When to go to Finnish Lapland?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: December to March (snow, northern lights) and August to September (ruska autumn colours)
At a glance
Why go to Finnish Lapland?
Finnish Lapland covers 100,000 km², almost a third of the country, with fewer than 180,000 inhabitants and around 200,000 reindeer. That ratio says it all: here you find emptiness, snow from November to May and a night that lasts twenty hours in December. It is also the most accessible region of the European Arctic, with three airports served from Helsinki in 1h20, roads ploughed around the clock and an infrastructure of resorts, hotels and guides that has been running for forty years. You can sleep under a glass roof and watch the aurora without leaving your bed.
Winter brings together the activities that make the trip: husky sledding through the forests, snowmobiling across frozen lakes, snowshoeing to the huts of Urho Kekkonen National Park, downhill skiing at Levi or Ylläs until 19:00 under floodlights, sauna followed by a hole in the ice. From Rovaniemi northwards, the northern lights show on average one clear night in two, more often towards Inari and Saariselkä. December draws families around Father Christmas, while February and March bring longer days, clearer skies more often and firm snow for long outings.
The other Lapland is that of summer and autumn. From June to mid-July the sun never sets, and you hike at midnight in Pallas-Yllästunturi or Lemmenjoki national parks, where people still pan for gold. In September, the ruska sets the dwarf birches and the tunturi fells ablaze in yellow and red for two weeks, the mosquitoes have gone and the first auroras return over the lakes. Sami culture, with the Siida museum and the parliament in Inari, gives all of this a depth that the snow alone cannot convey.
Map of Finnish Lapland: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Rovaniemi
- Saariselkä and Inari
- Levi
- Ylläs and Pallas
- Kemi
- Kilpisjärvi
How much does a trip to Finnish Lapland cost?
Lapland is expensive in winter: accommodation, guided activities at €100-200 an outing and restaurants weigh heavily, while the flight remains reasonable. A chalet base with a kitchen, two well-chosen paid activities and the rest done independently, snowshoeing or aurora-watching on foot, halves the bill.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €90-130/day | Hostel or shared chalet, supermarket shopping, independent snowshoeing and aurora-watching, one paid activity during the stay |
| Comfort | €180-260/day | Chain hotel with a sauna, one guided activity a day, dinner out every other evening, hire car |
| Premium | €450-700/day | A night in a glass igloo, private husky and snowmobile safaris, transfers included, the Sampo icebreaker |
Everything is paid in euros and by card, including reindeer huts and sausage kiosks. Cash is almost unnecessary. Activity prices are fixed and displayed, with no haggling, and tipping is not expected.
Is Finnish Lapland safe?
Lapland is one of the safest regions in Europe, with no notable crime and efficient emergency services. The real risk is the cold: at -25°C, bare skin freezes in a few minutes in a strong wind, so you need three layers, a hat, mittens rather than gloves and lined boots one size up. Hotels and rental shops provide overalls and boots for activities. On the road, reindeer cause several thousand collisions every year, especially at dusk, and skidding on snow-covered roads is not unusual. When hiking, the isolation means you should tell someone your route and not rely on mobile coverage in the parks. July's mosquitoes are a nuisance, not a danger. The European Health Insurance Card covers routine care.
What to see and do in Finnish Lapland
- Northern lights at Saariselkä
- Urho Kekkonen National Park
- Levi ski resort
- Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park
- Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi
- Siida Museum in Inari
- Sampo icebreaker in Kemi
- Kilpisjärvi and Mount Saana
Rovaniemi
The capital of Lapland, 65,000 inhabitants, rebuilt after its destruction in 1944 to a plan shaped like a reindeer's head drawn up by Alvar Aalto. Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle, the Arktikum museum and its exhibition on the peoples of the North, the Jätkänkynttilä bridge over the Kemijoki and Ounasvaara hill for skiing in town make up the essentials. It is the best-connected gateway, with seasonal direct flights from Europe and a station served by the night train from Helsinki. Husky and reindeer farms are 20 minutes away by road.
Saariselkä and Inari
The far-north duo. Saariselkä, a resort of 300 inhabitants 250 km north of Rovaniemi, is the base for Urho Kekkonen National Park and an aurora-watching spot beneath the auroral oval. Inari, 40 km further on, borders Finland's third-largest lake, 1,040 km² with more than 3,000 islands, and is the centre of Sami culture with the Siida museum, the Sajos parliament and the wooden church of Pielpajärvi, reached on foot by a 5 km trail. Glass-igloo hotels and aurora villages have multiplied around them, with prices to match.
Levi
The country's biggest ski resort, 15 minutes from Kittilä airport, with 43 runs, a gondola and a World Cup race every November. Levi works like an Alpine resort, with chalets to rent, après-ski and a very organised range of activities: snowmobile safaris, husky sledding, ice fishing, a floating sauna. The village is flat and compact, and everything is within walking distance. It is the simplest option for combining skiing and Arctic activities without a car, and the liveliest in February during the Finnish school holidays.
Ylläs and Pallas
The wilder side. Ylläs, the country's second ski area with 63 runs, spreads between two villages, Äkäslompolo and Ylläsjärvi, on the edge of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. The park offers 350 km of marked trails, a hut every 10 km and fells including Taivaskero at 807 m. At Pallastunturi, an isolated hotel at the foot of the summits serves as a base for cross-country skiing and the northern lights, with no stray light at all. The Hetta-Pallas trail, 55 km over four days, is one of Finland's classic summer hikes.
Kemi
A port town of 20,000 people on the Gulf of Bothnia, 115 km south of Rovaniemi, where two attractions justify a stop. The Sampo icebreaker heads out every winter day to smash through the pack ice, with a swim in the frozen water in a survival suit. The LumiLinna snow castle, rebuilt every year since 1996, has since 2019 had a space open all year round with an ice restaurant and rooms at -5°C. The night train from Helsinki stops here, so you can start the trip on the frozen sea before heading north.
Kilpisjärvi
Finland's finger, wedged between Sweden and Norway 470 km from Rovaniemi. It is the country's only real mountain area, with Saana at 1,029 m, Halti at 1,324 m, the national high point, and lakes at 480 m altitude where snow lingers until June. Hikers come for the Saana loop, the Three-Country Cairn and treks towards Halti. In winter, the village sees snowmobilers and aurora photographers, who enjoy one of the darkest skies in Finland. The Norwegian coast and its fjords are 50 km away.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Four nights at a single base let you string together winter activities without rushing, while a week allows two bases, for example Rovaniemi then Saariselkä, or Levi then Ylläs. In summer, ten days by car up to Kilpisjärvi or Inari make a proper crossing.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Finnish Lapland guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Finland
Family winter (4 days)
Based in Rovaniemi. Day 1: Santa Claus Village in the morning, the Arktikum museum in the afternoon, sauna at the hotel. Day 2: a 10 km husky safari through the forest, then a reindeer farm and a reindeer-driving licence. Day 3: snowmobiling on the frozen Kemijoki or a day at Ranua to see polar bears and lynx, with an evening aurora hunt by minibus. Day 4: skiing or sledging at Ounasvaara, 15 minutes from the centre, before the evening flight. Book activities before you leave in December, on the spot in January.
Northern lights and the far north (1 week)
Fly to Ivalo. Three nights in Saariselkä: snowshoeing to Luulampi in Urho Kekkonen National Park, snowmobiling to Lake Inari, and out every evening from 21:00 to watch for the aurora. Two nights in Inari: the Siida museum, a walk to Pielpajärvi church, ice fishing with a Sami guide. Back south via Rovaniemi: Santa Claus Village, the Sampo icebreaker at Kemi as a day trip, or a night in a glass cabin near the town. This format gives you five nights of watching beneath the auroral oval, the best odds for seeing the northern lights.
Ruska and midnight sun (10 days by car)
Pick up a hire car in Rovaniemi in early September, when the ruska colours the forests. Two nights in Ylläs for the trails of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park and the summit of Taivaskero. Two nights at Pallastunturi or Hetta for the start of the Hetta-Pallas trail. Drive via Enontekiö to Kilpisjärvi, two nights, climbing Saana and taking the boat to the Three-Country Cairn. Return via route 93 then Inari, two nights, the Siida museum and Lake Inari by canoe, and head down to Rovaniemi via Saariselkä. Allow 1,300 km, reindeer on the road and fuel in every village.
Getting there and getting around
Three airports are served by Finnair from Helsinki in 1h20: Rovaniemi, Kittilä for Levi and Ylläs, and Ivalo for Saariselkä and Inari. Seasonal direct flights link Europe to Rovaniemi and Kittilä from December to March, often charters with accommodation included.
The Santa Claus Express night train links Helsinki to Rovaniemi in 12 hours, with two-berth cabins and a car-carrying wagon, and continues to Kemijärvi. Allow €100-200 per cabin depending on the date. It is the cheapest option with a car on board.
Eskelisen and Matkahuolto buses cover the Rovaniemi-Saariselkä-Inari routes in 4 to 5 hours, and Kittilä-Levi in 20 minutes. In winter, timetables are matched to flights. Off these routes, without a car, everything goes through hotel and activity-company shuttles.
Car hire costs €70-120/day in winter, with compulsory studded tyres fitted as standard. Roads are cleared but stay white, the speed limit is 80 km/h and reindeer cross without warning, especially at dusk. Fill up every 150 km to be safe.
Where to stay in Finnish Lapland?
Chalets and apartments in the resorts, at Levi or Ylläs: €100-200 a night for four, almost always with a private sauna. The best value for a family or group, kitchen included.
Chain hotels, Lapland Hotels, Sokos or Santa's Hotels: €120-220 for a double room in winter, with a buffet breakfast and shared sauna. Rates halve in May, in summer and in October.
Glass igloos and glass-roofed cabins: €350-700 a night, to watch the aurora from your bed. Two nights are enough, booked several months ahead for December and February. The sky, however, cannot be booked.
Free wilderness huts in the national parks, open to all with a stove and firewood: wild camping is allowed outside the parks under everyman's right. In summer, a good way to hike with no accommodation costs at all.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Finnish Lapland?
Reindeer is eaten sautéed in thin strips, poronkäristys, served with mashed potato and lingonberries for €20-30 in a restaurant. You also find it smoked, dried or in soup, and the meat comes from local herds.
Fish from the lakes and rivers: Arctic char, whitefish and salmon from the Teno, often wood-smoked or grilled over the embers of the kota. Loimulohi, salmon cooked on a plank by the fire, is the dish of guided outings.
Berries picked in the forests between July and September: blueberries, lingonberries and above all lakka, the orange cloudberry served with leipäjuusto, a grilled cheese that squeaks against your teeth, the Lapland dessert par excellence.
Restaurants close early, often at 21:00 outside the resorts, and the K-Market or S-Market supermarket is the cheapest option. Allow €15 for a set lunch and €35-50 for dinner with a drink, as alcohol is heavily taxed.
Entry requirements
Schengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Finnish Lapland
When can I see the northern lights in Lapland?
From late August to early April, with a statistical peak in September-October and February-March, when skies are clear more often than in December. In Rovaniemi, around one clear night in two brings an aurora, and three in four towards Inari and Saariselkä. Plan at least three nights on site.
How cold is it in winter?
Between -5 and -15°C on average from December to March, with lows of -30°C in January around Inari and Kittilä. The air is dry, so the cold is easier to bear than you might think with three layers, a down jacket, mittens and lined boots. Rental shops provide full overalls for activities.
Should I book activities in advance?
Yes for December and the February holidays, when husky sledding and glass igloos are fully booked months ahead. In January, in March and outside the holidays, you can book the day before from your hotel. Allow €100-150 for a 10 km husky safari and €150-250 for a two-hour snowmobile outing.
Rovaniemi, Levi or Saariselkä: which base should I choose?
Rovaniemi for a first trip with children, Father Christmas and direct flights. Levi or Ylläs to combine downhill skiing and Arctic activities in a resort. Saariselkä or Inari for the northern lights, Sami culture and emptier nature, at the cost of a more distant airport and higher prices.
What is there to do in Lapland in summer?
Hike under the midnight sun in Pallas-Yllästunturi, Urho Kekkonen or Lemmenjoki national parks, with free huts along the trails, canoe down the rivers, go fishing, climb Saana. Accommodation costs half as much as in winter. The September ruska, with its red forests and the first auroras, is the Finns' favourite time of year.
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