Rovaniemi, the heart of Lapland, where you can experience everything that the arctic can offer. During winter there is plenty of snow for almost 5 months, so you can go skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, driving snowmobiles, sleigh riding with reindeer or huskies, snowshoe walking in the untouched winter forests. During summer you can witness the midnight sun, when the days are endless. Late August it gets dark enough to see the northern lights, until mid April, when the nights starts to brighten up for the summer and midnight sun. In September the nature starts to prepare for winter, and everything seems to change colors, into bright yellow, red, orange. Animal changing their fur colors into grey and white, to blend into the snow.
Northern lights
Aurora borealis or northern lights are caused by solar winds, when particles from the sun hit the earth’s magnetosphere near the north polar. Aurora can be seen in both polar regions. Aurora australis or southern lights are the polar opposite for northern lights. Rovaniemi Is an excellent location to view northern lights, and have a full array of services available for your holiday. We can’t guarantee aurora borealis, but the weather is typically clear skies during evening. You can book Northern light tour here. Aurora borealis can be seen from late August to mid April.
Our Northern light pictures at the site are taken by us from tour locations or by the cottages.
Midnight sun
Rovaniemi has beautiful seasons. Come and see the wonder of nightless night. See the midnight sun in the quietness, just like the locals do. Midsummer day is the biggest holiday during the summer in Finland, when most of the cities seem to empty. All the people go celebrate the day in the countryside in cottages with their families and friends. Midsummer day is when the day is longest and midnight sun has the biggest effect even in southern Finland. Festivities commonly includes grilling good food, going to sauna, dipping in water and enjoying the sun that is just about to go beyond horizon, but instead starts to rise again.
Santa Claus
Have you been naughty or nice? Everyone Loves Santa Claus. Come and meet the real one in Rovaniemi. Visit Santa Claus village & Santa Park, to see the Christmas wonderland in it’s finest.
Arctic animals
Lapland is a home for many arctic animals that prefer the high snows during winter season, and mild heat during summer. Reindeer, rabbits, roe, squirrels, foxes are commonly seen in the wild nature. Other local animals are little bit harder to spot, as they usually want to avoid humans. Best way to see local animals, and some not so local, like polar bears, is to visit Ranua Wildlife Park, where they have around 50 different animal species to show.
You can also book our safari services and for example take a sledge ride with reindeer to get acquainted with them closely.
Places to visit
Interested in culture, visit Arktikum Science Museum and Science Centre Pilke which are right next to each other, and visit Korundi House of Culture right next to the city center of Rovaniemi.
Rovaniemi city area has numerous bars and restaurants that offer different varieties of food and drinks from all around the world, and of course restaurants that offer local food. Most of the bars have Rovaniemi’s first brewery’s (Lapin Panimo) beer available on their menu. If you want to hit the dance floor at night there are few night clubs in Rovaniemi.
How to get to Rovaniemi
Flight connections
Rovaniemi has it’s own airport (RVN), just next to the Santa Claus Village. Finnair and Norwegian have daily flights from Helsinki (HEL), the hub between Europe and Asia. During winter season there are plenty of charter flights into Rovaniemi from all around Europe. Kemi airport (KEM) or Oulu airport (OUL) are only few hour drive from Rovaniemi, if you can’t find a suitable flight straight into Rovaniemi. You can rent a car from the airport, but booking one in advance can make things easier.
Train connections
There are many daily trains heading into Rovaniemi from the south. Helsinki – Rovaniemi trains take from 8 hours, up to 12 hours to arrive, depending, if it’s day train or a night train. You can book sleeping cabins for the night train. You can catch a train in Oulu or Kemi to get into Rovaniemi. You can rent a car from the train station, but booking one in advance can make things easier. You can book train tickets from VR.fi, Finnish trailway company.