How to Visit the Santa Claus Village in Lapland with Kids

**We were kindly gifted free reindeer sleigh and husky dog sled rides, free entrance to Snowman World and Mrs Claus, and a free lunch at Santamus restaurant in exchange for promotion via this website and our social media channels. All opinions expressed below remain our own.

Introduction

What could be more magical for children than a trip to see Santa Claus?

With this in mind, we made our way as a family with 4 children to the top of the globe earlier this year to see what all the fuss was about. Could a trip to Lapland live up to all the hype?

At the epicentre of this growing Santa Claus tourism industry is the Santa Claus Village. With a range of Santa and winter themed attractions and activities, including a chance to meet the main man himself, the Santa Claus Village is a must-see location for the majority of people who have made the long trip north.

We were therefore all very keen to visit ourselves and discover everything going on there.

To find out where else we went during our Lapland adventure and how we got on, also see our magical 7 day winter itinerary for visiting Lapland with kids.

Here though, we are discussing how best to visit the Santa Claus Village in Lapland with kids.

Where is the Santa Claus Village in Lapland?

The Santa Claus Village is located just outside of the major town of Rovaniemi, which is the capital of Lapland in the north of Finland.

The location of the Santa Claus Village straddles the Arctic Circle line.

How do I get to the Santa Claus Village in Lapland?

The closest airport to the Santa Claus Village is located nearby in Rovaniemi. This airport is served by quite a limited selection of international flights.

For more flight options, the capital of Finland, Helsinki, has a major airport with flights to a large number of international destinations.

From Helsinki, it is possible to take a long train ride up to Rovaniemi on the Santa Claus Express train. This can be done overnight in sleeper cabins and really adds to the magic for kids. For more on taking the train, see our guide on how to visit Lapland with kids on the Santa train.

Once you arrive in Rovaniemi, there is a regular bus service or plenty of taxis waiting to shuttle you to the Santa Claus Village.

How cold is it at the Santa Claus Village in Lapland?

The temperature at the Santa Claus Village obviously depends very much on the time of year that you visit.

Most visitors will choose to visit during the winter months – understandably as they want to experience the snow and feeling of Christmas. We visited in January.

Be prepared for it to be very cold if, like us, you are visiting the Santa Claus Village in winter. When the picture below was taken the temperature was a chilly -19°C. On another day of our trip it dropped to -35°C!

With this in mind, you definitely need to be well prepared with proper winter clothing, including warm boots and gloves. Small children in particular can get cold and miserable very quickly when outside if you’re not careful.

Is the Santa Claus Village in Lapland open all year round?

The good news is, yes, the Santa Claus Village is open all year round. Santa Claus is always in residence and ready to receive visitors.

That said, not many of the other attractions are open outside of the winter months. Many rely on snow so can only function once there is a good covering.

So, although you can visit at any time, you are sure to have the best experience visiting during the winter. The busiest time to visit is in December in the lead up to Christmas.

We visited in January and found this to be perfect – there were fewer people and queues but the place still felt busy enough, it was very snowy, and everything was still open.

Is it free to get into the Santa Claus Village in Lapland?

Yes! It is free to get into the Santa Claus Village. Walking around, exploring and taking photos costs nothing. What’s more – meeting Santa Claus himself in his office is also completely free! Obviously, expect some serious up-selling to go with it though.

Most of the other individual attractions you do have to pay for. They’re certainly not cheap either. Although entrance to the Santa Claus Village is free, you should realistically still plan for a trip to Lapland to be an expensive holiday. It may well be a once-in-a-lifetime experience though and, for us at least, the magic of the place made it all worth it.

Activities for kids at the Santa Claus Village in Lapland

There are a variety of activities and attractions for all the family at the Santa Claus Village in Lapland.

The village is fun to explore and there are endless photo opportunities. Don’t miss the chance to wave at your friends and family back home on the livestream camera!

Here are some of the most popular activities for kids at the Santa Claus Village:

Meeting Santa Claus

Of course, no visit all the way to Lapland could be complete without a chance to meet Santa Claus. For children, this probably rates as one of the most exciting things they could ever do!

The long line of adults waiting while we were in the queue, along with the array of celebrity pictures lining the walls testify to the magic of Santa also living on in plenty of grown-ups too!

Visits to meet Santa are done within Santa’s Office, a large wooden lodge that is beautifully decorated. Visiting in January, the queue for us was just under half an hour, which was just about manageable with 4 young kids. Apparently the queues in December in the lead up to Christmas can be much longer – you’ve been warned!

While the visit is free, if you want something to remember it by, it is possible to purchase gifts that can be handed over by Santa, or official photographs of you with Santa. It is not allowed to take your own private photographs.

Reindeer sleigh ride

In the spirit of all things Christmas, once you’ve met with Santa you might like a reindeer sleigh ride through the woods.

Well, you’re in luck as the Santa Claus Village is home to the Santa Claus Reindeer. With a large group of cutely decorated and ever-willing reindeer, there are plenty of opportunities for a reindeer sleigh ride. That said, booking a time slot in advance is always recommended.

The reindeer sleigh rides come in a range of durations to suit all budgets. The shorter rides stay within the confines of the Santa Claus Village, while the longer rides take you off into the surrounding woodland. If you are looking for more of a feeling of isolation, definitely opt for one of the longer rides.

As a family of 6 there was too many of us to fit into a single sleigh. We therefore split into 2 groups of 3 for our ride.

Being outdoors throughout, the ride is understandably cold. Be sure to wrap up warm. To help with this, reindeer furs are provided as blankets to snuggle under. When the ride is finished, there is also a fire burning nearby to warm up next to.

We loved our reindeer ride. Watching your reindeer trotting along in front of you as you make your way through the half light of the woods is very magical.

Husky dog encounter and sled ride

Another traditional winter activity that you might like to try in the Santa Claus Village is a husky dog sled ride at the Arctic Circle Husky Park. Like with the reindeer sleigh rides, the husky dog sled rides can be purchased in a variety of lengths. For any dog lovers, there is also the option of adding on an encounter with the huskys up close.

We started our visit with just such an encounter. We were let into the dog’s caged area while they were let out of their kennels for the first time in the morning. This meant they were a bit wired and restless to want to sit and have cuddles, but it was still interesting to see them up close and have their routine and characteristics explained to us in more detail by their handlers.

Having met the dogs, we were all keen to take a dog sled ride. A sled was prepared ready for us and we all squeezed in. We were able to fit our family of 6 into a single sled which was nice.

On the command of the driver, the dogs then whisked us off along a snowy trail into the woods. We opted for the longest route and I’m glad we did as it was excellent fun. Once the dogs settle in, they can really get up some speed! The scenery is also really beautiful and the ride very peaceful throughout.

Like all outdoor activities, it can get very cold. There was also not as many of the cosy reindeer furs that you got on the reindeer sleigh ride. This meant that my kids were struggling a bit by the end, especially my youngest who was only 3. If you are visiting with very young children, make sure you are fully prepared for such a freezing cold experience.

The cold didn’t detract from the overall fun we had though. Our husky dog sled ride really was a top highlight of our whole Lapland trip, so definitely shouldn’t be missed.

Meeting Mrs Claus

Offering a chance to escape the cold and head indoors for a bit, is a visit to Mrs Santa Claus’ Christmas Cottage.

The interior is mainly a cozy cafe with visible large wooden beams making up the internal construction. It is a great spot to sit with a hot drink to warm up.

Upstairs, visitors can pay for the chance to meet with Mrs Claus. Much like the visit to see Santa Claus himself, this involves entering a room with Mrs Claus and having a chance to chat with her about Christmas and all that is going on in Lapland. She was very friendly and welcoming towards my children.

Like with a visit to Santa Claus, personal photographs are not permitted. There is a chance to purchase official photos on the way out though, if you want to better remember your visit.

Snowman World

From the team behind the incredible Arctic Snow Hotel (for more on there, see our guide on how to stay in the Arctic Snow Hotel with kids), comes Snowman World. Set within the Santa Claus Village, Snowman World offers a range of winter activities for visitors to enjoy.

Entrance admission allows visitors to use the facilities all day. Within Snowman World there is a large snow slide with inflatable rings to ride on, as well as a smaller ice slide. There is also a small ice skating rink with plenty of different sized skates to borrow, a snow maze, and an ice bar. There is enough to happily fill a few hours.

If the cold gets too much, Snowman World also has an indoor restaurant area to warm up in.

Driving a Snowmobile

If you’re visiting with older children and everything I’ve mentioned so far seems a little tame for you, then you may want to try out driving a motorised Snowmobile at the Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park, conveniently located within the Santa Claus Village.

A range of different packages and trip lengths are available for adults. To actually drive the proper snowmobiles, a car driving license is required. Older children can be a passenger on the back of the snowmobile. Younger children have to sit in a sledge that is pulled along behind.

If children want to try driving themselves, anyone aged 4 and over can have a go at driving the mini snowmobiles around a small track on site. As our youngest was 3 when we visited and definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss out, we didn’t try out this activity ourselves. It looked a lot of fun though.

Ice Go-Karts

Another activity that we didn’t get chance to try but I’m sure would also be fun for older kids are the winter go-karts at Santa’s Motor Park. With a track laid out on the snow, it is sure to be an exciting ride!

Anyone over 140cm in height can ride the go-karts on the main track, regardless of age. Smaller children can ride mini snowmobiles or mini atvs on a smaller, kid’s track.

Top Tips for visiting the Santa Claus Village in Lapland with kids

With so much to do there is no shortage of fun on offer. However, there are some important things to consider. From our experiences of visiting the Santa Claus Village with our 4 children, here are our top tips to ensure that you get the best out of your visit:

• Think about when is best to visit. Although not possible for a lot of people, we visited in January and really liked it. Although most people want to visit before Christmas so their kids can tell Santa what they want as presents, actually going after Christmas so that children can instead say thankyou to Santa for their presents worked just as well. The smaller crowds and less queue time was a real bonus too.

• Be sure to have proper, warm winter clothing. We all had ski clothes with thermals underneath. Pay particular attention to hands and feet as these get coldest first.

• If possible, wear snow boots that are a size too big. This will allow you to layer up socks inside and still keep the blood moving to your feet.

• Take plenty of disposable hand warmers. These can be placed in gloves and boots and are a lifesaver! They are available to buy within the Santa Claus Village but it is obviously cheaper to buy a load of them beforehand.

• Try to plan and reserve activities for during daylight hours (which are short in the middle of winter!). While our reindeer sleigh ride in the dark was quite beautiful, we definitely preferred our husky dog sled ride that we did in daylight hours. It is better to be able to see more of where you are going.

• Don’t plan too much for any single day and definitely don’t plan to do activities back-to-back. You get so cold that you need time to regularly head indoors and properly warm up. Even half an hour outside can be a lot for younger children. We visited on 2 separate days to fit in everything that we wanted to do.

• If you do the husky dog sled ride and you also want the encounter with the dogs, consider doing the ride first. We did the encounter first and found that our kids were already too cold before we even started the ride. This meant they couldn’t enjoy it as much.

• However much you budget for visiting the Santa Claus Village (and Lapland in general), add 50% on top! Don’t get too preoccupied with worrying about that though – just make sure you all have a great time.

Where to eat with kids in Santa Claus Village in Lapland

There are a range of restaurants within the Santa Claus Village for all tastes and budgets, including a variety of different international cuisines.

For straightforward food, we enjoyed the pizzas and burgers within the fast food setting of Santa’s Pizza and Burger. The food is simple but effective.

For something more upmarket, you can’t beat the offering at the fabulous Santamus restaurant. Set within an atmospheric dining room, the meal starts with a varied and delicious buffet, followed by a choice of main courses and some yummy desserts. There are several local specialities on offer, as well as a children’s menu for kids.

Where to stay with kids when visiting the Santa Claus Village in Lapland

There are a range of accommodation options within the Santa Claus Village for anyone wanting to stay on site throughout. This obviously brings convenience and a warm base to retreat to between activities.

Personally, we thought the constant crowds of people might get a bit much though so we instead opted for a cabin in the woods on the other side of Rovaniemi. We enjoyed our stay at the rustic but modernised Kieppi Chalet, managed by NortsaV Tours. This gave us much more peace and tranquility.

Although quite isolated, everything is always only an easy taxi ride away. Most taxis are van type vehicles, so even our family of 6 could fit in one together.

In Summary

A visit to Lapland is a magical experience for all the family. The snowy winter wonderland that you find there is enduringly appealing.

No trip to Lapland would be complete without a visit to the Santa Claus Village. Although it is possible to also meet Santa at other locations in Lapland, the Santa Claus at the Santa Claus Village remains the original and best.

The Santa Claus Village also offers so much more than just a chance to meet Santa. The range of activities is brilliant. It is everything you expect from a trip to Lapland. Although a bit ‘Disneyfied’ (as you’d expect), it is nonetheless still a really beautiful place to visit and experience.

Visiting with kids can be equal parts amazing and challenging. While they are in constant wonder at all that they are seeing and doing, the cold can really grind them down. It is hard to describe to someone who has not experienced it. We have been on a lot of winter holidays before but the cold in Lapland was something else. I cannot stress enough the importance of having good clothing and equipment. Without it you may struggle to fully enjoy the experience.

Overall, we all had a great time on all of the activities that we tried within the Santa Claus Village. Though not cheap, they all met our expectations and left us with smiling faces.

If you are looking for a truly memorable holiday with a difference, you should definitely consider a winter getaway to Lapland and the Santa Claus Village. It’s an experience that will stay with us forever.