Lapland Packing Hacks: Winter Travel Made Easier

Packing for Lapland seems so intimidating and stress-inducing, right?

There is so much to think about when you’re doing a winter holiday, mainly how not to freeze in the -20°C weather.

And if this is your first Arctic trip?

It might all be overwhelming.

But fear not.

We’ve got Lapland packing hacks for you that will help you make the whole process easy and stress-free, so all you have to worry about is what you’ll ask Santa for Christmas when you meet him!

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Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Btw, even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful travel tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own epic adventures too!

The ultimate Lapland packing list

This post is all about Lapland packing hacks.

But if you want to know what exactly you should take with you on your trip, and what you should leave at home?

Check out these posts:

🧳Here is our complete Lapland packing list + tips on how to build your own

🧣 Head this way to see what clothes you should pack for Lapland

🔦 This post talks about all the extras you can’t forget – like cosmetics and random bits and bobs that are small, but will make all the difference on your holiday

❄️And if you’re wondering how you can save money on this trip, read how we did Lapland on a budget

Our Lapland trip need-to-know

Before we get into the Lapland packing hacks, here are some basics about our trip, so it all makes sense to you as you read:

• Our Lapland travel party was 3 adults; the two of us + Mirka’s sister.
• We spent 12 days travelling Copenhagen, Helsinki and Lapland
• The big secret of this trip? That no one, not even Mirka’s sister knew about it? We were actually getting married in Copenhagen! You might be thinking that it’s crazy, but our wedding was secret, guest-free (aside from Mirka’s sister!), totally unhinged and very us. And then we travelled on to Lapland to meet Santa and chase the Northern Lights, but that’s a story for another day!
• If you have any questions about our trip, or need help keeping your wedding a secret, just DM us on our Instagram. Oh, and you can also book a call with us if you want more help with your travel plans!

Lapland packing hacks

Let’s talk about the Lapland packing hacks that will help you make this whole process easier.

Because we all know what packing is like.

It’s that awful, painful thing you have to go through so that you can go on your dream trip. 

The relaxing holiday.

The winter wonderland vacation.

The bucket list adventure of chasing the Northern Lights.

We all know that first we have to suffer through the horror of packing.

Here are the things we did to make packing for Lapland less painful.

Tip no. 1: Packing light

Did you know that packing light is one of the top secrets of all frequent travellers?

It’s how full-time travellers are able to live out of their backpacks for years on end.

And how people save a lot of money (and time).

If you are a chronic overpacker, here are the 2 posts that will help:

• 8 ways how packing light will help you
• 10 tips on how to start packing light

Packing light is great.

But packing light for Lapland is absolutely essential.

Why?

Why do you have to pack light for Lapland

• Lapland is expensive. Don’t waste more money paying for a lot of luggage on your flights (super important if you’re trying to save money by flying with budget airlines)
• Carrying heavy luggage is uncomfortable. Carrying heavy luggage while wearing million layers/thick winter clothes is hell-level uncomfortable
• Dragging a lot of luggage through snow is no fun. You’ll most likely end up spending more money on taxis and private transfers, just to avoid this
• Planning to take the Santa Claus Express train? The cabins, while clean and comfy, are small = not great for a lot of luggage
• If you stay in a cosy cabin or a glass igloo, like the Aurora Cabin we had (so amazing and cheap!), you will struggle to fit many suitcases and bags in without them taking up all the space

Do you wanna know how to pack light now? 😏 Remember you can find 10 packing light tips here.

Tip no. 2: Packing the right clothes

One of the key things to know when you’re building your Lapland packing list?

What are the right clothes to take. 

Because you can’t just pack whatever you feel like.  And more doesn’t mean better.

Lapland isn’t primarily about looking good in your outfits, but about surviving in the arctic cold, even when standing outside for hours watching the Northern Lights.

If you are worrying that getting the right clothes will cost you a fortune, don’t. We’ve got an article about how to save money when buying clothes for Lapland right here.

And if you want to check out exactly what clothes we packed (and how many), here is our clothing packing list + extra tips you’ll want to know before your trip.

Tip no. 3: Packing cubes

Packing cubes. The go-to travel hack of all pro travellers.

If you don’t have them, you must get them. 

Why? Two main reasons:

• They keep your clothes organised – super helpful if you are travelling as a family, or long-term, or you will be staying in a small cabin where unpacking is going to be… challenging, let’s say.
• They let you pack a lot more clothes than you would be able to without them. This is their key function and the reason travellers swear by them. You will not believe how much you can fit into a packing cube – piles and piles of clothes will be condensed into a manageable cube that you can slot into your suitcase.

But wait!

Don’t rush to buy packing cubes just yet!

Read this guide first—it will tell you all you need to know about the type of cubes to choose and more, so you don’t go making a mistake and wasting your money.

And remember, if you are struggling, we are just a call away.

Tip no. 4: Vacuum bags

Usually, packing cubes are enough for us to pack everything we need for our trips—including when travelling full-time for nearly two years.

But when going to Lapland?

• We needed wedding outfits.
• We needed enough stuff for 3 people for two weeks.
• And we needed bulky winter clothes.

Vacuum bags to the rescue!

Now, remember to use these strategically.

How to use vacuum bags when packing for Lapland

• Fit the bulkiest things that you won’t need till later on into the vacuum bags
• Think about the material. Woollen jumpers are fine to get scrunched up. But don’t fit a shirt you’re planning on wearing to dinner into a vacuum bag. While packing cubes help keep clothes wrinkle-free, especially if you roll them, vacuum bags do the exact opposite
• Remember, that with vacuum bags, you reduce the volume of the clothes, not their weight. Make sure to reweight your luggage first, instead of going wild once you see the space you’ve saved by using vacuum bags
• Unless you are taking a bag pump or a handheld hoover with you to Lapland, don’t use it when packing at home either. Why? You don’t want to squeeze the very fibres out of your clothes on the way there using a hoover… and then not be able to replicate it on the way back. Trust us, sitting on your suitcase, while someone is trying to zip it up, because your clothes are suddenly not as squished and plus you bought all those souvenirs, is not how you want to spend your last night in Lapland. Especially, if you could be out watching the Northern Lights instead! Imagine that stress!

For our trip, we ended up taking two vacuum bags that we stuffed with the bulkiest things from our Lapland packing list—the woollen sweaters. 

Tip no. 5: Sharing

If you are travelling with other people, this is such a useful hack.

Once you create your Lapland packing list, have a read through it, and see if there is anything you could share within your travel party.

We were travelling to Lapland with Mirka’s sister, so once we put together our Lapland packing list, we had a call with her to agree on what she would take and what we were taking, so we wouldn’t carry some things double, pointlessly.

Obviously, you won’t be able to share everything (everybody take their own underwear, please!!), but, depending on how close you are to the people you are travelling with, you can share quite a few items.

To show you how much we managed to share, we left the “share” note in our Lapland packing list, so you can check it out and get some inspo.

Tip no. 6: Mock packing session

We saved the most unhinged tip for last—couldn’t risk showing you what kind of weirdos we really are right at the start, right?

What we’re going to suggest is that you pack way before your trip.

But not for real.

Just as a test.

Yep. We are suggesting you pack. Then unpack it again. And then repeat the packing process before your actual departure.

Why you should do a practice packing session

We totally get if you currently feel like sending us to f…French Polynesia. You can actually do so on our Instagram, if you feel like you need to voice your anger at this suggestion. 😄

But hear us out.

Doing a mock packing session is great for so many reasons:

• It helps you see how much stuff you’re actually planning to take. Nothing ever motivates us to pack light more than seeing ALL THE STUFF piled together in one place.
• It saves you money. If you’re paying for luggage separately on your flights, because you’re travelling with low cost airlines? You need to know how many bags you’ll have and how much they’ll weigh. And you need to know this wayyy before you’re actually packing, if you want to get a good deal on flights by booking them early. You could estimate this, but you could also discover you were very incorrect in your estimates, like we did, and be glad you checked by doing a mock packing session.
• If you’re an anxious traveller, doing a practice packing session might reassure you that you’re not forgetting anything. Super important especially when packing for a whole family (don’t wanna discover you forgot one kid’s snowboots at home after you land in Helsinki!)
• “On a similar anxiety-fuelled note, do you usually struggle with packing before your trip? Aka screaming at the wardrobe, which I practise every singe time, just to keep myself in shape. 😄 If so, doing a test-packing session might help, I found it so much easier (and calmer) to pack knowing we’ve already done it all before.” -Mirka
• It speeds up the final packing process before your departure. We don’t know how about you, but for us, the days before a holiday are always the busiest: batch cooking for when we’re back (freezing it, of course), cleaning the house so we come back to a clean home, finishing all the food, so it doesn’t go off while we’re away, getting work done in advance, so we can actually relax on a holiday, booking any last minute transport etc. etc. Making packing super fast, because you know exactly what you’re packing and how it will all fit, is such a criminally overlooked hack.

We did our practice packing session 2 months before our trip—here we share how exactly we test-packed and how it helped us.

Bonus tip: don’t forget this

One thing that is super important for your Lapland trip, yet many people forget about it?

Travel insurance!

You can’t actually pack it, but it might just save your holiday.

When choosing a provider, make sure it’s a good one—someone you can rely on and who will cover you during all the fun activities you’re planning on doing in Lapland.

Our go-to travel insurance? True Traveller!

Before our full-time travels, we researched and researched, and picked them out of a list of 23 different travel insurance companies!

Shows you we take travel safety seriously.

If you want to know more about True Traveller, here is our full review highlighting all the key info.

Oh, and their claims process? Absolutely mind-blowing, just read this.

Regardless of who you choose (but be smart and pick someone good, like True Traveller), make sure you don’t forget to get travel insurance before your Lapland trip.

Need more help?

Are you still struggling with your trip planning, even though you now know the best Lapland packing hacks?

Don’t worry, bucket list winter holidays can be overwhelming to plan.

That’s where we come in!

Here are things that will help:

🧳 Want to see our full Lapland packing list and get tips on how to create your own? Check this out.

🧣 Need to know exactly how many sweaters you should pack for your trip? This will tell you.

🔦 Wondering whether you’re forgetting something small, but absolutely crucial for an Arctic holiday? Head this way to see a list of all the essentials we packed.

And remember, you can always drop us a message on our Instagram or book a call with us if you want.

We hope these Lapland packing hacks will help you get ready for your trip without having a meltdown.

Trust us, all the packing pain will be worth it, once you’re standing under the Northern Lights (just make sure you choose the right time to see them).