Lapland family vacations

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Lapland family vacations

There is nothing that feels like walking right through the wardrobe and into the Narnia of your imagination than that first crunch of fresh, deep Lappish snow beneath your feet.

Lapland family vacations could not be made easier. During winter especially, transfers are well managed and efficient, and the locals are extremely welcoming to children, who, provided you keep them warm and well fed, will be happy to hang out with huskies and reindeer, and toboggan down fells until you are too exhausted to haul them back up again.

Older kids pick up skills like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, canoeing and rafting in minutes, and curious minds of any age are catered for by a remarkable culture of reindeer herding, traditional lifestyles, wilderness ecosystems and astronomy.

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Things to do in Lapland with kids

Reindeer Farms

Learn about the unique nature and its culture with a visit to a reindeer farm on a Lapland family vacation. These gentle creatures do more than just pull Santa’s sleigh – they are pivotal to local life across Lapland and the herders are always keen to share stories of their daily lives and reindeer husbandry, before taking you on sleigh rides wrapped in warm blankets.

Get back to nature

Lapland’s incredible wilderness can provide an unforgettable opportunity for kids to discover their inner wild child, learning outdoor skills that will make them feel like Bear Grylls: learn to make a fire and forage; track iconic predators on foot or ski; practise calling for elk; or build an ice shelter.

Meet the main Christmas man himself

Finnish Lapland is the official home of Father Christmas – and you can meet the busy man himself in his “office” all year round. Letters addressed to Santa arrive here from around the world, and kids can help the elves with their tasks, ride on a reindeer-pulled sleigh and send their own postcards from the world’s most famous post office.

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about Lapland or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.

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1-866-821-6866

Call toll free

Calling from outside the USA

rosy@responsibletravel.com

Tips for families

Ali McLean, from our supplier, Activities Abroad, shares his advice on Lapland family vacations:
“Lapland is absolutely a family destination; for families with young to teenage children, it has everything. You can choose between log cabins, or hotels that have a swimming pool and then just outside of your door there’s dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing – the list goes on. It is important to remember that it does get very cold and although we wrap people up very well, we tend to keep activities to a maximum of four hours because it is incredibly tiring being in conditions that cold, so we manage it carefully depending on the age of the children and how much they can cope with.”

Mikael Kangas, from our supplier, Aurora Retreat, shares his advice on Lapland family vacations:
“Lapland is great for families and small children can enjoy a vacation there, but to get the most out of a winter vacation, you should seek out as much assistance as possible with organising your daily itinerary, so minimum time is spent in the cold. In the summer between June and September, Swedish Lapland is an adventure: you can travel up through the valleys by car, there are big rivers to marvel at or kayak in and you can find some lovely rural and quite unusual accommodation to stay in too. The Swedish are very welcoming to visitors; if you ask their advice on where to go and what to do locally, you’ll be met with lots of enthusiastic suggestions.”