There are so many companies that organise trips to Lapland but they can come in at a hefty price tag. They make life easy but are they more fun? After taking a dedicated Santa Break and a Lapland ski trip and falling in love with Finland, we decided to organise our own DIY trip to Lapland on a budget. And you can do it too. Read all about how we got on and what we did and leave me a comment afterwards if you have any questions. We have plenty of extra guides like a packing list for Lapland in winter to tell you exactly what we wore too. So here is our independent travel to Lapland with kids traveling via Helsinki on the Santa Claus Express overnight train and staying in Rovaniemi.
We have lots of additional features you can read such as what we wore and individual more in-depth reviews of the places we visited so definitely make a cup of tea and settle back for a long read. Here is our guide to a DIY trip to Lapland on a budget.
Read more: Our ultimate guide to Lapland with kids
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Table of Contents
Flights
There are a number of flights from the UK to either Lapland or the capital of Helsinki. We knew we wanted the adventure of taking the night train from Helsinki and also wanted to explore the capital but if you’d rather land straight in to the magic of Lapland you can certainly do that too.
We checked flights on Opodo for different dates and combinations (airports to check in Finland include Rovaniemi, Kuusamo or Ivalo).
The night before we stayed at the airport and parked at the hotel to keep stress levels low (and got a great deal on a parking and hotel stay with Holiday Extras).
Day one in Helsinki – Getting to know the city
For our trip we flew into Helsinki on the 11th December and were met with a wonderful winter wonderland. Helsinki is fantastic for cinnamon buns and hot chocolate, Christmas fairs and its frozen Baltic Sea.
We stayed just out of the centre at the Scandic Park Hotel which meant we could easily get the tram in to the centre and still have time to relax as a family.
We loved this part of the trip and our time spent getting a first look at beautiful Helsinki which is small enough to be easily explored but full of great things to see and do.
Read more:
Our guide to Helsinki with kids
Day two in Helsinki – Christmas markets
Our second day in Helsinki was another relaxed day seeing the sights.
We browsed through the amazing Stockmann’s Department Store, ate vegan burgers and walked the frozen streets, soaking in as much of the city as we could.
We knew we would be returning to Helsinki so this initial trip was more to get our bearings and enjoy the lovely little treats. Warming drinks and buns and fun Christmas shopping.
Read more: The best things to do in Helsinki with kids
Santa Claus Express Night Train – Helsinki to Rovaniemi
We love our trips on night trains (we’ve been on the night train in Marrakech, a night train in Russia and Vietnam) and so as soon as we heard about the overnight train to Lapland (known as the Santa Claus Express) we knew it was one we wanted to enjoy.
The best way to book this if you’re travelling with kids is to give them a call as children under 10 travel for free in the cabins of parents. Find contact details for VR Trains here.
So on day two we caught the night train from the amazing Central Station in the city centre. Heading out after dinner on the 7.30pm train.
The night train was everything we hoped it would be. So atmospheric with a few other families all joining us at the station, full of excitement.
Seeing the train pull in with the Father Christmas logo on the outside created a real buzz of anticipation.
You can read our full post all about our trip on the Helsinki to Lapland night train here. On the way up to Lapland we stayed in interconnecting cabins which is our favourite way to travel.
The cabins were really comfortable with duvets and pillows and we rocked our way through the night in to Rovaniemi, twelve hours away.
Read more: Our guide to the Helsinki to Rovaniemi night train
Day one in Lapland – Santa’s Village
We arrived in to Rovaniemi early on the 14th December, much too early to check in to our hotel the Scandic Rovaniemi City.
We left our belongings at the left luggage room there and went in to the town for some coffee and cinnamon buns.
Luckily there was a shopping centre opposite with plenty of places to rest a while.
We didn’t stay too long though, we had a jam packed schedule of events while we were in Rovaniemi and got straight to it.
This first day that we arrived could easily be a slightly groggy day so we chose to head straight out to the Santa Claus Village and enjoy some activities.
We caught the local bus which goes from Rovaniemi and is very regular (it’s the Kutilan liikenne bus company which goes from Ounasvaara – railway station – city centre – SantaPark – Santa Claus Village – airport. You can buy tickets easily on the bus or in advance here).
We loved it at the village.
We saw Father Christmas at his office, crossed the Arctic Circle and visited the official and working Father Christmas post office.
There were reindeer rides you could take here but we knew we would be doing this later in the week. We did sign up for a Husky Park husky ride here which we really enjoyed.
Husky rides are some of my absolute favourite things to do in Lapland and we took a two kilometre ride which was just long enough.
You can view the Arctic Circle crossing point live here and it was great to call family from home to tune in to watch us all.
We really enjoyed our time here and it is definitely recommended.
We caught the bus back to Rovaniemi, it takes around 15 minutes.
Read more:
Our guide to Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi
Day two in Lapland – SantaPark
On our second day we spent the whole day in SantaPark which is just outside of the city, very close to the airport and on the same bus route as the Santa Claus Village.
We booked our tickets for SantaPark in advance, about two weeks before we travelled but there were plenty of tickets available on the day too.
You definitely need one full day at SantaPark and there are two levels of tickets, regular or VEP (Very Elfish Person).
The children really loved this day and we enjoyed being inside as it’s set in a cave.
It’s pretty magical at SantaPark and we liked decorating gingerbread, meeting Father Christmas, watching the show and riding the train here.
I’d say it’s more geared towards younger kids but it’s a good day out and the children enjoyed it. Your tickets are valid for two consecutive days but one is enough.
We took the bus back in to Rovaniemi and went out to eat at our favourite Finnish pizza restaurant Kotipizza.
Read more:
A review of Santa Park Rovaniemi
Day three in Lapland – Reindeer Farm – DIY trip to Lapland
When we were organising our trip to Lapland we wanted to experience some really authentic activities and it didn’t get much more real and yet at the same time magical as our trip to Porohaka Reindeer Farm.
This was all of our favourite activity in Lapland.
We spent the whole day at the farm.
It was wonderful to help to feed the reindeer, and we also took a reindeer sledge ride and went ice fishing.
We had lunch cooking sausages over an open fire and eating delicious vegetarian pie with mugfuls of hot chocolate.
The whole day was incredibly special and really is one we will always remember (and haven’t stopped talking about since we visited).
Read more: A visit to Porohaka Reindeer farm
Day four in Lapland – Skiing and culture
Our children love to ski and the Ounasvaara Ski Resort is around an hour outside of Rovaniemi so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to get back on the slopes.
We caught the bus to Ounasvaara which proved to be the wrong choice and the one time when the Finnish public transport system didn’t work for us.
We wandered about for a while, asked for help before realising that the only way was to get a taxi from a hotel we ended up at.
Once we got to Ounasvaara it was the perfect place to get the children back out on the snow and they loved it. Ounasvaara isn’t big but it’s perfect for beginners (you can book lessons) there or for those looking to spend a day out on the slopes.
It was great and there’s a really lovely cafe for hot chocolates and great food too.
We caught a taxi from Ounasvaara back in to Rovaniemi (definitely the best way to get there and back) and picked up our luggage from our hotel.
It was quite a late train back in to Helsinki so we went to the large HesBurger for veggie burgers and then to the K Market to get some breakfast for the morning.
We had four full days in Rovaniemi which was perfect to do all the things we wanted to. It was cold when we visited (down to minus 13) but not as cold as it can get.
You can check out our packing list for Lapland in winter for everything we wore which kept us nice and warm.
There were lots of other things to do in Rovaniemi and we will be writing a complete guide to Rovaniemi with kids and a list of the best things to do in Rovaniemi with kids which will appear here.
Night train between Lapland and Helsinki – DIY trip to Lapland
The night train to Helsinki left at 9.30pm and arrived around 20 minutes before it departed so we got there in good time.
On the way back we tried out the cabins on the top floor which weren’t interconnecting but did have their own private bathrooms. If (when?!) we take the trip again we would go for the interconnecting over the private bathroom as it was nice to all be in together.
Our cabins were side by side though so they did still work for us. We slept better on this direction, mainly because the train was terminating at Helsinki (so no missed stop to worry about) and was getting in later, at 9.30 am so we had more time to snooze and get ourselves ready in the morning.
Read more: Taking the Santa Express train
Day three in Helsinki – Saunas and islands – DIY trip to Lapland
Our trip didn’t end there though. We had another couple of days in Helsinki to really enjoy our time in Finland.
This time we stayed in the Noli Apartments which were self catering and had two bedrooms.
We booked in for the night before because the night train arrived so early. This meant as soon as the train was in we could head to the apartment and drop our bags, shower and freshen up.
There wasn’t much time to linger though as we had more exploring to be done. Like when we arrived at Rovaniemi we made sure we headed out again nice and early to make the most of the day.
Our first stop was to Suomenlinna Island, the ferry for which was around a ten minute walk from our apartment.
Built in the 18th century the story of Finland is contained here. It’s a fascinating place for a wander in absolutely every season. In winter it feels picturesque and we loved our time here.
There are museums and lots of restaurants and it’s a great way to explore some of Helsinki’s history. We stopped in for lunch at Adlerfelt (which was amazing) and loved the feeling of community here on the islands.
Read more:
The best things to do in Helsinki with kids
We then took the three o’clock ferry back to the mainland and visited Allas Sea Pools.
This was somewhere we all wanted to visit. The outdoor pools contain one heated and one the temperature of the Baltic Sea it is next to.
There are saunas and it’s a really atmospheric place to visit.
We loved having a family sauna and we tried to make it to the unheated pool but it was freezing. Even the heated pool was cold but it was a really wonderful moment, swimming in the outdoor pool with the lights of Helsinki twinkling around us on a mid December night.
Day four in Helsinki – Interactive museums, brunch and home
Our last day in Helsinki was a full one as our flight didn’t leave until 9pm.
We headed out and started with brunch at Eksberg Cafe, the oldest in the city. This place is a real institution and while brunch felt busy (definitely book in advance) it was also nice to sit and enjoy all the savoury and sweet food and endless mugs of coffee.
We then enjoyed the Helsinki City Museum which is really fun for all ages. There’s a separate children’s museum where children can dress up and enjoy various role playing rooms and it all links through to the main museum which the children also enjoyed. Definitely worth a visit.
We then took the train out of the city towards the airport and to the simply amazing Heureka.
This fun, interactive science museum is brilliant for all ages. We loved our time here and wished we had longer than the couple of hours we got to spend here. We would definitely return and it’s a great place to stop off on the way to the airport.
Our thoughts on organising a DIY trip to Lapland on a budget
We loved our DIY trip to Lapland and if you’re looking to visit Lapland on a budget this is by far the cheapest way to do it.
Organising it this way meant we were able to do exactly what we wanted on this trip. With as much time in Helsinki as we chose and to take activities like skiing which appealed to our children.
We liked the combination of city and Lapland and this gave us all an amazing holiday which we will never forget.
DIY trip to Lapland on a budget – Top Tips
- We found the public transport in Helsinki brilliant and really easy to use. The public transport in Rovaniemi was more hit and miss and more expensive. Next time we would hire a car at the train station in Rovaniemi (there’s a SIXT car hire desk here) to use to get around.
- There’s no doubting it’s cold but dress well (see our packing list for Lapland) and it’s easier to enjoy the day.
- You can definitely do less than you would expect, because of the temperature and also the darkness which comes in early.
- Make sure you give yourself lots of breaks to really enjoy it and don’t over expect in terms of activities you want to do each day.
- Don’t worry about taking food with you from home. The supermarkets in Lapland are good and not too expensive. There’s plenty of choice (for vegans too) and you won’t go hungry. The fast food restaurants are also well priced.
Read our complete guide to 75 top tips for Lapland here.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our DIY trip to Lapland on a budget. Why not check out our ultimate guide to Lapland with kids where we go into more detail about other areas of Lapland you can visit and trips to take.There’s also our guide to Helsinki with kids for more on the capital city. Please do let us know if you have any questions, we’re always happy to answer them.
