Lets get into the good stuff
Below is a breakdown of our most recent 40 hours in Lapland.
Flights were £60 per person with ryanair from Stansted to Rovaniemi, slightly cheaper for the 4 year old. We added one 20kg suitcase about 2 weeks after booking. This trip was booked pretty late; flights were booked in early December. We flew from Stansted at 13:10, there were earlier flights but they were more expensive. We chose Orange parking for convenience, but were moved to green due to maintenance works.
We stayed in an air b&b which was £400 for 7 of us in a 4 bedroom, so £200 for my lot for two nights. There were cheaper options available in the city but we wanted to be out of the city a bit and have outside space for the kids to have space for some relaxed snow play. We booked 3 weeks before departure date. The air b&b was a lovely brick house, with 4 bedrooms (1 with bunkbeds), a kitchen/diner, lounge, wc, shower and sauna. The garden was huge and the scenery was stunning. Out of every window there was forest trees and snow. The property was around a 20/25 minute taxi from the airport, and 15/20 minutes to santa claus village.
After arriving at the property, 2 adults stayed with the children playing in the snow whilst the other 2 adults went to the supermarket. Im not sure about anyone else but I really enjoy looking around supermarkets in other countries. Once we had loaded up on snacks and drinks we headed back in a bolt taxi to the property. The tap water in Finland is safe to drink and some of the cleanest in the world; so we didnt need to get water, just milk, breakfast, snacks etc.
Once dinner had been cooked and everyone was fed, the lads started the fire to get the sauna going. Everyone enjoyed a quick sauna before bed.
Next morning everyone was up early and out the door by 09:15. Our husky sledding was booked for 10:00.
Husky sledding was €50 per child and €60 per adult at santa claus village, it was a 2.5km ride which is about 7/8 mins but feels plenty without blankets etc and the scenery is stunning. We booked this online in advance as the on the day bookings sell out fast. The company is called Santas Husky Rides at Santa Claus Village. I will link all of the companies we used at the end. If you have young ones I do recommend taking a blanket and a face covering and/or goggles.
We then spent the rest of the day at Lapland Winter Park; tickets range from €69-€115 depending which ticket you buy and we used a voucher code which gave €50 off. We got the bundle ticket so €115 euros for adult and €79 euros per child. The ticket price included the park area ticket, buffet lunch with free hot chocolate for children and reindeer sleigh ride. The ticket gives you access to the massive sledging slide - which is the longest in Rovaniemi, ice skating, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, snow ball throwing area, snow carousel and all equipment is included like skis, sledges, ice skates etc. It was not busy and crowded which was nice. Once inside Lapland Winter Park you can pay extra for snow karting which was €69 per person, kids snow mobiles €35 (110cm+), plus adult snowmobiles, e-fat bikes, and sauna world, I am unsure of the prices of these activities as we did not do them. There is also a free shuttle bus which runs from Santa Claus Village (11:30) and from the city, and returns to Santa claus village at 16:30 & 18:00.
We spent hours at Lapland Winter Park and I wish we had longer. We arrived not long after it opened at 11:15, and we headed straight to the restaurant for food (our buffet lunch). The lunch was good and had a few options which changes daily. It was nice to warm up next to the fire in the restaurant after being out all morning playing in snow and the doing the husky sledding. One of the older kids had cold toes so we were able to buy some toe/foot warmers in the restaurant too which were a life saver!
After food we went straight to the snow slide/sledging hill. There are sledges, mats and rubber rings for everyone to use. We spent ages here it was good fun. We then made our way to the reindeer and fed them some lichen (food) which was available for free in buckets next to the enclosure. Then we had a reindeer sleigh ride. The ride was short and sweet but definitely long enough for my lot that dont like sitting still for too long.
After this we went inside the building and geared up for ice skating. They had loads of sizes available for everyone, and helmets if you wanted them. There are learning apparatus for beginners and children, and goals with hockey sticks etc.
Then we went to the kids snow mobiles were the youngest (4) had a few laps on a snow mobile, driving himself. There is a size limit for this activity; 110cm +.
Snow karting was good fun but very bumpy. Take caution if you suffer back problems. Children over a certain height could drive, im unsure on the measurements but 13 year old were allowed to drive.
We went straight back to the slide as most people had left so we had it to ourselves pretty much. Id love to go again to try cross country skiing.
We headed back to scv on the shuttle bus and ate at Santas Burgers and Pizza because everyone was starving. It was expensive and I wouldnt eat there again. We were heading to the garage across the road as they have a good restaurant inside (common in finland) but we ended up at the burger place instead.
After this we got a bolt taxi back to the property and spent the evening having saunas and playing in the snow.
Final morning everyone was up early to pack and have breakfast. We went outside at 07:45 to look for animal tracks in the garden; we found arctic hare tracks, reindeer and moose. The children were very excited. We watched the sun starting to rise over the frozen river, we made snow angels and jumped in knee high snow, before the taxi arrived at 9:00 to take us to the airport for our 11:55 flight home.
All in for our family of 4 the total was roughly £1237
Including our share of taxis which were shared across 4 adults. The price also includes all food (excessive snacks) purchased from the supermarket, our food at Santas Burgers and some small souvenirs.
We used bolt taxis to get around as there is usually a deal on the app. You get 40% off 4 taxi rides if you are a new customer and 25% for previous bolt users. A 4 seater to santa claus village from our air b&b was around €16. Santa claus village was roughly 17 minutes away. The airport taxi cost €30 and was 25 minutes away. There is a free shuttle bus from santa claus village to lapland winter park at 11:30 and returns to scv at 16:30 & 18:00. A taxi to Winter park from santa claus village is roughly €26.
Our 40 hours:
Tues
18:30 - Landed in Rovaniemi
19:45 - bolt taxi to air b&b
20:30 - bolt taxi to supermarket
21:15 - bolt taxi to air b&b
Evening - food & snowplay
Weds
9:15 - bolt to santa claus village
09:30 - play in snow
10:00 - Husky ride
11:00 - bolt to Lapland Winter Park
16:30 - shuttle back to SCV
17:10 - santas burgers
18:00 - bolt to air b&b
Evening - sauna and snow play at b&b
Thurs
7:45 - snow play at b&b
9:15 - bolt to airport
11:55 - flight home
Keep scrolling for more.....
What, where & who....
2.5km Husky ride - Santas Husky Rides, Santa Claus Village
Lapland Winter Park- www.laplandwinterpark.com
Air b&b - www.airbnb.co.uk
Bolt Taxi - https://bolt.eu/en/
Ryan air - www.ryanair.com
Money saving tips from this trip:
We always take pasta bags (Christmas shaped of course) from home to do for dinner, and we buy the onion, sauce, protein etc once there. We take boxed mini cereal for the kids and buy milk on arrival. We always take our own tea bags, coffee and sugar from home to save buying it there and take our own marshmallows and skewers as theyre expensive to buy there. All we buy from the supermarket is bacon, eggs, bread, snacks, juice and some chicken or a sausage to go with the pasta. Obviously pasta is not for everyone and some may think it's pointless but it saves a few euros which can be used towards a souvenir or something instead.
We took 1 suitcase (20kg). We wear our snow boots, ski jackets etc on the plane to save case space. Some people hire snow gear once there but we already had stuff from the first trip. It saves time taking your own stuff as you have nothing to collect on arrival to Lapland but if you only plan on going once you may choose to hire instead. I have no experience in hiring so I am unable to give any idea on cost. Ryanair hand luggage is the smallest of all the budget airlines; we do however manage to fit our thermals, socks, hats, mittens, pyjamas, a book etc in the bags.
We had a voucher code for Lapland Winter Park which helped with the overall cost of the tickets.
It can be cost effective to hire a car; but only if you are confident driving on and in the snow. The hire cars have snow tyres to help. We have not picked this option ourselves as deposits are usually quite high and due to travelling in a group would need a 7 seater or 2 cars so a few taxis are the cheaper option for us.
Keep scrolling for one last thing....
Is it worth booking it DIY?
This trip cost £1237.
I had a look at the cost of a package trip just to get the comparison for you guys (and myself).
The cheapest trip with two of the big providers for 2 adults, 2 children, 2 nights, flying from Stansted. Most packages come with taster sessions for reindeer and huskies which can be 500m - 2.5km. During our 40 hours in Lapland we done 2.5km huskies and 800m reindeer + a whole heap more. Most packages come with snowsuit hire.
Tui self catering - £4244
Canterbury All inclusive - £5400
All in all a pretty good saving for our family. Lapland done cheap. Memory making doesnt need to cost the earth.
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