We've now visited Rovaniemi twice, including trips with teenagers and adults, and we've never hired a car. In fact, I don't think you need one.
Between airport taxis, shuttle buses, public transport and organised excursions, we've found it incredibly easy to explore Rovaniemi without the expense or stress of driving on snowy roads.
In this guide, I'll share exactly how we've travelled around on all three of our DIY Lapland trips.
From DIY itineraries and Northern Lights tips to budgeting advice, destination guides and honest reviews of the places we've visited, you'll find everything together in our Lapland Travel Guide Hub.
Just a quick note before we begin. Some of the links in this guide are affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products, services and experiences we've used ourselves or genuinely believe will help you plan your trip. Thanks for supporting Build a Break.
✔ We recommend staying in either the city centre or Santa Claus Village
✔ Use a taxi from the airport
✔ Many excursions include return transport
✔ Bus 8 connects the city centre and Santa Claus Village all year round
✔ We've completed two trips to Rovaniemi without hiring a car
📍 Planning Tip: Still deciding where to stay? I've compared Rovaniemi city centre, Santa Claus Village and the surrounding forest resorts in my Where to Stay in Rovaniemi guide to help you choose the best base for your trip
On both of our trips, we've taken a taxi from Rovaniemi Airport rather than hiring a car, and it's always been quick, reliable and surprisingly affordable.
Each time, we've booked our airport transfers using the Menevä Taxi app, which we've found to be far more reliable than Uber. After one occasion where our Uber driver didn't turn up and we were still charged a percentage of the fare, we've used Menevä ever since without any issues.
As a guide, we've typically paid:
• Around €25 from Rovaniemi Airport to Santa Claus Village
• Around €32 from Rovaniemi Airport to Rovaniemi city centre
The journey only takes around 5 minutes to Santa Claus Village or 10–15 minutes to the city centre, making a taxi one of the easiest ways to start your trip.
If you're travelling on a tighter budget, airport buses also operate between the airport, Santa Claus Village and the city centre, although we've always found a taxi to be the most convenient option after a flight.
If you're staying in the city centre, getting to Santa Claus Village is easy without a car.
The cheapest option is Bus 8, which runs throughout the year between the city centre and Santa Claus Village. A single adult ticket costs €3.60 when purchased from the driver (or €3.30 using the Waltti app), with children aged 0–16 paying €1.80.
However, we've usually chosen to take a taxi instead. A typical taxi between the city centre and Santa Claus Village costs us around €32 for a standard four-seater. Once you start travelling as a family or group, the difference between four bus tickets (€14.40) and a taxi is often less than €20, so for us the convenience of door-to-door transport has usually been worth paying a little extra.
If you're travelling as a couple or solo, the bus is excellent value. But for families or groups of four, it's worth doing the maths before automatically choosing public transport
One thing that surprised us when planning our first DIY trip was just how many attractions and excursion companies include transport.
In reality, we found ourselves using organised transfers far more often than we expected, which meant there was very little need to arrange our own transport.
Some of the companies we've personally used include:
• Arctic SnowHotel – Return shuttle buses are available from both Rovaniemi city centre and Santa Claus Village for many experiences, including the SnowHotel, Ice Restaurant and Snow Sauna.
• Lapland Winter Park – Operates a free shuttle bus throughout the day, making it one of the easiest attractions to visit without a car. We used the free shuttle for Arctic Sauna Experience.
• Pure Lapland – When we booked our 15km snowmobile safari, we were picked up from outside a hotel in Rovaniemi city centre before being driven around 30 minutes to the starting point. At the end of the tour, we were dropped back in the city, making it another great option if you're travelling without a car.
It's also worth checking before booking any activity. Many of the larger providers in Rovaniemi, including snowmobile, husky and Northern Lights tours, offer pick-up from Rovaniemi city centre, Santa Claus Village or selected hotels as part of the excursion price. Some charge an extra fee, for others it's included in the booking price.
My tip: Before assuming you'll need a taxi or hire car, check what's included with your excursion. On all three of our DIY Lapland trips, we've found that many of the experiences we booked already included transport, making getting around Rovaniemi without a car much easier than we expected.
For most visitors, I'd say no. We've now visited Rovaniemi twice without hiring a car and, honestly, we've never felt like we were missing out.
Between airport taxis, public buses, shuttle services and excursion transfers, we've been able to visit everywhere we wanted without the stress of driving on snowy roads or paying for car hire and parking. That's not to say a hire car doesn't have its advantages.
If you're planning to explore further afield, visit smaller villages or stay in multiple locations during your trip, having your own vehicle offers much more flexibility.
However, if you're staying in Rovaniemi city centre or Santa Claus Village, I don't think it's necessary. Most of the major attractions are either within easy reach by taxi or bus, while many organised excursions include transport as part of the price.
My verdict: Unless you're planning a longer road trip around Finnish Lapland, I'd save the money and skip the hire car. Across all three of our DIY trips, travelling without one has been easy, convenient and often cheaper than we expected.
In our experience, no. We've visited Rovaniemi twice and have never hired a car. Between taxis, public buses and excursion transfers, we've found it easy to get around.
Yes. Most major attractions are either located in the city centre, at Santa Claus Village or provide their own shuttle service. We relied on taxis, Bus 8 and excursion transfers throughout both of our Rovaniemi trips.
Yes, Uber operates in Rovaniemi and is often cheaper than a standard taxi. However, we've personally had mixed experiences. On one occasion our driver didn't turn up and we were still charged a percentage of the fare.
We've also seen plenty of travellers in Lapland travel groups report issues with cancelled bookings, long waits or drivers not arriving, particularly during the busy winter season. Because of that, we've chosen to use the Menevä Taxi app on all of our recent trips. Although it usually costs a little more, we've found it far more reliable and worth the extra cost for the peace of mind. We also use this same company in Levi.
Bus 8 is the cheapest option and runs regularly between the city centre and Santa Claus Village. However, if you're travelling as a family or group, it's worth comparing the total cost of bus tickets with a taxi, as the difference is often smaller than you'd expect.
Yes. If you book one of the Visiting Packages, return shuttle transport is available from both Rovaniemi city centre and Santa Claus Village. We visited this way during our 3-day Rovaniemi trip.
Absolutely. Lapland Winter Park operates a free shuttle bus throughout the day, making it one of the easiest attractions to visit without hiring a car. We used it during our 2-day Rovaniemi itinerary and found it very straightforward.
Yes. Both Rovaniemi city centre and Santa Claus Village are compact and easy to explore on foot. We found ourselves walking far more than we expected, only using taxis, buses or shuttle services to travel between attractions.
After two trips to Rovaniemi I can honestly say we've never felt the need to hire a car.
Between airport taxis, public buses and the shuttle services included with many attractions and excursions, getting around has been much easier than we expected. In fact, not having to worry about driving on snowy roads or finding parking has made our trips feel even more relaxing.
There are, of course, situations where hiring a car makes sense. If you're planning to explore beyond Rovaniemi, visit smaller villages or stay in multiple locations across Finnish Lapland, having your own vehicle offers much greater flexibility.
However, if you're planning a typical trip based around Rovaniemi city centre or Santa Claus Village, I'd happily recommend visiting without a car. It's exactly how we've travelled on both of our Rovaniemi trips, and we'd do the same again
My recommendation: Unless you're planning a wider Lapland road trip, save your money and skip the hire car. We found taxis, buses and excursion transfers more than enough to enjoy everything Rovaniemi has to offer.
Whenever I spot great-value DIY Lapland flights and accommodation from UK airports, I share them with members of the Build a Break Travel Club. If you'd like to experience Lapland without paying package holiday prices, it's a great place to start.
Copyright © Build a Break | Website by Furness Media
