A trip to Lapland can easily cost thousands of pounds, especially if you're looking at package holidays during the weeks leading up to Christmas. However, after planning three DIY trips to Finnish Lapland ourselves, we've found that it doesn't have to cost anywhere near that much.
Our first trip was a five-day break to Levi with three of my children, which cost us under £500 per person for the whole trip. That included our return flights, four nights' accommodation, airport transfers, activities, food and drink, travel insurance and even the winter clothing we'd bought for the trip.
Since then, I've returned to Lapland twice, both times visiting Rovaniemi. I've travelled with children, teenagers and without children at all, stayed in everything from self-catering apartments to the Arctic SnowHotel, and tried many of the most popular Lapland activities.
We've always booked our trips independently, choosing our own flights, accommodation, transfers and activities rather than booking a package.
In this guide, I'll show you exactly how I plan our DIY Lapland trips on a budget, including where to find cheaper flights, when to travel, where to stay, which activities are worth paying for and where you can save money.
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• Travel outside the peak Christmas weeks if keeping costs down is your priority.
• Compare both Rovaniemi and Kittilä flights before choosing where to stay.
• Book flights and accommodation separately and compare the total cost against packages.
• Consider an apartment with a kitchen to save money on eating out.
• Don't book every activity available. Choose the experiences that matter most to your family.
• Mix paid activities with free things to do, including sledging, snowy walks and exploring Santa Claus Village.
• Check transfer costs before booking accommodation, particularly if you're staying outside the centre.
• Price the whole trip before booking, including flights, accommodation, transfers, activities, food, clothing and insurance.
How much you'll spend on a trip to Lapland can vary massively depending on when you travel, where you stay and how many activities you book.
We've always travelled to Lapland independently and booked our flights, accommodation, transfers and activities separately. Our cheapest trip was our first visit to Levi, when I travelled with my two children for four nights and five days.
The whole trip cost us around £500 per person, including:
• Return flights from the UK
• Four nights in a self-catering apartment
• Return airport transfers
• Husky and reindeer rides
• Mini snowmobiling
• Other activities
• Food and drink
• Travel insurance
• Winter clothing
Our return flights were just £52 per person, while our accommodation at Levi Suites Unna Mànnu worked out at around £122 per person for four nights. Before we'd even arrived, we'd spent less than £205pp on our flights, accommodation and airport transfers.
We then had around £300pp left for activities, food, insurance and clothing.
That trip showed me just how much difference your travel dates can make. We visited Levi at the end of November, when there was already plenty of snow and the winter activities were running, but prices were much lower than they can be closer to Christmas.
You don't need to spend exactly what we did to have a good-value trip. Flight and accommodation prices change constantly, and what you spend on activities can make a huge difference to the final cost. However, I always price the whole trip rather than looking at a cheap flight or hotel on its own.
If you're trying to work out a realistic budget, I've broken down how much a trip to Lapland costs based on our own trips. I also have a separate guide to how much spending money you'll need for Lapland once your flights, accommodation and activities are paid for.
You can also see every penny we spent in my 5-day Levi itinerary for under £500pp.
I usually start with flights, as these can make a huge difference to the overall cost of the trip. We have a full guide to direct flights from the UK to Lapland, including the different airports you can fly to.
Once I've found some possible dates, I usually price our trips in this order:
• Flights
• Accommodation
• Airport transfers or local transport
• Activities
• Food and drink
• Travel insurance
• Winter clothing, if needed
I don't book the first cheap flight I see without checking everything else first. A £50 flight isn't much of a bargain if accommodation for the same dates costs £1,000 more, so I always get a rough total for the trip before I start booking.
One of the first decisions you'll need to make is where in Lapland to stay. For a budget trip, I wouldn't choose your destination until you've checked flights and accommodation together, as the cheapest option can change depending on your dates.
We've visited both Levi and Rovaniemi, and they offer quite different trips.
We've now tried lots of the activities and attractions around the resort, which I've included in my guide to the best things to do in Levi.
Rovaniemi generally has more flight options from the UK and is home to Santa Claus Village. There's plenty to do without a car, which makes it a really easy place to plan independently.
Levi feels more like a snowy winter resort, with skiing, activities, restaurants and shops all within a fairly compact area. We stayed there for our first Lapland trip and managed the whole five days without hiring a car.
I've compared the two in much more detail in my Rovaniemi vs Levi guide.
If you're considering Rovaniemi but aren't sure whether it's the right place for your trip, I've also covered whether Rovaniemi is worth visiting after visiting on two of our three Lapland trips.
There are other places to consider too. We've also put together guides to planning a DIY trip to Ruka and Kuusamo and things to do in Ruka, as well as our DIY Saariselkä guide if you're looking beyond Levi and Rovaniemi.
For a first DIY trip, I wouldn't get too caught up in finding the 'perfect' Lapland destination. Check where you can get to easily from your local airport, compare accommodation prices and then look at what you actually want to do while you're there. Sometimes the cheapest destination for one set of dates can be completely different for another.
When you travel can make a huge difference to the price of a Lapland trip. If you're trying to keep costs down, I'd look outside the peak weeks leading up to Christmas first.
Our cheapest family trip was to Levi at the end of November. We still had deep snow, Christmas activities and everything we'd travelled to Lapland for, but our return flights were just £52 per person.
January can also be a great time to look. We've visited Rovaniemi in January and found some really good flight prices, particularly once the Christmas rush was over.
December is usually the most expensive time, especially as you get closer to Christmas and demand for Lapland trips increases. That doesn't mean you can't find a bargain, but you'll generally have much more flexibility with your budget if you can travel in late November, January or later in the winter.
There are other things to consider besides price, including daylight hours, temperatures, snow conditions and whether seeing Father Christmas is an important part of your trip.
I've covered these in much more detail in my guide to the best time to visit Lapland.
If you've already decided between the two main destinations we've visited, I also have separate guides covering the best time to visit Levi and the best time to visit Rovaniemi.
You don't need to book a full week in Lapland to have a good trip. In fact, if you're trying to keep the cost down, reducing the number of nights can make a big difference to the overall price.
We've done Lapland trips of very different lengths. Our first trip to Levi was four nights and five days, which gave us plenty of time for activities without trying to fit everything into one or two days. We've also done a much shorter trip to Rovaniemi, spending just 30 hours there for my daughter's birthday.
For most first trips, I'd look at around 3 to 5 days. That gives you enough time to choose a few of the main activities, enjoy the snow and have some free time without paying for a full week's accommodation and food.
A shorter trip can work particularly well if you find very cheap flights. Just check the flight times carefully. Three nights with an early arrival and late departure can give you much more time in Lapland than a four-night trip where you lose most of the first and last days travelling.
I've gone into this in much more detail in my guide to how many days you need in Lapland.
Flights can be one of the biggest costs when planning Lapland, but we've also managed to find some incredibly cheap fares by being flexible with our dates and departure airport.
For our first trip to Levi, we paid just £52 per person return. On our first Rovaniemi trip, our return flights from Liverpool cost £48 per person, and for our January trip we paid £88.80 per person return.
I normally search for flights before booking anything else and check several dates rather than deciding on a particular weekend first. If you have more than one airport within travelling distance, it's worth checking those too.
You'll also need to look at which Lapland airport you're flying into. Rovaniemi has direct flights from a number of UK airports, while Kittilä is the airport we use for Levi. Sometimes the cheapest flight can actually help decide which part of Lapland you visit.
We keep our UK to Lapland flights guide updated with the airports and routes available, so I'd use that as your starting point when checking your options.
Before booking, I always check the accommodation prices for the same dates. We've seen cheap flights paired with very expensive accommodation, so it's the combined cost that matters rather than the flight price on its own.
If you can't find suitable direct flights, travelling via Helsinki can also open up more options. I've covered the different ways to continue north in our guide to getting from Helsinki to Lapland.
Accommodation can quickly push up the cost of a Lapland trip, particularly during December, so I always check prices before booking our flights.
For our first trip to Levi, we stayed at Levi Suites Unna Mànnu, where four nights worked out at around £122 per person. We had our own kitchen, which also helped us keep our food costs down.
Self-catering apartments are usually my first choice when I'm planning Lapland on a budget. Being able to make breakfast, prepare snacks and have the odd meal in the apartment means you don't need to eat out three times a day.
Location matters too. I would rather pay a little more to stay somewhere central than save on the accommodation and then rely on taxis every day. In both Levi and central Rovaniemi, it's possible to stay within walking distance of restaurants, shops and many of the places you'll want to visit.
I've put together separate guides to where to stay in Levi and where to stay in Rovaniemi with the different areas and accommodation options to consider.
If you'd like to include something a little different for one night, rather than paying premium prices for your entire stay, have a look at our guide to unique places to stay in Lapland too.
You don't necessarily need to hire a car for a trip to Lapland. I don't drive, so all three of our Lapland trips have been planned around using airport transfers, buses, walking and transfers included with activities.
In Levi, we booked a return airport transfer from Kittilä Airport and then walked to most places once we arrived. Levi is quite compact, so staying centrally made getting around very easy and meant we weren't spending money on taxis every day.
Rovaniemi is more spread out, but we've still managed perfectly well without a car. Local buses connect the city with places such as Santa Claus Village, and many of the activities we've booked have either included transport or offered a pick-up from the city.
This is another reason I always look at location when comparing accommodation. Saving £50 on an apartment isn't necessarily worthwhile if you're then paying for taxis backwards and forwards throughout the trip.
If you're planning to stay in Rovaniemi, I've put together a full guide answering whether you need a car in Rovaniemi, including the different ways we've got around without one.
You can also combine more than one Lapland destination without hiring a car. If you're considering splitting your trip, see my guide to combining Levi and Rovaniemi
Activities can easily become one of the biggest costs of a Lapland trip. Husky rides, reindeer rides, snowmobiling, ice karting and Northern Lights tours all add up quickly, particularly when you're paying for a whole family.
We've tried most of the popular Lapland activities across our three trips, and I don't think you need to book everything to have a brilliant time. I'd choose a few experiences that are most important to you and leave some space in your itinerary rather than filling every day with expensive tours.
Our guide to the best Lapland activities covers the experiences we've tried and which ones we'd recommend.
When comparing activities, don't automatically assume that the longest experience will be the best value.
We've done two 2km husky rides, and the weather made a huge difference. At around -8°C I would happily have stayed out for longer, while at -25°C, 2km was more than enough for us.
We've also tried two reindeer rides of around 1km, which lasted roughly 15 to 20 minutes. For us, that was plenty, particularly with children.
Snowmobiling was different. The children loved the cheaper mini snowmobiles on our first trip, while on an adults-only trip we paid more for a 15km snowmobile tour near Rovaniemi. That longer experience was worth the extra money for us because the snowmobiling itself was a much bigger part of the tour.
I've written separate guides to whether a husky ride is worth it, whether a reindeer ride is worth it and whether snowmobiling in Lapland is worth it if you're trying to decide which activities to spend your budget on.
For a budget trip, I'd rather pay for a few experiences we really want to do than book every activity simply because it feels like something you're supposed to do in Lapland.
You don't need to fill every day with paid activities. Some of our favourite time in Lapland has simply been spent outside enjoying the snow, and leaving some free time in your itinerary can make a big difference to the overall cost.
I've put together 15 things to do in Rovaniemi for under €40, which is a good place to start if you're looking for ways to fill your itinerary without spending hundreds on excursions.
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi is free to enter, so you can walk around the village, cross the Arctic Circle, look around the shops and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere without buying an activity.
We've also spent plenty of time sledging and playing in the snow. If you're travelling with children, I'd definitely leave room for this rather than booking every hour of the day. On our first trip, my children were just as happy playing outside in the snow as they were doing some of the activities we'd paid for.
In Levi, the village itself is easy to explore on foot, and there are snowy walks and places to stop and enjoy the scenery without needing to book a tour.
If you're visiting Rovaniemi, my Santa Claus Village guide covers what you can see and do there, including the free parts and the attractions you'll need to pay for.
The Santa Claus Main Post Office is another easy one to add while you're there. You can go inside and have a look around without needing to book an expensive excursion.
I'd always leave some completely unplanned time in a Lapland itinerary. It saves money, but it also gives you time to actually enjoy being there rather than rushing from one booking to the next.
If meeting Father Christmas is an important part of your Lapland trip, you don't necessarily need to book an expensive Santa package to make it special.
On our first family trip to Levi, my youngest two children still believed in Father Christmas, so this was a big part of the trip for us. We booked everything independently, which meant we could choose where we wanted to spend our money rather than paying for a package with a set itinerary.
One of the places we visited was Arcandia in Levi, which combines lots of different winter activities in one place. We visited Father Christmas there, but also tried mini snowmobiling, sledging and other activities during the same visit, so we felt we got plenty for our money. You can read about everything that's included in my Arcandia Levi guide.
If Father Christmas is one of the main reasons for your trip, I'd compare the whole experience and what's included, rather than assuming you need to book one of the expensive Santa packages from the UK.
For families who aren't sure when to take their children, I've also written a guide to the best age for Lapland based on our trips with children of different ages.
Food and drink can add quite a bit to the cost of a Lapland trip, especially if you're eating out for every meal. This is one of the reasons we often choose self-catering accommodation.
On our first trip to Levi, we had an apartment with a kitchen and bought food from the supermarket. We still ate out and bought treats while we were there, but we weren't paying restaurant prices for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
I'd also recommend taking a flask. We took one with us along with hot chocolate sachets and it was brilliant when travelling with the children. We'd fill it in the morning and the drinks were still hot later in the day, even when temperatures dropped as low as -28°C. It was particularly useful when we were out exploring or doing activities where hot drinks weren't included.
Supermarkets are also handy for picking up snacks to take out with you. With children, having drinks and snacks already in our bag meant we weren't constantly stopping to buy something every time they were hungry.
If you're working out how much money to take for meals, snacks and other day-to-day costs, I've broken down what we've actually spent in my guide to how much spending money you need for Lapland
You don't need to spend hundreds of pounds on brand new winter clothing for Lapland. On our first family trip, we spent around £80 in total on winter clothing for the four of us, and we've reused much of it on later trips.
The most important thing is having plenty of layers rather than relying on one expensive coat. We use thermal base layers, warm mid-layers, waterproof outer layers, good socks, gloves, hats and winter boots.
We've also hired winter clothing in Lapland, which can be a good option if you don't already own suitable outerwear or don't think you'll use it again. It's worth comparing the cost of hiring against buying everything before your trip, especially when you're only visiting for a few days.
Temperatures can vary massively too. We've experienced Lapland at around -8°C right down to -28°C, and what feels comfortable at one temperature can feel completely different when it gets much colder.
Before buying everything new, check what you already own. You can borrow items, buy second-hand, hire clothing when you arrive or buy just the pieces you're missing.
For exactly what we take, what we've bought and what we've hired, see my Lapland packing list
The Northern Lights are high on a lot of people's Lapland wish lists, but I wouldn't build your budget around expensive Northern Lights tours every night.
We've booked a Northern Lights snowmobile tour ourselves and didn't see them. We still had a brilliant evening because the snowmobiling was the main experience and seeing the Northern Lights would have been a bonus.
That's how I'd approach it when planning on a budget. If you're paying for a tour, choose something you'd still enjoy even if the lights don't appear, rather than paying purely to chase them.
You can also keep an eye on the forecast and head outside yourself when conditions look promising. Staying somewhere away from lots of artificial light can make this easier, but there are never any guarantees you'll see them during your trip.
We've covered when to look, what affects your chances and our own experiences in our guide to seeing the Northern Lights in Lapland.
I definitely wouldn't keep throwing money at tours if you don't see them on your first attempt. They are an amazing bonus if you get lucky, but there's so much more to a Lapland trip than the Northern Lights.
If you're trying to work out how much you can realistically fit into a Lapland trip, it can help to see how we've planned our own trips.
We've visited Lapland three times, with very different budgets, trip lengths and ages, so our itineraries aren't based on trying to fit every possible activity into one holiday.
For our first trip, we spent five days in Levi for around £500 per person for the whole trip. This is the itinerary I'd start with if you're planning a longer family trip and want to see how we kept the overall cost down. You can see the full breakdown in our 5-day Levi itinerary for under £500pp
.
We've also done shorter trips to Rovaniemi. Our 3-day Rovaniemi budget itinerary
includes the trip I did with a friend, while our 2-day Rovaniemi itinerary
is useful if you're planning a shorter break.
You don't need to copy any of our itineraries exactly. I'd use them to get an idea of what can comfortably fit into each day, then choose the activities that matter most to you and build your own trip around your budget.
After three DIY trips, I definitely think Lapland is worth the money, but I don't think you need to spend thousands of pounds per person to have a great trip.
Some of our favourite experiences have been the simple things, such as playing in the snow, walking through snowy forests and just seeing Lapland in winter for the first time. We've then chosen a handful of paid activities for each trip rather than trying to do everything available.
For me, the key is deciding what matters most to you before you start booking. If it's huskies and meeting Father Christmas, spend your money there. If you're visiting as adults, you might prefer snowmobiling, a sauna or staying somewhere unusual for a night.
We've now experienced Lapland as a family, with teenagers and on an adults-only trip, and I'd happily go back again. I've covered the good and bad, what we've spent and whether I'd recommend it in my full guide to whether Lapland is worth it.
If you're planning a trip without younger children, you can also read my guides to Lapland for adults and Lapland for Teens.
Once you've decided that you want to book Lapland yourself, this is the order I'd plan everything in.
• Check flights first, comparing different dates, UK departure airports and both Rovaniemi and Kittilä where possible.
• Check accommodation before booking the flights. Make sure there's something suitable within your budget for exactly the same dates.
• Work out your airport transfers and local transport. Check how you'll get from the airport to your accommodation and whether you'll need buses, taxis or transfers during the trip.
• Make a list of the activities you really want to do. Price these up before booking so you have a realistic idea of the total cost.
• Add an allowance for food and drink. If you're staying self-catering, decide which meals you're happy to make yourself and which you'd like to eat out for.
• Check what winter clothing you already have. Work out whether it will be cheaper to buy, borrow or hire anything you're missing.
• Add travel insurance and make sure the activities you're planning are covered.
• Total everything up before paying for anything. I always want to know roughly what the whole trip will cost rather than booking cheap flights and working everything else out afterwards.
Once I'm happy with the total, I'll usually book the flights and accommodation first, followed by anything else that could sell out for our dates.
You can also download our free Lapland planner, which I've created to help you organise your own trip and keep everything together in one place.
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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