Things to see & do in Finnish Lapland

Forget Santa Claus Village. Move aside visions of rosy-cheeked elves and gift workshops. Vacations to Finnish Lapland give you more in the way of snowshoeing across snow-slumped spruce forests and whiteout wilderness, all doubling as one big cross country ski run. This isn’t cannoned-in, groomed ski snow, either. This is wild snow with only Arctic fox paws before you. Some people going on a winter vacation to Finland don’t get beyond Rovaniemi city, where Santa Claus Village has set up shop, but a great vacation to Finnish Lapland will treat the city as a handy gateway for whisking you out into the wilderness (where, you’ll soon find out, Santa really lives).

Northern Lights tours explore remote Oulanka National Park, where light pollution is zilch and stars pack the sky. Family vacations seek out Santa on snowshoes and crash at hotels with snow parks, often in not too remote Pyhä-Luosto National Park. Finnish husky safaris teach you the ropes in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, where the last of the Sámi herders camp out with their reindeer. You can join them for dinner under the stars at a kota cabin. But perhaps Finnish Lapland’s best kept secret is its summer. Hike the hills, bike the spruce forests and canoe the lakes – you’ve got over 1,000 to choose from.

You’ll need to travel with a Finnish Lapland vacation specialist to really get to grips with the region. How else would you find the best snowshoe trails or eat dinner with a Sámi family? And who else would be able to tell you the pros and cons of each season, or tailor your activities to suit your group?

Oulanka National Park cosies up to the northerly Russian border, which just happens to be prime Northern Lights viewing territory. Most vacations here will pack you into a remote hotel or restored log cabin surrounded by nothing but peace and a pitch-dark sky. The snowy wilderness turns into an eerie land this close to the Arctic Circle – perfect for cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

You’ll need around a week to see Finnish Lapland; perhaps five days if you’re focussing on a theme like Northern Lights or husky safaris. Most vacations are small group tours that match you up with a varied group of people who are all on the same page as you are. It’s basically a readymade friendship group, usually made up of 16 people or less. Tailor made vacations are for travelers who’d prefer to personalise things like the vacation duration and lodgings. Accommodation is designed with the activities in mind. Northern Lights vacations will put you up in restored logging cabins in Oulanka National Park, where the aurora borealis dances right above your head and the sauna is waiting for you after a day in the snow. Family vacations might base you at a hotel with a snow park or swimming pool. Home-cooked food like a Sámi-style reindeer roast is usually a given. Winter vacations usually run between December and March. That means winter clothing (often included; just bring your base layers) and a cold weather mindset are necessary. Temperatures can sink 30°C below zero. Christmas is huge in Finnish Lapland, lakeside summer vacations are usually an August affair, while photography trips run in the autumn. Daylight hours are short in winter, so if you go in December and January you’ll likely sled and snowshoe in the winter twilight. All the better for seeing the Northern Lights with. Smartphones can be as useful as a chocolate teapot. If you want good photographs – especially of the Northern Lights – you’ll need a decent SLR camera that can cope with subzero temperatures. Even better: go on a photography vacation to learn how to use the changing light to your advantage.