Spending a day or longer meeting the ‘real’ Santa is a popular package holiday from the UK, and given there’s nothing equivalent from the states, I decided this had to be on the bucket list. At the time my eldest was 9 and on the cusp of believing in Santa, so I felt this was our last chance, although having experienced it I wouldn’t worry about whether your children still believe or not- they will find it magical regardless.
There are several companies in the UK offering packages to Lapland. I originally booked through Santa’s Lapland, a broker for Inghams, on a trip to Saariselka. I picked the resort as it is supposed to have an epic toboggan run and there is a ski resort there too, plus they did a trip straight after Christmas that coincided with when we would be in the UK. Unfortunately for us, Ingham’s cancelled the date in July, leaving me scrambling to find an alternative. The only other option was to go with Transun (booked via Santa Claus trips) as the only other provider that had a trip straight after Christmas.
I was a little apprehensive based on other’s reviews, but the experience far exceeded my expectations, and while it’s pricey for a short break, I would encourage everyone with kids to go at least once in their lifetime.
Pre-planning
If your dates are more flexible, there are several Lapland resorts to pick from. Levi is one of the more commercialized and has a ski resort. As well as Saariselka and Rovaniemi there is Yllas, which also has a ski resort and the opportunity to go to the ice hotel. Where we went was a tiny town called Karesendu in Finland. There’s nothing there except a gas station with a small restaurant and a souvenir shop, but it definitely offered an authentic experience. All the companies provide snow suits (which are basically racing car suits) and boots, but I would recommend taking snow pants for before and after getting the clothing and plenty of thermal layers, fleeces, warm hat and gloves etc. plus hand and foot warmers.
Make sure you remember to go to the Transun website and input the info requested for the Santa visit (kids interests, what you’re proud of, what they want/ got for Christmas, pets in the household).
Flight
The Lapland companies fly from various airports across different dates. The after Christmas trip we took left on Dec 30th out of Birmingham at 10 am, which was quite reasonable for a charter flight. We got to the check-in line around 7.30 and it was already open (even though the paperwork said it would open at 8). We had to wait around 20 minutes to get to the desk and were all seated together. The airplane was at a remote gate that required us to take a bus. We were loaded on the first bus, only to then be told the plane wasn’t ready and we stood on the packed bus for 15+ minutes before we finally made our way over to the plane.
Other Santa trip reviews talked about elves on the plane singing Christmas carols, but there was none of that on the Polish Enter air flight. On the plus side, we were greeted by some very catchy music, pretty decent leg room and even a hot meal, although the quality wasn’t great. The attendants were grumpy and hard to understand, and you’d better not have any kind of medical emergency on the plane as they will likely leave you to your death! We were on our descent but had been circling for a while, which seemed off given we were flying into Enentekio and would be their only flight of the day. My little guy needed the potty, so we pushed the attendant light to see if it would be possible for him to go given we didn’t seem to be descending. No-one came (thus my comment that if it was a medical emergency you’d be dead), so we got up anyway, and only then were told the potty was locked and we had to go back to our seats. We then got an announcement that there was ‘too much snow to land’ and we would be diverting to Kittala. By some form of miracle, my little guy was able to hold it until we landed 30 minutes later.
We had to wait about an hour for buses to come, and then had a 2 hour drive to the hotel. As soon as we got off the bus, Transun reps had our room numbers, and we could go straight to our rooms where the key was in the door.
Accommodation
There are various options at the Davvi arctic lodge; rooms in the hotel which have the advantage of not needing to go outside to get to the restaurant, cabins in the woods, and the fell house which is apartments for larger groups. We were in a cabin. It’s basic, but homely with a double bed and a sofa bed. The bathroom is one large wet room; not beautiful but functional, and had its own sauna. I had to go online to get instructions as to how to make the sauna work, but figured it out. You can hear noise from the cabin attached, but fortunately our neighbors were early to bed and not early risers, so it wasn’t an issue. I’m sure we were more annoying to them as we were all somewhat still on US time and not going to bed until after midnight.
Cabin main bed 
Pull out couch 
Bathroom 
Shower 
Sauna 
Cabin
First night
We were each assigned a dining time; for us it was the first sitting at 8.30 pm (we got to the hotel at 8 pm). We had no issues getting a table (nor at any subsequent meal), and the buffet consisted of soup and rolls, some cold meats/ cheeses and then 3 hot dishes; typically something vegetarian, a pasta dish and a meat or/and fish dish. There was always chicken fingers or pizza for the kids. The biggest let down was the lack of fresh vegetables; it was all frozen peas and mixed veg. The desserts were impressive however. You could order from the bar for soft and alcoholic drinks. Then at 9.30 we had our welcome meeting where they told us what to expect and the optional extra excursions we could take. I had already booked a night time snow mobile trip before we left and then decided to also do the dog sled night time trip (the latter you should absolutely not miss). At 10 we went to get our snow suits and boots from the clothing shed. I felt it was well organized and everyone was put in to one of 4 groups and there were postings in the lobby of what activities each group was doing each day.
We walked to the top of the hill above the hotel to see if we could see the Northern lights before we went to bed; but no activity that night.
First full day
We had the morning free the first day, so after breakfast, we trekked down the hotel driveway with our littlest one in a sled (which can be picked up from the hotel lobby; they were all brand new and plentiful when we were there). It was a beautiful crisp morning with a temp around 17F, which was warmer than it typically is this time of year. We walked to the store/ gas station and then took the next right which takes you over the bridge to Sweden. Sweden is an hour behind Finland so technically we could have celebrated New Year’s eve twice. On the left hand side as you go over the bridge is the oldest church in Sweden. Make sure you take some Euros with you to buy some postcards. You can’t take pictures inside. It was picture perfect scenery. There is a café opposite as well which we did not go into. We walked back over the frozen river to the hotel and the boys spent some time tobogganing on the sledding hills until it was time for lunch.
Border of Sweden and Finland 
Officially in Sweden with cafe to right 
officially back in Finland 
Oldest church in Sweden
As we exited the restaurant we noticed some strange ‘rainbow’ clouds which turned out to be iridescent clouds; pretty rare apparently.
Our afternoon was our ‘search for Santa’ day. As we pulled up to the Santa place, candles lit the pathway to the warming house. Inside was a café and restrooms. Outside was a fire pit with marshmallows to roast, along with some sledding slopes and a kid’s ice hockey pitch. Each family was called one at a time to do the two activities; snow mobiling and having their private meeting with Santa. We were one of the later families to be called, but the boys could have spent hours on the sleds, and I was glad we got to go when it was dark rather than when it was still light (day light is only from about 11-2). We were called for snowmobiling first. The kids get pulled in a larger sled by one of the staff. My husband and I shared a snowmobile, swapping half-way to drive. They are pretty heavy and I felt the driving time was just long enough. It was beautiful going through the snow filled forests.
Daddy Lauling on his snowmobile 
Roasting marshmallows 
Ice hockey
Then we were called for our Santa meeting. You start in a snowmobile pulled sled for a short journey to where a reindeer pulled sled is waiting for you. It was so still and quiet as we transferred into the reindeer pulled sled after a chance to pet the reindeer. We then pulled up to Santa’s cottage where we were met by two rather large ‘elves’ who knew the boy’s names. The boys knocked on the door and were welcomed by Santa. The Santa knew everything we had put into the webpage off by heart- the dog’s name, where we were from and how far we’d come and what activities the boys enjoyed. My eldest even showed Santa what a parkour B kick is! The elves took ‘selfies’ with our phone and were hilarious. It far exceeded my expectations and I’m sure will be a top memory for a long time.
On our way to meet Santa 
Santa’s elves take us to Santa 
Santa’s cottage 
Meeting Santa 
Meeting Santa 
Reindeer sleigh ride to Santa’s cottage
After dinner we had our dog sled trip. Only 16 people were on this excursion and you actually get to mush the dogs (which you don’t get to do on the included trip). We were first shown how to drive the sled and again the kids were loaded in a larger sled with an instructor and my husband and I took it in turns to drive. It was one of the most fun and exhilarating experiences ever. As we crossed over a frozen lake, the Northern lights made an appearance for us. Unfortunately we didn’t stop so we don’t have very good pictures, but to have experienced it, and on New Year’s eve, no less, made it an even more magical trip.
The Northern lights! 
Our dogs
When we got back to the hotel we walked up the hill again hoping to get some pictures of the Northern lights, but they weren’t visible from our position and then the boys joined other kids sledding at the front of the hotel and at midnight the hotel had a small fireworks display. The most perfect new Year’s eve ever!
Day 2
We were fortunate enough to be in the 10 am dog sled group so we didn’t have a super early start. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, yoghurt and oatmeal and one type of muffin. More fresh fruit would have been a nice addition.
Because we’d got to drive the dogs the night before, the daytime trip wasn’t as impressive. It was nice that all four of us could sit in the same sled though. We also got more time to pet the dogs after.
Back at the hotel, the kids were out sledding again and after dinner we had our snowmobile tour. It was a snowy night so no chance of seeing the Northern lights. The snowmobile experience was pretty much identical to the one we had done the day before, except if the Northern lights had been out, we would have had some time to watch them from the frozen lake. We also got to take the snowmobiles out for a free spin on the lake rather than just following the paths which was fun too.
Day 3
Day 3 was our last day, and we walked down to the bottom of the hill again and had a snack and drink at the café and then visited the souvenir store next door. They had some nice things, including Christmas ornaments, picture frames and stuffed toy reindeer and husky dogs. Armed with a bag of stuff, we headed back up the hill for one last sledding session before heading to the airport.
We were told that only a handful of times have planes not landed at Enentekio- and it’s always the pilot’s decision. It was just as snowy the day we left as when we arrived so I wasn’t holding out much hope that the plane would be able to land. It circled for a bit but decided to go for it, and safely managed to get on the ground. There is only one metal detector so going through security was slow going, but there’s no rush as the plane can’t leave without everyone. There are some snacks, drinks and a small souvenir shop at the airport but definitely not somewhere you’d want to be stuck for a long time!
Inghams does longer 7 day trips which are technically skiing holidays but you can add on all the same activities that we did in each of the resorts. If you’re looking for 5 star ritzy accommodation, this trip is not for you, but if you want to disconnect from the world and be fully connected to your family and the magic of Christmas, then you should book asap!