Finland Lapland

[Matt..]

I'm researching a possibly 5 day trip to Lapland in Finland during winter. 2 adults and no kids! If you've been could you share your experience? I'm unsure when best to go and where to stay. Ideally I'd go early in the year.

Edited by Matt.. on Monday 29th September 10:36

[smifffymoto]

Levi.
Handsdown the best place,skiing,dog sleds,snowmobiles,walks to Kotas in the forest for hot chocolate,northern lights if you’re lucky.

www.levi.fi

[TCEvo]

I went to Ylläs in early 2023 & stayed at Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli - it was a package holiday, flights via Jet2 from to Kittilä Airport.

The accommodation was fine, but dated. There were other bars & restaurants within walking distance.

Ylläs is a ski resort - the more modern part is the bulk of the ski resort, where we stayed is the opposite side of the hill, which is more of a village.

If you're a skier it's limited terrain, although the snow's superb, & it's better to stay in the modern area as access to the ski lifts is better.

https://ski.yllas.fi/en/

In addition to the skiing we did snowshoe walking through the forest - I really enjoyed that; went to a reindeer farm (coach trip), rode snowmobiles, went to the Ice Hotel for dinner; which was superb (amazing place, food really good, need to book a taxi there/back) and didn't see the bd lights (!).

Trips were all booked when we got there via the travel rep.

As a winter holiday it was great.

[Matt..]

Thanks all.

All we really want is spectacular scenery, ideally not loads of people. We don't care about the hotel. It can be 1 star for all we care.

I have been considering the first week of Feb as there will be some daylight, not loads of people but it will potentially be very cold. It's hard to know when is best though as I've never done a winter trip anywhere properly wintery.

[4Q]

Matt.. said:

Thanks all.

All we really want is spectacular scenery, ideally not loads of people. We don't care about the hotel. It can be 1 star for all we care.

I have been considering the first week of Feb as there will be some daylight, not loads of people but it will potentially be very cold. It's hard to know when is best though as I've never done a winter trip anywhere properly wintery.

I'll second Levi as there's loads to do in and around the village, however if you're looking for "spectacular scenery" i would suggest somewhere other than Finland as it's mostly flat tundra or pine forests. The Alps, particularly the Dolomites are much more spectacular .

[TCEvo]

Matt.. said:

Thanks all.

All we really want is spectacular scenery, ideally not loads of people. We don't care about the hotel. It can be 1 star for all we care.

I have been considering the first week of Feb as there will be some daylight, not loads of people but it will potentially be very cold. It's hard to know when is best though as I've never done a winter trip anywhere properly wintery.

I was there at the end of Feb - it was "seasonably warm" apparently & not as cold as I expected, although as we're skiers + holiday we already had cold weather gear.

Echo scenery comments below. If you want mountains, vistas etc there are better cold places in Europe, Finland does look good though:

[Matt..]

4Q said:

The Alps, particularly the Dolomites are much more spectacular .

To be honest we're simply ticking off countries and Lapland looks like a good option for snowy scenery that isn't the Alps.

We go to the Dolomites every year and are fortunate enough to travel extensively (6-10 trips abroad a year and UK national parks throughout the year).

[Portti]

Matt.. said:

Thanks all.

All we really want is spectacular scenery, ideally not loads of people. We don't care about the hotel. It can be 1 star for all we care.

I have been considering the first week of Feb as there will be some daylight, not loads of people but it will potentially be very cold. It's hard to know when is best though as I've never done a winter trip anywhere properly wintery.

I'm a Finn so perhaps I can contribute something to this discussion.

With regards to the timing of the trip, I would consider an ideal time for a skiing trip in Lapland to be March and early April. There's more daylight than in the beginning of the year or in December, and most likely it is also not as cold as earlier in the winter.

If you decide to travel on February or early-March, one thing to consider is that Finnish schools have winter/skiing holidays during a three-week period at that time. It seems that for 2026 the skiing holiday for Southern Finland is week 8 (week starting 16 Feb), Central Finland week 9 (week starting 23 Feb) and Northern Finland week 10 (week starting 3 March). During those weeks (especially week 8) there will be lots of Finns on their holiday in Lapland which drives the prices up for those weeks.

[Matt..]

This is booked for early Feb. There will be no skiing. It's mainly a trip to look at some scenery, take some photos and relax somewhere new. The plan is to drive around and stay in the areas of Levi, Saariselka and Ruka. It's going to be cold and dark! At the moment we're booking the accommodation but I'm wondering whether to stay in the towns or not. How busy are these areas likely to be in the towns?

[Portti]

Welcome to Finland Matt..

Basically Rovaniemi is the only slightly bigger town/city in Finnish Lapland. Otherwise it's just small towns and ski resorts.

Of the three places which you are planning to visit, Levi is the biggest ski resort. It is known as a bit of a party place among us Finns but it probably is still much more peaceful than some places in the Alps etc.

Personally I like Saariselkä a lot because it's very nice place for cross country skiing. It's much quieter/peaceful place than Levi and I would say that the average age of the visitors is higher in Saariselkä than in Levi. Small town of Ivalo is not far from Saariselkä but I would rather stay in Saariselkä.

Ruka I've never visited in winter. I think it's something between Levi and Saariselkä in terms of how busy it is and what is the target group. Town of Kuusamo is nearby but again I would rather stay in Ruka.

By the way, Ruka will host cross country skiing world cup this coming weekend.

It might be very cold early February or it might not. Possibility of weather being very cold is lower than around christmas. It will also be a little bit lighter than around christmas.

[Matt..]

Thanks for the info.

I am looking forward to this trip. It's one we've been discussing for a while so it's really good to have it coming up. I probably have a little clothing to purchase prior to this one but am hopefully fairly well prepared for that already.

We're doing this one with a low budget so have a small car and will be staying in budget accommodation. I'd rather save money on accommodation and do many more trips a year. Most places we've booked are out of the towns a little.

I'm hoping we can get out snowshoeing and maybe try out cross country skiing. I doubt we'll do many other activities and will just walk/drive around and take in the scenery and have a lazy time.

[smifffymoto2]

Walking through the forest in peace and quiet,finding Kotas for hot chocolate is a good way to spend the day.

[Matt..]

I might need to get myself some boots suitable for the cold and snow, can anyone recommend anything? I need to be able to walk places beyond just 50m from the hotel so want something capable.

[shirt]

I would recommend Columbia Fairbanks for all day comfort and warmth. Currently 40% off on their site.

For deeper snow, then you’ll find Sorrel boots heavily discounted at various points over Xmas. Snow boots tend to be looser fitting like a welly. Actually a fleece lined welly with a hiking insole would work just as well.

[Portti]

Matt.., how much experience do you have on driving in snow and ice? If you are visiting Levi, Saariselkä and Ruka, that will mean quite a lot of driving and the roads will be snowy and icy.

[Matt..]

Portti said:

Matt.., how much experience do you have on driving in snow and ice? If you are visiting Levi, Saariselkä and Ruka, that will mean quite a lot of driving and the roads will be snowy and icy.

Not a huge amount. I’m not all that worried by it but have thought a little about dropping Ruka, but mainly for time reasons.

[Portti]

Matt.. said:

Not a huge amount. I m not all that worried by it but have thought a little about dropping Ruka, but mainly for time reasons.

That might not be a bad idea especially if you only have few days. To me Ruka would be the least interesting place out of the three and leaving Ruka out would mean much less driving (depending on where you are flying of course).

[smifffymoto2]

Portti said:

Matt.., how much experience do you have on driving in snow and ice? If you are visiting Levi, Saariselkä and Ruka, that will mean quite a lot of driving and the roads will be snowy and icy.

A hire car will have studded tyres,drive as normal(within reason).

[Matt..]

Portti said:

That might not be a bad idea especially if you only have few days. To me Ruka would be the least interesting place out of the three and leaving Ruka out would mean much less driving (depending on where you are flying of course).

We're flying into Rovaniemi.

The current plan is this:
- Sodankyla 1 night (mainly for cheaper accommodation than Rovaniemi and to shorten the drive the next day)
- Levi 2 nights (actually ~30 minutes north)
- Saariselka 2 nights (actually ~20 minutes south)
- Ruka 2 nights (actually ~20 minutes west)

We are very used to road trips. It's rare when travelling that we stay in one place for very long. I am considering dropping Ruka though and perhaps adding 1 night to Levi area and 1 night near Rovaniemi. Ruka area looks like it's got a few good places to explore though. We're less interested in the towns.

[Portti]

Well, if you will be staying further away from the ski resorts, then most likely you will be on quite remote and peaceful places. Which is an interesting experience in itself. It depends on what like of course but Lapland in the winter can be an extraordinary experience.