10 Insider Tips for Visiting Santa’s Village in Lapland

Wondering how to tell which Santa is the real one in Santa Claus Village in Lapland?

Or what mistakes to avoid when planning your winter wonderland adventure?

We’ve got you covered!

These are the 10 insider tips for visiting Santa’s village in Lapland.

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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!

Quick facts about our Lapland trip

Before we get to tips for visiting Santa’s village, here is a bit about our trip to Lapland, so it all makes sense to you as you read:

• We visited Lapland in March/April 2025, on an epic trip that included taking the Santa Claus Express sleeper train, meeting Santa and staying in a beautiful northern lights resort on a budget!
• Want to hear something wild? We got married in Copenhagen at the start of our Lapland trip! In secret. Without any guests. Wearing snowboots. If you don’t know us, this tells you a lot about who we are. 😆 Btw, if you’re new here, give us a shout on our Instagram so we can say hi!
• Okay, we are lying a bit. We did have one guest at the wedding. Mirka’s sister was our witness/photographer/makeup and hair artist. The thing is, she had no idea we were getting married. She came on the trip thinking we were taking her to Lapland to go aurora hunting. Which we did. We just added a little surprise at the start! 😄
• To clarify, we did the whole trip, including visiting Santa’s village in Lapland as 3 adults. Oh, and yes, on a budget.
• Wanna ask more questions about planning a trip to Lapland? No problem, just book a call with us and we can chat about how to make it the most magical holiday you’ve ever been on! (Ours was so epic, we instantly wanted to do it again.)

Is Santa’s village in Lapland worth visiting?

Wondering whether Santa Claus Village is actually worth a visit?

We get it. Time and money are usually limited, so you want to spend them well.

Especially if you don’t have kids, so going to Santa’s village in Lapland is not that high on your bucket list.

We talk more about whether Santa Claus Village is worth visiting in this post, but if you want a simple answer:

Yes. Santa’s village is worth a visit, if you like Christmas (or you have kids who love Christmas).

If you’re a total Grinch, it’s fine to give it a miss.

Spend your budget further up north instead, on a beautiful northern lights resort, for example (just not on a husky ride, trust us 😬).

If you already do know you want to go to Santa’s village, here are the 10 tips that will make your visit better.

#1 Meet the real Santa

Let’s start with the most crucial tip, because who wants to go to Santa’s village in Lapland and not meet the real Santa, right?

That’s the whole point of the visit!

The confusing (and kinda scammy-feeling) thing is, there are two Santas in Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.

One is the real deal (seriously, this Santa must be magical – how else do you explain that he’s able to sit in his office, 365 days a year, talking to bloody strangers all day long?? 😬).

And the other feels like those AliExpress ‘expectation vs reality’ fails.

We talk all about the real Santa Claus in this post—make sure to check it out, so you don’t get scammed (and so your kids are not disappointed). 

#2 Avoid queues at Santa Claus Office

Speaking of meeting Santa.

The one thing everyone dreads?

The queue to get to him.

From the queuing system we saw on the way to meet the big guy, we can confirm, massive queues do happen.

The best way to avoid them?

1. Visiting Santa’s village in Lapland outside the peak season (more on this in the next tip).
2. Going to see Santa as soon as his office opens. Let’s talk more about this.

Best time to visit Santa Claus in Rovaniemi

Wanna know the best time to see the big guy?

Easy.

As soon as he comes to work.

Too gloomy?

Apologies! We meant as soon as the magical Santa Claus Office opens!

Here is what you need to know:

• Opening times change throughout the year—check the official website to see the opening times during your visit.
• During peak times (Christmas season), people start gathering at the entrance to the Santa experience even before it opens, so don’t rock up exactly on time expecting to be the first one in line.
• A plus for visiting Santa early on in the day? He won’t be tired after the whole day of talking to strangers. Because can you imagine doing that for the WHOLE working day? While sober? Yikes!
• One disadvantage of this strategy is that you’ll do the biggest, best experience of Santa Claus Village right in the morning. Want advice? Make sure you plan well, making the rest of the day equally magical, especially if you have kids and don’t want them to get cranky, because they’ve already peaked, meeting Santa first thing in the morning.

Pro tip: Santa’s office opens later in April and May, which is the perfect time to visit. Read on to find out why!

#3 Visit outside of Christmas season

You already know travelling outside of peak season is smart, right?

It saves money and keeps you away from crowds of people (and the stress that comes with it).

It’s the same in Santa’s village in Lapland.

Christmas starts early at the Arctic Circle. Actually, Christmas never really stops at Santa Claus Village—one of the best things is that you can meet Santa all year long, so you can celebrate Christmas in July or on your birthday in April or randomly in February, just because.

The smart option?

Taking advantage of the cheaper travel during off-peak season and avoiding the madness of the festive season at Santa’s village in Lapland.

Best time to visit Santa’s village in Lapland

What’s the best time to visit Santa’s village in Lapland then?

Well, the best time is when it suits YOU.

But we’ll tell you when we visited.

We arrived to Lapland on the last day of March, the 31st.

This was awesome because:

• We could do the whole Lapland trip on a budget.
• We got a great deal on an epic northern lights resort during the best time to see Aurora Borealis (and we did see it, straight from our Aurora Cabin bed!).
• We were the first people to cross the Arctic Circle in Santa’s village in Lapland on the day we visited (we got there early, before 8am).
• Pretty much nothing was open in Santa Claus Village before 9am, meaning there was no reason for anyone to be there. We could take pictures without strangers being in them, cross the Arctic Circle alone (what a feeling!) and generally absorb being in Santa’s village in Lapland before all the craziness kicked off.
• Santa’s Office didn’t open till 10am on that day, meaning we had an hour beforehand to go drop our luggage off and see some of the shops and experiences in the village, rather than having to rush straight to queue for Santa.

If you are planning your Lapland trip way in advance, you’ve got a big advantage.

There is a free Lapland planning hack that you can use, if your trip is far away in the future.

Let’s talk about that.

#4 Use the Santa Claus Village webcam

Did you know Santa’s village in Lapland is livestreaming on YouTube 24/7?

Meaning you can pop on the feed at any point to try and spot Santa heading to his office.

But you can also use the livestream to plan your Lapland holiday better.

We actually have a whole post about using the webcam for your Lapland holiday planning, so give it a read.

And once you’re in Santa’s village?

Make sure to again use the webcam to add more magic and fun to your day!

Find out how here.

Speaking of fun activities. Let’s talk about how to avoid wasting your money in Santa’s village in Lapland.

#5 Skip expensive activities

There is lots you can do in Santa’s village in Lapland. It’s not just about sitting on Santa’s knee. (Actually, you don’t even get to do that. You sit next to him. We have to tell you this, in case it’s at the top of your bucket list—we don’t want you being disappointed! 😄)

You’ll be spoiled for choice: reindeer rides, husky rides, gift shops, sending Arctic Circle postcards (they will arrive next Christmas, if that’s what you choose!), Arctic Circle crossing ceremonies and so much more!

The issue?

All of these activities cost a lot of money.

And many of them are, frankly, pretty rubbish.

We’ll tell you the truth: we were shocked by the reindeer rides (and the poor reindeer) in Santa Claus Village.

Meeting Mrs Claus? Prepare to pay A LOT for that privilege. (Seriously, is Mrs Claus for real?? That price is insane!)

Even the entrance to the Husky Park is €15 per adult (2026 price) and that doesn’t include anything other than walking around and seeing the huskies in their enclosures!

The solution for saving money

Here are the things you can do, if you want to save money on activities in Santa Claus Village:

• Compare cost with other locations. This might not just save you money, but you might also end up having a better experience elsewhere. We talk about the reindeer rides in Santa’s village in Lapland vs at our northern lights resort, and why one was so much better than the other here.
• DIY activities. You can create your own magical experiences for your kids (or anyone else in your travel party), without having to spend money on the official ones. For example, instead of buying the Arctic Circle Crossing Certificate, design one in Canva and print it out yourself. Instead of spending money on meeting Mrs Claus, get a drink in her Christmas Cottage cafe. You’ll heat up plus you can chill there—why not play a game or have fun with Christmas activity sheets? (Bring your own, of course.) Another idea is coming up with a treasure hunt for your kids to play around the village. 
• Fill the day with the cheaper or free activities. You can do plenty of things in Santa’s village without spending a fortune. Santa doesn’t charge for a meet and greet. Why not do your own Christmas-themed photoshoot? (Check out this outfit tip!) Visit Santa’s Post Office, read letters from kids to Santa or write your own. Love Christmas trees? Go hunting for the best one on the guided trail of Santa’s Forest.

#6 Avoid car parking drama

Another drama, other than the husky and reindeer rides costing three months’ of rent and a Dubai chocolate bar?

Parking!

Actually, driving in Lapland in general.

Think icy roads. Short daylight. Reindeer jumping onto the road at any point (happened to us during our bus journey twice. We were glad our bus driver had fast reflexes).

If you want to avoid all of this, you can.

Santa’s village in Lapland is easily reachable using public transport!

You can have a safer journey, protect the planet and make your trip even more magical.

How?

We took the overnight Santa Claus Express train (sleeping on Santa’s train?? Yes please!) and then a 7am rave bus with the friendliest bus driver straight to Santa’s village.

The kind of stories renting a car won’t give you.

#7 Plan food & drink 

When it comes to food and drink, it’s smart to make a plan in advance. This is why:

• Food and drink (like everything else in Lapland) is expensive in Santa’s village.
• Options are limited, so if you have specific food requirements, you might struggle.
• The few restaurants that are in the village get suuuper busy during peak season.
• As in most touristy places, the majority of restaurants and cafes in the village are poorly rated.

So, what can you do if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on crappy food?

• You can decide to pay up and go to the couple better-rated restaurants (check menus in advance to not be shocked by the prices once you sit down at the table!)
• You can decide to suck it up, pick the cheapest place available, knowing the food will be crappy, but it’s just one meal/day. (Keep in mind though, that the prices will still be super expensive, even in the cheapest place. This is Lapland, after all.)
• You can save money by bringing your own food. This is our favourite option when it comes to touristy places.

What we did to save money on food and drink in Santa’s village in Lapland

• We took the Santa Claus Express overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, where Santa lives. The train is also known for having super expensive food, so we ate dinner before boarding, in Helsinki, and took snacks on the train instead.
• For breakfast we were again prepared, with pastries from a Helsinki supermarket, avoiding the premium prices on the train.
• Lunch at Santa’s village? We skipped. We had protein bars with us and had hot drinks at Mrs Claus’ Christmas Cottage that got us through the day.
• We could skip lunch because we knew we would have a big dinner, albeit quite late. From Santa’s village, we took a bus further up north, to Saariselkä. We were staying in a beautiful northern lights hotel, where we could not only see Aurora Borealis straight from our bed (!!), but we had breakfast AND dinner included. Oh, and the price we paid for this stay? You won’t believe it!

No matter what solution you go for, the important thing is to have a plan.

Know your food and drink needs for the day.

And plan accordingly, using the information available.

#8 Be sustainable

We already mentioned being eco-friendly by swapping car rental for public transport.

But a small way almost every visitor to Santa’s village in Lapland contributes to the destruction of the planet?

Picking up the paper map of the Santa Claus Village at the Information Desk!

Now, this might seem like such a minor thing.

It’s one sheet of paper!

But if you think about the number of people visiting the village every day.

And they don’t share a map per group.

Oh no. We saw groups of people each clutching the same map.

We also saw many of the maps discarded throughout the village.

How to be more sustainable in Santa’s village in Lapland

We get that you might have kids who will find endless entertainment in the physical, paper copy of the map of Santa’s village in Lapland.

And that’s fair.

But if your travel party doesn’t really need a paper copy?

You can download a digital version of the Santa Claus Village map to your phone or a tablet prior to your visit and check it there—if you ever need it. 

Truth be told, the village is pretty compact, and if you have a plan for the day already created, you will be familiar with where things are and where you are heading next.

#9 Pack smart

This insider tip for visiting Santa’s village in Lapland mainly applies if you’ll be just transiting through the village, meaning you’ll have all your luggage with you.

Here is what you should think about:

• If you are taking the famous Santa Claus Express sleeper train to Rovaniemi (would so recommend, btw!), you need to pack smart for the train, but also for Santa’s village, so you don’t have to be chaos-repacking in Santa’s Office afterwards.
• There is luggage storage in Santa Claus Village. So you won’t have to be dragging your suitcases around all day long. We talk all about that here.
• If you are leaving your luggage in storage, make sure you pack a daypack with all the essentials, like tissues, snacks, extra layers, power bank etc.
• At the same time, don’t overdo it. You don’t want to pack everything into your daypack, “just in case”, and then walk around with a heavy bag all day long.
• Even if you are staying near Santa’s village in Lapland and not bringing your big luggage there, make sure to pack a backpack for the day. Everything in the village is expensive, so don’t waste your money because you didn’t pack a hand sanitiser or tissues.

#10 Dress well – wear the right outfits

Here’s the thing.

Even though Santa’s village in Lapland sits on the actual Arctic Circle.

It’s not always -20°C there.

When we visited, on the 31st of March?

It was 0°C. And it rained.

And do you know what Santa told us? (How crazy, right, having intel from Santa himself?)

That in summer, he and his reindeer are sweating in 30°C heat!

Do this when planning your visit to Santa’s village in Lapland

Here are the things you should do to make sure you dress well for visiting Santa Claus Village:

• If planning a long time in advance, use previous year’s weather forecast to see what you might be dealing with when you go (e.g. if you are planning to go in December, but it’s only February, check previous year’s December weather)
• Make sure to keep checking weather forecast regularly closer to your departure date. The world’s climate is wild. Weather can change fast.
  
  Our story: A few weeks before our trip all the snow around Santa’s village in Lapland melted. People freaked out, winter wonderland holidays were ruined. We worried too. Thankfully, by the time we visited, there was at least some snow again. Lesson: keep checking info, but don’t panic.
• Use this free hack for planning outfits to visit Santa’s village (it’s such a fun way to do it too!)
• Read our post on what to wear to see the northern lights—we talk about the rules for dressing for arctic weather there.
• Doing Lapland on a budget? We’ve got a whole post on how we did that. We also have another post on how to save money specifically when buying clothes for your Arctic adventure, so check them both out.
• Lastly, remember that it’s always better to have extra layers in your daypack (hence the tip #9 about packing well), than to spend your day in Santa’s village hating it all, because you’re freezing (and potentially also ruining the rest of your holiday, if you get ill!).

Want to chat to us about your outfits to make sure you don’t freeze your bum off in Lapland? You can do! Just book a call with us and we can talk all about your plans!

Bonus tip: Remember the daylight

We know we said we’d give you 10 insider tips for visiting Santa’s village in Lapland, but we like you, so here’s a bonus tip!

When planning your Lapland holiday, remember to check the sunrise and sunset times in Rovaniemi, where Santa Claus Village is located.

Why?

Because this is the Arctic.

As you might know, that means daylight hours are pretty extreme throughout the year.

For example, did you know that if you visit on the 20th December, you’ll only get 2hrs and 15mins of barely-there daylight?

On the other hand, if you visit in June, the sun will never set and you’ll have to sleep during daylight?

Wild, right? We are yet to experience such extremes—it’s definitely on our bucket list!

Why this matters to you

Why are sunrise and sunset times important for you?

Many reasons, for example:

• So you can plan your Santa Claus Village photoshoot! For instance, if your camera is better for shooting during the day, but you are visiting in December, you better plan well and make most out of the (kinda) daylight you get. 
• So your body is prepared to be confused. Visiting in summer? If you need darkness to sleep, you better book accommodation with blackout curtains or bring a really good eye mask.
• The outside temperatures also drop majorly when the sun goes down. This is why it’s so important to pack extra layers.

You can check sunrise and sunset times for Rovaniemi, where Santa’s village in Lapland is located, for any day, on this website.

Don’t forget this

If you follow our 11 insider tips for visiting Santa’s village in Lapland, you’ll be ahead of many other travellers.

But there’s one more thing that can make all the difference to your winter holiday.

Having awesome travel insurance!

Because while Lapland is magical, it can also be pretty dangerous.

Think freezing temperatures, icy roads and paths, deep snow, adventurous activities and the risk of heart attack when you see the prices of pretty much anything in Lapland!

To keep yourself safe(r), make sure you get good travel insurance for your trip.

We trust True Traveller when we are exploring the world.

So much so, we picked them from a list of 23 different travel insurance providers when we went full-time backpacking for 2 years!

If you don’t know True Traveller, don’t worry.

They are not one of the big names that come to your mind when someone says travel insurance—and that’s exactly the point.

They are a company created by travellers, for travellers. With perks other insurance providers would never give you. Oh, and customer service that definitely puts them on Santa’s Nice List every year.

Of course, one of the best things about True Traveller is the great value for money they offer—travel insurance without the eye-watering price tag.

So check them out and know you’re covered by an awesome travel insurance as you explore Santa’s village in Lapland (and beyond).

These are the 10 insider tips for visiting Santa’s village in Lapland that you need to know before your first trip.

Remember to check out our other posts about Santa Claus Village:

• How to make sure you meet the real Santa 
• The must-know free travel hack for visiting the village

We hope you have the most magical time at Santa’s village in Lapland—send us a pic when you go, will you? Thank you! 😊