour or travelling independently, Bradt’s Lapland is the essential travel companion.

About the Author

James Proctor first visited Lapland in 1983 on board the legendary train, the Lapland Arrow, from Stockholm. The thrill of crossing the Arctic Circle proved irresistible and James has been back and forth ever since. While working as the BBC’s Scandinavia correspondent, he produced reports on everything from the reindeer races at the Jokkmokk winter market to the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on the Sa´mi community. James now divides his time as a travel writer between the south of France and his forest retreat in Sweden. A self-appointed Nanook of the North, he has also written Bradt’s Faroe Islands and West Sweden guides as well as co-writing and contributing to guidebooks about the Nordic countries for other major travel publishers.

Additional Information

Contents Introduction The Bradt definition of Lapland – and its origins

PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION Chapter 1 Background Information Geography and climate, Natural history, History, Government and politics, Sámi economy, People, Language, Religion and mythology, Culture Chapter 2 Practical Information When to visit, Highlights – and distances, Suggested itineraries, Tour operators, Red tape, Getting there and away, Health, Safety, What to take, Money and budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays and festivals, Shopping, Arts and entertainment, Photography, Media and communications, Time 39, Cultural etiquette

PART TWO THE GUIDE Chapter 3 Swedish Lapland: Luleå to Riksgränsen Luleå, Boden, Harads and Treehotel, Storforsen Rapids, Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog, Northwest to Jäkkvik and Vuoggatjålme, Jokkmokk, Gällivare, Ritsem and the Stora Sjöfallet National Park, Kiruna, Icehotel and Jukkasjärvi, Abisko and around Chapter 4 Narvik and the Islands Narvik, The islands: Vesterålen and Lofoten Chapter 5 From the Gulf of Bothnia to the Arctic Ocean Tornio, Haparanda and around, Pajala and around, Muonio and around, Kaaresuvanto and Karesuando, Kilpisjärvi and Treriksröset Chapter 6 Finnish Lapland: Rovaniemi to the Finnmark Plateau Rovaniemi and around, Northwest from Rovaniemi: towards Kautokeino, Kautokeino, Northeast from Rovaniemi: towards Inari and Karasjok, Inari and around, North from Inari: Kaamanen, Utsjoki and Karasjok, East from Rovaniemi Chapter 7 Norwegian Lapland: Tromsø to Kirkenes Tromsø, Alta and around, Hammerfest, Towards the North Cape, North Cape, Moving on from the North Cape: towards Kirkenes, Kirkenes

Appendix 1 Language Appendix 2 Glossary of Finnish, Norwegian, Sámi and Swedish terms Appendix 3 Further Information Index

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Sweepstakes

How to Plan the Perfect Trip to Finnish Lapland

From the northern lights to the legendary sauna culture, this arctic destination has it all. Here's what you won't want to miss.

Milamai / Getty Images

Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, is the place to go to check more than a few once-in-a-lifetime experiences off your list — like seeing the northern lights and experiencing the midnight sun. The arctic destination has stunning nighttime skies, wide-open landscapes, and air so fresh it can make you happier. Here’s how to plan a trip to Finnish Lapland that you’ll never forget. 

When to Go to Finnish Lapland

Here’s the good news about Lapland: It’s always beautiful out — well, depending on how you define “beautiful.” The region's peak travel season falls between December and February thanks to a natural phenomenon we’ll get to in a moment. During this period, the region’s average temperature ranges from 3 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, though it can get down to as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit with added wind chill. 

By contrast, temperatures in the summer can be much milder, usually ranging from 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit, making it a prime time to visit the area for hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor adventures.

How to See the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland

Many visitors travel to Finnish Lapland to take in a few breathtaking natural occurrences — including the aurora borealis, or northern lights. You can see this phenomenon any time between August and April, though it occurs more frequently around the equinoxes in late September and late March. Visit then and look to the sky on clear nights for a chance to witness this incredible celestial light show.

Those looking for a more curated experience can ask their hotel for recommendations, or they can book a guided trip like a  three-hour aurora borealis picnic  in Rovaniemi, which includes a short hike to an outpost with warm drinks and food. You can also take  a snowmobile tour or, the most adventurous of all, an aurora ice floating experience in Rovaniemi . It's just as it sounds — guests don dry suits and set out on a frozen lake to lie back and blissfully gaze up into the night sky.

How to See the Midnight Sun in Finnish Lapland 

Giles Clarke / Getty Images

If you’re not much of a night owl, that’s okay because Finnish Lapland offers another spectacular show: the midnight sun. From late May until early August, the tilt of the Earth means the sky never gets dark. Make the most of the near-constant daylight by taking a hike, going fishing, or even playing a round of golf when you'd normally be asleep. 

What Else to Do in Finnish Lapland

Andrey-Kobylko / Getty Images

Go for a hike.

Finnish Lapland is chock full of  stellar hiking trails  fit for all levels. The Arctic Circle and Inari hiking areas offer everything from one-hour hikes to all-day wilderness adventures, as well as restrooms and visitor centers. 

Hit the sauna.

Sauna culture has long been an integral part of Finnish life , and there’s no better spot to experience it than in  Tampere , the sauna capital of the world. Come for the public spas, but stay for the arts, culture, and attractions like the Tampere Market Hall, the largest indoor market in Scandinavia. 

Paddle your way through the region.

Explore Finnish Lapland from a different perspective by taking to its rivers for a canoeing adventure. During the warmer months, you can take in the amazing views as you meander along calming waterways. Try this six-hour canoe trip  down the River Kapsajoki, which includes a campfire lunch and opportunities for fishing. 

Visit Santa Claus.

Fun fact: Santa lives in Finland. And you can visit him any time of year at the  Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi. Kris Kringle and his elves open their famous home and workshop all 365 days of the year. Meet the man himself, cross the Arctic Circle (which passes through the theme park), embark on a snowmobile safari adventure in the Lapland wilderness, and dine in a restaurant made of snow while you're there.

Where to Stay in Finnish Lapland 

Lingxiao Xie / Getty Images

Arctic TreeHouse Hotel

At the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Rovaniemi, guests can enjoy a host of creature comforts in a nature-centric setting. Every room comes with fur throws and floor-to-ceiling windows, while some even have soaking tubs, fireplaces, and decks from which to take in the surrounding forest. Book the chic two-bedroom Arctic GlassHouse  to enjoy all the bells and whistles.

Seaside Glass Villas

Need more of a view? Spend a few nights at  Seaside Glass Villas , a collection of box-shaped bungalows in the waterfront town of Kemi. Each one has a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Bothnian Bay, as well as a glass roof through which you can enjoy incredible views of the northern lights while lying in bed.

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

You might recognize Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort's gorgeous glass-domed igloos from your Instagram feed, but even the best photos can't capture the magic of actually staying in one. Book the kelo-glass igloo to combine the privacy of a log chalet with the wow factor of the northern lights dancing over your bed.

Those seeking to stay in the lap of luxury need look no further than  Octola , an exclusive five-star hideaway with just 12 rooms and two chalets. Guests can book a single room or buy out the entire space if they want to bring along family and friends. 

What to Pack 

Packing for a summer trip to Finnish Lapland is relatively easy. Just bring whatever you normally would for any other summer getaway — shorts, T-shirts, a bathing suit, pants, and a light jacket for cooler nights. 

If you plan to visit in winter, you'll need to bust out the big checked bag and pack it with cozy thermal underwear, insulated snow boots with a grip, an insulated jacket, waterproof or snowproof pants , a few wool sweaters, warm gloves and socks, a hat, a scarf, and some instant heat packs to throw in your gloves and boots. Don’t forget your camera, and make sure to pack extra batteries — they will drain quickly in the cold weather. 

How to Get There 

Despite being located in Finland's far north, getting to Lapland isn’t nearly as difficult as you may think. First, fly into Helsinki, then, depending on your final destination, continue to either Kemi or Rovaniemi by regional flight. Finnair and Norwegian Air each offer a 90-minute nonstop to Rovaniemi, or you can board a one-stop Finnair flight to Kemi via Kokkola-Jakobstad Airport in Kronoby.

If you've got the time, a scenic seven-hour train ride will get you from Helsinki to Kemi (the ride to Rovaniemi takes 8.5 hours). You can also travel between Rovaniemi and Kemi by train for a 90-minute intra-Lapland adventure.

The Ultimate 2, 3 or 4 Days in Lapland Itinerary

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. That means if you click a link and make a purchase, we may make a small commission. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see our privacy policy.

Planning out the perfect 2, 3 or 4 days in Lapland itinerary can be a magical, if not overwhelming, experience when you consider all there is to see and do in this unique region of far northern Europe.

There are few more quintessential winter destinations and experiences than Finnish Lapland. Lapland is the northernmost region of Finland and is the pinnacle and epitome of a winter fairytale. From snow-covered boreal forests, dancing Northern Lights, energetic huskies and reindeer to the monumental moment of crossing into the Arctic circle, you’ll be hard-pressed not to have the experience of a lifetime.

Whether you’re interested in sipping hot chocolate during the winter polar night or forest hiking in the midnight sun, Lapland is the perfect destination for any travel seeker. Read this article to help plan your Finnish Lapland itinerary.

Table of Contents

How Many Days in Lapland?

Lapland is a unique destination, and this can make it a bit harder when planning the duration of your trip. This is why many potential visitors wonder how many days to spend in Lapland.

To begin with, Finnish Lapland is far from a budget-friendly destination and the prices in Finland , in general, are high. With the costs of just about everything being higher than elsewhere in Europe, keep this in mind when you plan a trip to this area.

Taking this into consideration, I’d say that the minimum recommended amount of time to spend in Lapland is 2 full days. With 2 days in Lapland, you’ll be able to briefly experience the magic of the Arctic and do a few activities without taking too big of a chunk out of your budget. 

The next best amount of time to spend in Lapland is 3 days, as you’ll experience everything you’d manage in 2 days but feel a lot less rushed, also with the opportunity to head to another part of the region.

Finally, in my opinion, 4 days in Lapland are ideal. If you’re able to spend 4 days in Lapland, you’re in for a real adventure. A trip of 4 days does the Finnish Lapland region justice as you’ll be able to visit multiple places and soak in what extraordinary Arctic life is like in the northernmost part of Finland.

Getting To & Around Lapland

Getting to lapland.

The most popular, affordable, and convenient option for getting to Finnish Lapland is by taking a flight into the capital city of Rovaniemi. By passenger numbers, Rovaniemi Airport is the third-busiest airport in Finland and is the main airport to fly into for a Lapland trip and Itinerary.

While there are other options for airports in Lapland such as Ivalo Airport in Northern Lapland, this itinerary begins in Rovaniemi so will be the focal point to start your trip. 

Rovaniemi Airport serves direct routes from Helsinki year-round and seasonal winter routes from several European destinations, making it a pretty straightforward trip, especially for a winter getaway. 

Another popular option to reach Rovaniemi is to take a 12-hour overnight train from Helsinki, whisking you away from the busy city, through snow-dusted forests, Finnish towns and straight into the heart of Arctic Lapland.

There is a noticeable difference in price and journey, but it’s completely worth it if you can afford it and have the time to spare for a long train journey. 

Car rental is also another viable transportation option if you’re flying into Helsinki and would like to drive to Lapland. Summer is a great time to embark on a Finnish/Lapland road trip as you don’t need to worry about tough weather conditions and you will save money on transportation with a car rental in comparison to other methods.

If you’d like to rent a car to drive to Lapland in winter , make sure you feel confident in case of difficult weather and road conditions, and have the proper gear fitted to your car. You can browse car rental options here.

Getting Around Lapland

As for getting around Finnish Lapland, in my opinion, the best mode of transport is by car. Like any other rural and wild part of the world, renting a car gives you the most flexibility for your trip without having to worry about bus times and time crunches.

Lapland is vast and boundless with many different spots and sites being distant from each other, and although there is a great bus system within the region, you’ll have the utmost freedom this way. For example, one of the prime goals for many people visiting Lapland is to get the chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

While seeing the Northern Lights in most parts of Lapland is possible, your chances are higher the further away from light pollution and busy tourist areas. You can take a tour that will take you Northern Light hunting, but they can be expensive and give you just one chance. With your own car, you can search extensively to experience the enchanting Northern Lights. 

If for whatever reason, renting a car isn’t an option for you, it’s still possible to have a thrilling Lapland adventure. With public transportation, you can get around Finland and Finnish Lapland in particular quite easily.

You’ll find a few different bus companies such as ExpressBus and Matkahuolto , both with frequent routes connecting different parts of the Lapland region. Prices differ depending on departure and arrival destinations but are generally quite affordable.

Most destinations on this itinerary have bus transport options available, either by the local bus system or by private bus/shuttle companies. 

2, 3 or 4 Days in Lapland Itinerary

This Finnish Lapland itinerary will take you through Rovaniemi, the heart and capital of Lapland, through the magical timeless world of Santa Claus village, and to the Northern part of Lapland to further enjoy your fairytale – either by hitting the slopes or mingling with furry and friendly locals.

There are countless winter activities to enjoy on a trip to Finnish Lapland from husky safaris to ice fishing to warming up in a Finnish sauna and this is the perfect region to experience these things.

Day 1 – Lapland Capital, Rovaniemi

Explore the city of rovaniemi.

This itinerary for Lapland begins with 2 nights in the capital city of Rovaniemi. While Rovaniemi is a small city in comparison to other larger cities in Finland, there’s still much to do and discover.

Spending your first day in Lapland exploring the city of Rovaniemi is the perfect way to ease into Lappish life as well as arctic Lappish temperatures. This is also the perfect opportunity to find appropriate Arctic clothing for the rest of your trip if you weren’t already prepared.

If you’re visiting outside of the winter months, regular winter or spring/autumn clothing is acceptable but in the winter months you’ll want warm thermal clothing and boots to protect you from the bitter Arctic air.

If you take part in activities through any of the companies in Rovaniemi, you’ll have winter outerwear included for the duration of your stay. Otherwise, you can rent the same clothing from these companies for a pretty decent price.

Arktikum 

If you’re looking to explore and learn more about Finland’s Arctic culture, science, and history, the Arktikum Museum is the perfect place to educate yourself on Lapland while also getting a break from the cold.

The museum is located on the northern end of Rovaniemi and is about a 15-minute walk from the center point of the city. Arktikum is open every day except Mondays from 10 AM – 6 PM with an adult admission cost of €18 and reduced ticket options available.

Arctic Sunset & Eat a Traditional Lappish Meal

Whether you’re visiting during the winter or the summer, one of the most beautiful experiences of a Rovaniemi itinerary is to walk by the River Kemijoki during “sunset”. The colours that you’ll witness are truly remarkable, as if they were a painting, and are only just the beginning of a fairytale trip to Finland. 

Afterwards, I suggest heading to Nili Restaurant, in the heart of Rovaniemi city to experience delicious, traditional Lapland cuisine. If you want the full experience, I challenge you to try the reindeer, as it’s harder to try this Lapland classic food once you’ve met the adorable reindeer themselves. 

Where to Stay in Rovaniemi

Arctic Light Hotel – This boutique hotel makes for the perfect base in Rovaniemi. They have a number of lovely rooms available and countless amenities like free parking, an airport shuttle and an on-site restaurant/bar. Click here to see their availability

Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle – If you want a unique accommodation option in Rovaniemi then these igloos can be an interesting choice. There are a number of different glass igloos to choose from (some including saunas!) and there are also plenty of other amenities for guests to enjoy. Click here to see their availability

Hostel Cafe Koti – Those trying to save a bit of cash while visiting Rovaniemi will love this hip hostel. There are both dorms and private rooms on offer along with a kitchen, a sauna and breakfast included for guests. Click here to see their availability

Not quite what you’re looking for? Click here to browse more Rovaniemi hotels!

Day 2 – Santa Claus Village or Exploring Rovaniemi Nature 

Day 2 of this Rovaniemi itinerary will either be spent wandering the famous Santa Claus Village or exploring the incredible nature of the region. If you’re visiting in the winter, I’d undoubtedly recommend heading to Santa Claus Village.

More than just Santa and Christmas activities for children, it’s truly a winter wonderland village with plenty of space, nature, log cabins and activities to explore with something for everyone.

In the summer months, it’s still quite fun and unique to visit Santa Claus Village, cross the Arctic Circle Line, and enjoy the area without the winter visitor numbers. Otherwise, there’s plenty to explore in Rovaniemi under the midnight sun. 

Santa Claus Village

If you have a car to drive on your trip to Lapland, Santa Claus Village is just a quick 10-minute drive from Rovaniemi city center. Otherwise, you can catch the Santa Express or local bus 8 from Rovaniemi city center with the journey being about 20 minutes.

It is also possible to take a guided tour that includes a visit to the village as well as a visit to a reindeer and husky farm.

Once you reach Santa Claus Village there’s so much to do and enjoy on a day trip here. There’s no cost to enter the village, with costs only for individual activities.

If you’re keen on doing a husky sled ride or reindeer sleigh ride, prices are less than half the cost of tour companies operating outside of Rovaniemi. The ride is a lot shorter, but it’s a special experience to wander through the snow-covered forests under a warm blanket while led by Lapland’s mascots; huskies and reindeer. 

If you prefer to book tours in advance some options include this husky safari or this reindeer farm visit that includes a sleigh ride.

Visiting Santa’s Post Office and taking a picture with Santa is free, with the post office truly being like something out of a Christmas movie – a dream for both children and adults alike. 

The entirety of the Village is a large area consisting not just of the concrete buildings and “town” part of the village but also a wide expanse of forest. Even just getting lost in the snowy forest, making snow angels, and warming up at one of the village’s many fires throughout the area is truly a special experience. 

Once your appetite has opened and you’re ready for some warming food, there are plenty of options at the village; whether you’re looking for more cafeteria-style food or classic Lappish food in a traditional Arctic-style hut.

Rovaniemi Nature 

If you’re in Rovaniemi during the warmer months and prefer to skip Santa Claus Village, there’s still plenty to do and explore and I recommend taking advantage of the extraordinary nature of Rovaniemi Lapland. 

Rovaniemi is a dream world for nature lovers and my suggestion is to spend a day on the trails, hiking throughout the Arctic Circle while experiencing the ethereal midnight sun. If you don’t want to walk, you can organise a snowmobile adventure through the forest as an alternative.

A great place to start to plan your time in Rovaniemi nature is at the Finnish National Park authority, where you’ll find ideal hiking trails and paths to take in Finnish Lapland.

There’s no better way to watch the midnight sun than in the lush Finnish forest, with a picnic and a cold drink either by yourself or with close friends/family.

Day 3 – Northern Lapland, Levi  & Samiland Exhibition

In this itinerary, with a 3-day trip to Lapland or 4 days in Lapland, you’ll head out of Rovaniemi and Southern Lapland to Northern Lapland. While Rovaniemi is all about Santa and Christmas joy, Levi , the main resort city in Northern Lapland is all about nature, the Northern Lights, and indigenous Sami culture.

If you’re driving during your Lapland itinerary, the drive from Rovaniemi to Levi is just over 2 hours and is an exquisitely stunning drive. Much of the drive is through Lapland nature and it’s hard to regret making the journey north.

If you don’t have a car, there are a few bus companies with direct transport from Rovaniemi to Levi. OmniBus is a great option as services are frequent, the buses are comfortable and can be pretty affordable for Finland prices. 

Levi is the ski resort in the area and is the biggest ski resort town in Finland. The village that Levi is located in is Sirkka , and there aren’t a lack of things to do, places to stay, things to see, or food to eat.

If you like to be in the center of the action on your travels, I suggest staying in the center of Sirkka. Otherwise, it’s worth spending a little more to stay outside of the town to sleep amongst the magical Lapland wilderness.

Samiland Exhibition 

If you want to learn more about Sami, the local indigenous culture then make sure to visit the Samiland Exhibition.

The Sami are the descendants of the nomadic people of Northern Scandinavia traced back thousands of years ago and Sami culture is rich in history, mythology, and folklore. The perfect place to learn more about this integral part of Lapland and Finnish culture is to head to the Samiland Exhibition in Levi.

The exhibition does a wonderful and interesting job educating on Sami culture, with both indoor and outdoor exhibits in both winter and summer seasons. Samiland is open every day of the winter from 10 AM – 8 PM, most days of the summer (check hours in advance), and admission tickets for adults cost €13 with reduced ticket options available. 

Northern Light Safari

Other than slope seekers and ski aficionados, the main pull for visitors coming to Levi is easily the famous conquest for the Northern Lights. During the Aurora season, you’re almost guaranteed to see the Northern Lights if you’re visiting Levi.

If you have a car, you’ll have a lot more freedom to follow more remote and forecasted Aurora areas with less light pollution, although it is possible and common to see the dancing Northern Lights in the town itself. With your own transportation, you can come and go as you choose and watch from your car to stay warm! 

The best spots to seek the Northern Lights in/outside of Levi are at the top of Kätkä Fell, Tonttula (Elves Village), and quite honestly, anywhere further from town lights with large areas of open land.

If you don’t have a car, I suggest taking part in a Northern Light safari tour out of Levi. Costs for these are cheaper than in Rovaniemi, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see the Aurora if you’re visiting during the Aurora season.

These tours typically pick you up from your hotel/accommodation and bring you to Aurora hot spots either by snowmobile or bus/car transportation. You’ll spend time learning about the area and Lapland with a local guide, while drinking hot chocolate or grilling sausages, and keeping warm by a hot, open fire.

Hopefully, before you know it, you’ll soon witness the out-of-this-world experience and natural phenomenon of the colorful, elegant Northern Lights dancing above your eyes. 

Where to Stay in Levi

Break Sokos Hotel Levi – This hotel is an excellent base for exploring Levi and the surrounding area. They have a range of bright, clean and comfortable rooms to choose from, they’re pet-friendly and there is even a restaurant and cafe/bar on site for guests to enjoy. Click here to see their availability

Northern Lights Village Levi – For those after a unique and unforgettable stay in Levi, this hotel is a great option. They have a number of rooms on offer – all with windows over the bed for some cosy Aurora viewings. Rooms are also equipped with fireplaces, breakfast is available and there is an on-site bar. Click here to see their availability

Levi Suites Levi Gold – If you want your own space while exploring Lapland, then these suites in Levi are a good option. They have a number of flats available, all fully furnished with everything you may need. Click here to see their availability

Not quite what you’re looking for? Click here to browse more Levi hotels!

Day 4 – Skiing or Winter Activities

On the 4th and last day of your time in Lapland, you’ll have two different options for enjoying the last day of your Finnish Lapland adventure; skiing the slopes of Levi or taking the time to enjoy more winter activities that you may not have already done in Rovaniemi. Some options include this husky sled ride or a snowmobile safari.

Skiing in Levi

Being the biggest ski resort in Finland, Levi is a great spot to either practice and enjoy as a novice skier or try your hand on the slopes for the first time – under the arctic sky.

Levi has mostly intermediate slopes, with 28 lifts and 48 slopes as well as just about 4 hours of sunshine during the winter. Luckily, the slopes are kept open late giving you enough time to enjoy either an old or newfound activity.

Skiing under the beautifully pink pastel polar night sky is something you’ll likely never experience out of Finnish Lapland, and it truly deserves a spot on your travel bucket list.

Apres-Ski/Dinner at Tuikku

There’s no better way to end your trip to Lapland and day on the slopes than at Tuikku, Levi’s oldest restaurant as well as where you’ll find the most extraordinary slope side and Lapland views. In the winter, there’s live music and DJ, offering the perfect closing to a magical trip.

Prices are pretty affordable, whether you’re interested in having a cocktail, hot chocolate, or a long day of skiing and adventuring that has left you hungry for their delicious buffet meals. 

It’s safe to say that Lapland is one of the most magical destinations in the world. Whether you’re an adult or a child, this enchanting Finnish region is undoubtedly going to touch your heart and sprinkle fairy-tale magic into your trip to make it one of the most unforgettable adventures of a lifetime.

Are you planning to visit Finnish Lapland? Have any questions about this itinerary? Let us know in the comments!

Related Posts:

The Perfect 2 to 3 Days in Helsinki Itinerary

The Essential Guide to Visiting Helsinki in Winter

Helsinki vs Stockholm: Which Nordic Capital to Visit?

About Olivia Ellis

Olivia is a writer for The World Was Here First. Originally from Michigan, USA, she is currently living in Athens, Greece exploring Europe and filmmaking. When she’s not travelling or writing, Olivia can be found cooking delicious new recipes from around the world, reading, and spending time outdoors.

Is everything open during 24th to 31st December??

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Lapland casts a powerful spell: there's something lonely and intangible here that fills it with Arctic magic. The midnight sun, the Sámi peoples, the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) and roaming reindeer are all components of this – as is Santa Claus himself, who ‘officially’ resides here – along with the awesome latitudes: at Nuorgam, the northernmost point, you have passed Iceland and nearly all of Canada and Alaska.

Leave the planning to a local expert

Experience the real Lapland. Let a local expert handle the planning for you.

Attractions

Must-see attractions.

Few things conjure fairy-tale romance like a snow castle. First built in 1996 as a Unicef project, this is a Lapland winter highlight and a favoured…

One of Finland's most absorbing museums, state-of-the-art Siida offers a comprehensive overview of the Sámi and their environment. The main exhibition…

With its beautifully designed glass tunnel stretching out to the Ounasjoki, this is one of Finland’s finest museums. One half deals with Lapland, with…

Pilke Tiedekeskus

Downstairs in the Metsähallitus (Finnish Forest and Park Service) building next to the Arktikum, this is a highly entertaining exhibition on Finnish…

The spectacular wood-and-glass Sámi cultural centre stands proud in the middle of town. It holds the Sámi parliament as well as a library and music…

Kevo Strict Nature Reserve

Northern Lapland

Some of Finland's most breathtaking scenery is within the 712-sq-km Kevo Strict Nature Reserve along the splendid 40km gorge of the Kevojoki (off-limits…

Auttiköngäs

The highlight of this protected old-growth forest, 80km southeast of Rovaniemi off Rd 81, is the 16m-high Auttiköngäs waterfall. It's reached by a 3.5km…

Bears' Nest

At the edge of Myössäjärvi, 16km south of Inari, look out for the Karhunpesäkivi rest stop. From here, a 300m timber boardwalk (mainly comprising steps)…

Plan with a local

Experience the real Lapland

Let a local expert craft your dream trip.

Latest stories from Lapland

Filter by interest:

• All Interests
• Adventure Travel
• Art & Culture
• Beaches, Coasts & Islands
• Food & Drink

Nov 1, 2023 • 4 min read

Every year, Santa is the main attraction in Finnish Lapland. But there’s so much more to discover in this winter wonderland.

Aug 27, 2020 • 5 min read

Nov 16, 2019 • 1 min read

Sep 12, 2019 • 6 min read

Oct 24, 2016 • 6 min read

Sep 26, 2016 • 7 min read

Dec 12, 2014 • 6 min read

Jul 19, 2012 • 3 min read

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Lapland

Purchase our award-winning guidebooks.

Get to the heart of Lapland with one of our in-depth, award-winning guidebooks, covering maps, itineraries, and expert guidance.

Lapland and beyond

Authored by ThePickyTraveller

Located above the Arctic Circle (from the “capital city” Rovaniemi in the south all the way up to Utsjoki in the north), Finnish Lapland is an exotic region in northern Finland sculpted by round-shaped rugged mountains ( tunturi ), extensive pine forests ( taiga ), treeless flat lands ( tundra ), pristine lakes and rivers with gold nuggets.

Lapland is a unique destination which casts a powerful spell. Offering a wide array of activities for any nature lover, and with a certain sense of magic in the air, travelers visit for the midnight sun, the Sámi peoples, the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) and roaming reindeer.

This is as close as reality gets for those who dream of a winter wonderland, and even with four very distinct seasons , contrasts are a key factor in the allure here; where 24-hour sunlight in the summer replaces the dark winter days, and the hustle and bustle of towns and ski resorts is just minutes away from the peace and quiet of the wild wilderness.

Whether you’re looking for tours to Lapland or plan to put together your own trip, the folloing is our travel guide on when, where and how to go.

A Travel Guide to Finnish Lapland: When, Where & How to Go

You can hover over these (or any image) to quickly pin it.

When to Go: Winter

A visit in winter means you will experience the phenomenon of the polar night; when the sun doesn’t rise at all (the exact dates depend on how north you go, but the phenomenon is visible as soon as you cross the Arctic Circle).

The Northern lights are visible almost every night, which makes Lapland one of the best places on Earth to experience them ! The lack of daylight may seem scary at first, but is in fact a very interesting thing: besides the northern lights, stars shine incredibly bright thanks to very low light pollution (no big cities here).

Around noon and for a few hours the atmosphere goes from different shades of blue (the  blue hour  is quite impressive on crisp cloudless winter days) to golden rays of light coming from the sun staying right below the horizon, before the sky turns soft pink, purple and blue again.

A thick layer of snow covers everything from early November to late April. Temperatures are freezing (usually between -5C and -30C all the time, with periodical drops to even as low as -50C) but there is no humidity in the air and usually no wind either, which makes them totally bearable if you dress accordingly.

When to Go: Summer

Visit in summer to experience the famous midnight sun; a period where the sun doesn’t set at all! It’s amazing how much you can fit into your day when you have 24 hours to play, and is quite something to see the sun hit horizon, but immediately start to rise again!

Personally I find the midnight sun more difficult to cope with than the polar night as it’s difficult to sleep when the sun never sets, but is quite comforting warming up in front of the fireplace and burning candles during polar nights.

Summer in Lapland (after the last remains of snow have melted in May, until October and the first snowfalls) is a paradise for hikers, from short, easy and well-marked scenic paths to many days long treks in the wilderness.

Shorter walks near the main tourist spots are suitable for almost anyone, but you should be well prepared for longer hikes and consider hiring a guide.

Pro Tip: If you’re planning on wilderness hiking, we recommend brushing up on your orientation skills, as paths are not well marked the further you head in (though cell phone coverage in Finland is pretty amazing, even in remote areas). 

In addition to a good map, also stock up on efficient mosquito-repellent. it’s surprising how fierce and numerous mosquitoes are in Lapland. Really.

When to Go: Autumn / Fall

When fall comes, nature becomes truly magnificent; leaves and needles vary from evergreen (spruces and pines) to golden yellow (birches), orange and red (aspens and rowans).

We can all conjure stunning pictures of autumnal colors in destinations like New England and Canada, but in Lapland they don’t just stick to trees, spreading across the ground vegetation as well (in gorgeous bright red tint).

This special time of the year is short but intense, usually lasting only for the first 2 or 3 weeks of September.

Where to go?

For skiing head to Levi, Saariselkä, Pyhätunturi, Ylläs or Ruka (technically not in Lapland but close enough). For snowmobile safaris, in addition to those same locations you can go to Kilpisjärvi close to the Norwegian border, with higher mountains and less trees around.

Snowshoeing can be done pretty much anywhere in Lapland. Book a room or a  chalet  in a modern ski station if you don’t like the idea of finding yourself alone in a remote area (but then what’s the point of going all the way to Lapland?). I’d rather recommend to rent a traditional wooden cabin with all commodities and enjoy the unique sensation of being in the middle of nowhere.

To visit Santa Claus Village (this is a tourist trap) and/or the very interesting Arktikum museum, head to Rovaniemi. In summertime go to national parks for great hiking opportunities: Urho Kekkonen, Pallas-Ylläs, Pyhä-Luosto, or trek the 65 kilometers long trail to Kevo Canyon.

The area around Kilpisjärvi is also very beautiful in summer (climbing up Mount Saana is a must). In Tankavaara you have the special opportunity to experience some real gold panning!

The easiest way to access Finnish Lapland from Helsinki is by plane. Main airports with scheduled daily flights are in Rovaniemi (for Santa Claus village, Arktikum museum and Pyhä-Luosto), Kittilä (for Levi and Pallas-Ylläs), Kuusamo (for Ruka) and Ivalo (for Saariselkä, Urho-Kekkonen and Tankavaara).

During Christmas season there are also direct flights from some major European hubs to Rovaniemi. A nice way to get to Lapland (my favourite) is to take the night train from Helsinki. It’s clean, modern, comfortable (there are cabins with 2 beds and private bathroom or cabins with 4 beds and shared bathroom) and sharply on time.

Once in Lapland it’s recommended to rent a car, unless you want to stick to one small area. Driving in summer is very easy (be careful of reindeers on the road though) but in winter, as you can imagine, it requires skills to drive on icy and snowy roads.

You can also drive to Lapland all the way from Helsinki, as Finnish roads are in very good condition (it will take you 10 to 15 hours depending on how far north you go). This option is not recommended in winter though, because of potentially bad weather, lack of light and lower speed limitations.

PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND FOR LAPLAND: CLICK PHOTOS ↓

INSPIRED?! PIN THIS TO YOUR TRAVEL PINTEREST BOARDS ↓

If You Liked This Post You May Also Like:

Where to See the Northern Lights in Norway

Things to Do in Italy for an Unforgettable Winter Break

7 Reasons You Should Spend Winter Among the Wonders of Jilin

ThePickyTraveller is always searching for the best travel opportunities, and paying attention to the small details that make an experience unique. His goal is to inform you about everything he experiences during his trips, including airlines, hotels, restaurants, and destinations themselves.

Specialized in upscale travelling, he is open to all kind of travel experiences…as long as there is access to a comfy bed and a shower in the morning! To ensure unbiased reviews, thepickytraveller remains anonymous.

Visit  www.thepickytraveller. com or connect with him on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Photo credits:   Pinterest image, reindeer & handler by  sangak . Northern lights in order of appearance by  Chris ,  Timo Newton-Syms , &  Timo Newton-Syms . Grassy pond by  Mild Delirium . Reindeer pulling a sleigh by  zsoolt .

31 Comments

The northern lights can be seen almost every night….

I work in the pyhä region. People come with high expectations and leave dissapointed. Aurora activity is there…. But… You need a clear sky, it has to be active in the dark hours and you have to be out to spot it. When it snows it is overcast. It can snow for weeks at a time. Last year we had 4 weeks without a clear sky. It is like comming to europe to see rainbows ☺️ And… Northern lights can be seen as far south as northern Denmark. So if you stay below the polar circle you can still see plenty

Very true! Tricky weather makes it somehow difficult to be there at the right moment, as you said… I recommend the following website for real time aurora forecast: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Europe/ Aurora activity is usually at its highest around midnight (local time). You should also check hour-by-hour weather forecast according to your specific location: http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ An unusual but good way to experience the northern lights is on a plane (clear sky guaranteed). If money isn’t a problem, you can even contact Finnair for a personal charter flight above the clouds on a polar night!

Very good points, Blue Wanderer. I saw them well addressed on a Northern Lights article.

The pictures of the Northern Lights are amazing! I think I would have a hard time with both the midnight sun and the polar nights but both are something I would like to experience one day. As for the cold, I live in Canada and I get enough of it already…lol!

Aren’t the Northern Lights just incredible! Do you ever see them in Canada?

Wow the pictures look amazing! I tried to find this in Iceland but didn’t get a chance to see it. I would love to visit this place and try to catch it there. Summer also seems like a great time to visit.

Hope you have the chance to visit Finland then Christine! One of those places which is so spectacular in all seasons, and really needs multiple trips! :)

These pictures are out of control! I always knew about Lapland but it didn’t come on my radar again until this Chrsitmas season. The Sami are so interesting (cultural anthropology major right here). Thank you for adding the actual words of these places, most bloggers forget to do that! Haha while I love Santa, no thank you to tourist traps and yes please to snowshoeing!

Aren’t they just!! Sounds like you would really love Lapland Izzy! Especially as a cultural anthropology major :)

Hope you have the chance to visit soon!

There are no words to describe how pretty these photos are! They’re absolutely amazing.It makes me want to travel there so badly!

Hope you have the chance to travel soon! :)

I’ve been to see the Aurora Borealis last year in Tromso, Norway. I recognize many of the experiences I had there. I was very thrilled to eat and see reindeers.

I can’t wait to get to Tromso, Norway as well. So glad you got to see the lights and interact with reindeer! I had reindeer on pizza while in Lapland … it was interesting to get my head around lol!

Lapland is my dream destination. Who wouldn’t want to visit Santa village, enjoy sledging and see the northern lights? Would love to visit one day and explore myself.

Hope you have the chance to visit Lapland soon Jo! It really is one of those rare destinations where magic exists :D!

Wow your photos are awesome! I just got back from a trip in north Norway and sounds very similar. Dark days and northern lights shows! It was truly magical and I can’t wait to experience Lapland as well, even more so after seeing your post!

Looking forward to getting to Norway in summer this year, sadly won’t see the Northern Lights, but looking forward to enjoying the midnight sun! If you loved Norway you’ll love Lapland too!

Finnish Lapland sounds magical — and like a place I’m going to need during multiple times during the year. I want to see the aurora borealis, and the midnight sun (I got close in Norway, but it was a little too early to get the full impact). And, of course, I want to see the roaming reindeer.

Roaming reindeers are fortunately very easy to spot in Finnish Lapland :) Beware though if you drive there, as they often cross the road unexpectedly and are not afraid of cars!

OMG, summer, winter, autumn. It seems like you could go anytime and the trip would be just stunning. This is definitely on my must sees. That midnight sun sounds amazing.

Yes, Finnish Lapland is one of those very few regions of the world that always look different and all the time stunning :)

I would love to see the Northern Lights. Good to know it;s almost a sure thing. I would also love to experience I midnight sun. Summer in Paris was pretty cool when the sun set very late, around 10-11pm, but this sounds like a very unique experience.

Almost a sure thing indeed, but keep im my mind you need clear skies to be able to see them from the ground.

The pictures are awesome. The experience to passing through the higher mountain must be something extraordinary!!

Glad you enjoyed the post Miranda … hope you have the chance to travel to Lapland yourself soon!

Finnish Lapland is a proof that miracles exist! They are everywhere in fact! Aurora Boraelis is so beautiful!

Absolutely – it’s a land of pure magic!

Hi im impressed reading your blog and all the destination you had visit. im planning of my trip for this year to Finland, Norway and Sweden. Me came from Southeast Asia country(Singapore) which does not has 4 season and ofcoz we would dream to have the snow activities like snomobile husky ride, reindeer and visit to Santa Claus. Me going with family of 4, myself, husband and 2 gals. During Christmas 24 and 25th December will the places of im mention Closed? You was saying of staying in wooden cabin which we delighted to feel it. If we are touch at Helsinki to Lapland or Rovianemi theres plane, may i know what airline and how many hours? And from the Rovianemi airport to the safari destination theres shuttle? Need your advice and guide. Thanks & Regards

Don’t worry, everything will be open during Christmas as it’s high season in Lapland. There are many daily flights from Helsinki to different cities in Lapland and flight time varies between 1 hour and 1h30. For transfers between the airport and your places of interests, you can contact your hotel directly or a tour operator.

Thank you for this guide. Yes, it is an amazing place, Finnish Lapland is great for beautiful and peaceful escapes from modern life. I’ve been there many times Wintertimes and it’s gorgeous!

You’re welcome, glad it brought back fond memories! Really is such a magical place, I loved my time there though I think a return trip is well overdue!

Post a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Search This Site

I am Megan Jerrard, professional travel blogger/journalist with a focus on adventure, discovery, immersion and inspiring you to explore!

Recent Posts

• The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Travel Portrait Photography
• An African Dream: Must-See African Destinations for 2024
• The Best Sustainable Ways to Get Around on Vacation
• Navigating Food Choices Abroad for Health-Conscious Adventurers
• 6 Thoughtful Gestures to Make Mom Feel Special from Anywhere in the World

Popular posts

• International Love: Maintaining a Long Distance Relationship
• Illegal Ink – 11 Countries Where Showing Your Tattoos Could Get You Kicked Out!
• 7 Things To Know Before Travelling by Overnight Train in Vietnam
• A Travelers Guide to Tap Water: Countries Where The Drinking Water is Unsafe
• Countries That Don’t Celebrate Christmas

Swedish Lapland Travel Guide

Book your individual trip , stress-free with local travel experts

• roughguides.com
• swedish-lapland
• Travel guide
• Itineraries
• Travel Advice
• Accommodation

Plan your tailor-made trip with a local expert

Book securely with money-back guarantee

Travel stress-free with local assistance and 24/7 support

Swedish Lapland, the heartland of the indigenous Sámi people, is Europe’s last wilderness, characterized by seemingly endless forests of pine and spruce, thundering rivers that drain the snow-covered fells and peaceful lakeside villages high amongst the hills. The irresistible allure of this vast and sparsely populated region is the opportunity to experience raw nature at first hand. This unsullied corner of the country is a very long way away for many Swedes; in terms of distance, Gothenburg, for example, is closer to Venice than it is to Kiruna. The reputation of the local people for speaking their mind or, alternatively, not speaking at all, has confirmed the region’s image within Sweden: remote, austere yet still rather fascinating.

Galtispuoda mountain

Getting to the North Cape

The kungsleden, laestadius and the demon drink, lapland, lappland or sápmi, silvermuséet, sorsele and around, treriksröset.

The best way to discover more about Sámi culture is to drive the 360km-long Wilderness Way ( Vildmarksvägen ) from Strömsund , a notable canoeing centre, over the barren Stekenjokk plateau to isolated Fatmomakke , a church town of dozens of traditional wooden kåtor (huts) beside the steely waters of Kultsjön lake. The road terminates at Vilhelmina , another tiny church town which makes an interesting diversion on the way north. Storuman and neighbouring Sorsele have handy train and bus connections that are useful access points for a small handful of charming mountain villages close to the Norwegian border, where hiking is the main draw.Back on the main Inlandsbanan train route, Arvidsjaur offers a fascinating insight into indigenous culture at its lappstad, a diverting collection of religious dwellings and storehuts.

However, it’s Jokkmokk , just north of the Arctic Circle , that is the real centre of Sámi life – not least during its Winter Market when thousands of people brave the chill to buy and sell everything from reindeer hides to wellington boots. Moving further north, the iron-ore mining centres of Gällivare (where the Inlandsbanan ends) and Kiruna share a rugged charm, though it’s undoubtedly the world-famous Icehotel in nearby Jukkasjärvi that is the real winter draw. Beyond, the rugged national parks offer a chance to hike and commune with nature like nowhere else: the Kungsleden trail runs for 500km from the tiny village of Abisko – oddly, yet reassuringly for hikers, the driest place in all of Sweden – to Hemavan, northwest of Storuman, through some of the most gorgeous stretches anywhere in the Swedish mountains.

Stretching northwest of Arvidsjaur out towards the Norwegian border, the municipality of Arjeplog, roughly the size of Belgium, supports a population of under three thousand – two-thirds of whom live in the lakeside town, ARJEPLOG , 85km from Arvidsjaur. Set away from the main inland road and rail routes, it’s a tiny, unassuming sort of place, barely one main street leading to what passes as a main square. The surrounding area is one of the most beautiful parts of Sweden, with nearly nine thousand lakes and vast expanses of mountains and virgin forests. The air is clear and crisp, the rivers clean and deep and the winters mighty cold – in 1989 a temperature of -52°C was recorded here. January and February, in particular, are bitter, dark and silent months, but it’s during winter that Arjeplog is at its busiest: hundreds of test drivers from across the world descend on the town to put cars through their paces in the freezing conditions, with brakes and road-holding being given a thorough examination on the frozen lakes; the ABS braking system, for example, was developed here.

In summer, Arjeplog is a likeable, peaceful little place, where hiking, canoeing and fishing are all popular activities, each offering the chance of blissful isolation, be it by the side of a secluded mountain tarn or in a clearing deep in the pine forest. In late July you can go cloudberry picking in the surrounding marshland, and in the autumn you can hunt for lingonberries, blueberries and wild mushrooms.

Gällivare and around

Seven hundred and fifty kilometres north of Östersund, the Inlandsbanan finally reaches its last stop, GÄLLIVARE , two and a quarter hours up the line from Jokkmokk. Although the town is not immediately appealing, it is one of the few relatively sizeable ones in this part of northern Sweden, and it’s a good idea to spend a day or two here enjoying the relative civilization before striking out in the wilds beyond – Gällivare is a good starting point for walking in the national parks , which fill most of the northwestern corner of the country. The town is also one of the most important areas for iron ore in Europe – if you have any interest in seeing a working mine, don’t wait until Kiruna’s tame “tourist tour” ; instead, take a trip down the more evocative mines here.

Located just north of the 67th parallel, Gällivare has a pretty severe climate : as you stroll around the open centre, have a look at the double-glazed windows here, all heavily insulated to protect against the biting Arctic cold.

The site the town occupies was once that of a Sámi village, and one theory has it that the name Gällivare comes from the Sámi for “a crack or gorge ( djelli) in the mountain ( vare) ”. You may also come across the alternative spelling, Gellivare, although the pronunciation is the same – “yell-i-vaar-eh”.

Midnight sun tours

While in Gällivare do try to take a tour to the top of Dundret hill, one of the two peaks dominating the town, to see the midnight sun (early June–early Aug daily at 11pm; 200kr return; tickets available from the tourist office). Special taxis run from the train station to the end of the winding road which leads up to the top of the hill. Remember that the sky needs to be free of cloud for you to see the midnight sun properly. Whatever the weather, though, there are free waffles and ice cream available before the return down to Gällivare.

The mines at Malmberget

Tucked away at

, one of the two hills that overlook the town 5km to the north, the modern mines and works are distant, dark blots, towards which the tourist office ferries relays of tourists in summer. There are two separate tours, both running from mid-June to mid-August: one tour explores the underground

iron-ore mine

, the other the open-cast

copper mine

, the largest of its kind in Europe (and also Sweden’s biggest gold mine – the metal is recovered from the slag produced during the extraction of the copper). The ear-splitting noise produced from the mammoth-sized trucks (they’re five times the height of a human being) in the iron-ore mine can be quite disconcerting in the confined darkness.

If you’re in Arjeplog with your own transport, it’s worth making every effort to see the jaw-dropping panoramic vistas from the top of

(808m), which lies 15km north of the village. On a clear day from the peak, you can see over 130km in all directions across the surrounding marshland and forest with views extending even into Norway. From this amazing vantage point, you start to realize just how sparsely populated this remote part of Sweden is: if Stockholm, for example, had the same population density as Arjeplog it would have just fifty inhabitants.

From Karesuando it’s a drive of 510km to the North Cape in Norway, routing via Enontekiö in Finland and then Kautokeino and Alta in Norway; it will take at least six hours with your own car. By public transport, the easiest option is to walk across to Kaaresuvanto in Finland and pick up the bus for Tromsø which operates from June to mid-September, departing at 4.25pm. Change buses in Skibotn on Norway’s E6 highway and then head east towards Alta for connections to the North Cape. Finnish bus timetables are at w eskelisen. fi, Norwegian ones at w snelandia.no .

The Kungsleden (literally “King’s Trail”) is the most famous and popular hiking route in Sweden. A well-signposted, 500km-long path from Abisko in the north to Hemavan , near Tärnaby , it takes in Sweden’s highest mountain, Kebnekaise , en route. If you’re looking for splendid isolation, this isn’t the trail for you; it’s the busiest in the country, though it’s the section from Abisko to Kebnekaise that sees most hikers (one of the least busy sections is between Jäkkvik and Adolfström). Most people start the trail at Abisko, but it’s equally feasible to begin further south.

The ground is easy to walk, with bridges where it’s necessary to ford streams; marshy ground has had wooden planks laid down to ease the going, and there are either boat services or row-boats with which to get across several large lakes. The route, which passes through the national parks, is traditionally split into the five stages described below. For the distances between the places mentioned on each segment; the best map to have of the entire area is Lantmäteriet Kartförlaget’s Norra Norrland (scale 1:400,000).

Stage 1: Abisko to Kebnekaise (6 days; 105km)

From its starting point at STF Abisko fjällstation , the Kungsleden winds through the elongated Abisko national park, which contains some of the most lush and dense vegetation of the trail, including beech forest lining the valley bottom. From the Alesjaure cabins, perched on a mountain ridge 35km from the start, you’ll get a fantastic view over the open countryside below; there’s a sauna here, too. The highest point on this segment is the Tjäktja pass (1105m), 50km from the start, from where there are also wonderful views. This section of the trail finishes at Kebnekaise fjällstation , from where it’s possible to leave the main trail and head to Nikkaluokta, 19km away (served by buses to Kiruna).

Stage 2: Kebnekaise to Saltoluokta (3 days; 51km)

One of the quietest sections of the trail, this segment takes in beech forest, open fells and deep valleys. First of all you backtrack 14km from Kebnekaise fjällstation to Singi , before heading south again with an unobstructed view of the hills and glaciers of Sarek national park. You then paddle across the river at Teusajaure and climb over a plateau into Stora Sjöfallet national park , from where you drop steeply through beech forest to Vakkotavare . From Vakkotavore a bus runs to the quay at Kebnats, and then a short boat trip brings you to Saltoluokta and the start of the next section.

Stage 3: Saltoluokta to Kvikkjokk (4 days; 73km)

This segment involves skirting a tame corner of the inhospitable Sarek national park . It crosses two lakes and also passes through a bare landscape edged by pine and beech forests. A long uphill climb of around five to six hours leads first to Sitojaure , on a bare high fell. The shallow lake here, which you have to cross, is choppy in the strong wind; take the boat service operated by the cabin caretaker. You then cross the wetlands on the other side of the lake, making use of the wooden planks laid down here, to Aktse , where there’s a vast field of yellow buttercups in summer. Using the row-boats provided, row across Lake Laitaure for Kvikkjokk; as you approach you’ll see pine forest.

Stage 4: Kvikkjokk to Ammarnäs (8 days; 166km)

Not recommended for novices, this is one of the most difficult stretches of the trail (distances between cabins can be long, and there are four lakes to cross); it is, however, one of the quietest. From Kvikkjokk you take the boat over Saggat Lake and walk to the first cabin at Tsielejåkk . It’s 55km to the next cabin at Vuonatjviken . You then take the boat across Riebnesjaure and walk to Hornavan for another boat across to the village of Jäkkvik . It’s a short hike of 8km to the next cabin, then on to the village of Adolfström , passing through Pieljekaise national park en route. Then you get another boat over Iraft Lake and on to the cabins at Sjnjultje . From here there’s a choice of routes: 34km direct to Ammarnäs, or 24km to Rävfallet and then another 20km into Ammarnäs.

Stage 5: Ammarnäs to Hemavan (4 days; 78km)

This is the easiest part of the trail: you’ll pass over low fells and heather-covered moors and through beech forests and wetlands, the horizon lined with impressive fell peaks. The only steep climb is 8km long between Ammarnäs and Aigert , where there’s an imposing waterfall and a traditional steam sauna in the cabin. On the way to the Syter cabin, 48km from Aigert, you’ll pass a network of bridges, which cross the various lakes in what is called the Tärnasjö archipelago.

No other man has made a greater impression on northern Scandinavia than Lars Levi Laestadius (1800–61), the Swedish revivalist preacher who dedicated his life to saving people in three countries from the perils of alcoholism . Born in Jäkkvik in 1800 and educated in Kvikkjokk, the young Laestadius soon developed a close relationship with the indigenous Sámi , many of whom had turned to drink to escape the harsh reality of their daily lives. It was while the priest was working in Karesuando (1826–49) that he met Mary of Åsele , the Sámi woman who inspired him to steer people towards a life of total purity. Following Laestadius’s death in Pajala in 1861, the movement continued under the leadership of Juhani Raattamaa before splitting into two opposing branches: a conservative western group in Sweden and Norway, and a more liberal eastern one in Finland. Today tens of thousands of teetotal Swedes, Finns, Norwegians and Sámi across the Arctic area of Scandinavia still follow Laestadius’s teachings; as well as not drinking, they’re not allowed to have flowers or curtains in their homes, nor are they permitted to wear a tie, listen to the radio or watch TV.

Whilst Lapland’s strong cultural identity is evident in every town and village across the north, it’s a much trickier task to try to pin down the region geographically. The word Lapland means different things to different people. Mention it to a Swede (the Swedish spelling is Lappland ) and they’ll immediately think of the northern Swedish province of the same name which begins just south of Dorotea, runs up to the Norwegian and Finnish borders in the north, and stretches east towards (but doesn’t include) the Bothnian coast. For the original inhabitants of the north, the Sámi , the area they call Sápmi (the indigenous name for Lapland) extends from Norway through Sweden and Finland to the Russian Kola peninsula, an area where they’ve traditionally lived a semi-nomadic life, following their reindeer from valley bottom to fell top. Most foreigners have a hazy idea of where Lapland is; for the sake of this guide, we’ve assumed Swedish Lapland (the English spelling) to be located within the borders of the administrative province of Lappland but have included all of Route 342 – The Wilderness Way, or Vildmarksvägen – beginning in Strömsund, which crosses into Lappland, as well as the Torne Valley, which also lies partly within the province.

The only sight in town is the Silvermuséet , housed in a yellow wooden building in the main square. It’s home to fascinating collections of over 700 pieces of Sámi silver, including several ornate silver collars that were handed down from mother to daughter; if a mother had several daughters she would divide her chain amongst them. Whilst in the museum, make sure to visit the cinema in the basement, where you can see a slide show about the surrounding countryside and nature, and find how people in this remote part of Sweden learnt to adapt to the harsh climate.

The next major stop on the Inlandsbanan and bus route north of Storuman is SORSELE , 76km away – a pint-sized, quiet little town on the Vindelälven River . The town became a cause célèbre among conservationists in Sweden when activists forced the government to abandon its plans to build a hydroelectric power station, which would have regulated the river’s flow. Consequently, the Vindelälven remains in its natural state today – seething with rapids – and is one of only four rivers in the country that hasn’t been tampered with in some way or other.

The big event here is the Vindelälvsdraget , a 400km, four-day dog-sled race from Ammarnäs to Vännäsby held in the third week of March. Sorsele is an ideal base for fly-fishing : the Vindelälven and the other local river, Laisälven, are teeming with grayling and brown trout, and there are a number of local lakes stocked with char. Ask at the tourist offices for details.

If you’re looking to get well off the beaten track, Sorsele provides ready access to the Sámi mountain village of Ammarnäs , which is about as remote as you get by road in this part of Swedish Lapland.

Heading north for Treriksröset – the three-nation marker post where Sweden, Norway and Finland meet – walk over the bridge to Kaaresuvanto in Finland, from where a daily bus leaves at 2.35pm (Finland is an hour ahead of Sweden) for Kilpisjärvi (journey time 1hr 40min). From June to mid-September a second daily bus leaves at 4.25pm for Tromsø in Norway, travelling via Kilpisjärvi. From Kilpisjärvi, there are two ways to get to Treriksröset. One of these is a hike of 11km down a track which passes through an area of dwarf woodland before running around a small lake to reach Sweden’s northernmost point; don’t forget your camera and mosquito repellent. Alternatively, you can shorten the hike to just 3km by taking a boat ride from Kilpisjärvi across the lake on M/S Malla (late June–early Aug 10am, 2pm & 6pm Finnish time; 45min; €25 return); note that the boat requires at least four passengers to sail.

From Treriksröset, the path continues (14km) towards the northernmost peak in Sweden, Pältsan (1445m); the going here is rocky in parts. The STF cabins (no advance booking; March, April & late June–early Sept; dorm beds 390kr) at the foot of the mountain boast thirty beds and a sauna. There’s an easy hike (40km) from the cabins to Keinovuopio, where you cross the river to the village of Peera, on the main E8 road in Finland; from here you can catch the bus back to Karesuando (daily at approximately 1.45pm, also June to mid-Sept daily at 11.25am; check Finnish bus times at w matkahuolto.fi ).

The Inlandsvägen and the Wilderness Way meet up again in the pretty town of VILHELMINA , 54km north of Dorotea. Once an important forestry centre, now a quiet, unassuming little place with just one main street, it is named after the wife of King Gustav IV Adolf, Fredrika Dorotea Vilhelmina (as is its southerly neighbour, Dorotea).

On the main street the Sámi handicraft store , Risfjells Sameslöjd, Volgsjövägen 46 (Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–2pm; W sameslojd.se ), is worth a look.

Church town

The principal attraction is the church town , nestling between Storgatan and Ljusminnesgatan, whose thirty-odd wooden cottages date back to 1792 when the first church was consecrated. It’s since been restored, and the cottages can be rented out via the tourist office.

Discover more places in Sweden

• Abisko and around
• Jokkmokk and around
• Kiruna and around
• Strömsund and routes north
• Swedish Lapland’s national parks
• The E12: Blå vägen
• The Torne Valley

The Rough Guides to Sweden and related travel guides

In-depth, easy-to-use travel guides filled with expert advice.

Find even more inspiration here

Planning your own trip? Prepare for your trip

Use Rough Guides' trusted partners for great rates

written by Rough Guides Editors

updated 07.05.2021

Ready to travel and discover Sweden?

Get support from our local experts for stress-free planning & worry-free travels.

• Where to stay
• Travel advice

Destinations

Popular destinations, discover lapland.

From husky rides through pristine frozen forests to excursions into the Polar night to view the Northern Lights, discover unforgettable Lapland holidays.

Take Me There

Discover Europe

Whether it’s the bustling streets of Naples or the lush vineyards of Tuscany, prepare to be enchanted by Italy’s culture, cuisine, and magical scenery.

Central & Latin America

Discover costa rica.

Discover volcanos, jungle, beaches, world class wildlife and the concept of Pura Vida on adventures in the tropical land of Costa Rica.

Discover Kenya

As well as one of the top destinations on earth for safari, Kenya also hosts incredible mountain ranges and beautiful Indian Ocean beaches.

Discover Cambodia

Ancient temple complexes, magical white-sand beaches and jungles dotted with cool waterfalls, Cambodia is not one to miss.

Experiences

Experience collections.

Drive Iceland's Ring Road

Island Hopping in Greece

4 Night Family Lapland Adventure

Snowshoeing Adventure in the Pyrenees

Discover The Best Of Costa Rica

Thailand Off The Beaten Track Adventure

Discover our experiences

From winter sun escapes in the Maldives to bucket list adventures in Peru, explore our experience collections of local authentic experiences.

Take me there

Off the Beaten Track Holidays

Costa Rica East to West

Highlights Of Southern Peru

Experience The Real Maldives

The Best Of Uganda: Wildlife Safari

The Ultimate Cultural Morocco Tour

Bangkok To Beaches: Thailand Off The Beaten Track

Hanoi To Ho Chi Minh: Ultimate Vietnam In 14 Days

Sri Lanka: Immersive Adventure Country And Coast

Not In The Guidebooks adventures take you to the places other tourists miss – explore our offbeat, authentic and local itineraries here.

Foodie Holidays

Cooking in Italy

Cooking in France

Cooking in Spain

Food Adventures in England

Food Adventures in France

Food Adventures in Italy

Wine in France

Wine in Italy

Wine in Spain

We find that the fastest route to the heart of a culture is through its cuisine. Whether that’s cooking in Italy or exploring markets in Vietnam.

Creative Holidays

Painting in France

Painting in Spain

Painting in Italy

Arts and Crafts in France

Arts and Crafts in Italy

A Creative Week in Spain

Photography in France

Photography in Italy

Photography in Spain

For a holiday that creates more than memories, explore our range of painting, photography, and art & crafts holidays.

Active Holidays

Walking in Ireland

Walking in Spain

Walking in Portugal

Horse Riding in Italy

Horse Riding in Morocco

Horse Riding in Spain

Surfing in Costa Rica

Surfing in England

Surfing in Portugal

The best way to explore a landscape is to immerse yourself in it on an adventure, whether hiking the Spanish Pyrenees or kayaking in Montenegro.

Singles Activity Holidays

Cookery Holidays in France

Cookery Holidays in Italy

Cookery Holidays in Spain

Wellness Holidays in Costa Rica

Wellness Holidays in Italy

Wellness Holidays in Portugal

Creative Holidays in England

Creative Holidays in France

Creative Holidays in Spain

Explore the world on your terms by meeting like-minded travellers who share your passion for discovering new places and experiencing new cultures.

Wellness Holidays

Wellness Holidays in Wales

Wellness Holidays in Spain

Yoga Holidays in Costa Rica

Yoga Holidays in Italy

Yoga Holidays in Portugal

Take the opportunity to refresh, recharge and revatilise on a wellness holiday that also takes you to experience a new culture.

Wildlife Holidays

Wildlife Holidays in Costa Rica

Wildlife Holidays in Cambodia

Wildlife Holidays in Uganda

Wildlife Holidays in Kenya

Wildlife Holidays in Namibia

From the Masai Mara to Corcovado National Park, with NITGB you can witness some of the most spectacular wildlife on earth in a responsible manner.

Unique Accommodation

Glamping Accommodation in England

Glamping Accommodation in Wales

Hot Tub Accommodation in England

Hot Tub Accommodation in Wales

Discover unique accommodation that turns an ordinary weekend escape into a memorable, offbeat experience, whether in the UK or further afield.

• Call +44-203-048-3044 Agent login

Lapland Adventures and Experiences

Choose your holiday type

Northern Lights in Lapland

Family Holidays in Lapland

Christmas Holidays in Lapland

Romantic Holidays in Lapland

Our most popular experiences.

3 Night Aurora Wilderness Adventure, Rovaniemi

Embark on an unforgettable wilderness adventure in Rovaniemi, a winter wonderland in Lapland. Over the course of three n..

4 Night Family Lapland Winter Adventure in Pyhä, Taiga Cabin

Experience the winter wonderland of Finnish Lapland, home to the greatest natural light show on earth, and also to Santa..

4 Night Glass Igloo Aurora Adventure in Rovaniemi

Enjoy this amazing break in Lapland, staying is a magical glass igloo. Immerse yourself in the winter wonderland of the ..

3 Night Festive Adventure in Forest Glass Igloo, Saariselkä

Escape to the Arctic circle and the official home of Santa Claus in Lapland, on a Christmas holiday where you can discov..

3 Night Aurora Adventure in a Sky View Cabin, Levi

Embark on an unforgettable wilderness adventure in Lapland. Blissful relaxation, adrenaline-pumping outdoor adventures a..

4 Night Arctic Snow Hotel Experience

Head to the Arctic Circle for a truly unforgettable 4 night adventure in Lapland, where you will venture out into the ep..

4 Night Festive Adventure in a Lakeside Aurora Cabin, Inari

Apukka 4 Night Family Adventure

Delve into a 4 night escape to a hidden treasure of Winter Wonderland in Lapland. Create lasting memories whilst you enj..

Best Time to Visit Lapland

April – May:

As April rolls into May, the rivers and lakes crack and unfreeze, and Lapland is opened up to hikers, climbers, mountain bikers, you name it. Go bear spotting, hike the rugged countryside, or take a canoe out onto an idyllic, peaceful lake.

June – August:

The magic of the midnight sun, to many people, is just as compelling as the allure of the Northern Lights. Experiencing the endless days of a Lapland summer is a surreal, enchanting time, as you relax by a serenely quiet lake and soak in the rays of the perpetual sunlight.

September – October:

Autumn in Lapland is a time of year when the snow has still held off just enough so that you can still head out hiking or kayaking, but also provides a window when you can combine these experiences with nights dark enough to see the Northern Lights.

November – March:

If you’re after snow, snow, more snow and the Northern Lights, then these months are your best bet. You can absolutely guarantee perfect conditions for skiing, snowmobiling and any other snow-based activity, and your chances of seeing the Northern Lights are at their very best – you won’t get a better time or place to see them anywhere, at any other time, in the world.

Best Places to Visit

Levi boasts beautiful pine forests, frozen lakes and the Northern Lights.

The furthest north of our resorts, Saariselka is ideal for outdoor adventures.

The official home of Santa Claus, Rovaniemi is a taste of true Christmas magic.

Top tips for visiting Lapland

• Wrap up warm  if you’re travelling in winter. Bring toasty base layers, like thermal underwear or leggings, a fleece or wool sweater, a hat, scarf, and wool socks, the temperature is generally -10 to -25 degrees.
• The Northern Lights  are visible from August to April, as soon as the nights get dark. To maximise your chances though, visiting in the long, dark nights of the winter increases your chances highly, as they tend to be visible every second night.
• In summer,  be sure to bring mosquito repellent. Lapland’s many lakes and waterways provide a great home for midges, so to ensure you don’t spend your entire trip swarmed by bugs, we’d say insect repellent is an essential item.

Learn more about Lapland

Not Your Ordinary Accommodation: Unique Stays in Lapland

Silent, snow-covered forests, vast fells offering wide open views of distant frozen lakes, iced over rivers shimmering in the glow of the Northern Lights, all this and more unique stays await you on a Christmas adventure in Lapland. Throw in thrilling activities like husky sledding and snowmobiling in the midst... Read More »

The Ultimate Guide to a Holiday in: Lapland

Embarking on a Lapland adventure is a journey into a realm of wonder, and to ensure you make the most of it, we’re here to delve deeper into the answers of your most pressing questions. This comprehensive Lapland holiday guide aims to provide you with everything you need to know... Read More »

What to Wear on a Holiday in Lapland

One of our most oft-asked questions is, what do I need to wear in Lapland? And that’s because Lapland, with its endless, magical, snow-covered forests, frozen rivers and lakes, wide fells and distant mountains, all beneath the ethereal Northern Lights, is an ideal destination for a winter holiday that gets... Read More »

6 Bucket List Experiences in Lapland

Whether it’s the magic of the Northern Lights, or the still, snow-covered landscape that stretches into empty wilderness for miles around, Lapland is an environment rife with bucket list experiences for travellers to tick off. This region of northern Finland is the biggest official wilderness area in Europe, which means... Read More »

Join our community

Get off the beaten track and support local communities that you visit.

Sign up for inspiriation for your itinerary, new experiences and special offers.

• Member Dashboard

Add New Books

Write a Review

Backpack Reading Lists

Newsletter Updates

Home Latest Five great books set in Lapland

Five great books set in Lapland

13th December 2018

Lapland is the latest destination in our ‘ Five great books set in …’ series.

Five great books set in Lapland.

In an unashamedly festive offering, we list below five books from the TripFiction database set firmly in Lapland. Although it isn’t just Christmas written about in this dark location….

Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews – set in ENGLAND & LAPLAND

Cassie Smith has been out of work for a while but she has an idea. Drawing on her love of Christmas, she begins charging for small things: wrapping presents; writing cards; tree-decorating. She’s soon in huge demand and Cassie’s business, Calling Mrs Christmas, is born.

Carter Randall wants to make Christmas special for his children, so he enlists Cassie’s help, and his lavish requests start taking up all her time. Thank goodness she can rely on her loving partner Jim to handle the rest of her clients.

When millionaire Carter asks Cassie to join his family on a trip to Lapland, she knows she shouldn’t go . . . Suddenly Cassie finds herself facing a heart-breaking choice that could change her entire life.

Buy from Amazon or your favourite bookseller

L et the Northern Lights Erase your Name by Vendela Vida – set in LAPLAND

When Clarissa Iverton was fourteen years old, her mother disappeared leaving Clarissa to be raised by her father. Upon his death, Clarissa, now twenty-eight, discovers he wasn’t her father at all.

Abandoning her fiance, Clarissa travels from New York to Helsinki, and then north of the Arctic Circle – to Lapland. There, under the northern lights, Clarissa not only unearths her family’s secrets, but also the truth about herself.

Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman – set in LAPLAND

Midsummer eve, 1974, in the far north of Sweden. Annie Raft arrives with her six-year-old daughter in a small town called Blackwater to join her lover Dan on a commune. But Dan is not there to meet them. Panicking, Annie treks into the wilderness to find the commune, in the strange, hovering light of midsummer night. By the river, she finds a tent: and inside it two bodies hideously murdered – stabbed so violently that the feathers from their sleeping bag scatter the ground.

Many years later, Annie has settled in the region, and Mia, her daughter has grown up. Early one morning she glimpses Mia in the arms of the man she believes responsible for the murders. The seemingly inexplicable crime, long buried, is forced to come to its own dark and unexpected conclusion.

A Winter Beneath the Stars by Jo Thomas – set in LAPLAND

Halley has been running from her problems for years.

On a courier trip to Tallfors, deep in Swedish Lapland, everything is going to plan. Halley has her bag, with two precious wedding rings inside for delivery… until she doesn’t.

The only way to save the wedding is to team up with mysterious reindeer herder Bjorn, the one person who can lead her across the snowy tundra to be reunited with her bag.

On a journey of a lifetime beneath the stars, with only the reindeer and a bad-tempered stranger for company beside the fire, Halley realises that she will need to confront her past heartaches in order to let the warmth of love in once more…

Snow Angels by James Thompson – set in LAPLAND

The first thriller in a new series featuring Inspector Kari Vaara: the haunted, hardened detective who must delve into Finland’s dark and violent underbelly.

Kaamos: Just before Christmas, the bleakest time of the year in Lapland. The unrelenting darkness and extreme cold above the Arctic Circle drive everyone just a little insane . . . perhaps enough to kill.

A beautiful Somali immigrant is found dead in a snowfield, her body gruesomely mutilated, a racial slur carved into her chest. Heading the murder investigation is Inspector Kari Vaara, the lead detective of the small-town police force. The vicious killing may have been a hate crime, a sex crime – or one and the same. Vaara knows he must keep this potentially explosive case out of the national headlines or else it will send shock waves across Finland, an insular nation afraid to face its own xenophobia.

The demands of the investigation begin to take their toll on Vaara and his marriage. His young American wife, Kate, newly pregnant with their first child, is struggling to adapt to both the unforgiving Arctic climate and the Finnish culture of silence and isolation. Meanwhile Vaara himself, haunted by his rough childhood and failed first marriage, discovers that the past keeps biting at his heels: He suspects that the rich man for whom his ex-wife left him years ago may be the killer.

Endless night can drive anyone to murder.

Andrew for the TripFiction Team

Do you know any other books set in Lapland to add to our  database ? Please leave your thoughts in the Comments box below, and remember that you can buy any of these books through TripFiction by clicking on the bookseller links on any book page.

Other posts in our ‘Five great books set in…’ series:

Five great books set in Naples

Five great books set in Dublin

Five great books set in Dubai

Five great books set in Portugal

Five great books set in San Francisco

Five great books set in Edinburgh

Five great books set in Guernsey

Five great books set in Mexico

Five great books set in Alpine countries

Five great books set in Korea

Five great books set in Tunisia

Five great books set in Sweden

Five great books set in Croatia

Five great books set in Pompeii

Five great books set in Sicily

Five great books set in Yorkshire

Five great books set in Cornwall

Five great books set in Devon

Five great books set in ski resorts

And our ‘Ten great books set in…’ series includes:

Ten great books set in Paris

Ten great books set in New York

Ten great books set in London

Ten great books set in Rome

Ten great books set in Berlin

Ten great books set in Russia

Ten great books set in Spain

Ten great books set in Amsterdam

Ten great books set in Thailand

Ten great books set in Raj era India

Ten great books set in Japan

Do come and join team TripFiction on Social Media:

Twitter  (@TripFiction),  Facebook  (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust),  YouTube  (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust),  Instagram  (@TripFiction) and  Pinterest  (@TripFiction)

Subscribe to future blog posts

Latest Blogs

Talking Location With… author Joanna Glen: TROMSØ

19th April 2024

#TalkingLocationWith… Joanna Glen, author of Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly, novel mainly set off the coast of NORTHUMBERLAND (and Tromsø) The...

Novel set in KENT, LONDON, PARIS

18th April 2024

Estella’s Revenge by Barbara Havelocke, novel set in Kent, London, Paris. You might guess, and you’d be right, that...

Destination thriller set in THAILAND (and London)

17th April 2024

Her Last Summer by Emily Freud, destination thriller set in THAILAND (and London). #Destinationthriller You know from the book...

Short stories set in TOKYO (and London and South Africa)

16th April 2024

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green, short stories set in Tokyo (and London and South Africa) If there’s any justice...

Novel set in London: portrait of an ever-changing city

15th April 2024

Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey, novel set in LONDON; a portrait of an ever-changing city. “…those few...

Novel set in a “Divorce Ranch” outside RENO, Nevada.

12th April 2024

The Divorcées by Rowan Beaird, novel set in a Divorce Ranch outside Reno, Nevada. Divorce ranches were a key...

TripFiction

Making it easy to match a location with a book

Find out more about us and our philosophy

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of any follow up comments to my comment by email

Great books set in Lapland: May I humbly suggest Olivier Truc’s Sami thriller FORTY DAYS WITHOUR SHADOW? (published 2014 in my translation) and shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association International Dagger). Featuring Klemet Nango and Nina Nansen of the Reindeer Police (who really are a thing).

Hi Louise, thank you so much for the recommendation! I’ve just added it to the site, it looks great!

The nearest I can get is Iceland! I have read 3 good books by Quentin Bates. They are murder mysteries featuring a female police sergeant . I think I might read them again soon! They are “Cold Comfort”, “Chilled to the Bone” and”Frozen out”. The titles say it all .

Search our database for travel-related fiction, travelogues, and memoirs

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Other benefits of membership include:

   receiving an entertaining monthly newsletter,    adding new books to the site,    reviewing books you have read.

• Winter Tours
• Trip Planner
• Tours to Lapland
• Tours to Iceland
• Tours to Finland
• Tours to Norway
• Tours to Sweden
• Tours to Russia

Set off to wonderful Finland and hunt the spectacular Aurora

Take your family on an exciting winter adventure in Lapland

Visit two stunning winter destinations on a single trip

Step into a snowy fairy tale and witness the greatest wonders

Chase the magical phenomenon of the Northern Lights in Lapland

Choose from a list or contact us for a custom-made winter adventure

Lapland Awaits

It's time to discover Lapland! Just let us know how you'd like to travel

• Lapland Advice
• Destinations

Do you know which countries does the Lapland Region include?

Check out the list of top activities to enjoy on your trip to Lapland

Read expert advice on traveling in Lapland Region

Find out how to visit Santa Claus in Lapland

Find out the best time to visit Northern Lights in winter Scandinavia

Enhance your upcoming trip with unforgettable accommodation options

Adventure Awaits

It's time to discover winter Scandinavia! Just let us know how you'd like to travel

Discover why we are a great match for your travel plans

We have been organizing tours for over a decade. Nice to meet you

Read the latest customer reviews on their trips with us

Learn more about your dream destinations from travel experts

Get in touch today and start planning your winter getaway

• My itineraries
• Trip survey
• For Suppliers

+1 (800) 884-1721

• Oceania and Australia : +61261888118

Lapland Travel Tips

You are here.

Without a doubt, Lapland is a destination that offers among the best winter vacations in Europe and the world. But what should you know before setting off on such an adventure? Here are some frequently asked questions on tours of Lapland.

What is Lapland Famous For?

There's no denying it, when it comes to Lapland trips, everyone chooses this destination for the unique nature and fun winter activities. This northern region boasts impeccable natural beauty with many corners still untouched by man. Although rather chilly, there are numerous opportunities for leisure in Lapland, including snowmobiling, meeting reindeer, the local Sami people, and, of course, searching for the Northern Lights . Topping it all, Santa's official residence is set in Finland's Rovaniemi , making Lapland a famous destination for travel.

How Far in Advance Should You Book Lapland Travel Packages?

We’ll share a secret with you, planning a trip to Lapland on your own is challenging, time-consuming, and most likely turns out to be more costly than when booking your trip with professional tour operators. ​In any case, when it comes to booking tours to Lapland , the main rule is the earlier, the better. This destination has taken its place on many travelers’ bucket lists; thus, evidently, the demand is clearly above average.

​​Although the territory of northern Scandinavia is very vast, the options for accommodation, transport, and other key travel elements (such as spots on guided tours and activities) are limited by capacity. Therefore, to avoid skyrocket prices, none or poor accommodation options, and sold out activities which you simply can’t miss out on, do yourself a favor and start your tour preparation process well in advance.

For instance, if you wish to visit Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, Finland, consider contacting ​a specialist about 6 to 8 months prior to your supposed departure date. This is the smartest and most budget-saving option, trust us, especially when Lapland Christmas packages are the case in point.

What to Pack for Lapland Winter Holidays?

If you’re planning to visit Lapland in winter, packing warm clothes is something that’s more than obvious. To be fair, no matter which time of the year you go to northern Scandinavia, you must be prepared for the cold weather conditions of that area.

Those going in winter should pack warm thermal clothing, coats, thick socks, hats, gloves, scarves, as well as comfortable and warm shoes or boots. It is best that your outerwear is long, has a hood, is wind and water-resistant, and capable of warming you up in freezing temperatures. Warm pants that are waterproof are a must, for example, flannel ones for skiing are a good choice. Some people even prefer to put on warm thick​leggings underneath them when planning to spend a lot of time outside in winter Lapland. ​You won’t go wrong by taking extra sweaters, especially wool ones, as more layers of clothes will help keep you warm.

​Don’t forget to take special adaptors for your electronic appliances as the sockets in Norway , Sweden , Finland , and Iceland use plugs of the European standard for 220 volts. If you use the plugs of a different standard, keep in mind that it will be impossible to charge your phone and other devices without an adapter. Power banks are also a good solution as devices tend to run down faster when used in low outside temperatures.

As you can see, planning a trip to Lapland can be rather challenging as there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind. But don't worry, out travel experts organized hundreds of vacation to Scandinavia over the years. They know what pitfalls to avoid, so your vacation would bring you nothing but happy memories. If you need any help with planning your holiday or have any questions left, don't hesitate to reach out to us, we will be happy to help!

Related tours

• Call us now
• Request a call
• Chat on WhatsApp
• Start Live chat
• Contact via email

Tours to Lapland is working with Firebird Tours - leading tour operator for the best private & small-group tours to Europe, including tours to Spain and tours to Italy, cruises in Russia and tours to Norway . It also maintains platforms for booking Russian train tickets , European train tickets online and shares travel advice on Triptile Blog .

Tours to Lapland Tours to Iceland Tours to Sweden Tours to Norway Tours to Finland Tours to Russia

Finnish Lapland & Northern Lights Finland Northern Lights Adventure Finnish Lapland for Families Finnish Arctic Adventure Tromso Northern Lights Winter Iceland

Lapland Travel Tips Winter Destination Comparison Scandinavian Winter Destinations Visit Santa Claus in Lapland Northern Lights in Lapland Best Activities in Lapland

Florida Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST39939 All Rights Reserved © 2024 Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

• South Africa
• Afghanistan
• North Korea
• Adventure + Outdoors
• Amusement Parks
• Backpacking Trips
• Boating + Cruises
• Budget Travel
• Bus + Train Travel
• Coasts + Islands
• Country Trips
• Fall Vacations
• Family Vacations
• Green Travel
• Heritage + History
• Honeymoons + Romance
• Inspiration + Guide
• Landmarks + Attractions
• LGBT Travel
• Markets + Bazaars
• National Parks + Reserves
• Nature + Wildlife
• Parks + Gardens
• Pets + Animals
• Photography
• Airlines + Airports
• Budgeting + Currency
• Business Travel
• Celebrity Travel
• Customs + Immigration
• Deals + Rewards
• Family Travel
• Hotels + Resorts
• Luggage + Packing Tips
• Offbeat News
• Photography Tips
• Responsible Travel
• Solo Travel
• Tech + Gear
• Travel Etiquette
• Travel Warnings
• Bars + Clubs
• Celebrity Chefs
• Restaurants + Cafés
• Wine + Vineyards
• Beach Hotels
• Boutique Hotels
• Hotel Openings
• Hotel Reviews
• Luxury Hotels
• Mountain + Ski Resorts
• Spa Resorts
• Vacation Rentals
• Asia Cruises
• European Cruises
• Festivals + Events
• Museums + Galleries
• Style + Design
• Travel’s Best
• Hotel with Agoda.com
• Hotel with Booking.com

Must eat in Hong Kong — 7+ must eat & must…

Coron itinerary 5 days — What to do & how to…

Arashiyama travel blog — The fullest Arashiyama travel guide with top…

India trip tips — 9+ things to know before going to…

Explore Fenqihu old street — What to do in Fenqihu in…

Where to go in Kunming? — 15+ top Kunming attractions &…

All about tips in Nepal — How much to tip in…

Cambodia travel tips — 15+ what to know & things to…

When is the best time to visit Kyoto? — The best,…

Must eat in Georgetown — 10+ famous, must-eat & best street…

Must eat in Melaka — 10+ famous Malacca street food &…

Hong Kong Soya sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles — The first…

Top hotels in Siem Reap — 8+ best places to stay…

Top hotels in shanghai — 15+ best hotels in Shanghai

Top hotels in Malacca — 10+ good & best hotels in…

Top places to stay in Bali — Top 10 best areas…

10 must-know things for your best first time European river cruise

Top 3 best luxury cruises in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Cherry blossom festival Korea 2024 — Top 5 cherry blossom festivals…

Ghibli museum blog — The fullest Ghibli museum guide for first-timers

Kyoto festival — Top 10 best events & most famous festivals…

National Palace Museum Taipei blog — What to see in National…

Japanese waterfall — Top 10 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan in…

19+ most beautiful towns in Europe every tourist need to visit…

Georgia travel photos — 20+ captivating photos show Georgia is heaven…

Explore Damnoen Floating Market — The oldest floating market of Thailand

Visiting Fenghuang Ancient Town — One of the most charming ancient…

Mekong Delta travel blog — Beyond rivers of Southwestern Vietnam

14 reasons why you should travel when you are young

Shigaraki Tanuki – An animal symbol of good luck in Japan

Living in the charms of cave houses in Andalucia, Southern Spain

20+ jaw-dropping tiny homes around the world

Lapland travel blog — the ultimate lapland travel guide: how to travel & what to do in lapland finland.

Located in the north of Finland, Lapland is very close to the North Pole, so there are 200 days of cold winter a year. Any visitor, whether a child or an adult, wishes to have a trip to this place to meet Santa Claus , along with the reindeers. Moreover, this place is also an extremely attractive destination with a lot of interesting experiences. Lapland Finland (Finnish Lapland) is world famous as “the Official Hometown of Santa Claus”. In addition to the above nickname, is there anything else that attracts tourists from all over the world? Let’s experience Finnish Lapland through the sharing below. So, what country is Lapland in, what to do in Lapland, how to travel to Lapland Finland and how to plan a perfect budget trip to Lapland for the first-time? Let’s check out our Lapland travel blog (Lapland blog) with the fullest Lapland travel guide (Lapland guide) from how to get to Lapland Finland, best time to come, where to stay, what to see in Lapland Finland, things to do in Lapland Finland as well as what to do in Rovaniemi to find out the answer!

• Lapland Finland hotels review — 10 best place to stay in Lapland Finland
• What to buy in Finland? — 21+ Top things to buy in Finland & best souvenirs from Finland
• Helsinki travel blog — The ultimate Helsinki travel guide for first-timers
• Trip review to the fairy tale Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi, Lapland – Finland

Coron itinerary 5 days — What to do & how to spend 5 days in Coron?

Lapland travel blog: Where is Lapland Finland and what country is Lapland in?

Finnish Lapland is a very large region with an area of ​​about 100,367 square kilometers of which 92,667 square kilometers is land, 6,316 square kilometers is freshwater and 1,383 square kilometers is sea. Lapland stretching through 4 countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia’s Kola Peninsula with an area equivalent to 3 countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland combined.

In which the Lapland region in Finland (Finnish Lapland, Lapland Finland) occupies one third of the country’s area and the capital of the entire Lapland – the city of Rovaniemi is also located here. This is the official hometown of Santa Claus, so it is often said that Finnish Lapland (or Rovaniemi Finland) is the hometown of Santa Claus .

Some interesting things about Finnish Lapland:

• Although this entire Lapland region spans 4 countries, the official name is widely known in 2 countries Sweden and Finland. Therefore, when it comes to the place of Lapland, you should often add the country name, so that people can clearly distinguish which region you are talking about.
• The population of Finnish Lapland is over 180,000 people, mainly concentrated in 4 big cities (Rovaniemi, Tornio, Kemi and Kemijärvi), the population density is about 1.98 people/km2 – the lowest in Europe and less than number of reindeer here (200,000).
• Reindeer here are popularly raised as a meat producing animal in other countries. Near the village of Santa Claus, there is an Artic Circle – marking the arctic circle of the earth. Therefore, there is a phenomenon of 2 months in the summer when the sun never sets (lighting all day and night).
• Lapland Finland is also a very large region rather than a specific city or place. So when someone talks about Finnish Lapland tourism, you should understand that they mention to traveling to Rovaniemi city – the capital of the whole Lapland Finland region, where the village of Santa Claus and some remote surrounding areas is upper it, where you can hunting aurora (the Northern Lights) and other winter activities.
• Rovaniemi was almost destroyed 90% in World War II, but then the great Finnish architect Alvar Aalto redesigned the whole city as it have the appearance as we see today. There is currently a top 2 Finnish university named after his name, Aalto University – the top 7th school in the world in art and design section.

Lapland travel blog: When should you visit Lapland Finland?

Tourists often come to Finnish Lapland with the desire to experience aurora borealis hunting and take part in some winter activities. That’s why I think the most suitable time and best time to travel to Finnish Lapland is in the period from November to March. Because this is the time when you have the highest opportunity to seeing the Northern Lights along with this place is completely covered with white snow creating a magical scene comes along with a special and vibrant Christmas atmosphere.

Personally, I would recommend going from the beginning of November to mid-December because at this time there will be also a Christmas atmosphere here and it is not as crowded as December. Meanwhile, January and February are the peak winter months, the temperature is usually in the range of -20 to -40 degrees Celsius. Therefore, for those who are not used to extreme cold temperatures, coming here in this season is no different from being tortured :). In addition, the aurora often appears when it is cold and clear. If there is too much snow, the opportunity of seeing it is also lower than other times. There are times from September to November when it is very cold but without snow, it is easy to see the aurora borealis.

Lapland travel guide: How to get and how to travel to Lapland Finland (How to get to Rovaniemi)?

How to travel to lapland finland from other finland’s cities.

To get to Rovaniemi Lapland, you usually need to get to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Then from here, you can take the train, onnibus or plane to getting here. The distance from Helsinki to Rovaniemi is about 700-800km.

• Onnibus: Usually you will need to transfer in Oulu city. Total travel time is about 12 hours (8 hours to Oulu and 3 hours to 4 hours from Oulu to Rovaniemi). Ticket price is around €18-35.
• VR train (the Finland’s national railway company) often runs 2 trips a day from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. Travel time: 8 to 12 hours. Ticket price: €40-90/way. The fare of €40 usually only appears in the summer, when the travel demand to Lapland is less than other seasons.
• Airplane: Finnair (the Finland’s flag carrier and largest airline) often has quite a few direct flights from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. Ticket price is about €70-100/way.

If you depart from some countries with lot of demands for travel to Finnish Lapland such as the UK, the Netherlands, there are also direct flights from these countries to Rovaniemi. As far as I know, there are currently 7 airlines flying directly to Rovaniemi from 5 European countries which are the UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine in which the UK is the country with the largest number of tourists to Lapland Finland.

Lapland guide: Getting around Finnish Lapland

If you simply visit Rovaniemi, I think the most suitable means of transport is the public bus. Ticket price is €3.2/way and you can catch a bus from Rovaniemi center to Santa Claus village in 15 minutes.

However, if you want to participate in more winter activities, perhaps renting a self-drive car will be more appropriate. Because Lapland is a very large and extremely sparsely populated region, it will be quite difficult for you to participate in winter activities such as aurora hunting in the north, ice lake fishing, etc. without active means of transport.

Lapland travel blog: Where to stay in Lapland Finland?

Because Lapland is very large and the attractions are not gather in a single cluster like in other cities, finding a room here is not simple at all. Not only that, Lapland is also famous for various types of accommodation that are rarely found anywhere in the world. So, I will write a detailed article to guide you how to choose a hotel in Lapland later.

In general, in my travel experience, you should find a room and book it as soon as possible. Quality rooms in Lapland often sell out very quickly because here are few people, the hotel is not too abundant, but the number visitors flocking here from China, Japan, Germany, and Britain is quite a lot… Last time my friend searched for a room 4 months in advance but she still couldn’t find a good place to stay.

However, if you want to stay in upscale hotels, close to Santa Village, you can book hotels right in Santa Claus Village ( Agoda.com or Booking.com ).

You can also refer to the two other luxury hotels: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com ) built in a high hill, offer panoramic windows with beautiful nothern lights view.

Or Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort ( Agoda.com or Booking.com ). This is a hotel that is extremely suitable for visitors to see and admire the Northern Lights.

At first glance, the Kaklauttanen looks like it just step out of a sci-fi movie. The hotel consists of many rooms like turtles located next to each other. “Tortoise shell” is made of glass, does not absorb water vapor no matter how cold it is, guaranteed, guests can see the Northern Lights anytime it appears. Each room has a comfortable bed and a comfortable bathroom.

Below we recommend more best budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

• Santa Claus Holiday Village ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Arctic Light Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Scandic Rovaniemi City ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Lapland Hotels Ounasvaara Chalets ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Arctic City Hotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Rovaniemi ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )

Check out more top and best hotels in Rovaniemi on Agoda.com or Booking.com .

Lapland travel guide: Things to do in Lapland Finland, what to see and what to do in Lapland Finland

What to do in rovaniemi.

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland which is considered the official hometown of Santa Claus . This place is famous for its Santa’s village and many other interesting winter activities such as reindeer riding, husky sledding, skiing, visiting museums…

Some indispensable places, things to do in Rovaniemi Lapland:

Santa Claus Village

Located about 8 km from the center of Rovaniemi city, Santa Claus Village is open all year round regardless of winter or summer. Here you will have the opportunity to meet Santa Claus, visit the post office where Santa works, send letters to people all over the world…

There are 3 most attractive places in this village are Santa Claus Office, Santa Claus Main Post Office and Arctic Circle. Ticket price: free. However, there are some other activities that still cost money. There is also a service to stamp your passport to certify that you have gone through the Arctic Circle for €1, and a service to take pictures with Santa Claus for €20-40. So, fun and interesting!

Arktikum Museum

The museum displays artifacts, provides information about people, animals and plants that have lived in the Arctic Circle of the earth during typical historical periods, such as during the World War II and the period that Finland was invaded and took part of the territory by Russia (1939-1940).

Address: Pohjoisranta 4, 96200 Rovaniemi, Finland Hours: 10AM–5PM/Monday: Closed Ticket price: €9

SantaPark – the Home Cavern of Santa Claus

As an amusement park built in an underground cave with many recreational activities, especially suitable for families with young children.

Address: Tarvantie 1, 96930 Rovaniemi, Finland Ticket price: €34.

Visit Raitola Reindeer & Husky Farm, experience reindeer riding and husky sledding

Near Santa’s village there is Raitola Reindeer & Husky Farm (Address: Välttikankaantie 11, 96900 Rovaniemi, Finland) that offers tours of reindeer sleigh riding sleds or husky safari sledding with various tour packages. Ride a reindeer-drawn sleigh like a horse-drawn carriage, while exprience a husky sledding like a thrilling game.

Driving in Lapland Finland needs to be careful because the reindeer often roam on the roads. Sometimes if you’re driving and see a couple of them suddenly crossing the road, don’t be surprised. Because the number of reindeers much more than residents living here.

Ounasvaaran Hiihtokeskus Ski Resort

You can come here to ski or hire a guide if you still don’t know how to ski. Ticket price €20 for 1 hour or day ticket of €40. Hire a guide costs about €30-50.

In addition, if you have children, you can go to the Science Centre Pilke museum (Address: Ounasjoentie 6, 96200 Rovaniemi, Finland) and the Angry Birds Playground (Address: Valtakatu 4, 96100 Rovaniemi, Finland).

Some other activities when traveling to Finnish Lapland

Explore the beautiful lakes and ice fishing.

Lapland is a place full of beautiful lakes. In which, the most beautiful and famous lake is Inari. This is also the largest lake in Lapland with an area of over 1,000 square kilometers. If you come to Lapland on cold winter days, you will see that the surface of Lake Inari is completely frozen to form a giant mirror. You can experience ice fishing.

In winter when the lake freezes, locals often have a hobby of walking on the ice, skating on the lake or punching holes in the ice for fishing. This is probably an experience that requires extremely high patience for tourists.

Hunting Aurora (Northern Lights)

According to an old legend, an arctic fox whipped its tail and sent twinkling lights into the sky, creating the aurora borealis. Lapland is located in the Arctic region, so you will have a higher chance of seeing this natural phenomenon than anywhere else. However, Rovaniemi is a city with a dense population and is “polluted” by lights, so it’s best to go to the very remote hills, the darker and less inhabited the better.

In fact, hunting the aurora is a very bad luck. You will have a hard time guessing exactly whether that time will have the aurora or not. Usually the forecast is only accurate within 1 week. If you wait until that date to book tickets for travel and accommodation, I guarantee that the possibility of staying in a “thousand-star hotel” is very high or else the cost will be sky-high.

In fact, hotel rooms in resorts and convenient locations in Lapland usually need to be booked at least 6 months in advance. So, when traveling to Lapland Finland, if you see the aurora borealis, you are lucky, if not, just unlucky :).

The more you traveling to the north, the clearer the visibility and the higher the chance, so many visitors flocking here because of that. However, there are also many days when the aurora is very visible, so you can see it right in the city of Rovaniemi or even in the southern provinces of Finland. Well, if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to see the Northern Lights right in Rovaniemi, you should go to the Artikum Science Museum. This is the best spot to see the aurora borealis in the city. You download the “Aurora” app to monitor the possibility of aurora in specific locations.

Personally, I would not recommend you booking aurora hunting tour, the aurora appears or not depends mainly on the weather, not on people. If you book a tour but there is no aurora on that day, that’s okay. Instead, always monitor the weather and go up as close to the north as possible, especially in forests with less light pollution, the chances of seeing it will be high. Remember to prepare warm clothes, sleeping bags, food and water. It takes a lot of effort to hunt this “super picky girl”.

Camping in the forest

This activity is quite popular with nature lovers like Finnish. You should camp in national parks where firewood is available, free kitchens for grilling food, and tents near the lake. Camping in the winter is also quite interesting, but it is necessary to carefully prepare warm clothes, fully equipment as well as find out the places where camping and fire are allowed first.

As I mentioned in previous posts, sauna is a Finnish initiative and sauna bathing has become an indispensable part of their lives. Winter is probably the best time to try this experience. If possible, you should rent a hotel room with a sauna room, so that after every day of going out to explore the experience, when you return, you will be able to enjoy a body sauna for comfort and relief.

In fact, when bathing in a sauna, Finns often go nude and after each interval they will jump into the icy lakes outside or take a cold shower. You should try this feeling :D. An indispensable experience when traveling to Finland.

Besides activities such as skiing, husky sledding, reindeer riding… You can try the feeling of snowmobile in the forest or surrounding areas. Usually, tourists will go on a tour, but if you have experience driving this and are not afraid of getting lost, you can rent it. The price is around €150/basic package and €25 extra per hour you rent. You can refer at this progearmoto website . Regarding tours you can refer to Arctic Circle Snowmobile for €55 per person for 30 minutes — 1 hour with a driver. This is one of the experiences that many thrill-seeking travelers enjoy when traveling to Finnish Lapland on their own.

If you are interested in learning about Sámi culture, you should drive 4 hours from Rovaniemi to Inari. The winter nature here is also very impressive with many interesting sites such as The Sámi Cultural Center Sajos (Address: Menesjärventie 2A, 99870 Inari, Finland), Karhu souvenir shop. The Sámi is an ethnic minority of Finland and residents live in Lapland mainly are Sámi people.

Lapland travel tips

If you go with a few people but still want to experience all kinds of winter activities without spending too much, join the tour group of ESN (Erasmus Student Network) organized by the Finnish schools. Most of the people going are exchange students coming to study in Finland, so you will have the opportunity to meet many people, participate in many recreational activities at a very affordable price. The tour package usually includes accommodation with sauna, transportation, activities such as husky ride, snowmobile… are all included. You can choose to go with ESN with any school in Helsinki . In Helsinki, there are a number of schools such as Laurea, Haaga-Helia, Aalto, University of Helsinki, Arcada, Metropolia… Tour prices are around €340 for 7 days. The referal link at Timetravels .

What to do in Lapland: Shopping

Coming to Lapland, visitors will be fascinated to see very high quality products that are famous throughout the Nordic region and throughout Europe. All brands are manufactured according to Nordic standards for safety, accuracy, durability over the years, high applicability and smart and traditional designs such as Finnish Knives (Puukkos), Wooden handmade Kuksa Cups, Taigakoru jewelry, Marimekko fashion, Arabia porcelain,…

How to travel to Lapland Finland: Suggested Lapland itinerary 5 days 4 nights

• Day 1: Go to Rovaniemi and walk around the city
• Day 2: Visit Santa’s village, visit husky dog ​​farm, experience reindeer riding, husky safari…
• Day 3: Visit Santa park, Arkitum museum, aurora hunting
• Day 4: Snowmobile, ski resort
• Day 5: Bonfire camping, ice fishing, aurora hunting

Lapland travel blog: What to eat?

• Reindeer meat: The most popular livestock in Lapland. People in Lapland will often raise a lot of reindeer for fur and meat. Therefore, reindeer meat is a specialty that you must try!
• Smoked salmon
• Muikku fish

These are famous local dishes in Lapland. In addition, you should combine going to the supermarket in Rovaniemi if you want to have a cheap self-sufficient trip.

Lapland blog: Traveling cost

The cost of a self-sufficient travel, I think it largely depends on each individual. There are many factors that affect the trip costs such as where to stay, whether you rent a car, whether you participate in activities such as husky sledding, reindeer riding… I give a few basic costs below:

• Meals: €12/meal. If you buy food from the supermarket to cook, you can comfortably spend about €20 a day.
• Hotel: The lowest price is about €30 per person. The highest is about €300-400.
• Traveling: €12/day. If you rent a car, it will increase to €40-50/person/day. Participate in other activities: Each activity costs about €30-40.

I think for comfort, the traveling cost is about €150 a day, all inclusive. Of course, this cost is higher than in the capital Helsinki or other European countries but still lower than Norway, Switzerland…

Lapland travel guide: Some tips before you go

• The most commonly spoken languages ​​in Finnish Lapland are Swedish and Finnish. However, most people living in the city will speak English fluently. So, you can rest assured!
• You should exchange money at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. It is best to exchange at legitimate counters for the best and safe exchange rates.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Lapland you can refer to

• Lapland 2 Day Tour from Rovaniemi
• Highlights of Rovaniemi Day Tour
• The Frozen Waterfalls of Korouoma Day Tour from Rovaniemi
• [DISCONTINUED] Lapland Wellness and Relaxation Tour
• Aurora Borealis Small Group Tour with Free Photos from Rovaniemi
• Rovaniemi: Lapland Northern Lights Tour with BBQ
• Rovaniemi: Santa Claus Village and Arctic Circle
• Rovaniemi: Snowman World Entrance Ticket
• Lapland: Husky Carriage Ride Under the Northern Lights
• Rovaniemi: Apukka Husky Adventure

Read more Trip review to the fairy tale Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi, Lapland – Finland , Where to stay in Lapland Findland and Finland travel guide here .

Related articles

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Arashiyama travel blog — the fullest arashiyama travel guide with top things to do in arashiyama, explore fenqihu old street — what to do in fenqihu in a day trip, where to go in kunming — 15+ top kunming attractions & best places to visit in kunming, must eat in melaka — 10+ famous malacca street food & must try food in melaka.

What to do in Alishan? — 5 top attractions & best things to do in Alishan, Taiwan

Hong Kong food culture — Hong Kong cuisine tells the historical story of the whole land

Melaka food blog — Experience Melaka delicacies, arrived at by Trishaw

Alishan travel blog — The fullest Alishan travel guide for first-timers

Editor picks.

Must eat in Hong Kong — 7+ must eat & must...

Coron itinerary 5 days — What to do & how to...

Arashiyama travel blog — The fullest Arashiyama travel guide with top...

Popular posts.

What to buy in USA? — 17+ must buy in USA...

Must buy souvenir in Taiwan — Top 17+ most famous, cheap...

Must buy in Korea — Top 23 cheap, famous & best...

Popular category.

• Inspiration + Guide 1456
• Trip Inspiration 468
• Thailand 209
• Food + Drink 208
• Coasts + Islands 193
• South Korea 168
• Vietnam 166
• Travel Photos 144
• Work for Us
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy

Book your next adventure today

Experience the enchantment of Lapland with Book Lapland!

We specialize in authentic Northern Lights tours led by local experts who have a deep connection to the land.

Discover the mystical Aurora Borealis with our knowledgeable guides, who offer customized adventures and unique experiences such as fishing trip in private lake and stay in our carefully selected accommodations provide both comfort and a chance to fully immerse yourself in the beauty of Lapland.

Learn more about our tours

Aurora hunting pro tour, daytime snowmobile safari adventure 5h, arctic wellness: sauna, ice swimming and hot tub.

Embark on a unique journey of Arctic well-being and tradition

Ice Fishing Adventure!

All in one santa claus village with dog sledding adventure, korouoma canyon frozen waterfalls, why choose us.

Choose Book Lapland if you want an unmatched Lapland experience! We stand out with our expertly guided Northern Lights tours, trouble free transfers and great range of accommodation options across Lapland. From Northern Lights hunting to fishing trips, our tailor-made adventures offer unique and unforgettable experiences.

Trust us to make your Lapland adventure exceptional and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

• Accommodation

• +358 45 197 4717
• [email protected]
• Rovakatu 19, Rovaniemi, 96200 Finland
• Northern Lights
• Transportation
• © Copyright 2023 Book Lapland
• Design by Nordic Growth Media

DIY Lapland Trip: 8 Top Tips To Book Lapland On A Budget

There is no doubt that Finnish Lapland is the ultimate place to see Santa . It is his official home after all! This experience can come at a cost though.

The price of Lapland package holidays can be extortionate and for many people, they are just too expensive. The good news, however, is that you can still visit Lapland by arranging a DIY Lapland trip which will be cheaper than a package deal.

For many people, a DIY Lapland holiday is the most affordable way to visit Lapland.

If you find the idea of booking your own Lapland holiday a little daunting, we hope that this detailed guide will help. It is PACKED with information on how to arrange a DIY Lapland trip that will work out cheaper than package holidays .

Our comprehensive DIY Lapland guide will explain how to book Lapland on a budget, covering the main areas where you can save money with answers to some Lapland FAQs at the end.

But before we get into the hows and whys of booking your own DIY Lapland trip – we need to point out some important information .

This post contains affiliate links. If you book something using one, we may earn a small commission but this is at no extra cost to you.

• This post is written from the point of how to research and book cheap Lapland holidays . It is a diary of the steps we took to book our own Lapland holiday. We have now been to Lapland and you’ll find advice on the best places to stay in Lapland or the best excursions to book in Lapland in our Finland family travel section. This is purely to help give you some guidance to book your own DIY Lapland holiday.
• You need to be aware that booking a DIY Lapland trip may be cheaper than booking a package holiday to  Lapland, but it does not come with the same protection that you will get with a package holiday . You need to make sure that you are fully aware of the cancellation policies for the flights and accommodation and make sure that you have insurance in place.
• Most importantly – have don’t forget to organise your Lapland Boarding Pass , Lapland Reveal ,  Lapland invite from Father Christmas or your personalised Lapland hoodie !

Why we booked a DIY Lapland trip vs a Lapland package holiday

We fully intended to book a package holiday for extra security in case of cancellations – but with holidays from 2020 being carried over to 2021, there just wasn’t much availability.

It also seemed that the prices had been increased greatly by the tour operators so we had no option but to book our own budget Lapland holidays.

We wanted to go before Christmas to be able to see Santa which is the most popular (= expensive) time to go. Note that you can see Santa year round in most places but we felt that it was better for the kids to see him before Christmas.

I couldn’t price up a comparable holiday because there was no availability on the dates we booked (close to Christmas).

What I found was a 3 night holiday to Saariselkä (with transfers and a few taster excursions and a Santa visit) was £6300 with Santa’s Lapland flying on 1st December. The difference is quite staggering,

8 Tips for booking a DIY Lapland trip

Here are 8 ways you can make savings when booking a DIY Lapland trip.

1. Choose which Lapland resort you want to visit

You may be wondering which is the best resort in Lapland? But what you should be asking is where is the best place to see Santa in Lapland? or which is the best ski resort in Lapland?

Choosing a resort in Lapland is an entirely personal choice and the resort you choose will depend on what you want to get out of your trip. You may also be swayed by the flight prices (see #2 on how to book cheap Lapland flights).

These are the main resorts in Lapland and each of them offer something slightly different:

• Rovaniemi – the capital of Lapland and a large, lively resort with lots of bars and restaurants. Home to Santa Claus Village .
• Levi – the best ski resort in Finland. See here for more information on the ski resorts in Finland. We also wrote a guide to skiing in Levi with kids and family-friendly restaurants in Levi .
• Saariselka – the northernmost Lapland resort with a better chance of snow. Good for beginner skiers.
• Yllas – a traditional Lappish village with good skiing and home to the Snow Village if you want to stay in a snow hotel.
• Luosto – a small traditional village next to the Pyhä-Luoston national park .
• Ruka – a small traditional village – see Santa at his cottage about 30 minutes away from Ruka

The resort you choose depends what you are looking to get out of your DIY Lapland holidays. We wanted to combine a visit to Santa with some skiing in Lapland and a decent sized town so we ended up choosing Levi.

As you are arranging everything yourself, you might want to consider the resort you choose based on proximity to the airport. We chose Levi also because it is only 15 minutes from Kittilä airport meaning a quick (and cheaper) transfer.

See #5 for links to the tourist offices for each resort where you will find more information on each resort.

2. How to book cheap Lapland flights

Now that you have chosen your Lapland resort, you can choose your flights. We have some really helpful information in our (bumper) guide to finding and booking cheap flights including which are the best days to book your flights.

The main airports in Lapland are:

Rovaniemi (for Rovaniemi, Luosto) – Rovaniemi airport is 8 minutes from Rovaniemi and 90 minutes from Luosto. Kittilä (for Levi and Yllas) – Kittilä airport is 15 minutes from Levi and less than 60 minutes from Yllas. Ivalo (for Saariselkä) – Ivalo airport is 25 minutes from Saariselkä. Kuusamo (for Ruka) – Kuusamo airport is 10 minutes from Ruka.

Direct flights to Lapland from the UK are the most convenient but can also be more expensive than indirect flights.

You can fly direct to Lapland from the UK with Easyjet flights and Ryanair (to Rovaniemi) or TUI (to Kittilä, Ivalo or Kuusamo).

The key to grabbing cheap flights to Lapland is to book as soon as the flights are released. Easyjet don’t have a set schedule of release dates now so the best thing is to sign up to Easyjet flights to get email alerts. You can grab flights to Lapland for under £100 per person.

**22/23 Easyjet Lapland flights are being released on 3rd March 2022**

There was absolutely no availability on TUI to fly direct to Kittilä (for Levi) on the days we wanted and we noticed that Easyjet flights to Rovaniemi were £3500 for a family of 4 so we decided to book indirect flights.

If you need to book indirect flights, the best way to do this is on Skyscanner . If you have any flexibility on dates, choose the WHOLE MONTH option which will pull up the fares for each day of the month and you can then pick the most suitable.

It is not straightforward to find the whole month option so here’s how to do it. First, put your flight details in and search for flights. On the results page, you will see ‘Show whole month’ in the top right (circled in pink below).

Choose the month in which you wish to travel and it will show you the cheapest days of the month (highlighted blue).

You can even book a multi-city flight and have a stopover in another European city. There is bound to be a beautiful European Christmas market to pop into.

Here is an example of the flights we booked but there are so many different options from London to Lapland with airlines like Lufthansa, Air France and KLM.

KLM were offering the best value flights and at good times so we booked through Skyscanner :

LONDON – AMSTERDAM – HELSINKI – AMSTERDAM – LONDON

We had one night in Amsterdam on the way out and on the way home we just had a quick connection in Amsterdam.

We separately booked Finnair flights from Helsinki to Lapland (Kittilä) on Skyscanner . Even the most basic (cheapest) class allows us to change our flights up to 72 hours before departure (although are non-refundable).

If you are finding that the internal flights to Rovaniemi are quite expensive, you can try looking at the overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi (the Santa Claus Express night train or on VR Matkalla ).

3. Lapland accommodation

There is a large choice of accommodation in Lapland ranging from budget to blow-the-budget. We suggest booking your accommodation on Booking.com for two reasons.

We found this was quite a bit cheaper than booking directly with the hotel and often they have a better cancellation policy than the hotel.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite with sauna in the Levi Panorama because it is ideally placed for people who want to ski. We also stayed in an igloo in the Northern Lights Village . You can read our review of the Northern Lights Village in Levi here .

We splashed out because of the once in a lifetime experience argument, but there are some lovely self-catering options on Booking.com for a fraction of the price. This is really where you can make some big savings.

An example of the savings we made on a 2 bedroom suite with sauna at the Hotel Levi Panorama for 5 nights:

Direct booking with the hotel = €407 per night (£1750 for 5 nights with NO breakfast)

On Booking.com = £1455 for 5 nights including breakfast. You can read all about our stay at the Hotel Levi Panorama here .

4. Book self-catering accommodation

If you are really looking to do Lapland on a budget, we would suggest booking a self-catering apartment or log cabin and take some supplies with you.

This was one of our money saving tips we used in Iceland where it was very expensive to eat out.

You can book self-catering accommodation through Booking.com which is a great travel resource for cheap holidays to Lapland.

5. Book your excursions through the local tourist office

There is usually a big price difference between the tours offered by the tour companies and those offered by smaller independent tour operators.

Take a look on the tourist information sites for recommended tours and then look on Tripadvisor for reviews to confirm.

You can either contact the local tourist information office to help with booking or you can wait until you get there to book (unless you are going peak season).

The main Lapland tourist boards are:

Lapland Safaris also have a good reputation and cover activities in all resorts.

6. Choose your Lapland activities wisely

Our kids love fishing and I imagine they would LOVE ice fishing – but after doing some research, it seems that nobody ever in the history of Lapland has caught a fish while ice fishing. OK, they may still love the experience, but they would probably love a bit of free sledging just as much.

The top activities in Lapland with kids and the ones we have booked are:

• Husky safari (5km should be enough with young kids)
• Santa visit
• Northern Lights hunting

Knowing how happy our boys were with all the free things to do in Iceland including playing with snow and ice, we are pretty confident that we don’t need to book any other activities in advance.

Just a note on booking activities, remember that in December there are very few sunlight hours and in mid-December you may not even see the sun.

The days are like a permanent dusk with the lightest part of the day being around noon.

Here are some top rated Lapland activities you might want to take a look at. Most of these tours have flexible cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.

Levi: Lapland Reindeer and Husky safari .

Rovaniemi: Snowmobile reindeer and husky safari .

Rovaniemi: Snowmobile tour to see reindeers, huskies and Santa Village .

Rovaniemi: 3 hour family snowmobile tour .

Rovaniemi: family friendly snowmobile tour and artic animal adventure .

Rovaniemi: Ice Breaker cruise with lunch and ice floating .

Levi: Snow Castle guided tour .

7. Do you need to see Santa before Christmas?

If you are not that bothered when or even if you see Santa, you can save a lot of money just by avoiding the pre-Christmas frenzy.

January and February are better times to visit Lapland because of slightly longer daylight hours and better snow and the prices for flights and accommodation will come down significantly.

8. Book a ski package

If you have the time and like to ski or are interested in learning to ski, why not book a ski trip? There is some great skiiing in Lapland for beginners and intermediates.

A package ski trip to Finland is often cheaper than a package Lapland holiday to see Santa. Have a look at Crystal Ski or Inghams . The Lapland ski holidays are often 7 days as opposed to 3 or 4 days for the Santa breaks.

You can then book local excursions separately (see #5) and it will still be cheaper than the packaged Santa break.

FAQs on your DIY Lapland trip

FAQs on your DIY Lapland trip that we thought you may find useful:

Where is Lapland?

Lapland is in the Arctic Circle but did you know that Lapland spans Finland and Sweden? When people talk about visiting Santa in Lapland, they are talking about Finnish Lapland. If you are looking for a Lapland experience without visiting Santa, then you can also look at Swedish Lapland .

Where is the best place to see Santa in Lapland?

If you are basing your DIY Lapland trip around seeing Santa, you want to choose the best place to visit Santa in Lapland but this choice is still quite subjective.

We hve only been to Levi and we have not tried all of these experiences so we cannot vouch for them. This is simply to pull the information together to save you time with your research on Santa Claus trips in Lapland.

Here are the main places to see Santa in the Lapland resorts:

Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Claus and where you will find the famous Santa Claus Village (and Santa Park ).

Levi –  Northern Lights Village or Santa’s Secret Cabin.

Saariselka –   Northern Lights Village or Kakslauttanen Resort.

Luosto – the nearest place to see Santa is in Rovaniemi (see above).

Ruka – Santa Claus at Ruka Village or at Santa’s Cottage (about 30 minutes from Ruka).

Yllas – the Secret Cabin or you can arrange for Santa to visit you in your cabin .

What to wear in Lapland?

If you are wondering what to wear in Lapland in December, make sure to read our guide to what to pack for Lapland .  Temperatures can range from 0 to minus 20 Celsius (and more).

In terms of what to wear in Lapland – it is all about layers. Good base layers / thermals, fleeces and a good quality (warm and waterproof) gloves. Good quality socks like Smartwool also make a big difference and the right footwear is crucial.

If you are booking DIY Lapland holidays, you won’t have the snow suits provided by the travel company so you will either need to hire them yourself.

If you are doing some snow activities, you should be able to hire snow suits from the company operating the activity (included in the price of the activity) or you can hire snow suits for the duration of your stay if you prefer.

If you have skiwear already, you should bring that, especially if you are planning on skiing.

Here are the items we take:

Warm waterproof  jacket 

We took our ski jackets with us which worked well.

We use these jackets:

• Mountain Warehouse jacket for men .
• Columbia women’s insulated ski jacket (possibly the warmest jacket I have ever owned).
• Spyder boy’s ski jacket .

You can find cheaper alternatives at Decathlon or Mountain Warehouse . Mountain Warehouse does good jacket and ski trouser sets for kids.

Waterproof trousers

We use our ski trousers. You can get good, affordable trousers from Mountain Warehouse.

Thermal socks

They are pricey but we LOVE Smartwool socks as they actually work! For a decent, cheaper alternative, we also use Mountain Warehouse thermal socks.

• Kid’s merino wool socks.
• Men’s merino wool socks.
• Women’s merino wool socks.

Thermal layers (top and bottom)

We recommend merino wool thermal layers. You should not use anything with cotton because cotton will retain sweat and cool you down.

We use Mountain Warehouse Merino Wool thermals . What I love about the Mountain Warehouse thermals is that the kids age 13 will fit me (5’5″ – size 10). These dino print thermals are really cute.

We also love Decathlon for thermal layers (not merino). See here for tops and bottoms for kids.

See here for women’s merino wool thermal layers from Mountain Warehouse and men’s thermals .

For a cheaper alternative, you can try the Mountain Warehouse Isotherm thermals ( Men ) and ( Women ).

Fleece tops

It is great to layer and fleece tops are warm, lightweight and dry quickly if you need to wash them.

Good quality snowboots are essential, especially if you want to be out at night searching for the Northern Lights.

We use these snowboots:

• Sorel kid’s snowboots.
• Sorel women’s snowboots.
• Sorel men’s snowboots.

Hat and gloves

You will want waterproof gloves for the kids as they may insist on playing with the ice and snow! We use Decathlon waterproof gloves for the kids.

Winter clothing rental locations Levi and Winterent Rovaniemi and Winterent Saariselkä Luosto Ruka Ylläs and Winterent

You can also rent your clothing from  Lapland Safaris which is present in all of the main resorts except Ruka.

Where are the glass igloos in Lapland?

There is a great article on the different types of Lapland glass igloos and where to find them. There are even some budget glass igloo options.

Can you do a cheap day trip to Lapland?

All of the above information is assuming that you want to spend a few days in Lapland but what if you want to do a day trip to Lapland?

In 2019, I saw an advert on Facebook for incredibly cheap Lapland day trips. The catch was, they were departing the following day.

I don’t have experience in this but would hazard a guess that it is pretty hard to organise your own day trip and for it to be successful and cheaper than the package deal.

You would need direct flights. It wouldn’t be possible to taking a connecting flight. You would need to have everything organised in a military style to be able to get everything done and if it is your first time, this could just all be a bit too much.

Your best option would be to wait until close to your time of departure and see if any of the tour operators are offering last minute holidays to Lapland.

When does it snow in Lapland?

The temperature in Lapland in December varies. There have been reports of very little snow at the beginning of December. This is not ideal at all if you are looking to do all of the winter activities on offer. There is obviously no guarantee of snow, but the later you go in December, the better usually.

The best snow conditions in Lapland are from January to March.

Still not sure about booking DIY Lapland holidays?

If you are really not sure about booking a DIY Lapland trip, then our top tip for booking a Lapland holiday with a travel agent would be to book late. Last minute Lapland holidays can be so  much cheaper IF you are prepared to risk with availability and don’t mind where you stay.

Tour operators start releasing their deals for any unsold holidays around 8 weeks before your intended holiday date and there can be big savings. There are unlikely to be many deals in 2021 because everyone who had a holiday booked for 2020 has been moved to 2021 and there is very little availability.

Here are some of the main Lapland tour operators offering holidays to Lapland – some are dedicated Santa holidays and others are just Lapland holidays:

• Santa’s Lapland
• Canterbury Travel Lapland
• Crystal Ski

More information on Lapland

VisitLapland is a great source of information for booking your DIY Lapland trip and if you are looking to speak to people who have been for unbiased opinions, we would suggest joining Lapland Budget DIY Trips or the Lapland Holiday Chat groups on Facebook.

There is a lot of invaluable advice on there which may help you narrow down your choice of resort and anything you’re not sure about, you can ask.

Can’t wait to get to Lapland? Check out these Lapland webcams for Levi , Yllas and Rovaniemi .

Map of Lapland

You might also like…

Things To Do At Christmas With Kids The Best UK Christmas Markets The Best Christmas Markets In London The Best UK Cities To Visit At Christmas With Kids The Best Places To See The London Christmas Lights A Complete Guide To The Christmas Light Trails In The UK

Where To See The Best Christmas Lights In Norfolk In 2023

The Best Christmas Events In Sussex In 2023

The Best Christmas Events in Surrey In 2023

2023 Guide To What’s On At Christmas At Merlin Attractions In The UK

The Best Christmas Events In Bath And Beyond In 2023

Polar Express Train Rides In The US: The Complete Guide For 2023

23 Amazing Things To Do In Levi With Kids In 2023

What To Pack For Lapland With Kids: The Best Family Packing List 2023

The 10 Best Family Friendly Restaurants In Levi

Some great tips here, thanks! We are planning our own trip to Lapland over Christmas 2021, we have opted for Rovaniemi. So far we have only booked accommodation, but plan on flying to Helsinki and getting a night train from there. It should be a lot cheaper than a direct flight and will be a bit of an adventure for the kids! We have an Airbnb booked about 40 minutes from Rovaniemi and will hire a car. We are hoping the Northern Lights will be visible from out cabin. Will check out the tourist info site to get some activities booked soon. Thanks again for the tips! Keith (bullsgoglobal.com)

Hi Keith – glad you found it useful. Fingers crossed we’re able to travel in 2021!

Leave a Reply

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We participate in various affiliate marketing programs. Flashpacking Family is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Most popular posts

Guide to visiting Lake Louise, Canada

Jordan itinerary

Sri Lanka’s best beaches

Things to do in Suffolk with kids

Free things to do in London for kids

Lapland on a budget

• Cheap Travel
• Family Travel

A complete guide to planning a magical DIY trip

• The Travel Mum

UPDATE: easyJet flights were released today (21/3/24) and prices have climbed to extortionate levels already (£800 return per person?! No thanks.) Don’t worry, these prices will fall as demand falls. easyJet price their flights based on demand, and with the tons of people searching this morning, they have shot through the roof. Most people aren’t booking at these crazy prices. Availability is still there. Hold tight! 

We can now see the dates and times of the flights, so one option is to choose an ideal time you would like to go, set price notifications for those flights and keep an eye on the prices. In the mean time you can book accommodation with free cancellation for those ideal dates. That way you have it booked and ready whenever the flights fall. If they don’t, you can cancel for free. Just make a note of the date that the free cancellation ends.

Visiting Lapland on a budget may seem like an impossible dream. With some package holidays costing upwards of £10k, lots of families have been left feeling like a trip to Santas homeland will never become a reality for them. Lucky for us all, budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet have recently changed the game. The introduction of their direct budget flights to Rovaniemi, Finland (From the UK) mean your Christmas dreams can now become a reality.

Our mission…

We are strong believers that travel experiences should be available to everyone, regardless of their income. As soon as we heard about these new budget flights, we had to go and check it all out for ourselves. With a maximum budget of £3000 for a 7 nights trip, we had a strict budget. This was for all three of us, and had to cover EVERYTHING. From airport parking, flights, petrol, food, activities… not one penny more was going to leave our pockets (spoiler alert: we kept it below budget even with some more luxury additions!)

In this post I will cover everything you need to plan your trip to Lapland on a budget, as well as detail every penny we spent. It’s a long one, but you won’t need anything else to help you plan your perfect budget trip to Lapland.

To make this post easier to read for our majority UK audience, I have converted prices into GBP. Note exchange rates may vary slightly and prices can change. I have added red text when discussing specifics of what we spent. 

Where is Lapland?!

Lapland is a region located in the northernmost part of Europe and spans across multiple countries. The majority of Lapland lies within Finland, with smaller portions extending into Sweden, Norway, and Russia. Lapland is famous for being an enchanting winter wonderland and being the legendary home of Santa. Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland is known as the official hometown of Father Christmas and where we will be flying to for this trip.  

Flying to Lapland.

First things first you need to research where you can fly to Rovaniemi from . I see a lot of people on our website trying to find trips from airports that don’t offer any direct flights to Rovaniemi. For this winter ( January – March 2024 ) Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Dublin are offering the best prices. Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester are also offering direct routes, but for a much higher cost. Also note what day the flights are scheduled, as they wont be daily. This means although you may want to go away for 3 nights, your closest airport may only offer flights on a Monday and Saturday.

As with all DIY trips, you should be considering flights before you book any accommodation. Flights prices can vary massively from day to day, whereas accommodation prices are much more stable in their nightly rates. If by the end of this article you still feel this is too much effort, we are happy to plan these trips for our premium members who pay £30 for the year . This comes with other benefits such as weekly cheap flights/hotel notifications. Note that we can only do personalised trip plans once the membership is paid, we can’t do this for people using the free trial due to the amount of time it takes.

Our flights were £75pp from London Gatwick travelling 4th – 11th December. We travelled with the free under seat allowance plus one carry on suitcase to share between the three of us. Flight total: £225 for a family of three.

When to travel to Lapland?

November – March are the most popular months for a trip to Lapland, with December naturally peaking in price and popularity due to the Christmas period. That’s not to say Lapland isn’t a beautiful place to explore all year round, but for the purpose of this post we will assume you are looking for the winter wonderland experience.

November is an affordable and popular time to visit, but snow isn’t guaranteed. That being said, the snow came really early this year near the start of November.

January will definitely have snow, and prices are excellent.

We visited in December to show it is possible to get some great prices in the peak Christmas month.

Whenever you decide to visit, Santa Claus village is open all year round. Remind the kids that Santa is a lot less busy after he has delivered all of the presents in December!

We visited on the 4th – 11th December, a peak time to visit but we were able to get decent prices on flights and accommodation by booking our trip early in June. I would recommend looking at flights as early as possible when they are released around March 2024, especially if you are wanting to travel in December / during the school holidays. 

If you are limited to the school holidays you can save a lot by setting off a day or two before the holidays start. Alternatively return a day or two after the kids return to school. Most schools wont issue fines for a day or two missed, and you will likely save a lot of money on your flights. We took Leo out of school for the whole trip but he hasn’t reached his 5th birthday yet.

So you’ve found your flights?

Don’t book them JUST yet, we need the whole puzzle to come together before we pay for anything. You may find cheap flights but then discover there are only really expensive accommodation options available on those particular dates. I know a lot of people who snapped up last minute December flights this month, only to then discover accommodation prices are currently extortionate due to the high demand.

When to book?

Ryanair and easyJet often release their flights around 9 months in advance, easyJet have announced they will be releasing their winter flights on the 21st March. Ryanair flights are likely to be released in April.

We booked in June and found a central apartment that was just over £100 per night, it slept up to 4 adults making it just £25 per person per night! This is the type of price you should be aiming for. This is the apartment we stayed in.  

You always need to take flight and accommodation prices into consideration together. It may be that it is worth paying £100 more for flights on a different date if this saves you £500 on accommodation and vice versa.

We can help you!

Our websites search feature can help you by finding great flights on dates that also have great hotels available. You can’t use this until the December flights are released. With one search you are looking for a cheap combination, saving you lots of time and effort. Make sure you know the available duration from your chosen airport. For example, last year Manchester to Rovaniemi flights were on a Tuesday and Saturday, so a 1 night overnight trip from Manchester isn’t possible.

Alternatively join our premium membership and let us do it for you!

Where should you stay?

The most popular area for families looking to book a trip to Lapland on a budget is Rovaniemi. It offers that traditional Christmas experience within a relatively small area that is easy to get around. The city is close to the airport, with easy access to Santa Claus village and Santa park via the Santa bus. We stayed here for three nights and felt that was just enough. On our first full day we visited Santa Claus village, on the next we went to Santa park, and on the morning before we drove north to Levi, we visited Snowman World. I’ll discuss attractions further down this post.

Our thoughts…

Our overall opinion of Rovaniemi was that it is perfect for families wanting a short and cheap trip with lots of magic for the little ones. It offers all the standard experiences (husky’s, reindeer, Santa, sledging) in a small convenient area. At Santa Claus Village you can queue and do activities on the day without pre booking, which is great for families like ours who lack organisation! Rovaniemi also gives you the chance of seeing the northern lights.

We did feel it was a little commercialised and although the big city is a convenient place to stay, it lacked that cozy Christmas atmosphere we were hoping for. That’s not to say it isn’t a wonderful place to stay, thousands of families return home saying their stay there was the best holiday they’ve ever had.

Levi was our second stop during this trip and we stayed there for two nights. It was just over a 2 hour drive north from where we stayed in Rovaniemi and the roads leading there were great. Kittilä airport is only a 19 minute drive to Levi and you may wish to consider flying here if you are staying solely in Levi. Bear in mind these flights are much more expensive.

Where we stayed in Levi.

We stayed at Levi Suites Levin Klubi which was great value. We paid £269 for two nights . Our two bedroom apartment was lovely and even had a sauna. The location was fine with a car, but would have been a little far out from the centre without. A more central option is at Levi Suites Levi Gold which is bang in the centre.

Levi is primarily a ski resort with a lot of the cozy Christmas charm we were looking for. A cute festive village in comparison to the large city we had just driven from. Whether you are a skiing pro or a complete beginner, this is a great option for anyone wanting a more active trip. The traditional Christmas experiences are more spread out than in Rovaniemi, but all are still available.

We didn’t ski but still really enjoyed our time here. ‘Kids Land’ is a great area with a small slope for sledging. There are lots of sledges to use for free and there is a small building with a log fire to pop into and get warm. We had a packed lunch which we ate in there and then toasted some marshmallows for desert.

I’ll list the activities we did whilst here below. Overall we preferred Levi to Rovaniemi, but Leo would tell you he preferred Rovaniemi to Levi! Levi is definitely better suited to older children and adults. We noticed tons of cozy cabins within the forest which we will definitely look into if we visit again.

After our stay in Levi we drove even further north to a small town called Inari. Lake Inari is the third largest lake in Finland and was the base for our two night stay here. The drive from Levi to Inari takes around 2.5 hours and the roads are beautiful and remote. We barely saw another car the whole time. Make sure you stock up on water and snacks as services along the route are limited. If you choose to drive to Inari from Rovaniemi (or drive straight back for your flight home) it will take around 3 hours 50 minutes.

Where we stayed in Inari.

I found some amazing cabins whilst researching the cheapest way to sleep under the northern lights. Inari Mobile Cabins are pulled out to the middle of the frozen lake at night to get the best views of the northern lights. I’d decided we had to stay there, even though it was pricey. Some experiences are so unique we just can’t miss them! As we had been so tight with our budget up to this point, we had the spare cash to book two nights here. The nightly rate was around £400, you get a 10% discount when booking directly with them (and not through booking.com). We justified this as a normal hotel was coming up at around £200 a night. With northern lights tours around £100 per person, we felt it would be better to stay in the cabins and keep an eye on the sky all night, instead of doing a tour.

The further north we drove, the less commercialised things became and the more authentic it felt. At the same time it also became less catered towards kids (and consequently better for adults travelling without kids). We are lucky that Leo has been travelling from birth, so he is pretty tolerant of long drives, uncomfortable weather and a lack of specific facilities just for him.

Inari is widely known as the capital of Finnish Sámi culture and houses the Sámi parliment of Finland. There is a Sámi museum as well as lots of other activities to enjoy. Whether you fancy husky sledging, reindeer experiences, ice fishing or cross country skiing – you won’t have time to get bored. The owner of Inari Mobile Cabins also helps arrange tours, so contact him through the website linked above if you need help planning your stay.

What to wear

A lot of people worry about how they will keep warm in the freezing temperatures. It was -22C whilst we were there, but we managed to stay toasty. Whether you buy your own items or rent will depend on how long you are visiting and what you already have at home. You can rent snow suits and boots for around £20 a day. Lapland Safaris is a good option and they operate in both Rovaniemi and Levi. If you are only staying for 2 or 3 days, this may be worth doing. If you plan to visit a cold climate again, or are visiting for a week like we did, it ends up being better value to buy your own things and have them to use again. My snow boots are so comfortable I have been wearing them back in the UK!

What we bought and prices

We bought our snow clothes from Aldi, Lidl, Decathlon and Vinted.  We already had some things like base layers, hats and my husband had boots. Essentially you need three layers of clothes. A warm base layer, wooly mid layer and a waterproof outer layer. As well as this you want a thin sock like bamboo plus a warm thick wooly sock on top. We had normal gloves with ski gloves over the top. We took hats, scarfs and balaclavas which we had already at home. I’ll list what we each bought and the cost below. The ski ranges at Aldi and Lidl were released in November last year.

Snow coat (Lidl) £25

Snow trousers (Aldi) £12

Snow boots (Aldi) £20

Ski gloves (Aldi) £6

Already had warm mid layers, base layers and socks.

Snow trousers (Aldi) £16

Gloves (Aldi) £6

Already had a coat, mid layers, base layers, socks and boots.

Snow suit (Vinted) £8

Snow boots (Decathlon) £25

3 x base layers (Decathlon) £36

3 x ski socks (Decathlon) £9

Ski mittens (Decathlon) £20

Total spent on clothes: £183 for the three of us

Getting around once in Lapland

For convenience we hired a car. We find with an impatient and unpredictable 4 year old, a car is always a good idea. It also meant we could easily go on our adventure into the north without worrying about public transport schedules. If we were only staying in Rovaniemi a car would have been completely unnecessary.  

Car Hire.  

Our car hire was £254 for 7 nights and we booked with the controversial company Green Motion. They had the cheapest prices by far but have a lot of complaints about them overcharging for minor damage/scratches. For this reason a lot of car hire excess insurance companies won’t cover them. When you hire a car you are covered for the basics, but you will usually have to leave a deposit which will be used as the excess should you do major damage to the car. This is often around €2000 and is held on a credit card. Excess insurance means that if you write the car off, the car hire company will keep your deposit, but then you can claim the money back through your excess insurance provider. The excess cover offered by Green Motion starts at €10 per day and goes up to €50 a day if you want to be able to reclaim all of your deposit. This adds a hefty sum onto the base price. easyJet car hire offer green motion cars and use AXA as their excess insurance. Leisure guard is another company that will cover Green Motion. (Research done by one of our lovely followers).

As a family we are quite risk averse, possibly too laid back! We meticulously film the car before we set off and on dropping it back off so we have evidence of its condition. We are pretty confident that we won’t damage the car (but also appreciate we don’t have control of all situations). I’d like to think if a hire company tried to scam us, we would be well prepared with evidence! We didn’t cause any damage to the car and luckily we had no issues with returning it. I mention the controversial history of this company as I know many people would rather avoid them and use one of the many other companies operating out there.

Do a search here to find the best value car hire for your dates. Looking at December 2024 you can get lots of similar prices to what we paid.

Public transport

Buses run often in all of the places we visited. Rovaniemi has the Santa bus which is €4 one way or €7 return. It stops at the train station, airport, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park. If you are staying within the centre it is really easy to access a lot of the main attractions.  

Lot’s of people choose to use taxis to get around. This will be more convenient than public transport, but will likely cost more (depending on how many people are splitting the fare of course).   Personally we found that with the intense cold and having a child with us, we didn’t want to be outside any longer than we had to. We had planned to use some buses for the experience and to get the content for you all, but in the end the convenience of the car being sat outside meant we could never bring ourselves to do it!  

Eating and drinking in Lapland on a budget

Self catering.

Lapland is a place where you will definitely benefit from having an apartment with a kitchen. Eating out is pricey whereas supermarket food is quite reasonable. On arriving in Rovaniemi we went to a supermarket near our apartment (K-Supermarket) and spent £66 on food. This included breakfast, things to make packed lunches, snacks and some dinners. Joao bought a few beers to have in the evenings and Leo got a £5 giant kinder egg (just to show we weren’t being completely tight!) We weren’t cooking fancy evening meals, we were eating things like pasta, pizza, salad, chips and fruit. For breakfast we were having cereal and some fruit and coffee. Lunches were sandwiches with some crisps/fruit/protein bars. We were drinking tap water and had brought our own hot chocolate. We did a second £40 shop on arriving in Levi and that covered all of our ‘home cooked’ meals for the trip.  

Leo is a very picky eater, so we always take a lot of super noodles away with us (he will only eat one flavour from one brand) just incase we are struggling to get him to eat. This covered a couple of his evening meals along with some fruit. We packed a lot of protein bars to take out and curb our hunger during the day. We also took a flask and some hot chocolate powder to have our own hot chocolate whilst out (this saved us £5 per cup).  

Total £106 spent on supermarket food.  

We always want to enjoy a few meals out, and the joy of being so budget conscious means you are left with spare money to splash out on a few nicer things.

We would rather provide our own sandwiches than buy expensive sandwiches in a cafe and by doing this a few times you are left with extra money to spend on a nice dinner. It’s not all about being as tight as possible, it’s about spending wisely. We could spend £10+ each on breakfast with a coffee, or we can eat before we go out and save that money. Preparing our own meals isn’t a sacrifice for us; rather, it’s a way to save money for the experiences that are more important to us.

At Snowman world we booked to have lunch in the ice restaurant and have a drink at the ice bar. It is a unique experience that we haven’t had before, so we didn’t want to miss out. You can have lunch or dinner there, lunch being the much cheaper option. It was a two course meal with a main and a desert. Joao and I had reindeer soup for our main and Leo had pasta bolognaise (prices detailed in the attractions section). All of the food was delicious, it was expensive for what it was but you are paying for the experience. We drank tap water so we didn’t spend extra on drinks and we ate a lot of bread! While it’s probably obvious for an ‘ice restaurant,’ it was quite chilly! To be honest, I don’t know what I was expecting, but dining with gloves on isn’t exactly ideal! After lunch we went to warm up in the cafe area overlooking Santa Claus Village. We got two glasses of Golgi (a traditional drink similar to mulled wine but without the alcohol) and this cost £5 for the two.  

During our visit to Santa Park, we stuck to our normal routine of bringing our own packed lunch. However, Leo decided he wanted the buffet food. Given his selective eating habits, we never turn down the opportunity for him to enjoy a hearty meal. Consequently, we bought him a child’s buffet lunch priced at £12. This ended up being ideal as he sat and ate it in the central restaurant area just as the Elf show was starting. The adults buffet is £20 but the food didn’t look fantastic so we gave it a miss. Joao and I ate our packed lunches and had prime seats for the show. We also spent £2.60 on a gingerbread cookie for Leo to decorate in Mrs Gingerbreads Bakery.

Whilst in Levi we had heard about a restaurant called Niliporo . Owned by a local reindeer herder, it has a menu full of traditional reindeer dishes. It is located right in the centre so we decided we would have dinner there. The restaurant is cozy with some interesting items on the menu. Leo didn’t fancy anything except mash potato and a hot chocolate. I ordered a reindeer burger and Joao had reindeer meat balls and some local beer. We also had the reindeer tapas as a starter to share. All of the food was amazing, really delicious and although a little expensive, it was worth it to try some traditional dishes. The meal with drinks came to around £82.

Our accommodation in Inari offered free breakfast. They also prepared a traditional grill hut dinner in the evening for around £30pp. We booked to have dinner with our hosts on our last night and Leo ate for free. The food was delicious, we had gingerbread and Golgi for dessert. A lovely end to the trip.

Total spent on food and drink bought whilst out: £199.10

(Relatively) cheap activities when visiting Lapland on a budget.

Rovaniemi  .

Visiting Santa – Rovaniemi is a great place to see Santa with Santa Claus Village and Santa Park being the go to spots for most. The Santa at Santa Claus Village is free to visit, but then you have to spend a fortune on the photos. They won’t let you use your own camera to take your own.

Santa Park is a paid attraction currently costing £36.50 for adults and £31 for children (age 3 – 12).  Once in there you can see Santa and take your own videos and photos. Overall if you want a photo, this ends up being better value than seeing him for free at Santa Claus village. The park has a variety of other activities, mainly aimed at younger kids. You can ride a magic train, do some crafting, attend elf school, decorate gingerbread cookies, watch the elf show and much more. It is all located inside a cavern and is lovely and warm.

Santa Claus Village – There are lots of things to do here. This outdoor village is free to enter and have a mooch around. You will find sledges with SCHV written on them, these are free to use and provide some free fun for the kids. You can do a husky ride, reindeer sleigh ride, visit the elf farmyard and feed reindeer, visit Santa or Mrs Claus and much more. I will list the current prices for these activities below. You can turn up and queue for these activities without pre booking. The Husky park recommends you book in advance, especially if you want to ride whilst it is still light. Leo enjoyed visiting Santas post office and sending some post cards home. Post cards can be bought for €1 and Lapland stamps are €2.50.

Santa Clause village prices

Visit Mrs Claus – we did this and the session lasted around 10 minutes. We didn’t buy the photo as we felt it was extortionate. €5 per person to visit – €20 digital photo – €30 printed photo – €40 for both Digital and printed.

Reindeer Sleigh Ride – We didn’t do this, but the queue wasn’t too long. People hadn’t pre booked.

400m path – Adults €25 Children €20

1000m forest path – Adults €40 Children €30

3km winter adventure – Adults €99 Children €75

Elf farmyard – We went here and felt it was relatively good value. We really enjoyed seeing the reindeer up close and feeding them. There is a slope for sledging in the farmyard, a little playground and a fire for toasting marshmallows. As well as reindeer there are also alpacas and sheep. You can pay to  

€15 per Adult

€10 per Child (age 3 – 15)

Additional €5 for a bag of reindeer food.  

Visit plus 15 minute walk with reindeer €38 adults €25 children  

Visit plus 1 hour walk with reindeer €70 per person

Husky park prices – We did the 2km ride. It lasts around 8 minutes and it a beautiful route through the forest. Sitting still and being pulled through the cold gets quite uncomfortable really quickly, so we felt this was the perfect duration. You can book your ride here .

Tour of park plus 2km ride: Adults €75 Child €45 (age 4 – 12)

2km ride only: Adults €45 Child €30

Elf hat academy – We were advised not to do this as it is a pricey experience for what it is. It is a 25 minutes session where you get to learn how to be an elf. Elf school is included with your Santa Park ticket.

€39 for a 25 minute session

Mini snow mobiles – suitable for ages 4-13. We didn’t feel Leo would be able to sensibly drive around the track so didn’t do this.  

€22 for 10 minutes (so we would have tried to distract him from these even if he was capable!)

Snowman World – This was one of our favourite things to do with Leo. Tickets are £25/person for all day access. This includes the tube snow slides, a snow maze, ice skating, an ice slide plus you can pay extra to get a drink at the ice bar or a meal in the ice restaurant. We booked our tickets in advance which included lunch and we saved a little by doing this.   By booking in advance it was £41 per adult for entry plus lunch and £35.50 for Leo . We pre booked 2 non alcoholic drinks in ice glasses too for £9. To book lunch on the day it was £21 for adults (plus the £25 entry – £46 total) and £15 for children (plus £25 entry – £40 total). The ice drinks were £5.20 each to buy at the bar, so we saved a euro each pre booking them. There is a luggage storage room here so it could be a great thing to do on your last day if you fly later in the evening.  

Angry birds park – Located in the city centre, this large park is free to enter and offers some great sledging opportunities. We saw a few sledges lying around here but we had bought our own in Santa Claus Village for €15. There is a big slope at the back of the park leading down to the river.  

Toast marshmallows – You will find lots of open fires around Santa Claus Village where you can sit and toast marshmallows. We took our own marshmallows along with some hot chocolate, a lovely way to have a rest and warm up plus a novelty for the kids.  

We only had two nights in Levi, so we were limited in time for what we could do. As we had already done the Santa / traditional Christmas activities, we were on a mission to fill our day with cheap but memorable experiences.

Drive up to the ‘Panorama hotel’ ( you can also take a gondola up there ) and find the ‘Levi summit’ cafe. This building houses a Sami museum, perfect if you want to learn a little about the culture and history. The museum was £11.20 per adult and came with a free hot drink at the cafe. Leo entered the museum for free.  

From here you can then walk to the “Secret cafe” . I show how to get there on my instagram highlight for Lapland, but it is pretty straight forward and people will be able to point you in the right direction. The walk to get there is mainly flat and takes around 5/10 minutes. The cafe is essentially a small shed with an open fire and a great view! Hot drinks are £3. There is an open fire to toast sausages (£3.50), marshmallows (£1.70) or prepare a hot crepe (£5.20). You can also get a Jagermeister for £6.

Kids Land – This small area set aside from the main slopes is perfect for little ones. There are lots of sledges there to pick up and play with. A hut with a little fire to warm up in and eat a packed lunch. It is free to access.

Sledging at the bottom of the main slope is very popular and occupied Leo for a long time. In the evening when the slopes close, kids can use the bottom of the main slope for sledging.

Christmas market – There is a small Christmas market in Levi – worth having a look around.  

Find Santas Secret cabin – We were excited about this one. Apparently it is best to book a guided tour but being the forever optimists, with a super tight budget, we decided to go and find it our selves. You need to take Gondola 2000 up to the top, and then head right towards the cabin which is apparently sign posted. Many people told us this was fairly easy, but they clearly hadn’t been up there during the snow storm we encountered! If someone told me it was -50C up there I would have believed them. Our hair froze, Leo’s eyelashes were frozen, Leo was being very dramatic and screaming ‘We need to get indoors!!’ – It was like something from an armageddon movie. So we pretty much called it a day and went back down. The gondola ride was beautiful, but it was not pleasant at the top! Please do let us know if you ever make it successfully!

I have shared A LOT of information above, but in summary.  

• Find cheap flights and self catering accommodation.  
• Plan what you will wear (buying vs renting)
• Work out how you will get around (Car / Buses / Taxi)
• Plan to do budget friendly activities.  

Ways to keep costs down:

• Buy budget friendly snow clothes (Aldi/Lidl/Vinted)
• Pack light and don’t pay for check in luggage.
• Do lots of free/cheap activities.
• Take your own pics with Santa at Santa park.
• Do short experiences rather than long ones.
• Bring hot chocolate and marshmallows for toasting.
• Cook most of your own meals, but do treat yourself to some nice meals too.

What we spent on our 7 nights budget trip to Lapland:

Flights and Accommodation:

Return flights: £224.87 (£75pp)

Airport Parking £59

3 nights Rovaniemi- £309

2 nights Levi: £269

2 nights inari: £800

TOTAL: £1661.87

Getting around

7 nights car hire – £254.88

£34 excess insurance  

TOTAL: £348.88

Food and drink:

Food shopping – £106

Eating out – £199.10

TOTAL: £305.10

Snow clothes – £183

Attractions – £384 (Mrs Claus, 2km husky ride, elf farmyard, reindeer food, 2 x post cards and stamps, Santa park, Snowman World, Gondola 2000, Sami museum, sausage and crepe at secret cafe)

Sledge – £13

TOTAL: £580

Lapland on a budget overall spend for the 7 night trip – £2895.85

This could be MUCH cheaper by staying for less nights, not hiring a car, not staying in a £400 per night cabin in Inari and eating out less!

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and that it can help you plan your budget trip to Lapland!

If you would like us to plan your trip for you, sign up for our premium membership and get in touch!

Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. 

RECENT POSTS

How to Hire a Car Abroad

How safe is Sharm el Sheikh?

The Travel Mum’s Unmissable Deals | Argos Discount – Pick up a FREE* gift!

Thanks for visiting nordicvisitor.com! For the very best browsing experience on our website, we urge you to upgrade to the most recent version of your browser . Some of our site features may not function properly on older versions.

• Travel Update
• Search Suggested Results View All Results
• EUR (€)
• GBP (£)
• Ice & Snow Hotels i
• Santa Claus i
• Glass Igloos i
• Northern Lights i
• Christmas i
• Family Travel i
• Honeymoon & Romance i
• Rovaniemi i
• Best Sellers
• All Lapland Tours
• All Types & Themes
• Why book with us i
• Booking Terms i
• Sustainability Policy i
• Lapland at a Glance i
• Useful Information i
• Lapland Attractions i
• Lapland Blog i
• Scandinavia
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• Manage Booking
• Privacy policy

Iceland Bíldshöfði 20 110 Reykjavík +354 578 20 80 View Map

Sweden Scotland View Details

Your Lapland Travel Agency

Visit the Arctic Circle with Nordic Visitor for the chance to see the northern lights and enjoy magical winter landscapes. As a Lapland travel agency and tour operator, our knowledgeable experts take care of arranging your special trip for you, providing personal service and 24/7 support.

Top Lapland Travel Ideas

Discover the best way to explore and experience Lapland.

Cool Nights in Ice hotels

Stay the night in the famed SnowCastle and ICEHOTEL.

Feel the festive cheer when meeting Father Christmas.

Sleep Under The Stars

Look out for the aurora and stargaze from a glass igloo.

Chase the Northern Lights

Find and experience the aurora borealis.

Most Popular Lapland Tours

Travel to Lapland with these highly rated and best-selling tours. Created by our travel specialists with you in mind, these packages will give you an amazing Lapland experience.

Best of Rovaniemi - Classic

Santa claus village & dog sledding, best of lapland classic - rovaniemi, classic lapland adventure & icehotel, lapland adventure - aurora sky station, our lapland tour reviews.

Find out what our wonderful customers have experienced on their Lapland adventures.

Michael Australia

The tour activities on this trip were some of the best things we have ever done in our many years of international... read more

The tour activities on this trip were some of the best things we have ever done in our many years of international travel and everyone we were assisted by before and during our stay were very helpful, friendly and supportive so this added greatly to our overall fantastic experience.

We enjoyed all of the elements of our tour but in particular the safari by snowmobile tour which started at Nikkaluokta... read more

Depend on our Lapland travel experts to plan your next adventure. They’ve explored Lapland and its festive hidden gems, and know the best spots for northern lights sightings and outdoor activities. Enjoy your stay in the knowledge that all of your tour is booked and organised for you.

Lapland Facts

Why choose Nordic Visitor

Trusted local travel experts

Established in 2002, Nordic Visitor has been creating unforgettable travel experiences in Lapland since 2010. Our local experts have all toured around the region, and they will use their experience to create your ideal itinerary. Choose our Lapland packages and you’ll take home unforgettable memories.

Great reviews

Nordic Visitor is dedicated to the best service quality, and this is reflected year after year when TripAdvisor awards us with their Certificate of Excellence . We also take great pride in our customer feedback: 97% of our travellers say they would recommend us to friends and family.

Hassle-free experience

We take care of all the details and practicalities for you. You will receive a comprehensive itinerary with any additional extras you’ve requested, plus tried-and-tested accommodation. As well as this, one of our travel experts is always on call 24/7 to handle any unforeseen situations.

Flexible tour options

Everyone’s travel wish list is different and we are here to find the right package for you. We’ll enhance your stay with upgrades in glass igloos and hotels made of ice (depending on destination). We will also organise extra nights and activities that you’re keen to do.

Full financial protection

With Nordic Visitor, you have peace of mind knowing your holiday arrangements with us are 100% financially protected. Your payments are safeguarded as we comply with European Union laws on Package Travel regulations. This guarantees you a refund in the unlikely event that the company experiences insolvency.

Value for money

Nordic Visitor is a travel agency with a trusted network of hotels, local guides and suppliers, so when you book with us, you know that we’ve done the legwork and have extensively tested every aspect of a package. This also saves you time, meaning you can focus on enjoying your epic Lapland adventure.

Different Ways to Explore Lapland

Whatever you want to see and experience, we have the perfect Lapland package for you.

Visit Rovaniemi

Experience kiruna, honeymoon & romance, snowmobile adventures, journey by dogsled, new year trips, exploring lapland.

Soon the crunch of fresh snow will sound your every step, and the cold crisp air fill your lungs. Each morning, you’ll have a new adventure to remember. Get ready to…

• Meet Father Christmas and visit his festive Santa Claus Village
• Take a chair lift up to the Aurora Sky Station for a northern lights viewing
• Gaze upon the tranquil wilderness of Abisko National Park
• Mush across the vast Rovaniemi countryside on a husky sledding adventure
• Sleep under the stars in a cosy glass igloo , where you’ll get a clear view of the skies above
• Experience Lapland's peaceful forests on a guided  snowshoe excursion
• Learn about Sámi traditions and culture in the city of Kiruna
• Embark on a guided snowmobile excursion   through snow-blanketed countryside
• Visit a Sámi reindeer farm and enjoy a thrilling guided sleigh ride
• Stay in the dazzling ICEHOTEL , where everything from the bed to the bar is made of snow and ice

Lapland Travel Advice

Get ready for your brilliant trip to Lapland by exploring our handy travel guide.

What to pack for Lapland

The best advice we could give is to prepare for all types of weather

Climate and daylight

When does the sun set? What could the weather be like?

Northern Lights in Lapland

Lapland is an ideal place to see northern lights due to its location in the Arctic Circle

Accommodation in Lapland

Accommodation choices range from ice hotels to cabins, cottages and warm hotel rooms.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lapland

You may want more information on visiting Lapland, so we’ve answered the most commonly asked questions for your peace of mind. If you want more information on Lapland then we suggest having a read of our Lapland travel guide . If you'd like to learn more about booking with us, check out our FAQs or contact our team of travel specialists.

1. Is Lapland a real country?

Lapland isn’t a country but a region of Northern Europe with over 170,000 inhabitants and 100,366 square kilometres of sparsely populated land. Rumoured to be the home of Santa Claus and his workshop, Lapland also has a reputation as a winter wonderland, with snow blanketing the land for a lot of the year.

2. Is Lapland in Sweden or Finland?

Lapland is a region within the Arctic Circle that is spread across both Sweden and Finland. Parts of Lapland also cover Norway and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.

3. When should I visit Lapland?

A popular time to visit Lapland is during the winter months between December and March, as this is when you can experience thrilling excursions like snowmobiling, cross country skiing and reindeer sleigh rides. As well as this, it’s peak northern lights viewing season so you’ll have a good chance of seeing them “dancing”.

In our blog, we’ve written about visiting Lapland in the winter and chasing the northern lights .

4. Which airport do you fly to for Lapland?

Depending on where you’re visiting from and whether you decide to fly to Swedish Lapland or Finnish Lapland , the airport you fly into could be Kiruna, Rovaniemi or Kemi. If you’re not sure which would be best for you, get in touch with our team of travel consultants as they’ll be able to advise which airport you’ll need to travel to.

5. Do they speak English in Finland?

Yes – English is widely spoken in Finland. English is taught in schools so most people will know basic phrases. When you travel on our tours, this isn’t something you’ll have to worry about as your guides will be English speaking.

6. Is Lapland in the North Pole?

Lapland is far north and located in the Arctic Circle, but it is not in the North Pole. However, Rovaniemi is home to Santa Claus Village , "the official North Pole residence" of Father Christmas.

7. How many days do you need in Lapland?

Depending on the attractions and activities you want to see and do, you can spend anywhere from a long weekend to a week in Lapland. However, for the sake of enjoyment, you won’t want to rush your visit. This is why all of our holidays are tried and tested by staff to ensure you get to experience the best of Lapland at a comfortable pace.

8. What country does Lapland belong to?

Lapland is a region that is spread across many countries, and so does not technically belong to any one of them. Finnish Lapland makes up for almost one third of Finland, and Swedish Lapland a quarter of Sweden, but the region also covers Norway and part of the Kola Peninsula in Russia.

9. Does Lapland have snow all year round?

It snows in Lapland for a lot of the year due to its subarctic climate and location within the Arctic Circle. This is why it’s a popular destination for winter trips and ski holidays. However, in the summer months, the snow and ice melts to reveal green forests and tranquil lakes and rivers.

For a detailed guide to Lapland’s climate, read our weather guide .

10. Can I choose the arrival date?

Yes, you can choose the best arrival dates to suit you, however we advise that you book as soon as possible as accommodation is limited and in-demand, especially in the ICEHOTEL and Arctic SnowHotel. All of our tours are available to book online, so secure your chosen dates as soon as you find them.

11. How much can I customise my tour?

All our packages are created to give you the best experience in Lapland, so whether you’re keen to explore the wilderness, add a meeting with Santa to your visit or stay in the ICEHOTEL, we have a tour to suit you.

However, if you want to do something extra, like spending additional days at either end of your journey or adding on another destination like Iceland or Norway , then all you have to do is ask.

Simply choose the Lapland package that best suits you and then contact our travel consultants about customising it. We’re happy to modify your itinerary where we can so you can tick off more attractions and areas on your travel wish list.

12. When should I book my flight tickets?

We’d advise that you look over flights for timings and dates, but hold off purchasing until you’ve booked your preferred tour. Once you’ve had a confirmation email from your personal travel consultant, you should then choose and pay for your flights. This is especially important as Lapland has the popular SnowCastle and ICEHOTEL to stay in and rooms can go quickly.

Our packages come with daily itineraries and all of your accommodation organised for you, so once you have all of the information you can make an informed choice on your flight times. If you have any questions, you can always contact your consultant for advice.

13. How should I dress for Lapland in winter?

We advise that you dress for the cold weather as you’ll be spending some of your tour in the outdoors. The snow-covered countryside can be uneven or slippery, so sensible footwear like walking shoes or boots is a must. Here are a few more of our suggestions:

• Thick woollen socks, ideally several pairs
• Thermal base layers
• Warm woollen sweater
• Jeans or other casual trousers
• Thin wool or fleece gloves (ideal as a base layer under snowmobile gloves)
• Warm gloves, scarf and cap
• Camera with extra batteries
• Small backpack/rucksack for day tours
• Heat pads for hands and feet  

For a more detailed list of what to bring, read our Lapland packing guide .

About Nordic Visitor Tours

Nordic Visitor is a Lapland tour operator and has been creating incredible travel experiences for customers in the region since 2010. Since then, we have grown across the Nordic region, while retaining our passionate belief that your trip should be memorable for all the right reasons. These include:

• Tailor-made itinerary: we personalise the itinerary with your dreams and needs in mind, and add on our recommended hidden gems, so you have the vacation of a lifetime.
• Quality checked accommodation: wherever you stay is guaranteed to be tried by our travel specialists and tested to our exacting standards, so whether it's a cosy glass igloo or charming hotel, you’re going to have a comfortable stay.
• Travel guide: add some secret sauce to your getaway with our insider travel tips and recommendations.
• 24/7 helpline: for your peace of mind, there’s always a travel expert on the other end of our 24/7 helpline.

Get social with us

Follow our adventures in the North and share your own with us.

Sign up for our newsletter

Want to find out more about our Lapland trips and holiday packages? Get in touch with our team to help you plan your tour.

Our Swedish phone number is +46 8 666 23 30

How about a live chat with one of our local travel experts?

Read about Lapland

Top 15 european christmas markets, glass igloos in finland: your guide, a few fun facts about swedish lapland, 7 reasons to visit lapland in winter.

Whether you have a single question or a special request, we're here for you.

How to get to Lapland: the best way to travel

This post is all about how to get to Lapland. A dream destination for those wishing to visit some of Europe’s most remote and wild spots as well as for those trying to see the northern lights. 

How to get to Lapland sounds like an easy question. The answer is more complicated though, because Lapland is actusally not a country. It’s a region above the arctic circle that spans from northern Norway over Sweden, Finland and even parts of Russia.

All together it is a pretty large area that is sparsely populated due to its extreme climate. Traditionally, the indigenous Sami people used to roam these lands freely as nomads with their reindeer herds. Nowadays borders have defined them to be citizens of a certain country. 

Where to go in Lapland

Lapland is thus a huge and varied region and the question of how to get to Lapland can only be answered when you know where you want to go in Lapland. 

There are some direct flights to Lapland, but travelling by train is more sustainable. Most journeys to Lapland often starts in the capitals of either Norway, Sweden, Finland or Russia. From there it is a long, but spectacular journey to reach the far northern fringes that belong to Lapland.

All of them offer pristine nature with tundra, endless forests and lakes as well as a chance to learn about Sami culture and food . However, there are differences in the available tourism infrastructure, the prices and how easy it is to get there. I will elaborate on these issues below.

I personally visited both Lapland in Russia during wintertime and Swedish Lapland in autumn .

How to get to Lapland in Finland

When people think of Lapland they often refer to Finnish Lapland and the Santa Clause village of Rovaniemi. With its popularity come excellent tourist facilities and activities. Think a snow village, ice hotels, reindeer safari’s, dog sledding, snowmobiling, ski resorts and saunas. Finland is one of the more expensive lapland destinations though, so budget accordingly. 

Any journey to Finnish Lapland will start in Helsinki. The most popular destinations in Finnish Lapland are Rovaniemi, Ivalo and Inari. 

Helsinki to Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is known as the Santa Claus village and is about 800 kilometers from Helsinki. You can fly from Helsinki to Rovaniemi in less than 2 hours for around 100 USD or take the train.

The most convenient is the Santa Claus express night train that brings you to Rovaniemi in 12 hours with sleeper beds starting from 50 euro onwards. There are also 3 daytime trains that take between 8 and 9 hours.  

After Rovaniemi the train continues to Kemijarvi. Another beautiful destination in the forests of Lapland. 

You can check the latest train schedules and prices on the website of the Finnish railway where you can also book your tickets.

Helsinki to Ivalo and Inari

Inari is the northernmost town in Finland and is almost 1200 kilometers north of Helsinki. Therefore it is a great place to see the northern lights. It also has a scenic location on Lake Inari, one of the largest lakes in Lapland. Ivalo lies south of Inari and is close to several national parks. 

To get from Helsinki to Ivalo and Inari one can either fly to Ivalo and then take a bus to Inari or take a combination of train and bus. If you choose the train option you need to take the train to Rovaniemi. From Rovaniemi there are buses to Ivalo and Inari. 

How to get to Lapland in Sweden

Swedish Lapland is in my opinion one of the best countries to explore Lapland. It’s slightly cheaper than neighbouring Finland and Norway, but with excellent facilities and a great variety of things to do. 

In summer Swedish Lapland is a hikers paradise with long distance trails such as the Kungsleden or Padjelantaleden that go through mountainous terrain or plenty of shorter well marked trails through forests and national parks. In winter you can see the northern lights, go dog sledding, snowmobiling or stay in an ice hotel. 

Sweden has it all and it’s also easily accessible from Stockholm. The most popular destinations in Swedish Lapland are Lulea , Jokkmokk , Kiruna and Abisko. 

Stockholm to Lulea

Lulea lies on the Bothnian coast, 900 kilometers north of Stockholm. It is a nice town with nature on its doorsteps. Nearby is the famous tree hotel in Harads and you could spend weeks exploring the islands in the Lulea Archipelago. Accessible by ferry in summer and by an ice road over the sea in winter. 

Getting from Stockholm to Lulea is easy. You can either fly directly to Lulea for around 120 usd (2 hours) or take the direct night train (14 hours, from 60 USD onwards).  There are also day time trains if you would like to see the scenery.

You can check the latest train time tables and prices on the website of the Swedish railways where you can also book your tickets.

Stockholm to Jokkmokk

Jokkmokk is the cultural capital of the Sami people in Sweden and a great place to learn more about Sami culture. The nearest airport is Gallivare or Lulea. From there you can take a bus to Jokkmokk.

Jokkmokk doesn’t have a train station, but you can take the night train from Stockholm to Murjek where a bus to Jokkmokk connects with the train. 

Stockholm to Kiruna and Abisko.

Kiruna lies more than 1200 kilometer north of Stockholm. It is the seat of the Swedish Sami Parliament and the largest city in Swedish Lapland. It is also one of the most popular winter destinations in Sweden. Nearby is the ice hotel in Jukkasjarvi and Abisko National Park, one of the best places in Scandinavia to see the Northern lights. 

Kiruna is easy to reach by flight for around 200 USD (1.5 hours). There is a direct night train from Stockholm to Kiruna (14 hours) as well that goes on to Abisko and even Narvik in Norway. If you fly into Kiruna there are day trains and buses to Abisko (1.5 hours).  

How to get to Lapland in Norway

Norway’s Lapland is far north of the Arctic circle. The biggest city, Tromso, is more than 1800 kilometers north of Oslo and it is quite a journey to get there. It is a multiple day trip by car and there are no direct trains either. In fact, it is faster to travel through Sweden to reach the Norwegian parts of Lapland. 

What is unique to Norwegian lapland is that it borders the Barentz sea and that its coastline is characterized by the beautiful fjords that Norway is famous for. That makes the effort to get this far north more than worth it.  

The main destination is Tromso. A city that has all the facilities you would like to have and that serves as a gateway to Norwegian lapland. Tromso is at sea so, besides the usual winter activities you can also go whale watching, taking cruises into the fjords and polar fishing among others. 

Beyond Tromso there is not much, but some small towns and spectacular arctic landscapes. You might want to visit Alta, the northern lights city where you can sleep in an igloo or  Honningsvag to visit the nordkapp.

Norwegian Lapland has lots to offer, but it is also the most expensive place to see Lapland, 

Oslo to Tromso

The easiest and fastest way to reach Tromso is by flight. Prices vary a lot, but there are some pretty good deals out there. Tromso is also an international airport so there might be direct flights from your home country. 

By train, bus or car from Oslo you are looking at a multiple day journey that is much faster through Sweden. Norwegian trains do not go further north than Bodo. This is an 18 hour journey with a change in Trondheim.

Bodo is still more than 500 kilometers south of Tromso. From Bodo there are no direct buses. You will have to take a bus to Narvik (6 hours) and then a bus to Tromso (4 hours).

If opting to travel by train it is actually much faster and cheaper to travel from Sweden by taking the direct SJ nighttrain from Malmo or Stockholm to Narvik (19 hours, 70 USD onwards).

If money is no problem, you can also take the famous hurtigruten cruise that goes along the fjords up north. This is one of the most scenic ways to travel up to Lapland.    

Tromso to Alta and the Nordkapp

If you want to travel to Alta or the Nordkapp it’s best to do so from Tromso. Alta does have an airport, but flights are more expensive. From Tromso you can travel by bus to Alta and Honningsvag (gateway to the Nordkapp). 

The touristic bus company Arctic route connects Tromso with Alta and other destinations in Lapland including Kiruna, Lulea and Rovaniemi making stops along the way that are of interest to tourists.

How to get to Lapland in Russia 

Due to the current situation, I advice against travel to Russia at the moment. All affiliated links related to Russia have been removed.

Few people know that Lapland even stretches into Russia. Russia’s remote Kola Peninsula has few tourist facilities, but it is one of the cheapest places to explore Lapland. Once you get your Russian visa it isn’t even that difficult to get there. 

Murmansk is the biggest city in the Kola peninsula and the only place where you find facilities like hotels, restaurants and tour agencies that can organize all kinds of arctic activities for you. 

Moscow or St Petersburg to Murmansk

If you are planning a trip to Russian lapland it is best to start your journey in St Petersburg or Moscow . From both places you can fly directly to Murmansk for around 50 USD or take the train to Murmansk. 

If you take the train it makes more sense to start in St Petersburg. The Arktika express train brings you from St Petersburg to Murmansk in 24 hours. This sounds like a long time, but it is a very scenic journey.

It’s easy to book your train tickets online through the Russian Railways where you can also check the latest time tables and prices. If this doesn’t work out you can also use a travel agency like tutu travel or Realrussia , but the fares might be slightly higher.

Disclaimer : This post about how to get to Lapland contains affiliate links. If you buy any service through any of my links, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. These earnings help me to keep Backpack Adventures alive! Thanks for your support!

1 thought on “How to get to Lapland: the best way to travel”

I am heading to lapland in February. Really can’t wait, thank you for this article. This area looks lovely and the camping.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Kale by LyraThemes.com.

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: $11.99

Return this item for free.

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select the return method

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Lapland! Children's Travel Activity Book and Journal: travel guide and activity book in one child-friendly interactive activity book Paperback – December 11, 2017

Purchase options and add-ons.

Have a magical adventure to Lapland coming up? This guidebook and activity book will entertain and inspire your kids about all they're about to see!

From Elf spot the difference, reindeer mazes, carrot measuring, ski designing, keeping-warm sudoku, northern light drawings and Father Christmas colouring, this full-colour Lapland kids activity book is jam-packed with puzzles, activities, language nuggets and fun facts appropriate for budding tiny tourists visiting Lapland. With plenty of places to draw, write and stick to create a brilliant on-the-go travel memory book too.

Pass on your own passion for travel and give them something topical to do when they're warming up indoors

Use the world as a classroom - make travel meaningful, memorable, educational and fun!

Endorsed by educational professionals; loved by children.

Suitable for young children aged 5+

Suited for family holidays to Finland, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, the Arctic Circle!

• Print length 48 pages
• Language English
• Publication date December 11, 2017
• Dimensions 8 x 0.12 x 10 inches
• ISBN-10 1912293560
• ISBN-13 978-1912293568
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

Have a magical adventure in Lapland coming up? This book will entertain and inspire your kids about all they're about to see!

From Elf spot the difference, reindeer mazes, carrot measuring, ski designing, keeping warm sudoku, northern lights drawings and Father Christmas colouring, this full-colour kids activity book is jam-packed with puzzles, activities, language nuggets and fun facts appropriate for budding tiny tourists visiting Lapland. With plenty of places to draw, write and stick to create a brilliant on-the-go travel memory book too.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beans and Joy Publishing Ltd (December 11, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 48 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1912293560
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912293568
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.12 x 10 inches
• #225 in Finland Travel Guides
• #276 in General Denmark Travel Guides
• #390 in General Sweden Travel Guides

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

Top reviews from other countries.

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

5 Places to Travel Abroad With Your Kids This Year

London, lapland, and tanzania are on the cards in 2024..

• Copy Link copied

TAASA Lodge offers a walking safari among several other singular experiences.

Courtesy of Go2Africa

Is it worth traveling abroad with your kids, especially with so many great options in the United States? Short answer: yes. That’s especially true if you consider one of these family-friendly destinations our writers have visited in recent months. They’ve been roaming with their children in the United Kingdom, Japan, Tanzania, Greece, and Swedish Lapland and have unearthed some great spots for the whole fam for 2024. Just try not to think about the flight there (and especially the flight home) . . .

Osaka, Japan

Theme parks and enticing street food are among the highlights of a visit to Osaka.

Photo by Usa-Pyon/Shutterstock

Wandering through Osaka’s neon-clad neighborhood of Shinsekai with my son—a hard-to-impress tween with a thirst for photo-worthy culinary creations—we passed takoyaki stands advertising their octopus-based wares with 3D tentacle-covered displays and a conveyor belt sushi joint adorned with an enormous rotating nigiri platter. Ultimately, we were drawn into Jumbo Tsuribune Tsurikichi , a restaurant boasting expansive pools of fish that you can catch with provided bait and rods. Here, they’ll cook and serve whatever you reel in—which, in our case, was a beast large enough to feed a family twice our size.

Memory-making experiences like this are only the beginning here, where maximalist signage beckons hungry travelers at every turn. And despite rising food costs across the globe, affordable eats are still easy to find in Osaka, making it an enticing choice for anyone looking to test their taste buds without breaking the bank. Even the pickiest of eaters will find something to love in this dynamic destination, and fun-loving families will find a variety of singular eateries. Dine alongside Pikachu at the popular Pokemon Café or enjoy impossibly cute Mario-inspired meals at Super Nintendo World at Universal Japan , which will soon offer even more options in its new Donkey Kong–themed land , slated to open in 2024.

Where to stay

For an immersive experience, families can sleep on traditional tatami mats at Ukiyoe Ryokan . The Cross Hotel Osaka , meanwhile, provides comfy digs located steps from the bustling food stalls in the Dotonbori area.— Amanda Adler

“I spy” gets a whole lot more interesting when there are leopards, hippos, and warthogs to peep.

Taking a toddler on safari is not for the faint of heart; I knew if I was gonna do it, I needed serious help. Enter Go2Africa , a seasoned tour operator staffed by specialists who’ve traveled extensively with small children throughout East and Southern Africa. These experts knew exactly which camps were the family-friendliest and how to safely travel between them. They arranged private safari drives for us in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area , a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site with Africa’s densest population of large animals, and a quiet corner of Serengeti National Park. Over multiple game drives in the two regions, we spotted lions, leopards, hippos, ostriches, flamingos, warthogs, and roughly a gazillion wildebeest, but it was a dazzle of zebras lingering within arm’s reach of our 4x4 that really had my son clapping up a storm.

Check out TAASA Lodge , a boutique bush camp in a 15,000-acre concession north of the Serengeti, and Gibb’s Farm , an 80-acre organic farm and coffee plantation less than an hour from Ngorongoro Crater. Both properties hire guides, trackers, and staff who truly love children, as opposed to merely tolerate them. Both also have swimming pools—a fantastic way for kiddos to spend some time in between game drives. —Ashlea Halpern, contributing editor

Athens, Greece

Ancient history comes alive in Athens.

Photo by Sven Hansche/Shutterstock

While history and ancient ruins may seem boring for little ones at first, Athens is actually an entertaining and educational family destination. Before you even leave, get your kids into Greek mythology and history—there’s the graphic novel series Olympians that reinterprets the mythologies and a funny and engaging podcast by National Geographic called Greeking Out that my eight-year-old son loves. Once you land, kids will be eager to see the sites that otherwise might look like crumbling dirt. When I visited last summer with my husband and two young kids, I booked a private tour with Be a Greek specifically meant for families. Our guide kept both of my children (and my husband and I) engaged with a scavenger hunt, trivia, games, and dynamic storytelling as we traipsed around the city, ticking off sites like the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and Syntagma Square to see the changing of the presidential guard.

Visiting the Acropolis is a bit more challenging, so be sure to go in early morning or evening when it’s cooler and less crowded, and leave the stroller behind (way too many steps!). Kids will also enjoy the Acropolis Museum (request a “family backpack” for educational resources, puzzles, and more); riding the bright red Athens Happy Train ; going up Mount Lycabettus via cable car; and strolling around the picturesque Plaka neighborhood. When you need to escape the heat, head outside the city center to the Athens Riviera for some time at Astir Beach or to the still-in-progress Ellinikon , which already features an incredible playground and park, with more to come.

To be in the center, stay at the new boutique Apollo Palm Hotel , which offers triple rooms perfect for a family of three (or four if one child is in a crib, which can be provided) while still boasting a chic design, gorgeous rooftop bar, and delicious breakfast buffet. For a resort experience, complete with a kids club, beach, and pool, the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens has spacious rooms and an incredibly friendly and helpful staff who clearly love children.— Devorah Lev-Tov

The Jokkmokk market has been around for hundreds of years.

Photo by Tommy Alven/Shutterstock

Swedish Lapland

My kids were just toddlers when we visited Swedish Lapland’s Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, where I pushed them in strollers as they teetered across packed-snow floors in rooms carved out from river ice by artists from around the world. (We sanely slept in the warm accommodations on site.)

On a visit this past winter on my own, I found several other reasons to plot a trip back soon with my now-older crew. The best winter adventures in this part of Sweden come with experiential elements that go beyond chasing the northern lights. At Arctic Bath in the small hamlet of Harads, I watched a British family with elementary school–age kids brave cold plunges together following a sauna session, stepping down a metal ladder straight into the frozen Lule River and whooping it up before beelining it for the outdoor hot tubs.

Nearby, the whimsical variety of cabins on stilts at Treehotel —including one shaped like a bird’s nest and another like a UFO—were pure fantastical fun, with ice fishing and snowshoeing among the activities. Sapmi Nature Camp offers three-night packages to stay with Sámi hosts in private lavvu tents on the family’s grazing lands for reindeer while learning about their modern way of life. And if you’re here in early February, the excitement of the annual Jokkmokk Winter Market draws hundreds of Indigenous people from all over the Sápmi region of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia for an outdoor festival with live music, shopping for silverwork and traditional clothing, and many more activities.

All of the aforementioned stays are a treat worth planning a trip around. But I’m dreaming of a multi-generational winter adventure at Fjellborg Arctic Lodge , where you can arrive via dogsled from nearby Jukkasjärvi. Families stay in a luxurious four-bedroom cabin with its own sauna and outdoor hot tub overlooking Lake Väkkärä. (Smaller cabins can accommodate more people right nearby.) The lodge’s wilderness guides lead all manner of excursions—including snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and ice fishing.— Terry Ward

London, U.K.

With musicals, green spaces, and seemingly endless restaurants, no two days in London are the same.

Courtesy of One Aldwych

From a wickedly funny Yeoman Warder guide at the Tower to a bike tour with London Bicycle and a visit to the Harry Potter studios (where all eight movies were filmed), my family’s weeklong trip across the pond proved to be equal parts educational and fun. We also adored the Matilda musical, based on Roald Dahl’s beloved book, in the West End, with all four of us singing along to its catchy tunes as we left the theater. The city’s many green spaces (Hyde Park; Kensington Gardens, with the Princess Diana Memorial Playground; Battersea Park) also allow ample opportunity for little legs to stretch, run, and stop to smell the roses. With a food scene that’s the stuff of legend, eating at Indian street food chain Dishoom and plant-based Mallow in Borough Market were also musts and didn’t disappoint.

London has many great hotels . I liked the elegant 101-room One Aldwych in the heart of Covent Garden, within blocks of theaters, restaurants, and museums, such as the fantastic London Transport Museum (where kids can see double-decker buses and grown-ups can marvel at the history of the Tube). Along with spacious suites, thoughtful touches like the daily replenished complimentary mini-bar (with biscuits and chips to keep little ones happy) and a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” themed afternoon tea make the hotel truly perfect for families.— Tanvi Chheda

Trans care restrictions force some families to travel hours, spend hundreds for treatment

More than 20 states have gender-affirming care restrictions.

Misty Stamm was working tirelessly to figure out the details: waking up early, the hourslong drives, booking hotels and finding doctors who could legally administer gender-affirming hormone therapy to her 16-year-old transgender daughter.

Stamm is living in one of the 24 states where legislation is restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, so she and parents like her must make long, expensive trips out of their home states to find the care their children need, according to a new report from the Campaign for Southern Equality Research and Policy Center.

“If we didn't have the care, I don't think she'd be alive,” said Stamm.

Stamm, who lives in Tennessee, drove five hours to get her daughter to a gender clinic in Ohio when her family first started considering care options. She wanted her daughter to be seen by a physician in person.

With new gender-affirming care restrictions set to go into effect soon in Ohio, Stamm and her daughter have since turned to a telehealth provider in Virginia.

However, they still have to drive two hours to Virginia for the online appointment, as to not break Tennessee law, which also bans telehealth providers from providing care and treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapies to a minor located in the state.

Stamm told ABC News that the time, effort and money they’re spending to access care is worth it.

When she came out as transgender at 13, “the mental health issues stopped completely,” said Stamm. “That affirmed to us that this was the right thing.”

Stamm's daughter had been in counseling and therapy since she was in fifth grade, struggling with her mental health and experiencing depression, anxiety and suicidal ideations.

At age 14, Stamm's daughter received puberty blockers to temporarily pause the development of physical sex characteristics. As her daughter grew older, the family and physicians together decided to move forward with hormone therapy. Throughout this process, they said, psychologists and therapists were consulted and were required for approvals.

“There's no talk of surgery or anything like that,” said Stamm. “That's a decision that she can make when she is an adult.”

Meanwhile, her mental health has progressed exponentially – Stamm said her daughter has since been released by her therapist and is only seen occasionally, as needed.

"She's just doing so well, and if we didn't have access -- we have to have it. She has to have it."

MORE: Report: LGBTQ content drove book banning efforts in 2023

Gas, airfare, lodging and other expenses to cross state lines and access gender-affirming care could cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, the Southern Equality report states.

Stamm says she and her husband have spent likely thousands of dollars in travel costs to get care and are anxiously awaiting the day their daughter turns 18 so she can access care more freely.

The report from Southern Equality Research and Policy Center found that it could take almost 20 hours of driving roundtrip for some families across the South and Midwest to reach a state where trans youth care is legally accessible.

Families with transgender children across southern Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas are the hardest hit, according to the report -- they would need to take a more than eight-hour car ride one way to get to a clinic that serves trans youth.

For Jennifer, an Austin, Texas, resident who asked to go by a pseudonym for safety concerns, said the health care bans in her state threw her family into logistical and financial chaos.

Her 15-year-old daughter’s appointments to begin hormone therapy were canceled before the law in Texas even went into effect. When they sought out care in Louisiana, providers also were canceling appointments.

She sought out the help of local advocacy groups to help her family find a provider in Texas' neighbor to the west, New Mexico.

However, the costs continue to mount: “We are in a position that we could afford to buy plane tickets and stay in a hotel for a couple of nights and pay all of the out-of-pocket expenses for the medical care,” said Jennifer. “For a lot of people, that's probably not an option.”

Though telehealth has expanded opportunities for access to care, policies like those in Tennessee restrict these appointments for prescriptions from happening in the state and force some families like the Stamms to cross borders for online appointments.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who signed the gender-affirming care ban , has defended the bill against legal challenges.

"Tennessee is committed to protecting children from permanent, life-altering decisions," said Lee in a post on social platform X after the Justice Department argued the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Supporters of gender-affirming medical care bans argue that children should wait until they’re older to make these medical decisions, and that there needs to be more research on the impact of these procedures on patients.

In the state’s court filings in opposition to a lawsuit against the ban, the state invokes Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the decision which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal protections for abortion rights.

The state argues that Dobbs allows states “to regulate medical treatments” and that it does not discriminate against transgender people because “not all transgender individuals use puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery.”

“This Court should acknowledge divergent views and hold that the responsibility to choose between them rests with the people acting through their elected representatives,” read the state’s filing.

The Tennessee Legislature is now considering a bill that could make it a felony to help a minor access gender-affirming care out-of-state without parental consent.

MORE: Kansas governor vetoes gender-affirming trans youth care ban

Transgender care for people under 18 has been a source of contention for state politicians in recent years, impacting a group estimated to make up less than 1.5% of the population ages 13-17, according to an estimate from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles .

Often due to discrimination, stigma, and gender-related stress, trans youth are at increased risk for poor mental health and suicide, substance use, experiencing violence, and other health risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and more than 20 others have argued that gender-affirming care is safe, effective and medically necessary.

“Allowing them to live in their identity is what saves their mental health,” Jennifer said in response to criticism over transgender medical care.

As families continue to seek out avenues for care, Jennifer and Stamm want lawmakers to know that they're just a "normal, regular family."

“I want them to see us as people,” Jennifer said. “We are their neighbors, we are people who teach their kids in school. We are people they work with.”

Stamm adds, "She's just a regular kid, just trying to be a regular kid. … This has just presented so many challenges for her and we feel isolated. Our circle is tight and small ... Hopefully, people will be a little bit more empathetic to what we're going through. And how ridiculous all of this is."

Related Topics

Top stories.

5 big takeaways from Day 3 of Trump's hush money trial

• Apr 18, 7:24 PM

House Democrats help Johnson avoid foreign aid bills defeat, despite GOP defections

• 5 minutes ago

Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian strategic bomber. Moscow says the plane crashed

• Apr 19, 4:27 AM

Tesla recalling more than 3,000 of its 2024 Cybertrucks due to faulty pedal

• 4 hours ago

Biden revises Title IX protections for pregnancy, trans people, and assault victims

Abc news live.

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

McLaren sued for £10m after top surgeon injured in snowmobile crash

Dr Andrew Cannestra, 53, suffered significant hand tremor after holiday accident in Finland

A top neurosurgeon is suing McLaren for £10m after being left with a “significant” hand tremor following a snowmobile crash on a £23,000 adventure holiday.

Dr Andrew Cannestra, a spine surgery specialist, suffered a head injury after losing control of a snowmobile during a holiday in Lapland.

The surgeon, 53, and his partner went on the £23,000 four-night Pure McLaren Arctic Experience, with the doctor taking part in a guided snowmobile trek as part of the holiday package.

But the surgeon, who was driving a Lynx Xtrim snowmobile for the first time, crashed into a tree while travelling at around 40mph.

He is now suing McLaren Automotive Events Ltd for £10m and claims he will be forced to retire from his £1.6m-a-year job in the next few years because of medical complications resulting from the crash.

Before the accident, Dr Cannestra had been diagnosed with a “benign” essential tremor in the hands which was very mild in form, was “well controlled by occasional doses of medication”, and allowed him to perform a “full range of neurosurgery”.

Neil Block, his barrister said the head trauma means he now needs “significant” medication to quell the tremor, adding: “The prognosis is that within five years Dr Cannestra will have to cease working.”

Matthew Chapman, representing McLaren Automotive, has denied the company’s liability, insisting the local guide did his utmost to ensure the snow trek was safe.

McLaren also suggested Dr Cannestra failed to take due care during the experience.

London’s High Court heard that the Florida-based surgeon and his partner signed up for the luxury holiday in the Arctic circle in February 2020.

The “ice-driving experience” package allows guests to drive McLaren supercars on a frozen test circuit in Ivalo, Finland, alongside other activities including the snowmobile trip.

Court documents show the snowmobile tour was provided as part of the McLaren holiday package by local operators Luxury Action Oy.

Dr Cannestra and his partner had been the only guests taking the tour on the afternoon of February 2, 2020.

Holiday on ice gone wrong

Mr Block said Dr Cannestra’s accident followed an initial 15-minute trial ride through trees with his partner during which he says they hit speeds of around 30mph.

The guide allegedly then took Dr Cannestra on a solo ride after telling him he was “doing well” and they should “go off together and have some fun”, the court heard.

Dr Cannestra’s barrister claimed he crashed his vehicle at around 40mph after losing sight of his guide, owing to poor visibility.

“Dr Cannestra had lost sight of (the guide) due to the increasing gap between them and consequently was unaware of the second series of left-hand bends or the short straight section of track on the approach to it,” said Mr Block.

Lawyers for the surgeon said the accident was caused by an insufficient safety briefing and a failure to ensure the track was clearly marked out.

They also claim the guide was at fault for riding too far ahead and that he turned the setting of Dr Cannestra’s snow buggy into a relatively advanced mode although the medical practitioner was just a novice rider.

The case reached the High Court ahead of the trial which is set to be heard from April 2025 and could last up to eight days.

• Facebook Icon
• WhatsApp Icon

click here to read it now

Read this week's magazine

Bologna 2024: Dead Bunnies and Naked Bottoms: What Makes Children's Books Travel Internationally?

In a Bologna Children's Book Fair session called “Dead Bunnies and Naked Bottoms: Meeting the Challenges of Children’s Publishing Across Cultures,” held on April 9, moderator Maria Russo, former children’s books editor at the New York Times , explained the panel’s title: “In the U.S. a dead bunny is a red flag in a picture book, as is a naked bottom. In the rest of the world, these are regular elements in a picture book.”

The four panelists were asked to show a few successful titles for them, either originated by them and/or originated in another country. Dolores Prades, founder, director, and editor of Instituto Emília in Brazil, talked about her longtime mission to publish books from Africa in Brazil, beginning with Niki Daly. She came across Daly’s books at Bologna one year, “one of my first discoveries. Now, 20 years later, it’s an editorial choice I’m most proud of.” Daly’s picture books center on the daily life of a girl living with her parents and grandparents. Sosu’s Call by Meshack Asare is another book that’s been successful for Prades; Asare, born in Ghana and currently living in Germany, is a popular African children’s author.

Bologna veteran Neal Porter, publisher of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House, said he has seen a lot of changes in the international market since he started attending the fair in the mid-1980s. “At that time, there was an explosion of the retail market for children’s books in the U.S., stemming from the large number of children’s bookshops that were opening. An easy way for American publishers to expand their lists was to acquire books from abroad at Bologna. This has ebbed and flowed over the years.”

Porter showed images from The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess , [a picture book by graphic novelist and Guardian cartoonist Tom Gauld] https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/87176-q-a-with-tom-gauld.html, which he published in 2020. “Of the books I’ve published, this book probably holds the record for foreign editions: 23 throughout Europe and Asia,” he said. Gauld has a “very inventive way of approaching fairy tales and making them his own. It’s been a tremendous pleasure to see how well this book has done in cultures other than our own.”

An example of a book he saw and bought at Bologna, back in 2007, was ABC3D by Marion Bataille, a pop-up alphabet book that took off after an enterprising marketing staffer created a short video for the book that went viral and now has 15 million views. “It may have been the beginning of digital marketing for children’s books,” he said. “It was thrilling to buy that book at the fair.” He remembers telling the originating publisher, “If you don’t sell me this book I may do serious damage.” He published it to “great success,” with 100,000 copies sold.

Another title he showed was I Talk Like a River , written by Jordan Scott, and illustrated by just-crowned Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Sydney Smith , a picture book about a boy with a stutter, and how his father likens the sounds of his speech to the flow of a river. “This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever published,” Porter said. The book won a number of international awards and had 19 co-editions.

Erik Titusson, publisher of Lilla Piratförlaget (Little Pirate) in Sweden, highlighted a book he bought from a Latvian publisher in 2020, called The Kiosk by Anete Melece, about a woman who is stuck working in a kiosk but dreaming of travel and adventure. “ The Billy Goats Gruff Go to the Bathhouse by Bjørn F. Rørvik, which I bought from Norway, was the very first book I published,” he said.

In Sweden, he said, “there’s a long tradition of translating books from other parts of the world. In recent years, the number of translated books has been decreasing.” Currently, 32% of the books he publishes are in translation, compared to 50% in 2010. Retail space for children’s books in Sweden is “getting a bit smaller,” and Swedish books are being prioritized.

He recalled showing Porter a book at a previous Bologna Fair that he said had a lot of nudity in it. “Neal asked me, ‘Please, can I have a copy? Not to publish it, but to show my colleagues how crazy the Swedes are.”

Author-illustrator Beatrice Alemagna said she has been publishing picture books for 24 years—42 books to date. “Over the years, I realized that each one has a different life, depending on which country it was published into,” she told the audience. “I believe a reason for the success of any book is that children have fun.”

Alemagna talked about her book Never, Not Ever! , published three years ago and already translated into 15 languages. The book’s success, she feels, was due to it being “a weird story, about a bat who doesn’t want to go to school.”

Results, she said, can vary widely by country. What Is a Child? , her most translated book, has been published in 20 countries. “In Italy it’s a classic; in France it has been a failure,” she said. She showed the book’s covers in an array of languages and editions, pointing out that the British cover (Tate) was different from the other editions because the British publisher felt the image was reminiscent of pictures of children during war.

Russo asked the panelists what appeals to them about a picture book, whether they are acquiring it, editing it, or creating it. Titusson said he looks for “psychological truth” in a book. “You can trust that other people will feel the way you do. It’s also important to find editors who have a similar feeling about books as you.

Porter answered, “I tend to publish books selfishly, for me, or the five-year-old in me. I don’t think about whether the book is too sophisticated. But it’s very gratifying when others feel the same way I do about it.”

“With experience,” Alemagna said, “I’ve learned that the less I think about the audience and the more I focus on my emotion, the more sincere the book will be. The more I emotionally engage with my book, the more successful it will be.”

• You are a subscriber but you have not yet set up your account for premium online access. Contact customer service (see details below) to add your preferred email address and password to your account.
• You forgot your password and you need to retrieve it. Click here to retrieve reset your password.
• Your company has a site license, use our easy login. Enter your work email address in the Site License Portal.

• Share full article

Advertisement

How to Fly Your Kid Solo, Free of Stress

By Alexander Nazaryan

For many parents and guardians, putting a child on a flight alone may seem terrifying. Belligerent passengers, delays, turbulence: All loom large in a caregiver’s imagination.

Life sometimes leaves no other option. Hudson Crites , 17, of Marshall, Va., was 10 when he started flying unaccompanied to visit his father in Kansas and later Georgia, said his mother, Chelsea Tippett. But the extra attention from airline staff made Hudson “feel special,” Ms. Tippett recalls. Other than a single tarmac delay, he has had no problems.

On rare occasions, children have had troubling experiences. In December, Spirit Airlines accidentally flew a 6-year-old to Orlando, Fla., instead of the intended destination of Fort Myers. Spirit apologized, fired the gate agent responsible and offered reimbursement to the boy’s grandmother for her travel to Orlando. But while the boy was unharmed, his grandmother expressed worry that he had been kidnapped .

If you decide to fly your child unaccompanied, you’ll discover that each airline has its own procedures, fees and routes open to children. While some may find the process complicated, flying alone may be exciting for your child, instilling some independence. Here’s what you need to know.

Before you book, know the process

Regardless of the airline or route, flying an unaccompanied minor differs from an adult or a family catching a flight. Airlines require a trusted pre-authorized adult to be at the departure and arrival gates, and will ask you at booking to provide contact information for those adults. They will also need to present identification at the terminals.

The journey begins at the originating airport’s airline ticket counter. There, airline staff will check your identification and check in the child, perhaps handing them a lanyard or wristband to wear. The agents will provide you with a pass to get through security with your child. You will accompany them to the gate, where you will hand them off to a gate agent. You must stay at the gate until the plane takes off.

In the air, the flight crew will keep watch — but will not babysit, or sit with, your child. If the flight has a connection, a crew member will walk your child off the plane and a gate agent will take him or her to the next gate.

At the arrival airport, the child will be handed off by staff to the authorized guardian or parent who should have already checked in at the ticket counter with proper identification, gone through security with their gate pass and be waiting at the gate.

To learn more about this process, read the Department of Transportation’s online guide, “When Kids Fly Alone,” followed by the website of your selected carrier.

Choosing an airline and paying an extra fee

Before purchasing a ticket, experts advise you to consider an airline’s on-time performance. “Solid on-time performance is hard-earned, and signals a carrier that has tight control of its operation,” said the Ask the Pilot author, Patrick Smith. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has those numbers.

Booking procedures vary. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines require you to call. United Airlines allows bookings online. JetBlue Airways does online bookings, too, but asks for three printed copies of its forms upon arrival at the airport.

International flights may call for a notarized consent letter describing where the child is traveling, with whom they’ll stay and how long they’ll be there.

On top of the ticket fare, flying an unaccompanied minor can be pricey.

Southwest Airlines charges $100 one way for each child, regardless of distance. Alaska Airlines charges $50 per child if the flight is nonstop; a connection adds $25. On Delta, one $150 fee will cover up to four children, and American’s $150 covers all siblings, with no cap on number. United charges $150 for one child, or two children flying together.

Restrictions: There are plenty

U.S. carriers allow children to fly as unaccompanied minors once they turn 5 and before they turn 18. But regardless of your child’s age, make sure he or she is ready by discussing the trip details and your expectations of their behavior. No policy can replace your judgment.

The low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air don’t allow unaccompanied minors, Other airlines have restrictions that, in the broadest terms, differentiate between young children and teenagers. American and Delta restrict children under 8 from routes requiring connections. Both airlines allow children between 8 and 14 to take some connecting flights.

On American, no unaccompanied minor is allowed to take an overnight flight requiring a connection, or a flight that includes a connection on its final leg that also happens to be the last such flight that day (“unless it’s the only flight,” the company adds). Minors are not allowed on code-share flights.

United and Delta have similar rules. Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit don’t allow unaccompanied minors on connecting flights.

JetBlue prohibits minors from flying to Europe, and limits the number of unaccompanied minors in one party to three. Spirit does not allow children on flights to Central or South America. Southwest doesn’t allow children on any international flights. American, United and Delta let minors fly abroad, but restrictions on connections, code-shares and overnights limit options.

American and Delta allow children to opt out of flying as unaccompanied minors once they turn 15 — that is, the child can fly without the assistance of airline personnel. JetBlue ends unaccompanied minor service at 14, while Alaska has an opt-out option at 13. Southwest boasts the lowest opt-out age: 12.

However, you should be able to accompany your child to the gate even if they’re not flying unaccompanied. American requires that you do so for teens between the ages of 15 and 17, even if they’ve opted out.

What to pack

Have a plan to head off your child’s hunger, boredom and thirst. If they are older, make sure they have emergency money and a charged phone.

When her two daughters, then 9 and 11, flew to Denver, Joey Conover of Charlottesville, Va., had a long list for their carry-ons.

“Pack a backpack with iPad, headphones, lightweight book to read, a pad of paper and colored pencils (markers might smear), a small travel game, water bottle (bring empty and fill in airport), snacks, some kind of surprise fidget or animals to play with, hoodie, and a lovey,” she wrote in an email.

“Write your name and phone number on the inside of their arm in Sharpie and put a parent’s business card in a luggage tag on both suitcase and backpack,” Ms. Conover said. (A sheet of paper with all their identification, and their guardian’s contact information, also works. Simply stick in an easy-to-access pocket.)

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

7 of the best all-inclusive experiences to book this year, from a travel planner

• As a travel planner, my clients seem to be increasingly interested in all-inclusive trips .
• Some of my favorite luxury resorts are in Costa Rica, the Maldives, and Isla Mujeres.
• Cruises, group tours, and adults-only lodgings can also come with all-inclusive options. 

As a travel planner at Marvelous Mouse Travels , I know vacations are expensive — especially if you're looking to go somewhere this summer . But all-inclusive travel is often a great way to get the most value out of a luxury experience.

I've been on several all-inclusive vacations with my family, friends, and work, and I've helped other people book them in destinations around the world .

Here are some of the best all-inclusive experiences I'm recommending to my clients this year.

Try a split-stay vacation to see the best of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is one of the most sought-after vacations , and for good reason. It's great for both relaxation and adventure.

I recommend booking a split stay, starting at an all-inclusive resort in Guanacaste near the beach for some fun in the sun and moving to a resort near the famous Arenal Volcano for a jungle adventure.

Some of my favorite resorts in Costa Rica are the Westin Reserva Conchal and the Dreams Las Mareas. And if you're looking for an even more unique experience, check out the glorious swim-out suites with private pools at Dreams.

Baglioni Maldives is one of my favorite all-inclusive resorts.

The Maldives, a remote set of islands in the Indian Ocean, offers a plethora of resort options for couples and families, but Baglioni Maldives is my favorite.

For many in the US, getting to the islands can be daunting — there are very few direct commercial flights, and it can take almost an entire day. But it's hard to beat the country's luxury accommodations and gorgeous landscape.

The Maldives also has some of the most beautiful marine life and coveted spots for snorkeling and scuba diving.

No matter where you go, overwater bungalows are the ultimate all-inclusive splurge.

Overwater bungalows — villas standing on poles over open ocean water — are prevalent at all-inclusive resorts in destinations like the Maldives, Fiji, and Bali.

But I've also come across the luxurious accommodations at select adults-only Sandals Resorts throughout the Caribbean.

I think having a private villa on the water is the perfect way to unwind and relax.

Adults-only vacations are on the rise.

Traveling with kids can be a blast, but I also think it's important for adults to take a much-needed break on their own.

Adults-only resorts have been a total respite for me and my husband after hectic months of juggling work with our kids' school and sports schedules.

If you're looking to unwind with a partner, relax on a girls' trip, or even connect with your adult children, there are countless adults-only, all-inclusive resorts to choose from, depending on where you're looking to visit.

Some properties, including Sandals and Beaches Resorts, also offer butler service. Designated staff members can help with anything from room requests and dining reservations to cabana rentals and transportation coordination.

I upgraded to the service at my favorite adults-only spot, Le Blanc Los Cabos, and I felt totally pampered.

Isla Mujeres is pure luxury.

Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast of Cancún, is known for its crystal-clear, turquoise water and peaceful vibe. It's also home to Playa Norte, one of the best beaches in Mexico .

Impressions Isla Mujeres by Secrets is a gorgeous all-inclusive resort on the island. It offers luxury at its finest, but with only 125 rooms, it has a boutique feel.

One of my favorite features of the resort is the waterslide that leads right into the beautiful ocean.

There are plenty of all-inclusive packages at sea.

Cruising is one of the most popular vacations , whether it's an epic adventure on a Royal Caribbean Cruise, a couples-only journey on Virgin Voyages, or a regal tour of Europe on Viking River Cruises.

Although cruises aren't traditionally considered all-inclusive, with the right booking, they can have the same feel as a luxury resort.

Most cruise bookings include food, nonalcoholic drinks, and live entertainment. If you add beverage packages and excursions in advance, your trip should be fully paid for before you depart.

Book a small-group or private tour if you're looking for adventure.

Group travel is a great way to explore new places while soaking up culture and history.

Popular destinations include Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, and Alaska, and many travel companies take care of everything for you, essentially making it all-inclusive.

I like Adventures by Disney , which offers small-group travel all over the world facilitated by seasoned guides. All the trip details are taken care of, including experiences, food, lodging, and transportation.

Additionally, Kensington Tours offers luxury private travel where every facet of the trip is meticulously planned for you.

• Main content

• Book a Flight
• Manage Reservations
• Explore Destinations
• Flight Schedules
• Track Checked Bags
• International Travel
• Flight Offers
• Low Fare Calendar
• Upgrade My Flight
• Add EarlyBird Check-In
• Check Travel Funds
• Buy Carbon Offsets
• Flying with Southwest
• Book a Hotel
• Redeem Points for Hotels
• More Than Hotels
• Hotel Offers
• Best Rate Guarantee
• Rapid Rewards Partners
• Book a Vacation Package
• Manage My Vacation
• Vacation Package Offers
• Vacation Destinations
• Why Book With Us?
• FLIGHT STATUS
• CHANGE FLIGHT

Enter code SAVE25NOW in the Promo Code box when booking. Offer is valid only for continental U.S. flights. The 25 percent promotion code savings are valid for one-way or round trip Wanna Get Away® and Wanna Get Away Plus® fares booked with Rapid Rewards points during the Booking Period, flown during the Travel Period, and are applied before taxes and fees. Seats and days are limited. Savings are reflected in the price when entering the multiuse code SAVE25NOW in the Promo Code box on Southwest.com and swabiz.com. This discount is only available through Southwest.com and swabiz.com. Discount is valid on new reservations only. Discount will apply only for flights booked during the Booking Period and flown on the dates within the Travel Period. If one segment of the trip is outside the Travel Period and one is within the Travel Period, only the portion of travel falling within the Travel Period will be discounted. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase will eliminate qualification for this promotion. The discount is only valid with the provided promotion code and is not combinable with other promotion codes or fares. All reward travel is subject to taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges of at least $5.60 per one-way trip. Applicable taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges can vary significantly based on your arrival and departure destination. The payment of any taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges is the responsibility of the Passenger and must be paid at the time reward travel is booked with a credit card, flight credit, or Southwest gift card. When traveling on reward travel, you will receive all fare product features except for earning Rapid Rewards points. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in points used. Points bookings are subject to change until ticketed. If you cancel your reservation at least ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight, any remaining unused points will be returned to your Rapid Rewards account. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms . Offer is not redeemable for cash, and may not be used in conjunction with other special offers, or toward the purchase of a gift card or previously booked flight, or changed to a previously booked flight. Discount is not valid on group travel, Southwest Vacations®, and government fares.

Help Center

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell/Share My Info

© 2024 Southwest Airlines Co. All Rights Reserved.