Where to stay in Finnish Lapland, Levi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Inari, Pyhä, Salla, Kakslauttanen.
Five Arctic towns, each with its own character and best stays.
The official hometown of Santa Claus. Gateway to Lapland.
Finland's largest ski resort. Vibrant après-ski.
Northern Lights capital. Home to Kakslauttanen and Muotka.
Sámi culture heartland. Lake Inari and wilderness lodges.
Seaside Arctic town. SnowCastle and icebreaker cruises.
Rovaniemi has the airport, Santa Claus Village and the widest choice of beds, from log cabins to Arctic resorts, which makes it the default first visit. Saariselkä is the northernmost ski resort in Finland and sits above the treeline in prime aurora country. Levi is the largest ski resort, 44 slopes with hotels at the foot of them. Inari is remote and Sámi, on one of the largest lakes in Finland. Kemi is the odd one out, on the Gulf of Bothnia, where the SnowCastle area builds a new snow park every winter and keeps an indoor snow world open all year.
Choose by what you want to walk out into, not by the hotel photo. Aurora odds improve as you go north; ski convenience improves as you go slope-side; culture and quiet point to Inari. Distances between these towns are hours, not minutes, so two bases in one week is usually one too many.
Five Arctic destinations, each with its own character, hotels, and rhythm. Find the one that matches your trip.
Home of Santa Claus Village and the official Arctic Circle. The widest hotel choice in Lapland, from cabins to 5-star Arctic resorts.
Finland's northernmost ski resort, above the treeline, prime aurora territory. Home to Kakslauttanen and Northern Lights Village.
Lapland's largest ski resort, 44 slopes, lively village, slope-side hotels and aurora viewing minutes from the lifts.
Remote and wild. Lake Inari is one of Finland's largest, frozen solid in winter. Sámi culture, reindeer herding, pristine wilderness.
The famous SnowCastle Area on the Gulf of Bothnia: a winter snow park, a year-round indoor snow world and Seaside Glass Villas on the frozen shore. The full snow castle with hotel rooms is no longer built each year.