Join us as we share our itinerary, costings and tips about our amazing trip to Lapland that we took in February 2024!
We found some super cheap flights out of Liverpool at just £48 return then planned out our own DIY itinerary to save money.
We'll spill all our tips and tricks for a budget-friendly adventure that's still full of magic.
Come along with us and discover the affordable side of Lapland that's just as fantastic as the pricey tours.
For context we travelled as a party of two- my friend and I. We have lots of other blogs on our site for travel in Rovaniemi and Levi, relating to family travel too.
I'll start by explaining our flights and the accommodation we choose before touching on getting around in Lapland. Then I'll I go through our 3 day itinerary.
We found flights using the Skyscanner tool on our website. If you're looking for the cheapest dates, once you have inputted the party size and destination, you can then select to search for the entire month under the 'flexible dates' section to find the cheapest combinations.
We have a whole area of our website dedicated to assisting you to build your own DIY trip. Here you'll find which UK airports you can fly from and on which days. Read all about the pro's and con's of each resort in Lapland and then search for flights, accommodation and car hire.
Not only that, but we have loaded the site with 450 activities across Lapland, which you can sort and filter to build your itinerary. If you sign up for a free account, you can also use our itinerary building tool to plan out your days and make sure you're sticking to your budget.
The flights we found for Rovaniemi were just £48 return from Liverpool. As this was a short trip we travelled using our free hand luggage allowance which was one back pack each and we found this perfectly doable. We also chose not to pre-book seats together, although we did end up swopping with a couple on the way out, so were sat together for the outbound flight at least.
Our trip was just 2 nights (Saturday afternoon flight out and returning Monday evening). For our accommodation, we stayed one night at the Arctic SnowHotel and Glass Igloo's.
This was an experience in itself, staying in a place where the whole room, including the bed was crafted from ice! You can read all about this particular hotel and our time there in a separate blog post.
For transparency this was a gifted stay but for the purposes of costing this itinerary this would have been £460 for one room- so £230 per person. You can check the price and book your stay HERE
For the 2nd night, we stayed in an apartment in central Rovaniemi costing £176 per night, so £88 each.
This apartment could sleep up to 6 people across 4 bedrooms, so if you filled it to it's maximum occupancy this would just been £30 per person per night, which is a fantastic price, especially if you did two nights here instead of the SnowHotel.
Our taxi from the airport to the SnowHotel cost us £35 each. If we'd arrived earlier in the day, we could have used the hotels shuttle bus which cost £18pp. If there was four of us travelling to split the cost of the taxi this would have again come in less.
The SnowHotel is located 35km from Rovaniemi centre so the taxi cost seemed reasonable. The next day we took the hotel shuttle back to Rovaniemi for £18pp.
For travel in Rovaniemi we recommend using the Meneva Taksi App, their version of Uber. We used this frequently and found it very reliable, every taxi we booked came within 10 minutes.
The cost of a taxi from Rovaniemi centre to Santa Claus Village was approximately £24, and the same price again to the airport. So around £6pp if travelling as a party of four.
There is also a bus service available in Rovaniemi that operates between the airport, city centre and Santa Claus Village. We did not use this as we felt for the price difference, a taxi was more convenient.
Our journey began with our arrival in to Rovaniemi airport at 8pm, from Liverpool, UK.
We ordered our taxi on the Menevä Taksi app after we had cleared security. The taxi arrived within 10 minutes of booking and we were taken to the Arctic SnowHotel and Glass Igloos
During check-in, we were treated to a tour of the SnowHotel. Our guide led us around the premises, giving us a glimpse of where we’d rest for the night and getting us sorted with blankets and sleeping bags.
Each room at the Arctic SnowHotel is a unique masterpiece, crafted with intricate designs and attention to detail and individually theme- no two rooms are alike.
We spent nearly an hour touring round all these whilst they were empty and each one was just amazing in it’s own right.
We'd already eaten on the plane with arriving late so we didn't eat the hotel.
For the remainder of the night we looked round the grounds of the hotel, checking out the Kota to warm up and visiting the reindeers.
At around 11 pm we went to our room to try and sleep. It did take us quite a while to drift off, then we were woken at 1.30am as their was an aurora alert. Unfortunately, we didn't spot any activity and so we were back in bed till morning.
You can read our full account of our stay here
You can take a tour of the SnowHotel without staying here.
The next morning we were up early at 6am and ready for breakfast by 7am. After filling up on about 3 plates of breakfast we explored the grounds of the SnowHotel, this time in the daylight and of course took the opportunity to go tubing down the hill by the Lake.
We were booked in for the hotels 'Snow Sauna Experience' at 10:30am. Here we had a traditional sauna, then snow sauna- we literally had to go outside in robes and slippers into the snow and then sit in a sauna made from snow which was pretty cool (pardon the pun).
Lastly, we took used the hot tub which overlooked the hotel. It was the perfect way to warm up after a chilly night in the SnowHotel.
Again, this experience is available for people who aren't staying at the hotel too.
At 1pm we took the hotels shuttle to Santa Claus Village (SCV) where we decided to try out Snowman World. Situated near the entrance of Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Snowman World is a recent and exciting addition to SCV.
They offer a range of experiences including an indoor ice slide, ice bar, ice disco, ice restaurant, ice maze, ice skating and a giant outdoor ice slide.
Snowman World offers the option of free left luggage, a huge plus for those who’ve checked out of their accommodation and are looking to kill some time on their last day.
We left Snowman and Santa Claus Village early afternoon as we wanted to get checked in and eat something before our snowmobiling tour we had planned for this evening.
We took a taxi to the apartment we had booked in Rovaniemi city centre and got unpacked for the night.
There was a Shell Garage next to the apartment. In Lapland Shell garages aren't like they are at home. They have restaurants inside and they're a really good budget option as food in Lapland is pretty expensive.
We both got a pizza and drinks to bring back to the apartment before getting a quick nap in before tonight's tour.
At 7.30pm we left the apartment to go to Hostel Cafe Koti ready for our 8pm pick up.
We were picked up by Pure Lapland at 8pm and driven 18km to Hotel Metsähirvas which was away from any light pollution and gave us direct access to Lake Kemijoki.
Before setting off on our tour we were given a comprehensive safety briefing and equipment for the night- helmets, visors and balaclavas.
The tour left from the hotel’s car park and led us on to the frozen Lake Kemijoki, which would take us on a thrilling 30km Snowmobile Adventure in the direction of the Russian border.
This was one of the best things I have done in Lapland, the lake was pitch black and after travelling for around 20 minutes across it, we reached a forest where we continued on.
There was literally zero chance of seeing the Northern Lights though as there was heavy snowfall, but honestly, this didn't matter one bit as we were too busy enjoying the snowmobiling itself.
On our return journey across the lake we were took by our guide to specially prepared barbecue area. Here we toasted marshmallows, corn, sausages and had hot berry juice and biscuits by a crackling fire. This was just the perfect end to the day.
After parking up our snowmobiles, we were driven back to the pick up point around midnight. This was the most expensive activities we did on our trip, but definitely the best value in terms of quality and length. You can find more details on the tours Pure Lapland offer here
As an extra tip, we strongly recommend bringing along disposable hand and foot warmers to combat the sub-zero temperatures as the speeds we reached on the snowmobiles made its extra chilly! You can find these here
After a late night, we were up surprisingly up early and packed and ready to leave the apartment at the check out time of 10am.
We took a taxi straight to Santa Claus Village and paid for storage of our backpacks so we could enjoy our last day hands free. This cost around £4 each.
Our first booking was with HuskyPark where activities start from just €5 per person! We chose to do the 2KM Husky Ride which lasted approximately 15 minutes and cost £39 each.
When pre-booking the ticket online, the price includes entry to the Park, allowing you to stroll around the Husky Farm and see all the dogs. You can book online here
For longer tours check out the supplier below
Next up we decided to take a Reindeer Sleigh ride. These are literally walk up and do- no pre-booking needed.
The options were the ‘Reindeer Path’ package (400m), ‘Forest Path’ package (1km), and the ‘Winter Adventure’ package (3km).
The prices ranged from €20 for children and €25 for adults for the ‘Reindeer Path’ package, to €75 for children and €99 for adults for the ‘Winter Adventure package. All are only available to purchase on the day.
We chose to take the middle option of a 1km Forest Path costing £34 for an adult.
The ride took around 15 minutes and seemed to be the perfect amount of time for this kind of activity, especially for children.
For more information on sleigh rides from Santa Claus Reindeer visit https://www.santaclausreindeer.fi/
For longer Reindeer Sleigh Rides which include a farm visit check out the supplier below
As we'd skipped breakfast to pack, we were quite peckish after these two activities. We decided to visit one of the cheaper restaurants located within Santa Claus Village for lunch- Santa's Burgers and Pizza's. A counter service resturant where the portions seemed to be quite generous.
Our meals were around £20 each but for that we got a whole pizza, fries and drink each- I know what you're think, we are living off pizza!
But honestly I could eat it daily, no problem. What we got could have easily been shared between 1 adult and 1 child though.
After lunch we headed to Santa's Post Office. A fully operational post office but if you're thinking this is just a normal post office you're very wrong.
This is where every letter posted to Santa in the world comes to. They have them on display and they are categorised by country and it's so magical to see.
You can also send post back home and this is the only place in the world that stamps the post with the official Lapland postmark.
For a nominal fee of €1 for a postcard and €2.50 for a stamp, you can share a piece of Lapland’s magic with your loved ones.
Alternatively, they have a post box reserved purely for Christmas post. You can post your cards in their Christmas post box and they'll hold them back to be sent nearer the time.
As we weren't travelling with children on this trip we had a quick peep in Santa's office and Mrs Christmas but we thought it would be a but weird to go and sit on Santa's knee at our age.
Before leaving Santa Claus Village, we had to cross the Arctic Circle. You'll find people doing the most bizarre things here- acrobats, hopping and getting the photo and video proof. You can purchase a certificate in Santa Claus Village if you wish for £4.
The Artic Circle line in Santa Claus Village is also broadcast world wide on the internet, so you'll find lots of people waving to loved ones watching at home.
Before we left Santa Claus Village we got a few souvenirs then headed over the road to the Shell Garage for a pit stop for something to eat and drink before getting a taxi to the airport around 5pm.
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We loved this trip, it was done on a budget but not as cheap as it could be and you'll see from my comments on where you could save money i.e. not sleeping in an ice hotel and doing 2 nights in an apartment instead. Choosing shorter distances on sleigh rides and skipping the late night snowmobile trip.
Saying that it was far cheaper than if we had booked this package with a travel agent- at least 50% less.
We did scrimp on the places we ate, the flight was super cheap and we travelled hand luggage only.
In terms of activities, we packed in lots for what was effectively a 2 night trip, yet we never felt rushed. We did such a variety of things from sleeping on a bed of ice, snowmobiling across a frozen lake in the pitch black to enjoying everything Santa Claus Village had to offer.
For those looking to build an itinerary in Lapland we have the perfect guide with 12 activities that are all under £25 and some of these are even free!
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