Is visiting Santa all you can do in Rovaniemi? Well, not exactly. We decided to compile a small list of the most interesting things for you to experience in Rovaniemi, and more broadly, in Finland. Additionally, we glance over the prices.
See the Aurora Borealis
Anyone interested in visiting Finland is most probably well familiar with the phenomenon of Aurora Borealis already. Surroundings of the Arctic Circle are places where the northern lights are most prominent in the evenings. Seeing them for ourselves was one of the main goals of our Rovaniemi expedition. There are various local trip variants focused on observing the lights, for instance, by a campfire (79 EUR), during a sleigh ride (82 EUR), from a bus (99 EUR), on a snowmobile (129 EUR) or from a plane (439 EUR). As is clearly visible, prices in Finland are a tiny bit extreme, so hunting Aurora Borealis alone may be wiser.
Husky/Reindeer sleigh rides
Dog sledding or roleplaying as Santa in a sleigh pulled by reindeers is certainly one of the more unusual attractions you can check off your list in Rovaniemi. There are many local agencies allowing tourists to hang out with huskies and reindeers. The costs will probably not surprise anyone. A dog sleigh ride costs around 120 EUR for a few hours. There are also full day variants, where the price can reach upwards of 300 EUR. Same thing with reindeers, where the average ride will set you back 100 – 200 EUR. Even petting any of the hardworking animals may turn out to be pricey.
See the Santa Park
Santa Park, opened in 1998, is one of the biggest attractions in Rovaniemi, often titled as Santa’s Residence. The park is split into various parts, including Santa’s secret forest, an elf school, Santa’s post office, gingerbread bakery and some rides for children. There are elf shows and various opportunities to buy souvenirs. Naturally, there’s one main attraction which outshines all the others…
Meet Santa
Let’s not fool ourselves – it’s not the snow, reindeers or huskies which lure tourists to Rovaniemi. It’s the one and only Santa. The main attraction of Rovaniemi is the opportunity to meet him in his, so called, Santa Claus Office. Entering the Office is free, but if you want to have any proof that you actually met the guy, you better prepare your wallet. For a picture with Santa, on which you can fit up to 5 people (apart from Santa), we paid 45 EUR. Santa’s signature on an A4 sheet of paper costs 32 EUR. The meeting itself is laughably short. You can also buy yourself a present, which Santa can then ‘gift’ us.
Cross the Jätkänkynttilä bridge
If you were worried that every attraction in Rovaniemi will cost you 100 EUR or more, thankfully, you were only a tiny bit correct. One of the more interesting elements of the Rovaniemi panorama is the 1989’, 320 m long Jätkänkynttilä bridge. It was the first cable-stayed bridge in Finland. You can end the walk across the river on top of Ounasvaara, a place fit most for ski enthusiasts, where you can find the Ounasvaara Ski Resort. A full-day ticket costs 54 EUR.
Visit Lordi’s Square
Remember the 2006’ Eurovision, where the winning group, Lordi, performed Hard Rock Hallelujah? If you do, then the name of Rovaniemi’s main square will sound most familiar to you. This central square was previously called Sampo. The name has been altered though, to celebrate the band’s 2006 victory, as all the members were appointed honorary citizens of Rovaniemi. There are various trading centres, service points, restaurants and hotels around the square, as per usual.
Go skiing
As we have mentioned above, Rovaniemi offers the Ounasvaara Ski Oy resort, which shares its 13 slopes, 5 lifts and 40 trekking trails. There are other companies functioning around Rovaniemi, which too offer many trekking/running trails and organise various ski trips, ski lessons and dedicated rides to see the northern lights. Usually, these kinds of attractions range from 70 to 130 EUR, but you can rent skis yourself or bring your own equipment and use the slopes without having to pay the guides. The quality of the slopes, as you may imagine, is impeccable.
See the reindeer farm
Levin Lapinkylä is a reindeer farm, which also offers accommodation, restaurants and a traditional Finnish sauna. Similar farms have sprung up to attract the tourists from around Rovaniemi, like the Porohaka reindeer farm, Raitola farm where you can see huskies, Konttaniemi or Sirmakko. On each of these farms, you can get to know the secrets of reindeer herding, spend time with the animals or even take a ride. Sadly, just like with anything around Rovaniemi, the prices are steep. Around 6,5 hours on the farm will cost you 170 EUR (per person).
Visit the Arktikum museum
The Arktikum museum is a fascinating place dedicated to the culture and lives of Arctic people. There are four full-time exhibitions, enriched by occasional temporary ones. Unlike everywhere else in Rovaniemi, it’s not unreasonably expensive. A single ticket for an adult costs 13 EUR, 6 EUR for children. When going to Finland, we can also buy the Museum Card, which allows us to enter all Finnish museums for a full year – for 69 EUR (the timer starts upon first use).
Visit a ‘traditional’ sauna
Roughly 170 km away from Rovaniemi, in the Yllas Ski Resort, one of the strangest attractions was set up. The previously present ropeway was changed into a moving ropeway-sauna. The Sauna Gondola ride takes around 20 minutes and the car can carry up to 4 clients (although the full attraction is set up to include groups of 9 to 12). The whole deal costs quite a bit, at 1350 EUR per group for 2 hours (no matter the size of the group). Naturally, not every sauna in Lapland costs this much. You can visit a traditional finnish sauna in Rovaniemi, as it’s available in many hotels. It usually comes at no additional costs, as long as we have our own towels. There are always trips around Rovaniemi which include sauna visits (and a 70 EUR bill).
Rent a room in the Arctic Snow Hotel
Near 30 km from Rovaniemi, you can find a popular tourist attraction. The Arctic Snow Hotel, as the name suggests, is an ice hotel and it’s equipped with ice beds and reindeer hides. The prices are as follows: 190 EUR for one person, 280 EUR for two, or a 28 metre ice room for three for whooping 549 EUR per night. The hotel also offers a glass igloo, so you can admire the northern lights. It comes as no surprise though – it ain’t cheap, at 549 EUR per night. Near Rovaniemi, there’s also the Apukka Resort, where you can find similar ice huts for 340 EUR per night.
Ride a snowmobile
Snowmobiles are everywhere in Rovaniemi, from the Santa village to the various dedicated rental services. If you’re up for a ride, you can take part in a trip (prices starting at around 50 EUR) or just rent a vehicle for yourself. Renting a snowmobile in Rovaniemi will set you back 140-160 EUR for a full day (actually, it’s 8 hours) or 100-120 EUR for ‘half a day’ (4 hours in reality).
Transcend into a walrus
The Ounaskoski beach in Rovaniemi is a place only for the bravest of tourists, as it allows you to take a nice relaxing bath – in freezing cold water. Naturally, travel agencies also jumped on the wagon and offer bath trips, which include hot tubs, saunas and, of course, the Ounaskoski beach at around 120 EUR per person.
