Day 1: Arrival in Rovaniemi
We landed in Rovaniemi just after 6pm, and thankfully, the travel day was smooth—always a win. After passport control, I wetnt directly to the rental car counter while Ben waited for the luggage. mart move, because by the time he joined me, the line was massive. I probably would’ve had the keys already if the people ahead weren’t having issues—it felt like forever!
Then we stepped outside… and WOW. Instant cold. I was in fleece-lined leggings (one of my mid-layers), a thermal top, a light sweatshirt, base-layer socks, boots, long winter coat, winter hat, and mid-warmth gloves. Walking to the car was okay…until we stopped to take photos of the car for any damages. I took my gloves off to dig in my backpack and—frozen hands. Rookie mistake. Lesson learned: mittens are your best friend.
Once we had the car, we drove into town to pick up my winter gear. I didn’t own anything proper, and buying a winter outergear for one trip? No thanks. Renting was easy, I layered up with thermals, tried on a few sizes, and finally I was warm and ready to go back out in the cold.
Next, we wandered around a bit and checked out some ice sculptures—a lovely, low-key way to ease into the trip. Then we grabbed our first meal of the trip. Cozy, comforting, and yes…Ben went for the reindeer pasta. Don’t tell Rudolph.
Later, we arrived at our accommodation, which was amazing and even had a private sauna (yes, please!). After settling in, we got an alert that the Northern Lights might be out. We bundled up and headed outside, but unfortunately, no show that night.
That didn’t matter, though. Around midnight, we ended up at Santa Claus Village and had the entire place to ourselves. All the lights on, snow crunching under our boots, zero crowds—it felt like stepping into a magical winter wonderland. I sent my parents a link to the live webcam so we could wave to them!
And just like that, our Lapland adventure had officially begun.
Day 2: Ranua Zoo & Santa Claus Village
After a slow start, we drove about an hour out of Rovaniemi to Ranua Zoo to check out Arctic animals. Polar bears, snowy owls, a snow fox, reindeer, a wolverine—you name it, they had it. We spent over two hours walking the loop and managed to time the two animal talks perfectly.
Our feet were cold early on, so we slipped foot warmers into our socks—game changer. Seriously, we had zero cold feet for the rest of the day. Layers + warmers = happy explorers even at –34°C. We saw plenty of other people rushing past us, clearly too cold to properly stop and look.
Once we finished the loop, we stopped for a late lunch. There are two restaurants at the zoo: one in the same building as the ticket office and another across the square. We chose the one across the square, which was slightly cheaper and had better food options for us.
After lunch, we headed back to Santa Claus Village to see it properly while everything was open. We stopped by Santa’s Post Office and sent ourselves a postcard, then wandered around for a bit before heading to see the man himself at his office. The walk up to Santa—which also doubles as part of the queue at times—was really cute, and once we reached the top of the stairs, we only waited about 20 minutes. Santa was fantastic, and we’re really glad we decided to stop in and say hello.
After that, we picked up some groceries to make dinner back at our apartment, called it an early night, and enjoyed a relaxing sauna to finish off the day—perfect end to a fun day.
Day 3: Arctic Museum & Heading North
We were changing accomodation today, so we packed up our things, and checked out of our Airbnb—two nights in Rovaniemi had flown by! Next stop: north to Ylläs.
Before hitting the road, we stopped at the Arktikum Science Museum, and wow—it was fantastic. Definitely worth a visit. They have a free audio guide for your phone, so bring earbuds if you can. The information boards were well done, there were lots of interactive displays, and we learned so much about the Arctic.
The museum is split into two main sections. The left side is all about climate, animals, plants, and the Northern Lights, while the right side focuses on the people of the Arctic and their way of life. We spent about four hours there, including a quick lunch break. Most of our time was on the left side, so by the time we got to the right, we were a bit info-overloaded—but still followed the audio guide and browsed the displays. If you really want to take it all in, plan for more time.
After the museum, we made a quick stop at a nearby K-Market to stock up on meals and snacks for the drive.
The road north to Ylläs took about two and a half hours. The roads were quiet, clear, and easy to drive on—way better than winter driving back home. Because it was so cold, nothing melted during the day and refroze at night, so the roads stayed predictable and safe.
We arrived at our cabin in the woods and tried out the air fryer for dinner. Neither of us had ever used one before, and wow—it’s amazing. So fast and easy!
After dinner, we noticed the Northern Lights starting to dance in the sky, so we headed out to nearby Äkäslompolo Lake. It was around –36°C—ouch. Taking our hands out of our mittens to use the camera and phone was brutal, but totally worth it. We managed to get some incredible shots, even though the camera battery only lasted about 20 minutes in the cold. Luckily, we had a spare. Watching the lights ripple across the sky like that was absolutely unforgettable.
Day 4: Snow Tubing Miss & Northern Lights Show
We woke up to the most amazing view this morning—it was absolutely stunning.
After our late night chasing the Northern Lights, we had a slow morning. We had planned to rent snowmobiles, but with a forecast of –32°C, we decided to postpone. Smart choice—no need to freeze!
Instead, we stayed at the cabin until early afternoon, then headed to Ylläsjärvi on the south side of the fell for some snow tubing on the kids’ slope. Unfortunately, when we went to buy tickets, we were told that the extreme cold meant the snow conditions weren’t great for tubing. Such a bummer.
We happened to be visiting during a period of extreme cold, which I didn’t realise was even a thing in Lapland—but it definitely is. We were lucky that it didn’t impact our trip too much; we only had a couple of activities cancelled or rescheduled. We heard from others, though, who weren’t so fortunate. Many of their activities were cancelled due to the cold, and some flights into the area were even called off because planes can’t be de-iced in temperatures that low.
So we headed back to the cabin for a quiet evening instead.
I got a fire going and we were settling in to relax when I happened to look outside and noticed the Northern Lights were visible. We quickly layered up and rushed outside with our cameras. The sky was glowing green, and we could see the lights dancing across it—it was absolutely stunning. We stood there watching and taking photos, completely mesmerised.
We enjoyed the show for about an hour before it started to ease off and we headed back inside. We were buzzing with excitement, especially since we didn’t even have to leave the cabin area to see such an incredible display. It was so nice being able to duck back inside to warm up when needed. We were mostly fine in the cold, except for our hands—taking off our thick mittens to use the camera was rough. In those temperatures, your hands only last about 5–10 minutes before you need to warm them up again.
After that amazing show, we made some dinner and then enjoyed a well-earned sauna.
Throughout the night, we kept an eye on a nearby Aurora webcam since the forecast suggested things could pick up again later. There was a little activity, but nothing like what we’d already seen. We were getting pretty tired and started getting ready for bed just after midnight.
As we were settling in, we heard some hooting and howling outside. Ben’s first thought was that it was drunk people heading home, while my instinct was to check the webcam—and oh my goodness, it was going absolutely crazy.
We jumped out of bed, threw on our clothes, and rushed outside. The display was unreal: reds and greens bursting across the sky, with the lights dancing directly above us. It was truly breathtaking and unlike anything we’d seen before.
Eventually, the activity started to ease off again and we headed back inside. We finally crawled into bed around 3:30am—thankfully, we didn’t have much planned for the following morning.
Day 5: Lift-Assisted Sledding & Aurora from the Cabin
After our very late night with the Aurora, we had a slow start to the day. Our only real plan was to head to the Äkäslompolo side of the ski resort (the north side) to try the lift-assisted sledding.
When we left the cabin, our eyelashes were already iced over by the time we reached the car. The car thermometer read –36°C. It was cold. We agreed that we’d be happy if we could manage just a couple of runs on the sleds.
Surprisingly, by the time we arrived at the ski resort, the temperature had jumped up to –17°C and actually felt pretty comfortable in comparison. We ended up staying on the sleds for the entire hour, going up and down over and over again. It was such a fun experience and way better than we expected.
Once our hour was up—which was plenty of time to really enjoy it—we headed inside to the pub for a snack and a drink. We grabbed a table with a view of the slopes, which were incredibly quiet. We only saw a handful of skiers, and it was clear it was still too cold for most people to stay out very long. One guy came in from the slopes and his eyelashes, eyebrows, and beard were completely frozen!
After leaving the ski resort, we stopped by the market to pick up food for dinner and some extra snacks, then headed back to the cabin.
I got a fire going and settled onto the couch for a rest, while Ben went to bed for a nap. Every now and then, I checked the Aurora webcam to see if anything was happening. Just as Ben was drifting off, the activity started to pick up, but he was too tired, so I kept watching.
Eventually, it really took off, and I headed outside to take some photos. The sky filled with green, with hints of purple mixed in. At first, the lights were directly above us, but they slowly moved closer to the horizon and became visible even from inside the cabin. Sitting inside by the fire, warm and cosy, watching the lights dance across the sky was pretty magical.
The display was too good not to share, so I eventually woke Ben up. We watched the Aurora mostly from inside, heading out occasionally to grab a few photos, and enjoyed it for another hour or so before it slowly faded away.
After that, we had dinner, relaxed for a bit, and then headed to bed early. We kept an eye on the webcam, but the lights never really picked up again—which was totally fine since we had an early morning and definitely needed the sleep.
Day 6: Levi, Samiland & Arcandia
Our plan for the day was to head to Levi. We wanted to visit Samiland first, then we had ice karting booked for the afternoon. After that, we were hoping to squeeze in some snow tubing since we’d missed out earlier in the week. We also had evening plans at Arcandia.
Unfortunately, while we were at Samiland, we got a call to say that the ice karting had been cancelled for the day due to the extreme cold. This was the only activity that we really couldn’t do as we had no other time to reschedule. It was quite disappointing, but what can you do. We were just hoping that our plans for the following day (reindeer safari and snowmobiling) would still go ahead.
After the call, we continued exploring Samiland. It’s a small but interesting museum that focuses on the Sámi people, their different groups, and their traditional way of life. Outside, there are several traditional structures you can go inside, which was really cool to see. They also have a few reindeer on site that you can feed if you buy food from the café.
We ended up spending a couple of hours at the museum. After that, we’d originally planned to grab lunch and head straight to the ice karting, but with that cancelled, we suddenly had a few extra hours to fill. We drove into Levi town centre, found a restaurant, and enjoyed a slow, relaxed lunch before just sitting and resting for a bit.
We arrived at Arcandia earlier than our booked time, but it wasn’t an issue. We wandered around for a couple of hours, trying out some of the free games and just enjoying the atmosphere. We finished up with a warm drink and marshmallows by the fire at the café, which was a nice way to end the visit. I probably wouldn’t recommend visiting Arcandia. It was fine for the two of us—the atmosphere and lighting were very pretty, and the activities and games were decent—but I’m not sure they’re worth paying for. Most of them were quite basic, and at a few euros each, they didn’t feel like great value. The mini snowmobiles for kids looked fun, as did the snow ball, but everything else was fairly simple.
It was a real shame the ice karting was cancelled, as that was the main reason we’d planned the trip to Levi. We’d added the extra activities to make the drive worthwhile, and while we still enjoyed the day, we probably wouldn’t recommend making the hour-long drive just for Samiland and Arcandia alone.
Day 7: Reindeer Safari & Snowmobile Adventure
On our last full day, we had a reindeer safari booked for the morning, with our snowmobiling hire moved to the afternoon.
The reindeer farm and sleigh ride were absolutely fantastic. We booked directly with the owner, a multigenerational reindeer herder. Our visit began with a short lesson on how to “steer” the reindeer sled if needed, then we headed to the sleighs. Once we were bundled under blankets, we set off on a 30-minute loop through the forest. The scenery was beautiful, and the ride was the perfect length. Even though it was –16°C—much warmer than the past few days—it was still a bit chilly just sitting there.
After the ride, we got to feed our reindeer “chocolate” (moss). They were so excited when they saw the basket of treats and nibbled right out of our hands—no teeth, just their soft lips.
Next, we went inside the Kota for some homemade warm juice and blueberry pie by the fire. Our guide shared lots of interesting facts about reindeer and life as a herder, answering all of our questions and giving us some great insights. Once we’d warmed up, we went back outside to feed some of the other reindeer in the field. It was such a special experience, and we were so glad we found this farm.
After the reindeer farm, we headed into Äkäslompolo for lunch before picking up our snowmobiles. Our ride started by heading to the SnowVillage, which took us about 1–2 hours. The SnowVillage was incredible—the displays and details carved into the snow and ice were amazing. The theme was “celebrations,” with everything from birthdays to Halloween and even dance parties. We spent a couple of hours wandering through it, then enjoyed hot chocolate and snacks in the café before heading back out on the trail.
On the way back toward town, we stopped at a market to pick up marshmallows and skewers, then found a Kota, started a fire, roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed a hot drink from our thermos. After that, we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner before returning to the snowmobile hire company. We parked the snowmobile for the night, since we needed the car to load up our luggage for the following morning.
Day 8: More Snowmobiling & Goodbye Lapland
After checkout, we picked up the snowmobile again for a few final hours. This time, we took a different route up a fell. It was stunning—completely quiet, and we didn’t see another person during the first half of our loop. At the top, the views were breathtaking in every direction. On the way back down, we passed a few more kotas and wished we had more time to stop and enjoy them, but we needed to get back and start making our way to Rovaniemi for our flight.
After dropping off the snowmobiles, we shed some of our outer layers in preparation for returning my rental clothes and catching our flight. We grabbed a quick lunch at the market, then drove the 2.5 hours back to Rovaniemi. Along the way, we stopped in town to drop off my rental clothes and fill up the car with petrol before finally arriving at the airport.
And just like that, our Lapland adventure had come to an end. From our first glimpse of the frozen landscapes in Rovaniemi to chasing the Northern Lights across Äkäslompolo, it was a week full of magic, cold toes, and unforgettable moments.
Every stop, every little village, every reindeer and sled ride reminded us how unique this part of the world is. The quiet forests, the frozen lakes, the night skies lit up with greens and purples…Lapland is a place that really leaves an impression.
Of course, the extreme cold made some days a challenge, but it also made the experiences feel even more special. We had a few cancellations and reschedules, but nothing could dampen the magic of being in such a winter wonderland.
As we flew away, we couldn’t stop talking about our favourite moments—the Aurora shows from the cabin, snowmobiling up the fells, meeting reindeer, and sneaking around a nearly empty Santa Claus Village at midnight. Lapland had been everything we hoped for and more.
Goodbye, Lapland—you’ve been cold, magical, and unforgettable. We’ll be back.