A trip I will never forget... I loved it so much, went back again the following year... and will go this year again and again...
Giant tree in the middle of Santa Village, Rovaniemi, Finland.
The pictures in this trip will be probably the most beautiful pictures you will ever take - however given you are in the Arctic Circle, you only have a window of 5hrs to take them in day light.. so no time to waste... get on it!
Best time to travel is during the month of December as you have that magical Christmassy ambiance, feel and decoration.
Where to stay?
Where to stay in Rovaniemi is key, it's not a small city nor walking is fun. Best thing to do is to make sure you are staying on the line of the bus 'Santa Express' (yes! you heard right.. I mean seriously how cute?)
First time I stayed at The Arctic Light Hotel and then opted to stay in an airbnb as a cheaper option
So if you can spare one night to stay at this hotel in Saariselkà: Kakslauttanen... it is totally worth the unique experience. Now let's not get carried away, service and food are ok but sleeping in a glass igloo under the snow and maybe the northern lights and you will say no?
Where to eat?
Going to the Arctic Circle means you will be exposed to eating a new range of animal products like deer, moose and elk. These you can find in almost every restaurant in Rovaniemi, but of course being in the Nordics countries means Salmon is the star and the best one is at Santa's Salmon Place at the Santa Village (beware there is always a long queue to get in... but man it is so worth it!)
For something non-nordic... try one of the best pizzas I have ever had at Koti Pizza, it's very cheap too
Don't miss out on trying the Salmon Soup to keep you warm all day!
Where to go?
Going to Rovaniemi during the month of December, means a trip to Santa Village is a must! There you will find SANTA (no really, he does look and feel like santa) some restaurants, shops to buy souvenirs, a main post office to drop your letters to Santa.
You will also find some hotels around the village to stay at specially if you have kids for the easy in and out of Santa Village.
What to do?
There are many activities to do during your stay, I did those but there are many more you could do:
1- Take a husky tour (yes, you can cuddle the huskies at the end of the tour)
2- Take a reindeer tour
3- Go on a snowmobile safari
4- Go northern lights hunting (check this website here to know if you will have a chance to see them)
5- Visit the Ranua zoo
And those activities could be booked on any website prior to going, or even once there are they have the same prices everywhere (but be ready to pay good money for those tours)
What to know?
A trip to Rovaniemi is no less than 4 days since days are so short, add to that an additional 2 days to go to Saariselkà by bus (which takes around 3hrs each way)
It is worth to stay one night in Helsinki, many Christmas markets to visit and food is really good in the capital city.
There are couple of flights daily from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and it's only 2hrs.
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