Lapland Holiday Guide and Resorts

Santa's Christmas home

Every December, families from across the world travel to Lapland to experience the magic of Santa’s frozen forest home. It's a fairy tale come true, with reindeer and huskies dashing through the snow, enchanting elves around every corner, crackling fires and cosy log cabins and the best Christmas present ever, that magical meeting with Santa Claus himself

Winter sports and activities

This winter wonderland serves up a host of action-packed Arctic activities for kids and parents alike, from snowmobiling, skiing, sledging and snowshoeing, to the yelp and yowl of husky mushing, and the gentler pace of a traditional reindeer sleigh ride.

The real Lapland

Lapland is Europe’s last great wilderness, a land of outstanding natural beauty, where reindeer roam freely and far outnumber their human counterparts. For hundreds of years the indigenous Sami people have lived in harmony with Mother Nature and the land, hunting, fishing and reindeer farming. Little has changed, and it’s a privilege to be welcomed to this wonderful landscape and its rich culture.

Where to stay in Lapland

Rovaniemi, just a few kilometres is the cosmopolitan capital of Lapland, just a few kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. But our trips take you further north, deeper into Lapland. At our Lapland destinations, each village has it's own character, from the small-but-perfectly-formed ski resorts of Luosto and Pyhä  to the laid-back log cabins of Sunday Morning resort, deep in the Pyhä-Luosto National Park. To the east, right on the Arctic Circle, are Suomu and Ruka Valley and to the north, Enontekiö on the (frozen!) shores of Lake Ounasjärvi.

Lapland weather

Lapland in winter is cold – freezing cold! Temperatures in December average -7°C during the day, and -16°C overnight. You definitely need to dress up warm, but you’ll find our snow suits and boots surprisingly snug! You can expect at least a little snow on most days, occasional fog and rain, and even clear skies and sunshine, though the hours of daylight are very short! Summer is pleasantly warm, with temperatures around 20°C, and wonderful 24-hour daylight during much of June and July.

It's all about the light

We call them Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. The Finns call them ‘revontulet’, literally ‘fox fire’. Legend has it that the Arctic fox would run through the snow swooshing its tail, creating sparks which rose into the sky. In Lapland, the Northern Lights appear up to 200 times in a year. We can’t promise you will see them, but we guarantee that in our Lapland destinations there’s no better place to try!

Our top Lapland resorts

Our top Lapland holidays

Browse our collection of award-winning Lapland day trips and Lapland short breaks.