How We Spent Our Magical 5 Night Stay in Lapland

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In September 2024, I turned to my husband and said I think we need to have a magical Christmas, let’s make Lapland happen! He was a little reluctant at first (costs, busy time of year etc) but we set to work researching how to do it and in the end, went for a DIY trip. We booked an Airbnb, flights, excursions and a hire car and on 22nd December we left for the most magical holiday we have ever been on. Here is all we got up to and packed into our 5 night stay…

Travel Day – Sunday 22nd December

We left the house for Heathrow at 5 am, parked the car with our booked service and checked in. After a lovely breakfast at an airport cafe we discovered that our flight to Düsseldorf at 8 am was slightly delayed. Luckily it was only a short wait and the journey was only an hour so it was smooth going. Once there we went through passport control (it was quite confusing to work out where we had to go but it turned out you have your passport checked here and not in Finland) and then found that our connecting flight to Kittilä was also delayed but thankfully the pilot made up time so our arrival into Finland was the same as planned. As we came down, Jake looked out the window and he spotted the Northern Lights! Photo courtesy of him…

Then as we left the plane we were greeted by this sign which was very exciting…

The baggage claim at Kittilä was fast and efficient as was picking up our hire car (although we did have to pay extra to have 2 booster seats). Oh I have to mention that it was the prettiest baggage claim I have ever been to…

The car was equipped with winter tyres, sat nav and a scraper and brush for the ice and snow. From here we made our way to the supermarket near to our accommodation in Äkäslompolo so we could stock up on all we’d need for our stay. Then we drove around the corner to find out lovely 2 bedroom cabin.

We chose this as the location was great and it had all the amenities we could need – two bedrooms, a living area with kitchen, cute bathroom, washing machine and a clothes dryer and even a sauna!!

Day One – Monday

We took some time to chill in the morning, settle into the cabin, have a play in the snow and recover a little from the travel.

We then took the short drive back to the shopping centre (where the supermarket was located) to visit the hire shop. We had already researched this and knew we could walk in and hire what we needed on the day. After a quick chat with a member of staff we chose to hire 4 pairs of snowboots, an all in one snow suit for William (youngest), trousers and coat for Jake (eldest) and a coat for me as mine wasn’t waterproof. This cost us £260 for 5 days. We already owned our thermal base layers, thermal socks, ski trousers, winter jumpers, snoods, hats and decent cold weather gloves and mittens.

From here we wandered across the car park to the reindeer farm to take a little look at them (for free in a field) and the antlers they had for sale with the children being more fascinated by the amount of snow then anything else! I was quite taken with the giant reindeer in the car park…

Then we made our way back to the car to take another short journey to the nearby Ylläs Ski Resort. By this stage it was lunchtime so we popped into a pub next to the car park called Taiga and we all had the most amazing meals. My veggie burger was brilliant and it was great to see there were non-meat options available.

Then it was time to hit the slopes!… The sledging slopes that is. We haven’t ever been skiing and it wasn’t in our plans for this week so we came for the free sledging. The children (and us adults) had an absolutely fantastic aftenoon. The kids were smiling from ear to ear, I was completely taken aback by the beauty of the ski slopes and views and we all had a blast in the snow – an opportunity we rarely get here in the UK.

We popped into a bar just off the slopes for drinks and a warm up but the children were eager to get back out so we had a couple more fun-filled hours before heading back to our cabin for a good nights sleep.

Day Two – Christmas Eve

We started our day with a wander down to the village to take in the sights including the pretty river, lights and snow and then onto Lake Äkäslompolo which is completely frozen at this time of year allowing people to walk or hike across, play in the snow, build igloos and take gorgeous photos on the swing.

There was a sign here to inform visitors about the Northern Lights live camera and for €9.99/week we thought it was well worth signing up to so we could have a better chance of seeing them. You can find out more here.

On the way back we popped into the supermarket to find a birthday cake for Jake which was quite tricky as they don’t actually stock them so we made do with a chocolate cake then headed home for lunch. Then before we knew it, it was time to set off for our first booked excursion – A Family-Friendly Self-Drive Husky Sledding Safari!

This was located at a Husky Farm in Ylläs and the price we paid included a coach trip to reach this. As we were staying in a cabin in Äkäslompolo we needed to make our way to the meeting point of Hotel Ylläsrinne which was about 15 minutes from us by car. From here we joined around 40 others on the coach along with a guide to have a truly memorable day. From start to finish this experience was well worth the money and I am so glad we booked it. Driving a husky sled was something I had always dreamed of doing and the thrill of this day will stay with me forever, our only regret is that we didn’t choose the longer trail – next time! You can read my full review on this excursion here.

We ended the day with a meal and cosy evening at our cabin and an earlyish night ready for Santa to come…

Day Three – Christmas Day and Jake’s Birthday

Christmas Day began with the opening of gifts (we took them all out with us already wrapped), breakfast and then a play in the snow – we discovered a sledge in the outdoor cupboard which was a lovely surprise for the boys. We decided to walk/pull the sledge into the village to see if anything was open and to our surprise some of the shops and restaurants were.

We browsed in the gift shop and had lunch in a pizzeria – a very different way of doing Christmas for us and Jake loved that he could get out and do these things on his birthday. But we had more planned…

I had booked a Searching for Santa experience, a 3 hour fun-packed event involving cookie making, a reindeer ride, hot chocolate, elvish entertainment, a snowmobile taxi ride, meeting with Santa plus gifts all finished off with marshmallow toasting and we held off telling the children until it was time to leave. We wanted to make this a Christmas they would always remember!

Searching for Santa is located at the Northern Lights Village in Levi which was around 50 minutes away from our cabin (you can see why car hire was essential for us, can’t you?) and our session was booked in for 4:45 pm. The drive was straightforward and we made it in good time and even though I had a few niggles about some parts of the experience, the boys had a blast and came away with huge smiles on their faces. You can read my full review on Searching for Santa here.

By the time we left it was around 8 pm and we thought our Christmas Day adventures were over but as we walked in the door of the cabin, my husband did a quick check in with the Northern Lights live cam and sure enough they were active! We could not believe it. So, we quickly bundled back into the car and made our way down the road to the frozen lake. As we pulled up we could see lots of other people had also realised that the lights had come out to play and we were given a wonderful wispy display across the cold nights sky. The lights weren’t as strong as we had hoped but we could make out the changing shapes and had a few glimmers of colour which were clear to see via the photos we were taking. It was the MOST magical and exciting Christmas any of us had ever had.

*Tip – if you have a decent camera learn how to capture the Northern Lights prior to taking this trip. A mobile phone doesn’t quite cut it.

Day Four – Boxing Day

Our last full day saw us start it with a very, very lazy morning after a very, very late night! We enjoyed spending some time in the cabin, using the sauna and having a good big lunch before setting off for our next booked experience – Arcandia. This Arctic Adventure Park is packed full of stunning movie set buildings, beautiful lights, family games, sledging, entertainment and more and we literally only booked it the week or so before we arrived in Lapland. Located in Levi, it was around 55 minutes from us but as always, there wasn’t much traffic and driving was fairly easy with the winter tyres so we made it there in good time. We booked for the Darkness session which starts at 3 pm but they do offer a Daylight session too. I have written a full review on Arcandia here and you’ll see from it that we all absolutely loved this park and we would definitely return. We thought we would only spend around 2 hours here but we ended up doing over 5! We only left because it was getting late and we had an hours drive back. We could have easily been there a little longer. You can read my full review on Arcandia here.

Day Five – Leaving Day

When I looked into booking Lapland I kept seeing package trips that were just 3 days long and I thought that must be all you needed, but when I woke up on day 5 I was absolutely gutted that our wonderful trip was coming to an end. We packed so much in, we were all so tired but we were also all buzzing to see and do more. I reluctantly packed and tidied up and said goodbye to the cabin (with tears in my eyes) and we all set off to do the boys favourite activity – sledging! We first went to the other side of the Ylläs Ski Resort as it was closer to us but unfortunately the gondola we wanted to take to look across at the views was closed and they didn’t offer free sledges like the other resort did. So, we gave up on there and headed back to where we knew and had one last fun-filled sledging session. On the way there we stopped at a viewpoint to capture the amazing skyline.

We went back to the same pub for lunch and all had the same things! Then our time was up and we needed to return our hired clothing, grab a quick selfie with the giant reindeer, return the hire car and check in at the airport.

Our flight to Frankfurt was at 4:20 pm and from there (after another delay due to fog) we boarded our flight home to Heathrow. The most magical and memorable Christmas trip had come to an end and as I sit here writing all about it I am eager to do it all again next year but it’ll be for 10 days and with even more packed in!

Answering Your Questions

When I posted our trip on social media I was inundated with questions and interest in how we did this trip so I wanted to take a moment to answer what I can.

Package or DIY?

My initial thinking was to go with a package holiday, having everything arranged for us so we wouldn’t have to think too much. I started making enquiries with different companies/agents for a Christmas stay but I was really surprised by the quoted costs that were coming back. Some examples for you (a family of 4): hotel for 3 days at £7.5k, another hotel for a week at £9.7k, 3 nights in a hotel at £5.4k, 7 nights in a self-catering apartment at £5574 (no extras included such as snow gear or excursions). So we opted for a DIY trip so we could save some money and be in complete control of what we wanted to do during our stay. I would say to do your research and choose what you think would work best for your family’s needs.

How is it driving in the snow?

My husband did all of the driving and I’d say the biggest areas you have to focus on is driving on the other side of the road which also means going around a roundabout the other way! And working out how the road is laid out because sometimes your eyes can play tricks on you when the snow is piled up by the side. As mentioned above, our hire car was equipped with all we needed and it was also an automatic meaning Rob had one less thing to think about. We noticed that locals would overtake us quite often but they must be used to tourists navigating their way around because they would do it with ease and never beep or get angry. Traffic wasn’t ever bad and even though I read in a Facebook group that reindeer can be a big problem, we didn’t see one cross the road! I guess it’s just like here in the UK, every once in a while deer may dash across the road but it’s not overly common to see. For us the car was well worth the cost as it allowed us to get out and about, do the excursions we had booked in and allowed us to have the freedom to do things in our own time.

What ages is Lapland suitable for?

It’s quite tricky to answer this as all children are different as are theirs and your needs. Our children were 7 and 11 when we went and I felt they were ideal ages for understanding what we were doing, where we were going, why we had to be places on time, why we had to wear a lot of layers and they just about coped with the late nights. We did see a lot of meltdowns from other children whilst we were there and I would say it was probably just down to tiredness and overstimulation because there is just always a lot going on. I would be inclined to say that 5/6+ would be the better age to first do a trip like this but I am basing this answer on my own experience of being a parent.

Hire or buy snow gear?

Again, this is a personal choice and you have to weigh up how much you want to spend, how much use you will get out of the clothing if you choose to buy it (children’s snow boots probably wouldn’t be worn again if you live in the UK!) and how much you can take with you (you need to factor in luggage weight). As we are often outdoors and because me and Rob visited both Tromso and Austria in the last few years, we all already owned a lot of thermals etc and you can easily get these from Vinted or outdoor clothing stores. Hiring snow gear in Lapland is easy, straightforward and you know you are going to get the best gear for the job.

Was the cold hard to cope with?

Not at all. With all the right gear you don’t even feel the cold most of the time and when you are being very active you will find yourself getting really hot – our kids were whipping off their hats, snoods, mittens and even undoing their jackets when they were sledging. My biggest tip would be to take extras of all of these things so if they do get wet they can be dried back at your accommodation and you can go back out straight away. I would also make sure you book accommodation with a dryer like this one:

My biggest tip would be to take plenty of lip balm, moisturisers an/or balms such B-Balm to help with drying skin.

How dark was it?

At the time of year we visited you get a few hours of daylight which is usually from 11ish until 2/3 pm. From 3 pm it starts to get dark again and this was something that really concerned me before we went. However, with the snow and lights I didn’t mind at all and it added to that magical feel. It does make you check the time more often because 5 pm can look like 10 pm but our body clocks weren’t affected.

Was food pricey and what about veggie options?

The food in the supermarket was pricey yes and we spent too much because we did it in a rush when we were tired and hungry. Next time I would make a list and a budget to stick to. There were lots of food options in there though and plenty of veggie meals in the frozen department. In terms of eating out, I saw both veggie and vegan options in the few places we visited. I had no problems finding something to eat during our stay.

How did you choose the excursions?

We knew from the start that we wanted to definitely do a husky sledding tour and see Santa. I am part of the affiliate scheme with a travel company called MANAWA so I booked our husky safari via them here (they kindly gave me 10% off for working with them).

I read about the Search for Santa via a Facebook group and it sounded great so I booked that directly with the Northern Lights Village here.

My husband came across Arcandia when he was doing further research into the area we were staying and as soon as we watched the promotional video we knew this had to be included in our itinerary. We booked directly with Arcadia via their website around 2 weeks before we went.

We did also try to book a snowmobile tour via MANAWA but unfortunately, it was fully booked, however, with the limited time we had in Lapland this wasn’t too much of an issue and is now on our to-do list for our next visit! I wish we had also booked in a reindeer sleigh ride.

How do you see the Northern Lights?

You can try to see the Northern Lights in several ways – using the app to track activity, paying for access to a live cam near where you are staying or booking a Northern Lights tour with a reputable company. The only reason we didn’t do the latter is because we have experience of this from Tromso and it was extremely tiring (we weren’t back until around 3 am) which we thought would be too much for the boys. However, a tour is great fun and you’ll have an expert who will tell you all about the lights, who will know the best locations for viewing them and who will be able to get some great photos for you. A tour like this looks really good. Lapland is one of the best places to see the Northern Lights so make sure you just keep looking up!

Was 5 days long enough?

For us, no. We needed some rest days to recover from things like staying up late to watch the Northern Lights and to just enjoy the snow outside the cabin a little bit more. I feel it’s a bit like what people say about Disney, you go for longer so you can have days set aside for a reset. We’d also have liked to have done and seen more of the area.

Would you do it again?

YES!

I hope this helps but if you have anymore questions feel free to reach out.

*This post contains affiliate links which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase via them. This does not affect your shopping experience or how much you pay (if I ever get discount codes I will update the post to include them). I received 10% off my booking for being part of their affiliate scheme. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.

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