A magical, snowy landscape greeted us when we landed at Rovaniemi. We were in for an epic arctic adventure filled with the magic of Christmas and the thrill of winter adventures.
We chose to spend our time in Lapland based in Rovaniemi as there were child friendly options for all the activities we wanted to do within an hours drive of the city.
The dreary grey January skies of London were left behind as we hopped on a three hour EasyJet flight from Luton to Rovaniemi. We booked the flights in August when the prices dropped significantly to just £100pp return.
The SantaSport hotel in Rovaniemi was the most reasonably priced place we could find to stay. The hotel boasts a soft play, restaurant, bowling alley, winter activities equipment hire (from sleds to bicycles!) and a swimming pool (check the Finnish rules on swimwear before diving in!). We booked a suite with a kitchenette and two bedrooms for £662 which was perfect for self catering lunches and dinners, while breakfast was included.
Four days isn’t a long time, but we were able to tick off everything on our list… here are our favourite activities with children aged 5 and 9.
1. Hit the slopes
Head to Ounasvaara Ski Resort in Rovaniemi to hit the slopes. Whether it’s your first time skiing or you’re a seasoned snowboarder, they have slopes and equipment for everyone.
The boys had never been skiing before so we booked them in for a 45m lesson (including 2 hours of equipment hire for €74 each. The instructor was so kind and patient with them, and before long they had mastered the key moves and were flying down the slopes.
2. Husky Sledding
By far the kids’ favourite activity was husky sledding. There are so many options for this activity so be sure to check the length of the sledding, whether you drive yourself and the trail surroundings to find the right fit for you.
We booked with Wolf Trail for a 5km exhilarating self-drive adventure through twisting forest trails. This was followed by time to pet the dogs, and a warm drink in the riverside cabin. The boys were wrapped up in blankets to keep warm and we were given detailed training on how to drive the sled… it seemed a little overwhelming at first but we got the hang of it!
3. Ice Skate through the frozen Forest
The most magical moment was ice skating through a frozen snowy forest, along 1km of winding ice trails at Kotatieva. For young children there were little seats on skates to push around, and for older children (and nervous adults!) there were skate supports available to use. The boys also enjoyed a game of ice hockey, rode sleds down the hill, fed the reindeer and spun on the traditional Finnish sleigh carousel. We even splashed out on a fireside lunch in the cabin too.
We spent four hours playing and exploring here, which was the entirety of the daylight hours in January.
4. Ice Bars and Restaurants
The culinary experiences in Rovaniemi range from cozy fireside dinners in log cabins to drinking from cups made of ice in an igloo.
There’s nothing quite like sitting in a restaurant made of snow, at a dining table made of ice, eating a deliciously warming dinner! There are a few ice bars and restaurants near Rovaniemi, but we went to the easiest to reach (and most reasonably priced) child friendly option in Snowman World.
The walls were beautifully sculpted and they catered for the children with a kids food menu and special snowman hot chocolates with cream and sprinkles.
5. Embrace the winter fun
There are endless opportunities for little thrill-seekers to fling themselves down hills and across ice in Rovaniemi.
Sleds can be borrowed from most hotels or hired from equipment centres (€6 per day) and provide hours of entertainment for little thrill seekers. We were out into the dark (any time past 4pm) most nights sledding down the hill near our hotel!
Snowman World (€29pp) has a little ice rink, snow slides (big and small for kids of all ages), ice slides and snow labyrinth to explore in a safe environment.
There’s an ice skating rink in the centre of town too at Lordi’s Square.
Bonus: Visit Santa Claus
No visit to Lapland is complete without a visit to Santa. We stopped by the Santa Clause Village just outside Rovaniemi to meet the ‘real’ Father Christmas.
The experience was free but still felt quite commercial (exit through the gift shop!), however Santa did tell each of the boys individually very specific things they needed to do to stay on the nice list this year… which was surprisingly accurate for each of them!
Also at Santa Claus Village, you’ll find lots of shops, restaurants and mini experiences like short reindeer sleigh rides. We didn’t do any as they seemed a little overpriced but it’s an option if you’re short on time.
Extra activities
We couldn’t fit everything into our itinerary, so here are a few extra activities we would have loved to do with a little extra time!
- Chasing the Northern Lights. There’s a great guide to the best spots to see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi, how to photograph them etc by the Rovaniemi Tourism Board here.
- Ice breaker boats. Set sail across the frozen seas, walk on the ice and swim in the frozen water (in a warm suit!) – Polar Icebreakers is one of the companies that do this. This one’s for families with older children, and we will be going back to do this another time!
- Reindeer sleigh rides. These are a slower, steadier alternative to husky sledding and are widely available across Rovaniemi. There’s also many opportunities to feed and pet reindeer too.
If you’re planning to explore Lapland with kids, here are our top tips for ensuring a memorable and budget friendly adventure!
- Pack lots of layers. You’ll be spending most of the time outside, and to really enjoy yourself in -13°C requires layers! Base layers (Decathlon), wool jumpers, and thermal ski suits for the kids (Didriksons). Along with hats, wool socks, gloves (mittens are better to avoid the battle of getting fingers in properly 500 times a day) and buffs.
- Visit January to March. Everyone visits in November / December, but that means it’s very busy, there are long queues and it’s so much more expensive. If you visit Jan-Mar there will be more snow, less people and it’s cheaper.
- Book it yourself. We saved £2,700 just on the cost of flights and accommodation by booking them ourselves directly rather than with a package holiday company.
- Plan for daylight hours. There are just 3-4 hours of daylight during winter months so be sure to plan activities accordingly. Most places are set up to operate in the darkness but it might be a consideration for planning when to do activities.
- Hire a car. Taxis are expensive and car hire is relatively reasonably priced (£389 for three days). All hire cars are equipped for driving in snowy conditions and have breakdown cover included. We found driving conditions were manageable as the roads are well maintained, ploughed and well-lit.
- Northern Lights App: Download the Northern Lights Alert App which monitors Northern Light activity across Lapland, sharing live video feeds and alerts.
- It’s expensive. Be prepared, Finland is an expensive place to visit. We saved a lot of money by self catering and having supermarket snacks and drinks with us for the kids instead of eating out.
Here’s what we spent over four days / three nights as a family of four.
Flights (x 4) London to Rovaniemi return = £445
Hotel (family suite inc breakfast) = £662
Food (supermarket shop for all lunch, drinks & dinners) = £78
Car hire x 3 days = £389 (+£45 diesel)
Activities = £890 total
- Forest ice skating x 4 people = £108
- Husky Sledding (5km) and reindeer visit x 4 people = £488
- Skiing (45m lesson + 2hr skiing inc equipment hire) for two children = £122
- Snowman Land & Ice Restaurant Lunch x 4 people = £172
- Visiting Santa = £0
- Sledding = £0
Grand total = £2,509
How I Wander 