Lapland with Kids: A Magical Adventure

Our family just returned from a short trip to Rovaniemi, Finland, in an area known as Lapland. If you’ve never heard of it before, you’re not the only one, as it was pretty new to me too. Between the snow-covered forests, crossing into the Arctic Circle, seeing Santa with his elves and reindeer, and the chance to chase the northern lights, it feels like a place pulled straight out of a holiday storybook. It’s easy to see why it’s been popping up on more family travellers’ radars lately.

While Lapland is technically a year-round destination, its greatest appeal (especially with young kids in tow) is during the winter months when the Christmas spirit is in full swing. That said, peak season also means peak prices, from accommodations to excursions, as everyone vies for that White Christmas experience. So after all that hype, and paying peak-season rates… was it worth it? Let’s dive in.

Lapland, the Destination

Lapland is a vast geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe that it spans the northern parts of four nations Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Straddling the Arctic Circle, it is defined by rolling forests, frozen lakes, and open wilderness, and serves as the ancestral homeland of the Indigenous Sámi people, who call their territory Sápmi.

On the Finnish side, where most travellers visit the city of Rovaniemi, Lapland has built a reputation around Arctic experiences like reindeer encounters, husky safaris, and northern lights viewing, paired with the family-friendly draw of being marketed as the official home of Santa Claus.

It’s a destination where culture, outdoor adventure, and a bit of holiday magic all come together, making it unlike anywhere else in Europe.

Getting to Rovaniemi

Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to Rovaniemi from Canada. Instead, you’ll need to book a connecting flight through Europe. Luckily, there are quite a number of options. At the time of writing, British Airways, Finnair, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Austrian, Turkish Airlines, and LOT Polish Airlines all provide flights from their respective European hubs to Rovaniemi (RVN), meaning you can book flights with Avios, Aeroplan points, and Flying Blue miles.

We decided to book on Air France from Toronto to Rovaniemi through Paris using our Flying Blue miles. Because it was an overnight flight, I booked us into business class (throne seats too) for the following rates:

• 2 x adults for 60,000 Flying Blue miles + $385 taxes and fees per person
• 2 x children for 45,000 Flying Blue miles + $385 taxes and fees per person

Unfortunately, our dates were pretty inflexible, and we couldn’t find a return flight from Rovaniemi back to Toronto with only one stopover for a decent redemption. Instead, we flew Finnair from Rovaniemi to Helsinki using Avios, and then KLM from Helsinki to Toronto through Amsterdam using our Flying Blue miles as well. Because it was a daytime flight, I opted for economy class and booked at the following rates:

• 5 x passengers for 6,500 Finnair Avios + $50 taxes and fees per person
• 2 x adults for 25,000 Flying Blue miles + $185 taxes and fees per person
• 2 x children for 18,750 Flying Blue miles + $185 taxes and fees per person

To acquire Flying Blue miles, you can transfer Canadian Amex Membership Rewards at a rate of 1:0.75 Flying Blue miles, or through a variety of US reward programs at a rate of 1:1. I’ve also earned a number of Flying Blue miles from my Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard®. Award fares for children aged 2 to 11 are also priced at a 25% discount which was the selling point for us.

You’ll notice that most bookings were made for 4 passengers. My son initially showed no interested in joining us, however later changed his mind. By the time he decided to join, the award redemptions were not pricing out favourably anymore, so we ended up purchasing an economy cash fare for him for $810 CAD, which was pretty decent. At the airport, we were also given the option to upgrade him to business class for $1,000 CAD one way.

If you plan your flights into Helsinki, there is also an overnight Santa Claus Express Night Train that can be taken to Rovaniemi which can be fun and unique experience to travel. Unfortunately, we were short on time for this trip so opted to skip this.

Attractions in Rovaniemi

There are many winter and Christmas-themed attractions in Rovaniemi. If you had a week, you could probably do them all, but we only had a few days and chose to stick to one to two activities per day. Here’s a list of the main family-friendly ones to hit, depending on how much time you have:

• Santa Claus Village: A family-friendly Christmas-themed park where you can meet Santa, cross the Arctic Circle, and visit festive shops and activities year-round. Husky rides, reindeer sleigh rides, horseback riding, ice karting, snowmobile park, meet and greets with elves and Mrs. Claus, taking part in an Elf Academy, and more are all available onsite.

• SieriPoro Safaris Reindeer Farm: One of many traditional reindeer farms in and around Rovaniemi where you can meet local herders, learn about Sámi culture, and enjoy a peaceful reindeer sleigh ride. We booked direct with the farms themselves for a better tour rate and opted for the longer 30-40 minute sleigh ride.

• Snowmobiling and Ice Fishing Tour: My husband and son went on an adventurous outing that combined high-speed snowmobiling with the chance to drill a hole in a frozen lake and try your hand at ice fishing.

• Snowman World: A playful winter park featuring ice slides, snow sculptures, and a snow maze, perfect for families with young children.

• Santa’s Secret Forest: An immersive Christmas experience set in a quiet, wooded area where children can meet elves, train to be an elf, visit the toy shop or Santa’s command centre, bake gingerbread, and share a private visit with Santa. We booked the workshop experience and didn’t think the experience was worth the price we paid. Unless you’re willing to splurge on the full-day experience, I would skip this.

• SantaPark: An indoor Christmas theme park offering elf-themed activities, crafts, shows, and a chance to visit Santa. This experience was great if you want to stay warm while enjoying some Christmas experiences. The shows were unique to this attraction and quite entertaining.

• Ranua Zoo: A wildlife park home to Arctic animals like polar bears, lynx, and wolves, set along an easy forested walking trail.

• Arktikum: A museum and science center that explores Arctic history, nature, and culture through interactive exhibits and a striking glass architecture, and worth a quick 1-2 hour visit.

• Pilke Science Centre: A small hands-on science museum focused on forests, sustainability, and northern nature, great for younger kids and curious adults.

• Northern Lights Tour: Take a guided northern lights excursion that brings you far from the city lights and into areas with clearer skies for the best chance of seeing the aurora borealis. Many companies offer a viewing guarantee and report success rates of around 97%. We opted for a more affordable bus tour over a private tour. These tours can last 4 to 6 hours and typically depart around 8 pm, so pack snacks, drinks, and something to keep kids entertained. We booked through Viator, which ended up being about 30% cheaper than booking directly with the tour operator, and we earned some cashback through a shopping portal.

Transportation Within Rovaniemi

Car rentals are expensive. Unless you plan on driving to areas outside of Rovaniemi, most travellers won’t need one. You can simply use Uber or Meneva, the local Finnish electric taxi service that lets you book fixed-price rides through their app. Avoid hailing random taxis as they often will try to overcharge you.

To give you a rough idea of cost, we paid 21€ to travel from the airport to the city centre in an UberXL (approximately 15-minute ride).

For getting around locally or travelling to and from the airport, the AirPort Express or Santa Express are convenient options for a nominal fee. Most tour companies include transportation to and from the city centre and Santa Claus Village with their excursions, so a car really isn’t necessary.

Accommodation

Unfortunately there are no big North American chain hotels in Rovaniemi. Instead there are a couple of smaller European hotel chains, standalone hotels, and apartment rentals.

During the off-season, rates are reasonable, but once you move into December, they skyrocket. Most accommodations are also non-refundable during peak season, so make sure your plans are firm or you have cancellation insurance.

You’ll need to decide whether to stay around Santa’s Village or within the city itself. Staying within the Santa Claus Village area is for the most part more expensive than staying within the city. We stayed in both areas to balance out convenience with cost.

Staying in the city has the advantage of being close to more shopping and dining options. Arktikum and the Pilke Science Centre are located in the city. Most tour companies also have their offices in the city centre. Since the city is quite small, you can walk to most places from pretty much anywhere you choose to stay.

Staying around Santa Claus Village may be worth the extra cost if you have young kids and value convenience, if your main goal is to experience the Village’s attractions, or if you’re interested in a more unique accommodation option like an ice hotel or an igloo-style hut with panoramic glass ceilings.

In terms of cost, expect to pay around $500 and up to stay within the city, and roughly $600–$1,500 or more to stay near Santa’s Village for a family of four during the holiday season. Outside the holiday season pricing will be cheaper.

As a family of 5, we stayed in a two-bedroom panoramic penthouse apartment at Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi in the city for $760 a night which offered an apartment-style rental that provided all the conveniences of a home, including a dining area, living room area, kitchen, in-room laundry appliances, and even a sauna!

The laundry was great in allowing us to dry the kids’ gloves and snow pants after playing around in the snow. There is no check-in desk or reception, but instead, an email with keypad codes and instructions to enter your suite are two days prior to arrival.

The location was ideal, just minutes from the tour company offices that serve as meeting points for most excursions, with a company that provides luggage storage and winter gear rentals in the same building complex. Groceries were also available within a 10-minute walk.

The luggage storage was especially useful when we had an early morning tour and wouldn’t be back before check-out, allowing us to explore the city afterward without carrying our bags. Should you want to pack light, you can rent all your winter clothing and boots for 35€ per day or 85€ per week. There are other companies that provide this service as well, so shop around for best pricing.

For the remainder of our stay, we splurged at the Nova Skyland Hotel in a luxury nordic cottage. The hotel is part of the Santa Claus Village complex and takes only a few minutes to walk to the village itself.

The cottage was immaculately clean and designed in a simple Scandinavian style. It was spacious, with a loft, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, and enough beds for up to eight guests. It offered a very comfortable stay, with a dining area, living room, kitchenette, and even a sauna.

There’s also an onsite restaurant open for breakfast and dinner, and a buffet breakfast is included with your stay. If you’d rather cook your own meals, Santa Claus Village has a grocery market where you can buy everything you need.

If you’re travelling to Rovaniemi between October and December and are thinking about booking accommodations with skylights for northern lights viewing, it’s not worth it. Cloud cover is usually too heavy during these months to see anything. Instead, save the money and book a northern lights tour, which will take you outside of Rovaniemi to areas with clearer skies. Otherwise, consider visiting in February or March when conditions are typically better.

To help offset the cost of your accommodation, consider using your TD Rewards acquired through the TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card or Scene points from the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card.

Dining

There are a variety of dining options in Rovaniemi. For the most part, the dining experience within Santa Claus Village wasn’t anything spectacular. There are cafes, quick grab and go options, casual sit down options and slightly more upscale options. The best meals we had were at Restaurant Stella Nova at Nova Skyland Hotel and Restaurant Gallis at the Glass Resort. These options were a bit pricier than other restaurants in the area, but their food was spectacular.

In the city, you’ll find a wider range of dining options, including various international cuisines and even a Japanese/Pan-Asian buffet. For casual meals, we especially enjoyed Pure Burger & Pizza and Café & Bar 21. We didn’t get a chance to try it ourselves, but Taiga also came recommended for traditional Lappish dishes.

Conclusion

Lapland is undeniably expensive, especially in peak winter, but it offers a level of festive magic and Arctic adventure that’s hard to match. From meeting Santa to husky and reindeer rides, snowmobiling, ice karting, and northern lights chases, it’s packed with memorable experiences for families willing to budget for it.

My youngest loved the Santa experiences, while my teen enjoyed the outdoor adventures, but my middle child, who’s past the Santa phase, struggled to find her place. That’s why Lapland truly shines for families with younger kids who still believe in Santa. If your children are at that age, Rovaniemi can be worth the splurge; otherwise, that budget may be better saved for another destination.