Lapland | Welcome to Winter Wonderland

Finnish Lapland is one of those destinations you have to see with your own eyes to believe. Especially in Winter when everything is covered in a massive packet of snow. A true winter wonderland. And if you are lucky, you might even bump into Santa.

Traveling to Finnish Lapland

I was lucky enough to travel together with 50 other travel agents, press, and Dutch tour-operator Vrij Uit/ Neckerman Reizen, Voigt Travel and Transavia to Finnish Lapland for two days.  This trip was to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of Dutch Touroperator Vrij Uit Travel ( now partner with Neckermann reizen ) 

Our flight was early in the morning, from Amsterdam to Kuusamo with the Dutch Airline Transavia.

The flight took only around 3 hours and around lunchtime we landed in Kuusamo, Lapland. From the plane, we witnessed a stunning sunset… Wait, what? I hear you thinking; ‘You just said we landed around lunchtime ( 12.00 )’… Yep, the sun was setting around Lunchtime and after a long twilight, it was pitch dark around 15.00.

As soon as the airplane doors opened, we knew we were in for some cold weather! Temperatures of -30 and lower are not rare, but you forget all about that if you see Lapland’s stunning scenery.

We got welcomed by a massive snowman at Kuusamo airport, and everything went very quick and smooth, as it is only a small airport.

Exploring Finnish Lapland on a snowmobile

The first thing we did in Finnish Lapland was inspecting the Holiday Club Tropikki in Kuusamo.

After a tour around the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious Finnish lunch, which was well needed after our trip and the first impressions of Finnish Lapland.

After lunch, we travelled to Ruka, where we were up for a big adventure: A 2.5-hour drive on a snowmobile! We drove 25 kilometers through the beautiful Winter Wonderland of Lapland. My hands were about to freeze off when we finished our trip, but men, what a great experience!

A night out in Ruka

After our snowmobile safari, we went to our accommodation; Ruka suites, where we enjoyed a hot shower to heat up and refresh after our first day in Lapland.

For dinner, we went to restaurant Kontioluola in Ruka. This is a massive underground restaurant with seating up to 300 people!  There was an ice bar where we enjoyed a welcome drink, but as it was so freezing cold, we went inside pretty quickly to enjoy our delicious dinner. Santa even joined us for a while!

After dinner, we had a presentation about Lapland and visited the small center of Ruka.

Another day of winter activities in Finnish Lapland

The next morning, we got up early to do a few other accommodation inspections. We went to Hotel Rukahovi and the Ruka Maston Aitio Chalets, both great accommodations for a holiday in Lapland.

After the accommodation inspections, we went to Lisakki Village, where we had a local lunch. At the cute Lisakki Village, they honor the Finnish Traditions in every aspect. You can go here for private parties, activities, meetings, lunches, and dinner.

We had lunch at the Lisakki House, which is the main building and full of Finnish Traditions and history. Up to 54 persons can have lunch or dinner in the main dining area and 20 people upstairs.

Must do in Lapland | A husky Safari

After lunch we experienced two amazing and unique things to do in Finnish Lapland; A reindeer and a husky safari. Two things checked off the bucket list √

I absolutely love Husky Dogs, but the Husky dog as a pet and the real Finnish Husky dogs in Lapland, are two completely different animals. Some weren’t very keen on petting and you would be surprised how powerful and strong those dogs are. I mean, they go pretty fast, and that in those extreme temperatures is unbelievable. The husky’s where very excited to go.

With the sun setting in the most amazing colors, the silence, and the beautiful white landscape around, you truely are in a Winter Wonderland.

Book your daytrips in Lapland right here↓

Ho Ho Ho! Attacked by Rudolph the reindeer

After the Husky Safari, we went to heat up with a cup of tea served by a typical Lappi Man in a Lappi Hut, a typical tradition in Lapland.

Then we did a short reindeer safari, which was also really cool. Of course, I had a reindeer really close behind me, which wasn’t so cute as the world famous Rudolph, but this one seemed a bit rushed and wanted us to go out of the way!

My instinct was saying; HO! STOP! HO! But saying Ho Ho Ho to a reindeer, apparently makes the deer even run faster! – We all know Santa Saying Ho Ho Ho – 😉  Well at least I had a close encounter with a reindeer and my colleagues behind me had a good laugh 😉  Not your daily experience I would say.

After our amazing Husky and Reindeer Safari in Finnish Lapland, we went to Hotel Sokos in Kuusamo for our last dinner in Lapland.

At 20.00 we flew back from Kuusamo to Amsterdam with Transavia, which was a fun flight with champagne and chatting around with everyone, as the whole plane was reserved for travel agents, tour operator staff, and press.

What an amazing trip we had to Finnish Lapland, short but definitely worth every single minute. Here is some other information about Finnish Lapland ↓

Finnish Lapland is cold. Very Very cold.

In summer, Finnish Lapland is the total opposite of their winter wonderland scenery and temperatures can reach 25 degrees plus, and it stays light till far after midnight, but in winter you might put a big fat minus – in front of that number.

We had temperatures of -28! MINUS 28. Never experienced such cold before, but with 5 layers of clothes ( thermo underwear – shirt and legging – jogging suit and fleece jacket – ski suit and another ski/outdoor suit for extreme cold weather provided by our host Voigt Travel. Oh and ski boots, gloves ( 2 pairs ) and 2 shawls.

Winter sports experience in Lapland

Finnish Lapland is perfect for people who want a totally different winter sports experience.

Although there are ski piste’s in Finnish Lapland, they are not comparable with the once in France, Switzerland or Austria. Especially not for very experienced skiers.

But if you are looking for that unique experience, doing things you can’t do in South European winter sports destinations like a reindeer or husky safari or driving around on a snowscooter through untouched and unique scenery, then Finnish Lapland is perfect and untouched.

Same with the Apres Ski, Lapland is not comparable with other winter sports countries, but there are a few nice (ice ) bars around, which you won’t find somewhere else.

Below we share with some practical things to help planning your trip to Lapland. 

Where to stay in Finnish Lapland

There are so many amazing options for accommodation in Lapland. Ranging from luxurious hotels to cosy chalets. Here are the accommodations we stayed in or inspected on our work trip to Lapland. 

Holiday Club Tropiikki

Is perfect when you travel with families with children to Lapland. There are many facilities for every age. A nice big pool with water slides, a sauna, and spa, tennis, a disco and more.

There is not much going on in the surroundings, but if you are doing the typical Lapland Excursions during the day, and you have all your facilities in your hotel, what else do you need?

Ruka Suites

This is where we stayed during our work trip to Finnish Lapland. The apartments are luxurious and cozy located in Ruka’s center. The apartments at the back of the building have stunning views.

Chalets Ruka Maton Aitio

Perfect for people who want to experience the remoteness and the silence of Finnish Lapland, but still want to be close to Ruka ( 2km)

The chalets are very cozy, have stunning surroundings and a private sauna.

Check out the best hotels and accomodation in Lapland right here ↓

Stay like a local in Lapland

If you want to stay somewhere unique in Lapland and live like a local, you should consider staying in an Airbnb! Check it out here and get $50 dollar discount off your first booking!

Have you already booked before with Airbnb? You can search for your next Airbnb in Lapland right here ↓ 

Travel Insurance for Lapland

A travel insurance for Lapland – just like any other country – is absolutely necessary. We don’t travel without it! Especially with the many wintersport activities you can do in Lapland. 

World Nomads Travel Insurance is definitely not your not your typical, boring insurance company.

The travel insurances from World Nomads covers people from 140 countries, with medical and evacuation cover, 24-hour emergency assistance, over 150 adventure activities and more. 

Simple and Flexible Travel Insurance for independent travellers and intrepid travelling families. Designed by travellers for travellers. Get a quote for your Lapland travel insurance right here ↓

Visa for Lapland

Don’t forget to check if you need a visa for Lapland. Different passports mean different requirements for a trip to Lapland. Check if you need a visa for Lapland right here ↓

Thank you for reading our article about Traveling to Lapland. This article contains a few affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission when you book your trip to Lapland via our links, which helps us in providing you with our epic and FREE travel content and insider tips.