Lapland Holidays: Helsinki, the Santa Claus Express and Rovaniemi

The short answer

What is Lapland, and where is Rovaniemi?

Lapland is not a country. The name covers the far north of Scandinavia, and Finnish Lapland is Finland’s northernmost region. Rovaniemi is its capital, and the town markets itself — as a registered name — as “The Official Hometown of Santa Claus®”.

The Arctic Circle, the line at approximately 66°33′46″ north beyond which the sun does not set at midsummer or rise at midwinter, passes through the Rovaniemi area. It is marked in the central square of Santa Claus Village, about 8km from the city centre, and stepping over it is the moment most visitors come for.

What does the Helsinki and Lapland holiday include?

It is a Finland package holiday built around one journey: south to north, capital to Arctic Circle, with the long leg done overnight by train.

• Days 1–3: Helsinki. Two nights at a 4★ central hotel such as Sokos Hotel Presidentti, or similar, with breakfast, and a full day in the capital.
• Night 3: the Santa Claus Express. Your own sleeper cabin on the overnight train north.
• Days 4–8: Rovaniemi. Four nights at a 4★ hotel such as Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus, or similar, with breakfast. Santa Claus Village is the day you arrive; the other days are yours, with optional husky, reindeer, snowmobile and Northern Lights excursions.

Return flights from London, the sleeper cabin, the hotels, daily breakfast, and airport and station transfers are included. Husky, reindeer and snowmobile excursions, lunches and dinners, meals on the train and travel insurance are not.

How much does a holiday to Finland and Lapland cost?

These are our lead-in prices per person, based on two sharing, for the seven nights. Your exact price depends on your dates, availability and any options you add, and is confirmed in writing before you pay. Daylight is sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month, calculated for each city’s coordinates.

Temperatures are the World Meteorological Organization’s official averages from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, 1971–2000, for the Rovaniemi and Helsinki-Vantaa stations. December is £700 more than October for the same seven nights, and £350 more than January. In October the holiday works out at about £128 per person per night, with the flights, the train, the hotels, breakfast and transfers inside it.

When is the best time to go to Lapland?

It depends what you are going for — snow, Christmas, the Northern Lights, or the lowest price — and no single month gives all four.

Lapland in October: the lowest price, before the snow is settled. At £899pp it is the cheapest month by £100. Rovaniemi averages 2.6°C by day and -2.0°C at night, so it hovers around freezing, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s records put the first unbroken snow cover at Rovaniemi on 21 October in an average year (1991–2020) — earlier in some years, as late as mid-November in others. It is also one of the best months for the Northern Lights, with over nine hours of daylight. One thing to know: SantaPark reopens for the 2026 season on 31 October, so earlier October departures will find it closed.

Lapland in November: winter arrives. At £999pp, Rovaniemi averages -3.5°C by day, in an average year the first snow cover has already arrived, and days are shortening fast — under six hours of sunlight by mid-month. It is the cheapest month in which Rovaniemi averages below freezing by day.

Lapland in December: Christmas, and the dark. At £1,599pp it is the dearest month, and it is what most people picture: Santa Claus Village in the Christmas season. It is also the darkest. Around the winter solstice the midday sun climbs only a fraction of a degree above the horizon — by the standard calculation it is up for about two and a quarter hours in Rovaniemi, but hills and forest hide a sun that low, which is why Visit Rovaniemi describes late December as the time the sun does not rise above the horizon. What you get instead is a long blue twilight: on 21 December, civil twilight in Rovaniemi runs from about 09:16 to 15:13.

Lapland in January and February: deep winter. These are the coldest months — January averages -8.5°C by day and -15.1°C at night in Rovaniemi — and £400 and £350 less than December. The light comes back quickly: from just over four hours of sunlight in mid-January to over eight by mid-February. The Finnish Meteorological Institute names February and March, with September and October, as the best months for the Northern Lights.

Lapland in March: snow and light together. At £1,149pp — £450 less than December — March has over eleven and a half hours of daylight, it is still below freezing by day, at -2.8°C, and the snow is at its deepest: the Finnish Meteorological Institute says snow in eastern and northern Finland averages 60 to 90cm, deepest around mid-March. It is also one of the institute’s best months for the Northern Lights. For a winter holiday rather than a Christmas one, it is the month we would look at first.

How cold is Lapland, and what should you wear?

Rovaniemi’s average highs run from 2.6°C in October to -8.5°C in January, and its average lows from -2.0°C to -15.1°C. Those are averages: individual days are colder, and a wind or an evening outdoors watching the sky feels colder still.

Dress in layers you can adjust between a heated hotel, a train and an evening outside:

• A base layer of thermal or merino wool, top and bottom.
• A warm mid layer, such as fleece or wool.
• An insulated, windproof outer layer, jacket and trousers.
• Hat, neck warmer and gloves — a thin pair inside a warm pair lets you use a phone without freezing your fingers.
• Warm, waterproof boots with grip, and thick socks. Pavements and paths can be icy.

In Helsinki, a warm winter coat, hat and gloves are enough for most of the season: its average highs run from 8.1°C in October to -2.9°C in February.

What are the Northern Lights chances in Rovaniemi?

Good, but never guaranteed: they depend on solar activity and, above all, a clear sky. What the official sources say:

• The Finnish Meteorological Institute puts the chance at roughly 50% of nights in Lapland — it gives ski resorts such as Levi and Saariselkä as its example — and three nights out of four in the far north around Kilpisjärvi, provided the sky is clear enough. It does not publish a figure for Rovaniemi itself.
• Visit Rovaniemi says the lights appear on around 150 nights a year in Finnish Lapland.
• The institute names February–March and September–October as the best months. In summer the nights are too light to see them at all.

Every departure on this holiday, October to March, falls inside the season. Four nights in Rovaniemi give you more than one chance of a clear sky, and an optional Northern Lights excursion, paid locally, takes you away from the town’s lights.

What is the Santa Claus Express?

The Santa Claus Express is VR’s night train between Helsinki and Rovaniemi — VR is Finland’s national railway, and the name is its own. It is a double-decker train with seats and sleeper cabins, and your own sleeper cabin is included in the holiday.

It is the reason this route works. You board in Helsinki on the third day, sleep while the train covers the length of the country, and arrive in Lapland on the fourth morning with a full day ahead. Meals on board are not included, so eat in Helsinki before you board, or take something with you.

What to see in Helsinki

You have one full day and a morning, and the centre is compact enough to walk. The landmarks, from the harbour outwards:

• Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral. A neoclassical square whose four main buildings — the cathedral, the Government Palace, the university’s main building and the National Library — were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel. The cathedral rises on its northern side and was completed in 1852. Adult admission is charged from June to October and voluntary from November to May.
• Market Square and the Old Market Hall. The market on the South Harbour, at the end of the Esplanade; the Old Market Hall beside it has served customers since 1889.
• Esplanade Park. The “green heart of the city”, laid out to Engel’s design in the 1850s, running from Market Square into the centre.
• Uspenski Cathedral. The Orthodox cathedral on Katajanokka, consecrated in 1868 and considered the largest Orthodox church in Northern and Western Europe. Adults pay an admission fee.
• Temppeliaukio Church. The “Rock Church” in Etu-Töölö, completed in 1969 and excavated directly into solid rock; it is also a concert venue. Adults pay an entrance fee.
• Suomenlinna. The sea fortress inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991. Ferries leave from the eastern side of Market Square, run all year as part of public transport, and take about fifteen minutes.
• Oodi Central Library. Helsinki’s central library, opposite the Parliament Building — a public space open to all, and one of the best places in the city to get out of the cold.
• The Sibelius Monument. Eila Hiltunen’s monument to the composer, over 600 steel tubes in Sibelius Park, inaugurated in 1967.
• A Finnish sauna. Allas Sea Pool, a stone’s throw from Market Square, has saunas and warm and seawater pools open all year; Löyly, in Hernesaari, has a traditional smoke sauna and a sea swim year-round. Neither is included in the holiday.

On the third day you have the morning in the city before the transfer to the station and the train north.

What to see in Rovaniemi

Four nights give you the day you arrive for Santa Claus Village and three more to spend as you like:

• Santa Claus Village. About 8km from the city centre, right on the Arctic Circle, with the line marked in its central square. You can meet Santa Claus every day of the year, and Santa Claus Main Post Office — the only official post office of Santa Claus — is here too. Visit Rovaniemi lists four things in the village that are free: crossing the Arctic Circle, meeting Santa at the Santa Claus Office, the Main Post Office, and Roosevelt Cottage.
• SantaPark. An underground Christmas theme park, the “Home Cavern of Santa Claus”, 7km from the city centre and 2km from Rovaniemi Airport. It is seasonal, reopening for 2026 on 31 October.
• Arktikum. The science centre and museum in the city, home to the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre and the Regional Museum of Lapland — the place to understand the Arctic and life this far north. Its long glass hall, opened in 1992, is meant to represent the “frozen finger of the north”. Entry is charged.
• Ounasvaara. The fell above the town, with a family ski resort of ten slopes and five lifts.
• Jätkänkynttilä Bridge. The Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge, 320 metres long and opened in 1989, linking Ounasvaara to the town centre — its name comes from a torch lumberjacks carved from wood.
• Korundi House of Culture. A 1933 post-bus depot that survived the Second World War, now home to the Rovaniemi Art Museum and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra.
• Husky, reindeer and snowmobile excursions. Optional and paid locally — the ones most people plan around. Tell us which matter to you and your consultant can arrange them before you travel.

Do you need a visa for Finland?

No. Finland is in the Schengen area, and British citizens can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Before you go:

• Passport. It must have been issued less than 10 years before the date you arrive, and have an expiry date at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area.
• The Entry/Exit System. The EU’s new Entry/Exit System is replacing passport stamps. You may need to register your fingerprints and a photo at the border; it is free, and the record is valid for three years. Children aged 11 or younger have a photo taken but no fingerprints.
• Cash. Declare cash or travellers’ cheques worth 10,000 euros or more.

That is GOV.UK’s guidance, checked on 26 September 2026. Check the latest official requirements before you travel, as they can change. Finland uses the euro, and it is two hours ahead of the UK all year: both countries change their clocks on the same dates.

Who is a Lapland holiday for — and who should look elsewhere?

It suits families who want Santa Claus Village and a real winter, couples looking for the Northern Lights, and anyone who likes the idea of a capital city and a sleeper train on the way. It is a good first trip to the Arctic, because the town has everything to hand.

It is less suited to anyone who wants a beach — for winter warmth, look at our winter sun holidays instead — and to anyone who needs the Northern Lights guaranteed, because nobody can promise a clear sky. If December’s price is the obstacle, January, February and March cost £350 to £450 less, and by March the snow is at its deepest.

Frequently asked questions