Journeys · North of the Arctic Circle
Lapland holidays: a winter's tale
Five nights north of the Arctic Circle, where the sun barely rises, the snow squeaks and a fox sets the sky on fire.
- Night oneRovaniemi
- Night twoThe forest
- Night threeSaariselkä
- Night fourLake Inari
- Night fiveJukkasjärvi, Sweden
K Soma, Unsplash
The short answer
Which Lapland holiday is for you
Lapland holidays come in four shapes. A Santa day trip from a UK airport starts at £599 a head. A three-night family break with huskies, reindeer and a private meeting with Santa runs from about £649 to £1,305 each. An aurora escape for two in a glass igloo or a wilderness cabin starts at about £1,059. The once-in-a-lifetime version, a night in the ICEHOTEL or a private lodge with a butler, starts at £1,689 and climbs well past £7,000.
Go from late November to early January for snow and Santa, when prices and queues peak. For the northern lights, go in February or March, when the snow is deepest, the days are longer and the skies are clearest. Below, we tell it as a story, then give you the months, the rooms, the costs for your family and your real odds of seeing the aurora. If the Arctic is a step too far this year, our Christmas markets in Europe, New Year's Eve breaks and catered ski chalets do winter closer to home.
- For little onesThe Santa day tripFrom £599 a personFly out at dawn, meet Santa, ride a reindeer sleigh and a husky sled, and sleep in your own bed.Price it for your family
- The classicThree nights for the familyFrom £649 to £1,305 a personSanta, huskies and reindeer at a pace children can manage, with snowsuits and boots lent.Compare the operators
- For twoThe aurora escapeFrom £1,059 a personThree or four nights far north, with snowmobile and forest hunts for the northern lights.Your aurora odds
- Once in a lifetimeIce rooms and glass roofsFrom £1,689 a personA night at minus five in the ICEHOTEL, or a glass igloo with the aurora above the bed.Where to sleep
Prices checked on 20 October 2026 against operators' and hotels' own pages, linked at the foot of the page. We describe the trip; we have not been hosted.
Night oneRovaniemi · −11°C
Chapter 01 · Arrival
Hop the Arctic Circle
The flight from London takes about three and a half hours, and somewhere over the Gulf of Bothnia the ground below turns white. This winter easyJet, Ryanair, Norwegian and, from 4 December, British Airways fly direct to Rovaniemi from a dozen UK airports. The airport sits 10 km from town, with Santa Claus Village on the way.
In the village square a line is painted across the snow at 66°33′45.9″ north. That is the Arctic Circle. Everyone hops it, jumps it or, if they are under ten, cartwheels it. You are now further north than most of Iceland, in the largest city in Europe by area, and it is barely lunchtime and already getting dark.
Good to know Crossing the line is free. Rovaniemi is the easiest base for first-time Lapland holidays: flights are direct and Santa is ten minutes from the airport.
Night oneSanta Claus Village · −11°C
Chapter 02 · The man himself
A letter to Tähtikuja 1
Santa has a real address: Santa Claus' Main Post Office, Tähtikuja 1, 96930 Arctic Circle, Finland. Almost 25 million letters have reached it from about 200 countries, and at the busiest time of year nearly 30,000 arrive in a day. Children post theirs in the village and get the Arctic Circle postmark.
Meeting Santa in his office is free and needs no booking; only the photographs cost extra. From mid-November to early January an elf in a small red cabin hands out free entrance times, and the queue inside is about an hour. December slots can be gone by midday, so go first thing. SantaPark, a cavern under the hill, is the ticketed alternative, from €42 for adults and €37 for children.
Good to know Package holidays usually arrange a private family meeting with Santa away from the crowds. That alone is why many parents book one.
Night oneRovaniemi · −11°C
Chapter 03 · Kaamos
The blue moment
Around the shortest day the sun barely clears the trees. On 22 December Rovaniemi gets about two hours and a quarter between sunrise and sunset, and further north, in Utsjoki, it does not rise at all for about seven weeks. The Finns call this season kaamos.
It is not black. In the afternoon the sky turns through blue, violet and magenta, a light the locals call the blue moment, and the snow throws it back so the whole forest glows. Walk out into it. Below about minus ten the snow squeaks underfoot, because it is too cold for your boots to melt it and you hear the ice crystals crushing.
Good to know In Rovaniemi it is polar twilight rather than true polar night: the sun still appears briefly. For full kaamos, go north of Inari.
Night twoThe forest · −11°C
Chapter 04 · Huskies
A team of huskies, and you on the runners
You hear them before you see them. A husky yard at the moment the harnesses come out is a riot of howling, and then the team is off and the noise stops dead. All you can hear is the runners hissing and the dogs breathing.
On a longer safari you drive your own team after a briefing: stand on the runners, lean into the bends, keep a foot near the brake. A short ride at Santa Claus Village takes half an hour; drive-your-own safaris run three and a half to five hours. Wilderness Hotel Nellim's two-hour safari starts at €230.
Good to know Most husky tours do not take children under two. Overalls, boots and gloves are usually included.
Night twoA herding farm · −11°C
Chapter 05 · Reindeer
Every reindeer has an owner
Lapland has roughly as many reindeer as people, and every one you meet in the forest belongs to someone. Training one to pull a sleigh takes two to four years; herders pick the big, bold, calm and curious calves. Sleighs like these were how the Sámi travelled long before anyone came to see them.
A typical afternoon goes like this: a drive to a herding farm, a slow sleigh through the trees, then berry juice by a campfire while the herder talks about the animals and the year. In Rovaniemi it costs from about $97 on GetYourGuide for two and a half hours.
Good to know Finnish law forbids disturbing reindeer, and the Sámi Parliament asks visitors to meet them only with the owner's guidance. It also asks that nobody wears Sámi dress for tourists, so choose Sámi-run experiences where you can.
Night threeSaariselkä · Below −10°C
Chapter 06 · Glass igloos
A bed under a glass sky
Kakslauttanen, near Saariselkä, has been open since 1974, and its log chalet in the East Village is, it says, where the story of the glass igloo began. You lie in a warm bed under a curved glass roof, with the snow outside and the stars above, and wait.
The small igloos have their own shower, toilet and sauna. Northern lights alarms are included, so you can sleep and be woken if the sky starts to move. Winter stays with breakfast and dinner start at €501 a night; autumn half-board rates, before the snow, from €278.
Good to know The igloos run from about the third week of August to the end of April. Ivalo airport is about 40 minutes away.
Night threeAbove the fells · Below −10°C
Chapter 07 · Revontulet
The night the fox ran
In Finnish the northern lights are revontulet, fox fires. In the old story a magical fox runs across the fells, and where its tail brushes the snow, sparks fly up into the sky.
It starts as a faint grey arc you might mistake for cloud, until your camera turns it green. Then it brightens, folds and begins to move, curtains rippling from one horizon to the other, sometimes edged in pink. The Finnish Meteorological Institute says the best hours are roughly 9pm to 1am, peaking around midnight. In the far north they appear on about three clear nights in four.
Good to know No one can promise the aurora. Tours sold as guaranteed offer a free re-do or a refund, not a sighting. Our odds and tips are further down.
Night fourLake Inari · Below −10°C
Chapter 08 · The wilderness
No road, no lights, no hurry
Wilderness Hotel Nellim stands on the shore of Lake Inari, about 45 minutes from Ivalo, with no public transport to it. That is the point: no towns, no street lamps, dark skies. Its glass-roofed Aurora Cabins start at €648 a night.
Days here are for the frozen lake. You can drill a hole and fish through the ice, ride a snowmobile across the bay, then sit by the fire in a kota, the round wooden hut of the north, with the smoke going straight up through the roof. At night the hotel's guides check the forecast before they take you out to hunt the lights.
Good to know Snowmobile drivers must be 18 with a full driving licence. Children under 15 ride in a sledge towed by the guide.
Night fiveJukkasjärvi, Sweden · −5°C inside
Chapter 09 · Over the border
A room carved from the river
In 1989 a gallery of ice art went up beside the Torne River at Jukkasjärvi. When the cabins were full, guests asked to sleep in it, and the ICEHOTEL was born. Every winter it is rebuilt from river ice, in blocks of up to two tons, and every spring it melts back into the river.
Twelve art suites are made by different artist teams each year. Inside it is about minus five. You sleep in a sleeping bag on reindeer hides, behind a curtain rather than a door, and wake to warm lingonberry juice. From December to April you can even arrive by dog sled from Kiruna airport, a 75-minute ride. ICEHOTEL 37 opens on 11 December 2026.
Good to know This is a separate trip from Finnish Lapland: there are no direct UK flights to Kiruna, so you change in Stockholm. Most people sleep one night in the ice and two in a warm room.
The last morningBack on the river · From 80°C to below zero
Chapter 10 · Sauna
Heat, then the hole in the ice
Every good tale ends warm. In Rovaniemi, riverside saunas sit beside a hole cut in the ice; you sweat, then lower yourself into the black water, then sweat again. An hour with towel, slippers and a hot drink costs from €55, from November to May.
Across the border at Arctic Bath, on the Lule River, the spa floats in summer and freezes into the ice in winter, with an open-air cold plunge at its heart. Climb out, steam rising off you, the forest silent and the light finally pink. Then the drive back to the airport, and a sky you will be looking for over Manchester for weeks.
Good to know Bring swimwear. If you only do one thing that is not on the brochure, make it this.
When to go
The best month for Lapland holidays
Lapland holidays run from late August, when the first auroras return, to early April, when the snow is deepest and the days are long. Tap a month.
September
The first auroras of the season over red and gold forests, at the lowest prices. No snow, no Santa.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 13 hours
- Average temperature
- 4°C to 11°C
- Northern lights
- Season under way; one of the two best stretches
- Snow
- None yet
- Crowds and prices
- Quiet; hotels on autumn rates
- Best for
- Autumn colours and early auroras
October
Long dark nights and strong aurora odds while the crowds are elsewhere. Snow is a gamble.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 9 hours
- Average temperature
- −2°C to 3°C
- Northern lights
- Strong
- Snow
- First snow possible
- Crowds and prices
- Very quiet before the season
- Best for
- Aurora on a budget
November
Direct flights start mid-month and the snow usually settles. Late November is the cheapest time to see Santa.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 6 hours
- Average temperature
- −7°C to −2°C
- Northern lights
- Good
- Snow
- Snow cover usually arrives
- Crowds and prices
- Builds from mid-month as UK flights start
- Best for
- Santa before the rush
December
The Lapland of Christmas cards: deep snow, fairy lights, Santa, and about two and a half hours of sun. Book early and expect to pay the most.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 2½ hours
- Average temperature
- −11°C to −4°C
- Northern lights
- Good, but often cloudy
- Snow
- Reliable
- Crowds and prices
- Peak: the highest prices and longest queues
- Best for
- Santa and Christmas magic
January
The coldest month, but the crowds have gone and prices drop. The light starts coming back.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 4 hours
- Average temperature
- −14°C to −7°C
- Northern lights
- Good
- Snow
- Deep
- Crowds and prices
- Quiet after New Year, prices fall
- Best for
- Cold, quiet, cheaper
February
Our pick for couples: the aurora peaks, the snow is deep and there are eight hours of daylight for the huskies.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 8 hours
- Average temperature
- −13°C to −7°C
- Northern lights
- Peak season
- Snow
- Deep
- Crowds and prices
- Busy at UK half-term
- Best for
- Aurora and snow together
March
Twelve hours of light for activities, dark nights for the lights, and the least cloud of the year.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 12 hours
- Average temperature
- −9°C to −2°C
- Northern lights
- Peak, with the clearest skies of the year
- Snow
- Deep, bright spring snow
- Crowds and prices
- Steady
- Best for
- The best all-rounder
April
Spring skiing in sunshine and the last chance of an aurora in the first days of the month. Some hotels close.
- Daylight in Rovaniemi
- About 15 hours
- Average temperature
- −4°C to 4°C
- Northern lights
- Ends early in the month
- Snow
- Lasting, melting by May
- Crowds and prices
- Quiet; spring skiing
- Best for
- Long days on the snow
Daylight and temperature for Rovaniemi, from the Finnish Meteorological Institute's long-term averages; further north, around Inari and Kiruna, days are shorter and nights colder.
Where to sleep
Glass igloos, ice rooms and treehouses: where to stay on Lapland holidays
Glass igloo · Saariselkä, Finland
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
Where the glass igloo began: a warm bed under a curved glass roof, with your own sauna and an aurora alarm.
From €501 a night, breakfast and dinner
See the igloos
Glass igloo · Lake Inari, Finland
Wilderness Hotel Nellim
Glass-roofed Aurora Cabins on a wild lake shore, with no public transport and no light pollution.
From €648 a night, Aurora Cabin
See the cabins
Treehouse · Rovaniemi, Finland
Arctic TreeHouse Hotel
Green-roofed suites on stilts in the forest, each built around a full-height window, next door to SantaPark.
From €367 a night, breakfast in most rates
See the suites
Treehouse · Harads, Sweden
Treehotel
Rooms by famous architects in the pines, including the Mirrorcube, a mirrored box that vanishes into the forest.
From SEK 6,900 for two with breakfast, Mirrorcube
See the treerooms
Ice room · Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
ICEHOTEL
Rebuilt from river ice every winter, with twelve art suites at minus five. Most guests add two warm nights.
From £1,689 a person, 3 nights with flights (Kirker)
See ICEHOTEL 37
Spa · Harads, Sweden
Arctic Bath
A ring-shaped spa that freezes into the Lule River each winter, with cabins on the ice and a cold plunge at its centre.
From SEK 6,995 a night for the room
See the cabins
Wilderness · Near Rovaniemi, Finland
Octola Private Wilderness
A five-star lodge on 400 private hectares, with a butler, a chef and a wood-fired sauna. Sleeps up to 24.
From €12,000 Visit Finland's guide price
See Octola
Wilderness · Near Saariselkä, Finland
Wilderness Hotel Muotka
A full-board wilderness hotel with Aurora Kotas, a bar open late and hunts on foot or by snowmobile.
From £1,515 a person, 3 nights full board with flights
See the trip
City base · Rovaniemi, Finland
Arctic Light Hotel
A family-owned boutique hotel in a historic building in the centre of town, with Polar Rooms that have their own sauna.
From €116 a night, Arctic Room
See the rooms
Photographs show the kind of room, not always the named hotel. Room prices vary night by night; each figure is the lowest we found on 20 October 2026, on the hotel's own site, Mr & Mrs Smith, Visit Finland or the tour operator named.
What it costs
What Lapland holidays cost for your family
Most Lapland holidays are sold per person, so the bill grows fast with a family. Move the sliders to see the from price for your group on five real trips, from a day trip to a private chalet with a chef. Pricing Lapland holidays for two? Set the sliders to two adults and no children.
From prices are per person for the dates shown, from UK airports, with flights and transfers. Child prices are as published; where an operator gives only one price, we use it for everyone.
Day trip
Winter Wonderland
Flights from regional airports, a private family meeting with Santa, taster reindeer, husky and snowmobile rides, thermals lent. December, up to Christmas Eve.
Transun£2,396for 4, from £599 an adult
3 nights, half board
Santa Break in Levi
Flights, a hotel in Levi, a half-day with Santa's elves and a private Santa visit. Activities are extra. From Manchester, 29 Nov 2026, three sharing.
Inghams£2,596for 4, from £649 an adult
3 nights, full board
Magical Interlude
Full board with reindeer, huskies, snowmobile lessons and a private Santa meeting. From Manchester, 29 Nov 2026. Children pay less.
Canterbury Travel£5,220for 4, from £1,305 an adult
Christmas Day in Lapland
Christmas at Luosto
Four nights over Christmas, from Manchester on 23 Dec 2026, with a sleigh ride to Santa's house.
Canterbury Travel£7,720for 4, from £1,980 an adult
Private and tailor-made
A magical trip to Father Christmas
Three nights in a Rovaniemi chalet with a private chef, guides and Santa visit. Its US site says international flights are extra.
Scott Dunn£28,000for 4, from £7,000 an adult
Fox fires
Your chances of seeing the northern lights
The Finnish Meteorological Institute says that in the far north of Lapland, around Kilpisjärvi and Utsjoki, the northern lights appear on about three nights in four when the sky is clear. Around Sodankylä it is about every other clear night. In northern Lapland a Kp index of just 1 or 2 can be enough.
The catch is the cloud. A clear sky matters more than anything else, which is why February and March, with the clearest skies, are the best months for an aurora on Lapland holidays. In Helsinki, by contrast, they show about once a month.
- Go as far north as you canInari, Saariselkä and the fells around Enontekiö sit in the band where the aurora is most frequent, away from city lights.
- Watch the clouds, not just the forecastCheck satellite cloud images as well as the aurora forecast, and drive to a clear patch if you can.
- Stay up from 9pm to 1amThe odds peak around midnight. Start watching from about 6pm on a strong night.
- Avoid the full moonMoonlight washes out faint displays. Check the moon's phase before you book.
- Let something wake youKakslauttanen includes aurora alarms, and Visit Rovaniemi runs a free Northern Lights Alert app.
- Trust the cameraA long exposure picks up a faint aurora that looks grey to the eye. A phone on a small tripod will do.
Before you fly
What to pack for Lapland holidays
- Thermals are usually lentInghams lends snowsuits and boots from age 3, and Transun and Canterbury Travel include them. Bring your own for under-3s.
- Layers underneathWool or synthetic base layers, a fleece, two pairs of socks, a hat that covers your ears and mittens rather than gloves.
- SwimwearFor the sauna and the hole in the ice. Hotel saunas are usually mixed, so most people keep a costume on.
- Your passportIssued in the last 10 years and valid for three months after you leave. The EU's Entry/Exit System takes fingerprints and a photo at your first entry.
- Euros and kronor, mostly on cardFinland uses euros and Swedish Lapland kronor. ICEHOTEL is cash-free.
- A small tripodFor the aurora. Hand warmers for the phone help too: batteries drain fast in the cold.
Questions people ask
Lapland holidays, answered
How much do Lapland holidays cost?
From £599 a person for a Santa day trip with Transun, around £649 to £1,305 a person for a three-night family break with Inghams or Canterbury Travel, and from £1,980 for Christmas week itself. Aurora or ICEHOTEL breaks for two start around £1,059 to £1,689 a person, and private tailor-made trips run from £3,000 to £7,000 a person and more.
When is the best time to go to Lapland?
For Santa and snow, late November to early January, when queues and prices peak. For the northern lights, the Finnish Meteorological Institute rates September, October, February and March best. February and March also bring deep snow, eight to twelve hours of daylight and, in March, the least cloud.
Is a day trip to Lapland worth it?
It is the cheapest way to see Santa: Transun's day trip from £599 includes flights, thermals, a private Santa meeting and taster snowmobile, reindeer and husky rides. You get only a few hours on the ground, so for the aurora and longer safaris you need at least three nights.
Where is the best place to see the northern lights in Lapland?
As far north as you can go. The Finnish Meteorological Institute says the aurora shows on about three in four clear nights around Kilpisjärvi and Utsjoki, against roughly every other clear night around Sodankylä. Inari, Saariselkä and Enontekiö sit in that northern band, away from city lights.
How cold is Lapland in December?
Visit Rovaniemi gives a typical December range of −20°C to −10°C, and long-term averages are about −11°C at night and −4°C by day. The sun is up for only about two and a half hours, which is why operators lend thermal suits and boots.
What age is best for Lapland?
Operators take children from about two: Transun's day trip is 2+ and Inghams lends thermals from age 3. Most of the Santa magic lands with under-10s. Some adventures have higher limits: snowmobile drivers must be 18 with a licence, and Rovaniemi's ice floating is 12+.
Can you fly direct to Lapland from the UK?
Yes. This winter easyJet, Ryanair, Norwegian and British Airways fly direct to Rovaniemi from airports including Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle and Belfast. easyJet also flies to Kittilä and BA to Ivalo. The flight takes about three and a half hours; for Kiruna and the ICEHOTEL you change in Stockholm.
Is Santa Claus Village free?
Yes. There is no entrance fee to Santa Claus Village, about 8 km north of Rovaniemi, and meeting Santa in his office is free with no booking; photographs cost extra. From mid-November to early January collect a free entry time from an elf and allow about an hour in the queue.
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