Things to do in Lapland, Finland!

I visited Lapland twice! Once in February 2018 to Rovaniemi, and the second was to organize group trips (taking 2 groups with me), in February 2019 to Lousto. Both times in winter and in both I experienced so many amazing activities (similar in style, but still different!).

The weather in Feb 2018 was much colder than in Feb 2019.

Lapland is Finland’s northernmost region, a sparsely populated area bordering Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. It’s known for its vast subarctic wilderness, ski resorts and natural phenomena including the midnight sun and the Northern Lights.

Capital Rovaniemi is the gateway to the region. The homeland of the indigenous Sami people, which extends into neighboring countries, centers on the far north. During my visit to Lapland, I only stayed at Rovaniemi which was absolutely stunning.

Northern Lights

If your main motive is to see the Northern Lights (Aurora), then you must know when is the Aurora Season: The Aurora season in the Nordic regions is from end-August until end April. 

Remember, if you want to go for the aurora and you want to take photos, you need to be on the safe side a proper DSLR camera (+ TRIPOD, must). It is the way to go. Mobile phone cameras are for sure getting better and might capture the light if its bright enough, but not guaranteed yet.

Here are a few recommendations on this to do in Lapland, Finland!

• Levi: Finland’s most popular ski resort and host of the annual Alpine World Cup Race, Levi makes a top choice for winter sports, equipped with an impressive 43 slopes and 26 ski lifts.
• Visit (or stay in) a hotel made entirely of snow and ice (Ice Hotel). The one I saw is near Rovaniemi around 50 minutes away via snowmobile
• Try snowmobiling! NOT TO MISS.
• See the Northern Lights
• Husky, Reindeer, and Snowmobile Safaris
• Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi
• Check if you can see the midnight sun (happens at a specific time of year)
• Floating on Ice
• Ice Fishing
• Try outdoors Sauna
• Trekking through lapland

• Ranua Zoo
• Santa Park

If you are planning on staying at Lousto (Ski resort), keep in mind that it is around 1 hour 30 minutes from Rovaniemi. Similar activities could be found, and others are a bit distant, but could be arranged with a transfer such as:

• Snow village (game of thrones theme)
• horse-back riding

I recommend you to get hand warmers, feet warmers, hats, face masks, neck warmers, clothing layers and wool socks. Also good warm snow boots.

Enjoy the snow, the beautiful white magic!