Lapland independently - those that have been - how much were your flights!?!

[Guitargirl]

I have been looking into a 3-night Lapland trip for just before Christmas 2014. Have spent a lot of time going through threads on here, on TripAdvisor and all the agents websites and was coming to the conclusion that an independent trip would be the best way to do it. Had even decided on accommodation and our own little itinerary and then idly looked on the Finnair website to see how much it would be if we did the same trip this Christmas...and the flights are coming out at over £1K for 1 adult and 2 children!!

So, those of you who booked independently how much were your flights and was this for travel in December?

TIA

Not booked independently but did price checks lots last year and found independent only worked out cheaper if going outside of Xmas. We went with thomsons and this time of year, their prices are at their lowest. Don't forget package trips inc tasters and all the outfits etc! Don't leave til end of summer as prices went sky high from sept before selling out in oct nov time.

Thanks - that's very helpful and has confirmed what I had thought.

Do you mind me asking which resort you went for and if you enjoyed it?!

Hi We went to saariselka with thomsons. I've had some great holidays but this was the best ever and worth every penny.

This time of year you can get 4 days for family of four for about £2400 (that's a good price but prices vary by up to a £1000 so check out all the dates. It didnt really drop below 2k). Thomsons are the cheapest I found. Have a look on trip advisor on the lapland forum as there's loads of info on there inc my Thomson review. It was simply amazing and I'll remember driving my kids on the husky sled for the rest of my life! I'd go again but dh wants a summer holiday and I guess it'd spoil the magic!

The Thomson flight is fab, all the staff dress up and kids sing carols down the intercom...ah it's amazing! On the last night they have a gala meal followed my fireworks! The resort has the best snow record plus a 2km sled run which is loads of fun. Go as late in dec as possible - last year was ok but the year before only got snow the first weekend in dec.

Thanks for the info - it sounds fab! I was leaning towards emagine but they have been a bit rubbish about replying to emails - I will check out Thomsons.

Meatiness are pricier and have longer trips but to be honest you'd be better off getting an overall cheaper deal and paying for excursions out there as the trips in resort are 2-3 hours so you could get a few for the price of booking with a more expensive operator. Have a look at cosmos as they did a great package last year but only fly Gatwick to lapland.

Emagine that should say

We have been thinking about doing this with our two but having researched I cannot believe the ££££££. Wow! Totally out of our league.

And there was me thinking DIY would be an affordable way to do it. Pah!

Try inghams if you are prepared to go after Xmas... You can get a week for family of four in January for about £1700 and Santa is still the to visit. It's a cheaper option?

We went independently last December - flew out on 14th and stayed for a week. We combined the Father Christmas thing with some skiing and other trips such as visit to ice hotel, reindeer sleigh riding, husky rides etc. We flew wit Finn air from Heathrow to Kittila, via Helsinki and our flights were £200 a head. We stayed in Levi at the Best Western Apartments, which were fantastic and cost 150Euro per night. It was an amazing trip, and we loved the place, and have booked to go back Easter 2014 for another ski trip - also all independently. We have booked 11 months in advance each time, which is when you get the cheapest flights. I'm not sure what dates you are planning on - but have just looked at Dec 13th-17th (Fri-Tues) and flights are £205 per person. (skyscanner) If you are happy to be flexible with dates the flights are pretty reasonable.