If you're planning a trip to Finland, you might be wondering how to get from Helsinki to Lapland and whether it's worth combining the two in one trip.
The good news is that it's actually really easy. You can fly from Helsinki to Lapland, take the famous overnight Santa Claus Express or travel north by train and continue by bus to some of Lapland's most popular resorts.
And you don't necessarily need to travel through Rovaniemi either. Although Rovaniemi is probably the best known gateway to Finnish Lapland, overnight trains from Helsinki also travel as far north as Kolari and Kemijärvi. From there, you can continue by bus to resorts including Levi, Ylläs, Pyhä and Ruka.
You can even take your own car on some of the overnight trains, which means you can skip the huge drive from southern Finland but still have your car with you once you reach Lapland.
In this guide, I'll take you through the different ways to travel from Helsinki to Lapland, including flying, the Santa Claus Express, train and bus connections and driving.
In this guide, I'll take you through the different ways to travel from Helsinki to Lapland, including flying, the Santa Claus Express, train and bus connections and driving.
I'll also look at which route makes the most sense depending on where in Lapland you're actually trying to get to.
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.
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✈️ Fastest option: Fly from Helsinki to Lapland
🚆 Most memorable option: Take the overnight Santa Claus Express
🎅 Best known train route: Helsinki to Rovaniemi
🚉 Other Lapland train stations: Kolari and Kemijärvi
🚌 Getting to the resorts: Continue by bus from the nearest train station to destinations such as Levi, Ylläs, Pyhä and Ruka
🚗 Driving: Possible, but it's a very long journey from Helsinki
🚘 Travelling with your own car: You can take your car on some overnight trains and collect it when you arrive in Lapland
🌙 Why choose the night train? You travel while you sleep and can save paying for a hotel that night
💡 Good to know: Rovaniemi isn't always the best station to use. The easiest route will depend on which part of Lapland you're visiting
⭐ What would we choose? For Rovaniemi, I'd choose the Santa Claus Express if we had the time and wanted the journey to be part of the trip. If we only had a few days in Lapland, I'd fly and make the most of our time there.
Flying is the quickest way to get from Helsinki to Lapland and probably the option I'd choose if we only had a few days.
There are direct flights from Helsinki to several airports across Finnish Lapland, so you don't necessarily need to fly into Rovaniemi.
Rovaniemi is the obvious choice if that's where you're staying, while Kittilä is useful for resorts including Levi and Ylläs. Ivalo is the main airport for Saariselkä, and Kuusamo works well for Ruka.
The flight from Helsinki to Rovaniemi takes around 1 hour 15 minutes, so compared with spending most of the night on a train, flying can save you a lot of time.
However, I wouldn't automatically assume flying will be the best option.
Once you add in getting to Helsinki Airport, arriving before your flight, collecting luggage and then travelling from the Lapland airport to your accommodation, the difference isn't quite as big as the flight time makes it look.
There's also something quite appealing about getting on a train in Helsinki in the evening, going to bed and waking up in Lapland the next morning.
For a short trip, though, I'd probably fly. If I had more time and wanted the journey itself to be part of the experience, I'd look at the overnight train instead.
And if you're travelling with your own car, some services allow you to load it onto the train in Helsinki and take it north with you. You can then collect it when you arrive and continue your Lapland road trip without having to drive the whole way from Helsinki.
Rovaniemi is the route most people associate with the Santa Claus Express, but the overnight trains continue to other parts of Lapland too, including Kolari and Kemijärvi. That's really useful because depending on where you're staying, travelling further north on the train can save you a long bus journey from Rovaniemi.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when planning the train from Helsinki to Lapland is automatically choosing Rovaniemi.
Rovaniemi is perfect if that's where you're staying, but the overnight trains also travel to Kolari and Kemijärvi, which can be much more convenient for some of Lapland's other resorts.
If you're heading to Levi, you can take the train to Kolari and continue by bus. You can also travel via Rovaniemi, but Kolari is closer to Levi.
For Ylläs, Kolari is the obvious train station to look at, with onward bus connections available to the resort.
If you're visiting Pyhä, Kemijärvi can be a useful option, while Ruka can also be reached by continuing from Kemijärvi towards the resort.
For Saariselkä, there isn't a train station in the resort, so you'll need to combine the train with an onward bus journey. Depending on your plans, flying to Ivalo may be a much easier option.
This is why I'd always work backwards from your final destination rather than simply searching for a train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
A slightly longer train journey could actually leave you with a much shorter transfer once you arrive in Lapland.
If your final destination doesn't have a train station, you can still travel most of the way from Helsinki by train and then continue by bus.
This is how you can reach several of Lapland's most popular resorts without needing to hire a car.
For example, you can take the overnight train from Helsinki to Kolari and then continue by bus to Levi or Ylläs.
If you're heading towards Pyhä or Ruka, Kemijärvi can be a useful station for onward connections.
You can also use Rovaniemi as a starting point for buses further into Lapland, although it isn't always the shortest route.
I'd definitely compare the full journey before booking. A train to Rovaniemi might initially look quicker or cheaper, but if it then leaves you with another two or three hours on a bus, continuing further north by train could make much more sense.
It's also worth checking that your train and bus times actually connect, particularly if you're travelling outside the busiest winter months when services may be less frequent.
If you're planning to visit more than one place in Lapland, combining trains and buses can also be a really good way to get around without hiring a car.
Yes. If you're travelling around Finland with your own car, you don't necessarily need to drive it all the way from Helsinki to Lapland.
Some of VR's overnight trains have car-carrier wagons, allowing you to travel north with your car on the same train.
You load the car before departure, then spend the night in your seat or sleeper cabin while the train does the long journey north for you.
Once you arrive in Lapland, you collect your car and continue your trip from there.
I think this is a brilliant option if you're planning a longer Finland trip and want the freedom of having your own car in Lapland, particularly during winter when you might not fancy driving hundreds of kilometres on snowy roads.
You do need to book a service that carries cars, and there are specific check-in and loading times, so I'd check the latest information directly with VR before booking.
For most people flying into Finland specifically for a short Lapland break, hiring a car once you arrive or using public transport will probably be simpler. But if you're already travelling around Finland by car, the overnight car train is definitely worth knowing about.
If you've got a little more time, I wouldn't dismiss the train just because it's slower. You're effectively combining your transport and accommodation for the night, and the Santa Claus Express can become part of the trip rather than simply a way of getting from A to B.
For me, it would depend entirely on the type of trip we were planning.
If we only had a few days in Lapland, I'd fly. It's quick, easy and means you can spend as much of your trip as possible actually enjoying Lapland.
If we were combining Helsinki and Lapland as part of a longer Finland trip, I'd choose the Santa Claus Express.
I love the idea of spending the day exploring Helsinki, getting on the train that evening and waking up the next morning surrounded by snow in Lapland.
I'd definitely book a sleeper cabin rather than a seat too. For me, the overnight journey would be part of the experience rather than just transport.
Where you're staying would also influence my decision. For Rovaniemi, both flying and the train are really straightforward. For somewhere like Levi, Ylläs, Ruka or Saariselkä, I'd compare the nearest airport, train station and onward connection before deciding.
So there isn't one option I'd recommend to everyone.
Short Lapland trip? Fly.
Longer Finland adventure where the journey is part of the experience? I'd take the train.
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.
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