Bloody Lapland

[bifflepe]

We are thinking of Lapland next Xmas for our 5 year old..DH is a teacher so we are tied to the school hols and it's just crazy expensive.
All I have found so far is £4k for 2 nights and 3 days which is actually one full day, a morning and an evening with the flight times.
Is it actually worth it and how can we do it cheaper?
I keep seeing Instagram reels of travel blogs where they do it for 5p etc, but all these are all not in the school hols and I'd manage that myself, unfortunately can't leave DH behind and he can't take a school day off. DH also thinks she is too young anyway!

I'd suggest flights to Helsinki and then the overnight train to Rovaniemi which would save money and also a hotel stop. Santa Claus Village is not far from Rovaniemi airport and train station so maybe hire a car and find a cheap hotel in one of the neighbouring towns.

I don't think five is too young, but she might get more from it and enjoy playing in the snow more if you can hang on another year or so. Have a look at Facebook groups like Lapland on a Budget. Lots of DIY tips - generally involving booking Ryanair flights and an Airbnb. You can get cheap snow gear from Lidl or Vinted and sell on afterwards. Self cater or eat at McDonalds (the most northerly in the world!). The activities like husky sledding and reindeer rides will always be expensive though so you just have to factor that into your budget. Also February half term is a cheaper time to go. I know it's not quite the same as going at Christmas but you can still see Santa and there's more snow, so that could be an option if December is still too expensive.

We went in January rather than December anad it was miles cheaper. You can fly direct from Gatwick to Rovaniemi, and the airport is literally 5 minutes from the town centre, and we stayed in a lovely airbnb that was very good value. There are shorter (cheaper!) versions of all the activities, and for a 5 year old, tasters are really all you need; playing in the snow is just as much fun! Aldi snowgear did us fine as well. You really don't need to spend a fortune on the whole thing; we spent €1400 for 4 of us for flights (Dublin-Gatwick-Rovaniemi and back), accommodation and car hire.

If you go to Ranua zoo, there's a lady nearby who can meet you in the carpark with a one horse open sleigh for a ride through the forest - the horse even wears a bell so you can really go to town on the singing : )

Lapland is extortionate in the winter holidays but you can go at other times of the year. We went in September and you can still visit Santa Claus world. The difference is that flights and accomodation are a fraction of the price and there may not be snow but you can probably get a whole week's holiday for less than you quoted above.

Don't supposed DH gets a ported PD day in December, and you could go for a long weekend?

Go in February half term! You can get a full week, it’s still amazing and magical then and the Santa stuff is still open in some places.

Thanks all
@SnowsFalling I wish, he wouldn't! Plus he ends up using them for DD sick days throughout the year for nursery germs
@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername we can't do this as he's in school and we live in the arse end of the west country so the trip to Heathrow etc would take up two days, it has to be in the December Xmas hols, this year he was back in on 2nd Jan

@Aaron95
September is school term here!

So pick a time which is not Christmas but is school holidays. Schools get holidays every 6 weeks.

Don't bother with a car. Taxi from the airport is reasonably cheap, and (if I remember correctly) the number 8 bus goes through Rovaniemi centre, around £5 return each.

The city is nice and pleasant enough to be there for a few days. Decent shopping centres, just make sure you book restaurants in advance as they book quickly, especially during peak times. It's above average pricey but not extortionate.

The northern lights are supposedly the best there, so maybe book a viator trip (around 80 each) to go out late in the night to 'try' to see them. I'd probably aim to book a night or two before so you know the weather and if the sky is clear. Another is a hike to the three waterfalls (frozen is cool in the winter!)... or maybe the amethyst mine, but this is super expensive and a bit of a drive.

Santa's village is very commercial. Free to get in as it's mostly tat shops, but the husky area and reindeer sleds are fun. Visiting Santa is free, but you have to get there early as it gets super busy. They make their money by charging for the photos and the postcards etc (I think it's £10 for a photo with Santa, and £10 to send a postcard via the village back to the uk). Food is nothing special in the village, nice hot chocolates :).

@Aaron95
Yes I get that, my question was how to do it IN the school holidays and how anyone may have done this. The prices we have looked at during the half terms either side of Xmas are also extortionate.
Flights and accommodation will obviously be cheaper in September as it's outside the school holiday...

honestly dont go when there is no.snow !
what about Easter hols if early enough. The snow is still deep in April normally.

We did it in October. Ryanair to tampere, sleeper train to rovaniemi. 2 days there (including santa stuff) rented a car and then spent 6 days in a cabin in Inari.

If obyl spending 2 nights I'd suggest getting easyjet to rovaniemi and booking a hotel in city. You can take a bus from the airport and there are busses to the santa village and santapark etc. I guess that would be the cheapest option.

Ryanair aren't currently flying to Tampere but they do fly to Helsinki. Finnish long distance trains have play areas on them and are surprisingly inexpensive compared to the UK.

We did it last month as a day trip due to work commitments and couldn't get any longer off. It was amazing! We managed to fit in loads in the day trip, and would recommend it.

For people suggesting October, unless you're going to see Father Christmas I really don't understand why you would do Lapland? There are plenty of other places to go with snow that are much cheaper. But surely the whole point of going to Lapland is to do the whole Father Christmas thing. We did it when the kids were young and it was a lot of money but it was magical. We used Canterbury travel.

Ah they seem to be on their 'winter break' to tampere. But they do seem to fly helsinki and rovaniemi. But the sleeper train from tampere and helsinki is the same train and cost seems to be similar.

We stayed it a little Chalet in the Santa Claus village and it was quite tacky.

But our visit to Santa in his private HQ and then another night making a night time exploration through the forest with the elves we booked separately at Joulukka. Sat in the dark around a campfire with elves sipping hot chocolate with reindeer running around, hoping to see the northern lights, and santa appears out of the forest to say hello. That was absolutely magical. I'd really recommend it...their attention to detail was amazing.

santaclaussecretforest.com/

Lapland is so much more than Santa! Going in the autumn you'll see ruska which is the most beautiful autumn colours, in the summer it is utterly beautiful and the sun doesn't set - nothing quite like swimming in a lake at midnight followed by a bbq cooking the fish you've just caught yourself and all the berries to pick. Early spring has snow and sunshine and perfect cross-country skiing conditions (layer of ice on the snow so you don't sink). And of course there's reindeer, reindeer everywhere.

@Natsku
This sounds wonderful actually.
We lived abroad for years and want DD to be well travelled also - rather than just the standard holidays, this may be what I needed to hear rather than getting sucked into the Lapland at Xmas thing.
It was a hell of a lot easier abroad when we didn't have to pay crazy school hol prices.

I'm not necessarily suggesting going in October, I just happened to go in October. But Laplad is a huge area and totally different in all 4 seasons. Beautiful nature, different sports, hiking etc. Santa is there all year round and only a small thing. It's the same as any travel. Why go to place x when you could get it in y.

This sounds magical! I'm now rethinking whether December is the best time.

Skip the touristy type travels then, will be cheaper and more of an experience. It does suck about the British school holiday pricing though, it is insane.

Honestly, unless you're going just for a Christmassy Santa trip, then December is the worst. There isn't always snow (depending on whereabouts in Lapland you go) and its dark and its expensive because of all the Santa tourists. Late February/early March is my favourite time for a snowy holiday there but overall I prefer summer in Lapland, its just wonderful (if you can cope with mosquitoes!)

@Natsku
Yeah I they bloody are and I no longer teach makes it feel more annoying.