Visit Santa Village Lapland

Guide to Visiting Santa Village, Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland.

Visiting Santa Village is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for kids and their parents. Getting to this remote location and understanding what there is to see can be a problem. The Santa attractions have similar names but very different attractions. So to help you visit Santa Village, Lapland I’ve written this post with all the facts.

Important Information About Visiting Santa Village

Visiting Santa in Rovaniemi can be confusing! So here are some facts that will help you navigate to Father Christmas and the North Pole (well the Arctic Circle, which is 66˚33’45.9” north of the Equator).

This is the original Santa Claus Village, home to Father Christmas, located 8km north of the city of Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland, on highway #4 that leads to Ivalo. It is large and has many attractions, amenities, restaurants, and stores. Although it is free to enter you will find that visiting Santa can end up being rather pricey. By the time you have paid for all the extras, it might have been cheaper to take a guided tour to Santa where all activities and transport are included. Each of the attractions and vendors in Santa Village is a separate business each with its own prices and open hours.

Hot Tips on Visiting Santa 

• Santa Claus Village is not Santa Park. SantaPark is a fantasy cave where elves live in a magical world where there is an elf school; a kitchen cooking gingerbread men; and Ice Princess Ice Gallery where you can ride a magic train; see a magical Christmas Show and meet Santa. SantaPark and Santa Claus Village ARE NOT THE SAME PLACE! SantaPark is located about 2km south of Santa Claus Village on route to Rovaniemi.
• Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi is open every day of the year.
• When you arrive in Rovaniemi you might consider going straight from the airport to Santa’s Village and only afterward continuing onto Rovaniemi as Santa’s Village is closer to the airport than to the city. If you do go straight from Rovaniemi Airport to Santa’s Village don’t worry about your luggage as they let you store your bags at the reception while you enjoy the sites. You’ll have to take a taxi as there is no direct bus from Rovaniemi Airport to Santa’s Village.
• The attractions listed below are all within the Santa Claus Village Complex and are run by about 40 separate companies each with its own prices, rules, and open hours.

See and Do in Santa Village, Lapland

Entrance to Santa Claus Village is free.

Meet Santa – Meeting Santa is free – the trick is the cost of a photo with Father Christmas! you are not allowed to take your own photos with him. The only way to get a photo with Santa is to pay for a professional elf photographer to take a picture of you. Photo with Santa – 25-70Euro depending on size, type of frame, etc. or a DVD for 35Euro or download a video for 45Euro. While the kids chat with Santa Claus the parents are discretely asked if they want to buy a gift from Santa for their children. Prices start at about 15Euro.

Santa Letter – You can send a letter from Santa’s Village home to the kids. Posting a letter from Santa’s Village with the official Arctic Circle Santa Post Office stamp and postmark – 6Euro. Order a letter online to be sent from Santa to your kids – 8.50 euros.

Santa Claus Restaurants – Eat a great meal at the Santa Village restaurants, although they are pricey.

Souvenir Shopping – Shop in several Santa souvenir stores. Prices vary but are generally expensive although there are some sale items and smaller mementos you can buy.

Arctic Circle Certificate –  Get proof that you have been to the Arctic Circle in the form of a certificate – 12Euro in the restaurant or 7Euro from the reception/Info point (near the bus stop). The cheaper alternative is to take a photo of yourself next to the giant sign saying “Arctic Circle.”

Snowman World – This is an ice park at Santa Claus Village; an open-air ice park with ice slides, giant snowmen, and other fun stuff. The ticket includes all skating equipment and entrance to the Ice Restaurant and Ice Bar – 25Euro. (Open 11:00-17:00, 8 Dec-31 March)

Santa Claus Village Ice Bar – Inside this bar made completely from ice you can enjoy a drink in an ice cup at an ice table, see ice sculptures and ride down a number of toboggans. Entrance 8Euro, drinks from 2Euro.

Husky Park –Entrance fee – Adults – 10Euro; children 4yrs-12yrs – 5Euro; family ticket (2 adults, up to  3 kids) –20Euro. In addition to the entrance fee a husky sled ride costs: adults –30Euro, children – 15Euro. There are also longer, more expensive rides.

Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park – Prices are about 70-200Euros depending on the trip you take.

Santa Live WebCam: Say hello to the rest of humanity via a live webcam.

Elf Petting Zoo: Visit the Elf’s petting zoo with all kinds of arctic animals.

Santa Claus Reindeer Resort: Reindeer sleigh rides: 5min 18-14Euro; 15min 23-29Euro; 35min 50-65Euro. Reindeer driving license – 5Euro.

Northern Lights: See the Aurora Borealis (if you’re lucky) or take a Northern Lights tour.

Finland Santa Village Practical Details: 

Where to Stay near Santa Village: Rovaniemi Hotels near Santa’s Village: My recommendation is the Scandic Hotel Rovaniemi, standards are high, the location is convenient, and all the services you need.

Special Events at Santa’s Village:

• Opening of Christmas Season ceremony – annually at the end of November (see website for exact date).
• See Santa Off: See Santa as he flies off in his sleigh on route to deliver all the presents usually on 23 December at 19:00. The event includes a show and Santa’s farewell speech.

Website: Santa Claus Village Lapland.

Getting to Santa’s Village:

• Take public bus #8 or Santa’s Express from Rovaniemi. 
• Drive 8km north of Rovaniemi on highway #4 (route E75).
• Take a guided tour. You can reach Rovaniemi by air on Finnair or Norwegian Air. The Rovaniemi Airport is 3km from Santa’s home. Note that there are no direct buses from Rovaniemi Airport to Santa village but taxis are available.
• Take a train from Helsinki or other Finnish towns.

Santa’s Address: 96930 Rovaniemi, Finland.

Open Hours:

1.9. – 30.11. daily at 10-17

1.12. – 6.1. (Christmas season) daily at 9-19

7.1.-31.5. daily at 10-17

1.6. – 31.8. daily at 9-18

Exceptional opening hours: 24.12. at 9-15; 25.12. at 12-17; 31.12. at 9-17; 1.1. at 12-17; 30.4. at 10-15; 1.5. at 12-15

Need to know more…

For more Finnish attractions check out the rest of this site – Unique Finland Attractions.