flywithlivThere is nothing as thrilling as spending a weekend in the arctic circle where the temperatures hit as low as -30 degrees celcius and the snow reaches up to your knees. Yes, these really are the conditions in Rovaniemi, a town located in northern Finland. However, do not be afraid! You will definitely have fun in the land of saunas, reindeer and Santa Claus!
Here is my weekend itinerary for Rovaniemi, Finland.
Evening 1: Flight to Rovaniemi
Firstly, your flight will most likely have a layover through Helsinki, Finland. This is due to the remote location and small size of the Rovaniemi airport. However, they are quite efficient with this transfer, and next thing you know you’ll be on a 1 hour and 20 minute flight to the arctic circle.
Once you arrive to the airport in Rovaniemi, there is a bus shuttle that comes after every flight to take people into the city centre. It drives into Rovaniemi for 7 Euros, and can often drop you off at the steps of your hotel. Just make sure to ask the driver of the shuttle if they can drive you to your specific accommodation! If this is not an option for you, then there are taxis you can take to your place of stay.
Once you check in to your accommodation, set your stuff down and turn on that sauna in your bathroom to heat it up (hopefully you have read my post on everything you need to know about rovaniemi and have ensured that you have a sauna in your room!!!). In the meantime, unpack, eat something, and make a plan. Once the sauna is hot, hop in and relax – you are on a nordic vacation! (Can you imagine this is the daily life of a Fin?) Once you are done, take a shower and head to bed. You have a big day tomorrow!
Day 1: Adventure time
This is the day for some winter activities! The best part is you don’t have to plan anything – you will just have to show up! Today you will be attending 1-2 tours of your own choice, all booked on TripAdvisor when you booked your trip.
A shuttle will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the first stop – the Santa Claus Village. However, this a short stop because you are just getting geared up for the cold! You are given a thick onsie snowsuit to wear ON TOP of your winter clothes because it’s probably -20 degrees today. Prepare to look like a marshmallow, but don’t worry, you will be warm!
Reindeer farm
Your first leg of the tour is the reindeer farm located within the forest. Right away, you head to meet the Reindeer, feed them breakfast, and learn ALL about them!
- One of my favourite parts of this tour is just how much you learn about the animals and their history for the Finnish people! It helps you to understand them a little bit more and appreciate them.
Soon after this, you are taken to the reindeer sleigh for a ride! It’s just a quick circle around the forest.
- My honest take: This was probably my least favourite part of the tour. The reindeer… well, the reindeer aren’t very friendly or happy animals, at least at this farm. It’s not too surprising because I also wouldn’t be happy having to drag groups of people through the snow everyday. It’s not necessarily the “Santa’s sleigh” experience you may be hoping for, just a warning to you. To be honest, I feel quite bad for them and I probably wouldn’t do a sleigh experience again.
At this point, you get off the sled and you can feel that it’s -25 degrees outside, so you are taken into a hot for some warming up. You are given some hot blueberry juice, a cinnamon bun, and get to sit around the fire to warm up, while you learn more about the reindeer. It really is quite a cozy and lovely time.
Don’t get too fed though, because now you’re off to lunch! And lunch is buffet style, woohoo!
- The lunch was absolutely delicious, Finnish cuisine. We started with some salmon soup. There was other food as well, finishing off with some blueberry scones for desert. You definitely leave well fed!
Husky sleigh ride
The next stop is a visit to the Huskies! These are a wild bunch, you can hear them howling and crying from miles away. Yes, they are crying! They are not howling because they’re sad about running, but because they CAN’T WAIT TO RUN!
There are 12 dogs already warmed up and ready to run. In pairs, you will sit on the sled with the sled driver behind you directing the crew of huskies. It’s freezing cold especially on this short ride – so bundle up!!! After this, you go into the hut that has a cozy fire going, and you get fed gingerbread cookies and hot blueberry juice to warm up.
- My honest take: my favourite part of this tour was the husky ride!!!! Unlike the reindeer, the huskies were EXCITED to run and it was a pleasure to be lead by such an ecstatic team of dogs. The only thing I wish I could change about this husky ride is I wish it were longer and an actual ride through the fields of the arctic circle – the ride on the tour is a race course around a small forested area.
Santa Claus Village
The last stop of the tour is the Santa Village. It is exciting because it is technically the Santa Claus Village we all grew up dreaming about – what could it look like? It’s a cute little village with elves, reindeer, a post office – and anything you would imagine at Santa Claus’s village. You can go to Santa’s office and learn about his travels around the world, you can meet Mrs. Claus and hear about the Finish lapland. Whatever you might imagine about Santa Claus’s village – it’s probably there.
My honest take: While the experience is meant to be magical, the magic kind of disappears when you realize you have to pay for almost every experience at the village. Taking a picture with Santa Claus is 25 euros, requesting a letter from Santa Claus at the post office is 9 euros. On the bright side, the village is placed right at the Arctic Circle, so there’s a cool post to commemorate your travels to the Arctic Circle. Super cute!
After 2 hours in the village, you are taken back to your hotel in Rovaniemi by the tour staff.
Once you get home, get ready to relax before your big night! You can watch some Finnish TV, go out to eat at a nice restaurant, have some time in the sauna. Or, like we did, take a nap!
Northern Lights Tour
Tonight you will be going out to chase the Northern Lights! When booking this event, it will be something you want to book ahead of time. TripAdvisor allows cancellations sometimes within 2 days of your tour – this is key. It is highly recommended that you talk to some local Fins when you arrive in Finland to find out about the possibility of seeing the northern lights on your tour date. You see, the northern lights are dependent on solar activity, weather, and light pollution. The locals who have lived in Rovaniemi forever are experts and they will know if it’s worth paying for the tour.
While it’s possible to see the northern lights without the tour, it will be much harder to see them due to the light pollution in the city. Much like the stars, it is best to see the northern lights when it is pitch black. On this tour, you are taken to the best sites in the lapland to chase the northern lights. You are taken on frozen lakes, empty fields, and to warm up, you are fed with (can you guess?) some hot blueberry juice and gingerbread cookies!
My honest take: The tour is great, actually. The only thing that could go wrong on this tour is the northern lights may not be visible – like they weren’t on mine. It was unfortunate, but it is always a possibility. To emphasize, seeing the northern lights all comes down to luck. So, hopefully when you visit Finland, luck is on your side!
Day 2
Today is a day for some more adventure of your own choosing!
- Option #1 – At 10 A.M. you will hop on the Rovaniemi-Pello bus for 35 minutes to head to the Arctic SnowHotel! This is a hotel built entirely from snow and ice! Every year it is rebuilt with a different design and interior! This is a popular attraction, open only from December 15 to March 31. It’s a cool tourist attraction to check out, and if it is of interest of you, you can even stay here for a night or two!
- Option #2 – Explore the city of Rovaniemi! You can walk around the parks, cross the Lumberjack Candle Bridge (Jätkänkynttilä), go take a polar dip at the Ice Hole swimming facility and warm up in the sauna. Take some pictures in the ice covered trees and the deep, white snow. And, if the ice is frozen enough, you could possibly go skating!
Once you get back from these adventures, head over to the Arctic hotel for a wonderful, warm Finish dinner – the perfect way to end off your Finish Arctic adventure.
When you finish, you can get the restaurant staff or hotel staff to call you a taxi to the airport.
Overall, depending on what you want out of your adventure, you can pick and choose different tours on TripAdvisor and other websites I have linked. There are many fun and beautiful accommodations to choose from and worth experiencing if you can afford it. But even if you can’t, there’s opportunity for a relaxing experience for everyone.
One thing that I know is true: North Finland is a beautiful adventure.
