Take the Family holiday rating
| Flying Time | 4.00 hours  |
|---|---|
| Carbon Footprint | 2.13 tonnes CO2 |
| Timezone | GMT +2 |
| Local Currency | Euro |
Because meeting Santa Claus and his elves must be nearly every young child's dream. But the bearded bestower of Christmas joy is not the only reason for a family trip to Lapland, a region that covers parts of northern Finland, northern Sweden, northern Norway and Russia, most of it within the Arctic Circle. This traditional homeland of the Sámi people – one of the world’s oldest surviving cultures – also offers you the chance to frolic in the snow and, if you’re lucky, see the awe-inspiring Northern Lights and spot polar bears.
Whether Sweden or Finland is home to Father Christmas is the subject of dispute. The Swedes claim he lives in Mora, south of Swedish Lapland; as a result, Mora is home to Tomteland or Santaworld, where Santa’s Village shares space with the Kingdom of the Trolls, the Fairy Grounds, the Elf Villlage, an elk and reindeer park and other delights. It’s open all year, although Santa takes a break in August and September!
The Finns argue that Santa lives near Rovaniemi, their gateway to Lapland, and again, it’s Christmas all year at the town’s Santapark, with sleigh-riding, toy-making, and the chance to help out at the elf park.
Other activities on a family break to Lapland – whether focused on St Nick or on outdoor pursuits – might include ice-fishing, snow-hockey, reindeer sleigh rides and reindeer lassoing, husky sledge rides, horse-riding, toboganning, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, snowboarding, snowmobile safaris and snow sculpture. Oh, and let’s not forget the gingerbread-decorating or the campfires, or – for parents, at least – the saunas and spas!
In the run up to Christmas, if you want to meet Santa, or between November and April for other winter activities. Temperatures descend to -30°C in the coldest months, but most tour operators provide thermal outer suits and accessories. Do bear in mind that the Sun never shines in the far north during the ‘Blue Twilight’ or Arctic Winter (Dec and early Jan).
If you visit in summer, on the other hand – when there are other activities to occupy outdoors-loving families – you’ll be treated to the weirdness that is the Midnight Sun, with the Sun shining day and night for months (roughly end of May to mid-July).
Family break providers fly to to Helsinki in Finland (about 3hrs from London), then on to Ivalo (about 90mins), Rovaniemi (about 75mins), Kittilä (about 1hr 25mins) or Kuusamo (about 1hr 25mins). For Swedish Lapland, one option is to fly to Stockholm (about 2hrs 10mins from London) then connect to Kiruna (about 1hr 30mins).
Family breaks (see right-hand side of this page) with our partners Esprit Holidays and Activities Abroad include flights, transfers and accommodation.
Tour operators offer a wide range of accommodation, from hotels and apartments to chalets, log cabins and even igloo snow cabins. Some chalets and hotels have saunas; spas might also be found at some hotels. Local tourist boards are very helpful with recommendations if you’re traveling independently, or the family-friendly chain of Scandic Hotels operates across the region, including in Rovaniemi and Kiruna.
In Swedish Lapland, don’t miss a stay at the out-of-this-world Ice Hotel®, where you can sleep on reindeer-hide covered ice beds and eat breakfast off an ice table.
Assuming you go on an organized family break, activities depend on your choice of tour operator and the length of your stay (durations range from a day-trip with early-morning departures from the UK to a week). Those aimed at younger kids usually include meeting Santa, with some tours also taking in his Control Centre, where you can learn how he keeps track of all his letters from around the world and gets ready for Christmas, and the Elf School, where kids can make a traditional Lappish decoration.
Finnish Lapland is tops for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling (kids ride behind in trailers), and husky- or reindeer-drawn sled rides, while Kiruna in Swedish Lapland is a great place to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis – just don’t tell the kids that one legend holds that these spectacular light displays are spirits playing with children’s heads (for the Sámis, however, they’re the swishing of a fox’s tail). Kiruna (home to the Ice Hotel) also has some impressive magnetite mines that you can visit. (Note that seeing the Northern Lights – possible in parts of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Canada – is a hit-and-miss affair, with no one place able to guarantee a sighting at a particular time.)
Experience a traditional ceremony for crossing the Arctic Circle – often included in tours and performed by reindeer herders, they may include a shamanic spell, a Lappish baptism and consumption of a ‘magic’ drink. Travellers get a certificate as proof of crossing. Another great way of making the crossing is by the Inlandsbanan or Inland Railway between Kristinehamn and Gällivare in Sweden, which marks the event by sounding its whistle.
Try to meet some of the local, semi-nomadic Sámi people (many of them reindeer-herders) and learn about their lives, from their prehistoric past to the present. Despite ill treatment over the centuries, the Sámis have no word for war but more than 90 for snow. One of the main Sámi communities can be found at Inari in Finland, and it’s on Lake Inari that you’ll find Siida, home to the Sámi Museum & Northern Lapland Nature Centre, which includes open-air displays in summer.
Find more culture at Arktikum, the Provincial Museum of Lapland at Rovaniemi in Finland, which explores the role of nature and animals in Sámi mythology. Rovaniemi is also home to the Arctic Circle Reindeer Farm, and Santapark (see above), both open year round.
If you come in summer, enjoy one of the various great festivals hosted by this region, including the Midnight Sun Festival during the summer solstice, featuring traditional singing, music and dancing, among them Sámi sound poems created by throat singing (said to soothe nervous reindeer). Summer is also the time for canoeing, white-water rafting and fishing, after the rivers thaw out, plus horse-riding and mountain-biking. Beware of the mosquitos, though.
Local specialities include reindeer, moose, salmon and other fish from the many lakes, and berry juice. Try to visit a traditional market in a Lapp village to sample dried reindeer meat, or try in it sandwiches, as kebabs or sautéed in butter as poronkäristys, served with mash and cranberry jelly and pickled cucumber – just don’t tell the kids if you think it’ll freak them out!
If you’re taking a tour, you’ll find buffets ranging from Swedish-style breakfast spreads to dinners including lots of child-friendly Western staples.
A day-trip to Lapland in December with Esprit Holidays starts at £429 per adult, £359 per child 6–11, kids 2–5 £279. A seven-day Wilderness Christmas trip with Activities Abroad starts at £1245 per adult, £1015 per child under-14. It’s essential to book early to ensure availability and snare the free child places.
Overall Rating
We went to the Hotel Holiday Club in Saariselka for 3 nights on the Santa Spectacular with Esprit holiday. When I booked the carrier hadn’t been chosen but unfortunately this turned out to be Easyjet. Esprit assured us that the boarding wouldn’t be the usual scrum and there would be festive carols on board which was incorrect. The plane was fully booked and families were literally running for the plane to ensure they sat together. Not everyone was able to and we then spent an extra 40 minutes on the aircraft whilst a harassed hostess pleaded with people to give up their seats so parents and babies could sit together. There were no carols and it wasn’t at all festive. The cost of food was extortionate and on the return journey they didn’t have any food at all, a just alcoholic drink so there was a plane full of hungry and thirsty children which was already delayed. We were delayed both ways and there was a lack of information from Easyjet. When we rang Esprit from the airport to try and find out what was happening they didn’t want to know and said we had to speak to the carrier – hadn’t we booked the holiday with Esprit? We also originally booked full board and paid the supplement, however the invoice changed a few months before the holiday to say half board, no pack lunch was being provided for the journey home and Esprit, completely not interested, wouldn’t offer a refund. Once there it was great and the staff made it magical for the children. There were naughty elves waiting at the airport to play with the children and even the coaches had festive names. Dotted along the journey there were elves waving at the coach (they must have been freezing waiting for us) and more once we arrived at the village hall to get kitted out in our snow stuff. This was amazingly efficient. The staff took once look at each of us and correctly sized us up and handed us the clothing, everything smelt clean and looked clean so you didn’t mind putting on socks that had probably been work by 100 other people. The Hotel was good, the rooms were small and the only downside was the sofa bed was the only double but with a paper thing mattress was only usable by the children and the grown up beds were twins. Our fridge didn’t work, but apart from that it was ok, if rather small. We were glad however we didn’t pay the extra for one of the cabins as it would have driven us mad having to get all our snow gear on just to come backwards and forwards to the main hotel to eat etc. The pool facilities were good, if rather a bit cold so you couldn’t stay there for long. The cleaning of the room and main areas of the hotel left a little to be desired. One morning at breakfast there were still meatballs and chips on the dining room floor from the night before, however none of us got ill. The food was basic although the children always had plenty to eat; there was always something with chips and pasta of sorts. The breakfasts were excellent so we all went out well fed. The food on the trips were very good, again pasta one day and sausage and chips another so everything got eaten. The trips went like clockwork, everything was well planned and there were lots of staff on hand to encourage you or just entertain the children. Every time you got on the coach they sung the same 3 Christmas songs which did get a bit much, but the children loved it. The children were never bored and you were never cold with all your layers. The Santa day was great; the staff really worked up the excitement for the children so it was something really special. I would recommend the holiday but NOT if Easyjet was to be the carrier again. I would like to return to Lapland maybe as a winter sporting holiday, but I think once is enough for the whole Santa experience.
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