Santa Claus Village, husky sledding, snow tubing, roaring fires and sleeping on a block of ice
We travelled from London Stansted to Rovaniemi, home to Santa Claus himself. This was a quick weekend trip as we left our little girl at Grandmas so we could explore the more adventurous side of Lapland which isn’t suitable for tiny humans.
We landed in Rovaniemi and booked a Bolt taxi which took only 5 minutes to reach Santa’s Village. The taxi was €12.90 which was a lot cheaper than booking a private taxi which came in at around €50.
Santa’s Village is free to explore and has numerous souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants and activities to enjoy. You can enter Snowman World which is a sneak peek into what an ice hotel is like, do some ice skating and snow tubing. Snowman world is €29 per person to enter and it is fun for all the family.
You can also join a reindeer sleigh ride and, our first stop, posting a letter/postcard from Santa to our little girl for next Christmas. At Santa’s post office you can write a letter to Santa and they have piles of letters from around the world. You can also buy a postcard for €1 and a stamp and send your little one a postcard from Santa to arrive the following Christmas
You can also, of course, go and visit Santa! It is free to visit Santa which is amazing just note that if you want to buy your photo with Santa it is €55 for the digital copy.
We loved wandering around Santa’s village and it was a lot less busy than we thought. There’s also a point where you cross into the Arctic circle making a great photo spot and a webcam where you can wave to your loved ones at home.
We had lunch at Santamus which is a cosy hut where you can sit by the fire, taste the delicious food and even join a gold panning experience and see if you’re lucky enough to find some gold. At Santamus the starters and desserts are set out in buffet style and then you can choose either beef tenderloin, salmon or a vegetarian dish. The food was beautifully presented and extremely tasty and we especially loved the cosy vibe. Definitely book a table in advance to avoid disappointment as it gets booked up with tour groups
Next we checked into our hotel for the night, Arctic Snow Hotel. At this hotel you can either stay in a glass igloo in the hope of seeing the northern lights or sleep in the ice hotel which is -5°C. The hotel is made of incredible ice sculptures carved from huge blocks of ice taken from the nearby lake. Each room has a different theme like puzzle, forest and toy theme and you will be in awe of the incredible craftsmanship. There is also an ice bar where you can enjoy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks out of a glass made of ice and when you are done, smash the glass against the wall before you leave!
The ice rooms are open to tourists who have booked organised tours until 9pm and as much as we thought this was unusual at first, your room is too cold to relax in anyway so you will want to stay in the warmth until you are ready to sleep. When it is time for bed you grab a liner and a sleeping bag from the locker room area and then get cosy on your bed covered with reindeer hide. We had a surprisingly good nights sleep considering how cold it was and long as you follow the instructions properly, you will too. You can also ask the staff to wake you if the Northern lights appear.
You can book a number of activities at the snow hotel and we chose ice sculpting and the snow sauna and jacuzzi. The ice sculpting was a lot of fun and gives you a small insight into the amount of work that goes into creating the ice hotel masterpiece. We carved a bunny and aeroplane out of a block of ice and thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can choose to have dinner in either the Kota restaurant, which has a roaring fire in the centre, or the ice restaurant. As much as the ice restaurant would have been a great experience, as we were spending the night in the ice hotel we thought it was sensible to be warm for a few hours before we slept.
There are two sittings in the restaurant at 7pm and 9pm. There is a set starter and dessert of creamy carrot soup and lingonberry pie and then you can choose your main dish of reindeer, a vegetarian dish or salmon cooked on the open fire. The food was absolutely delicious and the setting was so cosy and warm, we loved it.
We then had a drink in the warm sky bar with a glass roof where you can see the northern lights if the time is right before joining our snow sauna and jacuzzi experience. We booked this for 9pm and we would recommend doing the same if you are staying in the ice hotel so you can warm your bones before your night ahead. You will be allocated a private traditional sauna, a snow sauna (yes, made of snow!) and a jacuzzi and can use this for an hour and a half.
In the morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast in the hotel which had a selection of pastries, cereals, cooked options and tikkupulla which is a twisted cinnamon and cardamom bun on a stick, it was delicious!
Day 2 continued with a trip back to Santa’s Village to wander around and have a coffee at the Loft cafe. Another great attraction in Santa’s village is Santa’s pets where you can pet and feed alpacas and reindeer and even take them for a walk in the snow.
We then got a transfer to our next hotel which was Nova Galaxy Village. The transfer took around 30 minutes and we were able to check in online in advance so got the keys for our room right away. At Nova Galaxy each room is a glass igloo with a sink, toilet and a private sauna in a separate building a few steps from your igloo. You can close curtains to provide some privacy but the glass roof is always exposed so you can capture the magic of the Northern lights when they appear. The staff will ask if you’d like to be alerted if the Northern lights show.
At Nova Galaxy we had booked two activities, husky sledding and snowmobiling. We met at a campfire with Arctic Woodslife who own the husky dogs and care for them in their home near Rovaniemi. It was so nice to know the dogs were well looked after and running was what they loved to do. The dogs are trained racing dogs and compete in competitions around Finland. We learnt about the dogs before hopping into the sled ready to take off. The husky sled ride took us through the forest and across a frozen lake and it was extremely picturesque. It was a once in a lifetime experience and one we can now tick off our bucket list. When we finished we got to pet the dogs and then warm up with a warm Glogi and gingerbread around the fire.
Our second activity was an hour later and we went snowmobiling. We got dressed in our overalls, balaclavas and big boots, ready for the ride ahead. We shared a snowmobile and swapped the driving half way through. We followed our guide through the forest, across the frozen lake and even crossed a road at one point. It really felt like we’d been out a while and you very much get your monies worth. It was so much fun and a really thrilling experience. At the end we sat around the campfire and cooked sausages over the fire.
It was dinner time at Kota restaurant which is a cosy cabin with a fire in the centre and all of the food is cooked in front of you by the chef. There is a small menu with something for everyone. We opted for beetroot bruschetta with goats cheese to start, a reindeer steak and beef sirloin and then a cloudberry dessert. The food was such good quality and the meat was cooked to perfection. A really beautiful meal.
We ended the night in our private sauna which was pre-heated for us. This is also where you can wash using the hot water from the sauna. You can enjoy the views from the sauna or pull the blind down if you’d prefer some privacy.
It was our final morning and we were welcomed with breakfast in the Kota restaurant. It was buffet style with breads, yogurts, meats and cheeses and cooked options of chicken sausages and bacon. The chef then makes each table a fresh plate of scrambled eggs.
Lapland is a magical trip for adults and children alike and although we left our daughter behind on this occasion (due to staying in the ice hotel), we already can’t wait to go back and to allow her to experience the magic.
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