A trip to Lapland is serious bucket list territory. Delivering the snowy landscape that would put most Christmas cards to shame, along with the chance to meet ACTUAL SANTA, Lapland is something else. And, when it comes to dream family holidays it’s pretty hard to beat. 

Visiting Lapland is a real once-in-a-lifetime, dream come true type of family holiday – one we’ve been lucky enough to experience first-hand. Naturally, a trip like this comes with a high price tag, and with so many different Lapland holidays to choose from it can be nerve-wracking deciding which package is actually worth the money.

I spent a year and a half scouring websites, Facebook groups and more to try and find the right Lapland holiday for my family. The options are overwhelming, but we opted for the Santa’s Magic package with Santa’s Lapland in November 2023. And I’m SO happy we did. 

Here’s my totally honest review of the Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic holiday. I hope it helps you decide if it’s the right holiday for you.

When we went on the Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic trip

We booked the Santa’s Magic 3-day package, flying out on 30 ^th November 2023 and coming home on 2^nd December. Our family of 4 included myself and my husband, our 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

What to expect on the Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic holiday

Day 1 – Arriving and snow play

OK, so while a 3am wake-up call might not be the most magical way to start a trip, our children’s unbelievably excited faces when we gently woke them up to leave for the airport more than made up for the early start. 

We flew from Birmingham International airport to Ivalo in Finland, with Jet2. After reading various reviews online we weren’t entirely sure what to expect from the flight but the Jet2 team really did pull out all the stops from the moment we joined the queue with other bleary-eyed parents and hyperactive children at check-in. Sadly, the excitement soon took a nosedive when we were gearing up for take-off and the plane encountered a technical problem, leaving us stuck on the runway for a couple of minutes under 3 hours (typical – literally minutes away from any kind of compensation). 

Having to field numerous “are we in Lapland yet?” questions from my 4 year old, as well as many MANY requests for his iPad from my 7 year old wasn’t quite the start to the holiday I was hoping for. My husband, on the other hand, was thrilled as he was seated on his own away from us and managed to squeeze in an epic snooze while we waited for take-off.

These things happen, I totally get it, and the air stewards really did their best with an increasingly noisy and bored plane-load of children and tired parents. When we finally did take off, the children enjoyed the 3-and-a-half-hour flight – with cabin crew playing games and singing Christmas songs to up the festive feels. 

The cute Christmassy vibes continued when we arrived at Ivalo (a tiny Finnish airport – seriously, it makes East Midlands look like Heathrow). Walking off the plane and getting our first glimpse of the snow was just so special. In baggage we were greeted by elves who kept the children entertained while we waited for our luggage. It took our 4 year old a few minutes to get over her shyness around the elves, but once she had she was in fits of giggles as they played with her hat and tried to wheel her suitcase off into the distance.

One thing I was really impressed with was the level of organisation. The Santa’s Lapland team were ready and waiting to direct us all to our designated coaches (you have the same coach for the duration of your stay – all with suitably festive names). Once we’d loaded our bags and taken our seats it was a short drive – approx. 25 minutes – to our hotel in Saariselkä.

All of Santa’s Lapland holidays are based in Saariselkä, so there were multiple drop-offs at various hotels once we got there. Before we were taken to our hotel – the Gielas Wing at Hotel Tunturi – we were taken to Lapland Safari to pick up our snowsuits. These guys know exactly what they are doing and soon had the whole coach kitted out with everything we needed for our Lapland adventure, all neatly squished into grey sacks.

The clothing hire included in the Santa’s Magic package features:

• A thick snowsuit
• Leather mittens
• Woolly socks
• Boots

The staff at Lapland Safari literally sized us up on sight, handing over the snowsuit they thought would fit best. Once I’d got back to the hotel to try mine on I found the suit to be a little tight after I’d added all my other layers, so had to go back for a bigger size. Much better to have a roomier snowsuit if you can, as this holiday is very active and a snowsuit wedgie is not the one.

Our accommodation in Saariselkä

We’d booked a Type D room in the Gielas Wing, which is in a separate building to the main Hotel Tunturi. It’s only a 1-2 minute walk across to the main building, where evening meals were served. First impressions of Gielas were very good. From the outside it looked welcoming and inside we were greeted by a roaring fire and helpful staff. Check-in was very quick and we took the lift up to our room to look around.

Our Type D room had a double bed and an L-shaped sofa bed which fitted the kids perfectly. There’s a bathroom and separate sauna room (sadly zero time to make use of this – maybe next time!), as well as a drying cupboard which was great for sticking our boot liners, gloves and socks in overnight. We also had a balcony which looked out over the most incredible snowy landscape. 

I left my husband and the kids to settle in and start the lengthy process of getting dressed in all those layer (more on that later), while I went to the welcome meeting held by Santa’s Lapland. This was a short 10-15 minute talk about what to expect over the next couple of days and how to book extra excursions. A heads up – best to try and go to this meeting without the kids if possible as there is some top-secret Santa talk. However, if you need to take your children with you, they adjust the talk to avoid giving anything away.

With the welcome meeting over, I went to get all of my layers on and we headed out to enjoy the snow. Annoyingly, because of the huge delay with our flight, we lost most of our first day, but we absolutely made the most of the time we had, heading straight to the toboggan slope which is only a 5-minute walk from the hotel. 

I don’t think anything can really prepare you for how glorious Finnish Lapland is. The falling snow literally sparkled like glitter. Everywhere you look it’s just so, so beautiful and – cliché alert – absolutely magical. Well, magical until our 4-year-old’s snow boot fell off in the very deep snow and I had to carry/lug her back to the hotel as fast as possible while her wet sock started to freeze in the -17 temperatures. Obviously she was furious I was stopping all her fun, but it was time for our evening meal anyway so that softened the blow slightly. 

I’d read mixed reviews about the food so wasn’t sure what to expect, however we were very pleasantly surprised. The meal was served buffet style downstairs at Hotel Tunturi. I took the kids to fill their plates while my husband headed to the bar to get us both a much-needed glass of wine. The kids both had some lightly breaded fish fillets, mash and veggies – they must have liked it as they ask for second helpings. I had the same, but also filled up on the Finnish salad bar too (pickle lover’s dream come true!). It was only when we went to investigate the pudding options that I realised there’s a whole separate kids’ section with French fries and chicken nuggets, so they definitely cater for everyone. Pudding was a delicious berry cake and whipped cream. All the food was warm, tasty and filling – exactly what was needed after a very long day.

We managed to squeeze in another explore in the snow before heading back to Gielas for a hot chocolate in front of the fire. Despite being exhausted it took the kids a long time to fall asleep. The excitement levels were high, especially as tomorrow was the day we were going to meet Santa. Arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Day 2 – Search for Santa day

No need for an alarm this morning with two very excited children (and over-excited mum). We had breakfast downstairs in Gielas and again it was a help-yourself buffet. The kids could not believe their luck when they clocked the piles of mini pancakes with jam and chocolate spread. There was a lot of choice, from cold meats and cheeses to sausage hotpots, eggs and more. Oh, and berry cake – much to the kids’ delight!

We had been told to wait for our coach outside the main Hotel Tunturi building so had just enough time to go back to our room and layer up before heading over to wait, passing the time with snowball fights of course. Once we were on the coach the rep from Santa’s Lapland talked us through what to expect as we started the 25-minute transfer to the Arctic Circle Centre for our Search for Santa day. The reps are all fantastic – filling every coach journey with Christmas singalongs, jokes and quizzes (don’t roll your eyes, I guarantee you’ll get swept into the spirit of it all). Thankfully they also knew when it was time to give us all a chance to sit back and relax, quietly! 

The Artic Circle Centre is split into two sites for your Search for Santa Day: The Reindeer Site and the Husky Site. It’s really easy to move between the two, with team members on hand to drive you between the sites in a trailer pulled by a snowmobile. Would highly recommend a snood/neck warmer for this journey though as the wind whipping your face is SO cold.

We started at the Reindeer Site and were given a map of where all the activities could be found. Despite there being a few coach loads of visitors at the site, it seemed really quiet, and you felt like you were in the middle of nowhere as you walked through the snowy forest setting.

The first activity we got to was the Elf Show in an actual igloo. Yes, an actual igloo, people! The show itself was more an interactive experience with two elves who, without giving too much away, had got into a bit of a muddle with present wrapping. With the help of the children in the audience (I say audience but there couldn’t have been more than 15 of us in there) it all got sorted and we were sent on our way. The kids loved it, of course.

As we made our way to the reindeer, we all got to try out some kick-sledding and tandem skiing, but didn’t hang around for too long as they draw of Rudolph and pals was too strong.

While we waited for our reindeer, we were given a short safety talk about how to behave around the animals and what not to do (basically, don’t shout or try and touch them.)

It was two people per sleigh, so I sat with my daughter while my husband and son took the sleigh behind us (pulled by the most gorgeous bright white reindeer which my 4 year old was convinced was extra magical). It was a sweet, gentle circuit through the snow, lasting about 10 minutes. High-octane this ain’t, but it was so special just snuggling up with my girl and taking it all in.

We decided to stop for food before going over to the Husky Site, so stepped into a large wooden cabin for our hot meal (included in the holiday price). Lunch was Spaghetti Bolognese (I had booked the veggie Bolognese option as don’t eat red meat), plenty of bread and hot berry juice – hearty and just what was needed to re-fuel us for the second part of our day. 

By this point the kids’ feet were starting to get a little cold (it was -21°C and we’d been outside all morning), so we decided to crack open our secret weapon – hand and feet warmers. Once we’d slipped these into their boots and mittens they were good to go for the rest of the day. I’m so glad we packed these as they were a total gamechanger for the kids.

After lunch we took the snowmobile over to the Husky Site for undoubtably the main event – meeting Santa.

Meeting Santa on our Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic trip

While we waited for the very short queue (just one family in front of us) to go down, the Santa’s Lapland reps got the children involved in some snow hockey to pass the time. Once it was our turn to visit the big man we sat in an open-top trailer and were pulled through the forest by snow mobile. Honestly, excitement levels went through the roof as we spotted Santa’s log cabin coming into view. Once we arrived, we were greeted by three elves, who the children adored. They were so funny and made the whole experience extra special from the second we got there. They encouraged the kids to knock at the door and we were all welcomed in by Santa, into the cosiest of cabins.

The next 10 minutes were actually some of the best of my life, no exaggeration. Watching Santa talk to each of the children so warmly, before taking out and reading the letters they’d written and posted to him weeks before was unreal. The surprise and excitement on their faces was the sweetest thing in the whole world and I honestly relive that moment all the time, sob! Santa was an absolute legend – living up to and exceeding all of our hopes and expectations. The children were each given a gift to open once we got back to the hotel and we were whizzed back to the main site with the biggest smiles on our faces.

We filled the rest of the afternoon on the mini toboggan run and the awesome mini skidoos. Watching the kids giggling as they flew around on the skidoos (thankfully tied to a tree otherwise they would have both been off-roading back to see Santa) was pure joy.

Next up was our husky ride, which we’d all been counting down to. The husky ride is the only activity you’re given a specific time slot for – everything else is completely up to you to create your own schedule. We arrived for our husky briefing and my husband was buzzing when he found he got to be the musher, driving the team of sled dogs.

I sat in the sled with both kids in a line, all cosied up and frantically trying to pin the 4-year-old’s legs and arms inside the sled. Before you set off, the dogs naturally get very excited and the noise of woofing and howling is loud. Our children have grown up with dogs so weren’t fazed, but I know a few parents said the noise scared their children a little – definitely best to talk to them beforehand and explain it’s all happy, excited noises and nothing to be nervous about. 

The speed of our amazing dogs took me by surprise and we absolutely whizzed through the snow. The cold was full-on, with the wind whipping at your face, so I only managed a very short video before my fingers felt like they were going to freeze. There’s an opportunity halfway through the 15ish-minute ride where you can swap drivers if you want, but I decided to stay cuddled up with the kids and let my husband do the work instead.

When the ride was over, we all desperately wanted to do it again. This – and I cannot stress this enough – was the best fun ever. We got to say thank you to our clever dogs and gave them all a stroke – they are amazing animals and very friendly. This was a proper core memory made for the whole family.

We were all feeling the cold by this point, and the snow was falling heavily, so we ducked into one of the Kotas (a large tent) to have pancakes and hot berry juice around the fire. Some well-prepared parents had thought to pack marshmallows and skewers and were toasting these on the fire. Very clever indeed.

We took the snowmobile taxi back to the Reindeer Site (where our coach was leaving from) and decided to check out the ice bar. The kids were very happy with their hot chocolates, I couldn’t resist a hot chocolate with a shot of Baileys and my husband went rogue with a shot of Finnish whisky. When in Lapland and all that. Fully warmed up, we went to the last of our activities of the day – the Sleigh Barn. Inside we were met by two more elves and – again I don’t want to give too much away – we all discovered the magic behind how Santa’s sleigh really flies…

And on that cliff-hanger, it was time for another dreaded toilet stop – hands down the trickiest part of heading to Lapland with a young 4 year old was having to help them remove all the layers before they could actually go to the loo – before getting the coach back to our hotel.

As it was our final night there was a Gala dinner held at the main Hotel Tunturi building as a special send-off. We changed into our Christmas jumpers and arrived at our designated time slot. The dinner was served buffet style in the upstairs restaurant, which was mostly set up with long tables. The buffet selection was much bigger than the night before, with plenty of fish, meat and veggie options available. The kids couldn’t resist the pull of the fries this time. While we finished off our meal, our youngest joined in with the dancing and games, but soon enough we were all flagging and ready for our beds.

Day 3 – Heading home

In absolute denial we were leaving Lapland, we enjoyed our last breakfast at Gielas and drowned our sorrows in mini pancakes.

We didn’t have long before our coach had to leave for the airport, so I walked across to Lapland Safari with my daughter to pick out some souvenirs and finally get the cuddly husky she’d been eyeing up since we arrived, while my husband and son squeezed in a quick toboggan on the slopes near the hotel.

All that was left to do was take one lass mournful look out across beautiful Saariselkä from our balcony and check the drying cupboard for no rogue socks before checking out. Lapland Safari leave giant crates outside the hotel at checking out time for you to put your sacks of hired snowsuits etc in, so you can chuck them in last minute before boarding the coach.

As I mentioned before, Ivalo airport is tiny, especially departures. We arrived just after another coachload of travellers had, which meant we had to sit on the coach for about 15-20 minutes while the airport staff got everyone from that first coachload through security.

Once we were finally allowed into the airport we sped through and were soon sitting in the small departure lounge – which basically consists of one food/drinks counter serving coffee and sandwiches, and one shop. 

Just to give you a heads up, the food choice here is minimal. We had the choice of a ham and pickle sandwich or crisps. The kids weren’t keen on the sandwich, so I was very glad I’d filled my hand luggage with snacks I’d brought over in my suitcase from home. 

Typically our flight home was delayed slightly, but we managed to keep the kids cheerful enough by looking through our photos of the day before and talking about our cat and dog waiting for us at home.

Landing back in Birmingham, I expected the holiday blues to hit immediately, but we were all on such a high still and couldn’t wait to tell everyone about our incredible trip. It was truly a pinch yourself, ‘cannot believe that actually happened’ kind of family holiday. Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic was PERFECT, the only thing I would have changed was to have been away for longer. Next time we’ll make sure it’s at least a 3-night stay. And there will be a next time. Just need to get saving!

Everything you need to know about visiting Lapland

What is the best age to visit Lapland?

There are a few things to take into consideration when deciding what age is the right age to visit Lapland. With a holiday this expensive it’s unlikely to be a yearly event (very jealous of you if it is to be honest!). For that reason it pays to tap into those peak Santa years. My two were 4 and 7 when we visited Lapland with Santa’s Lapland and I really felt they were both a fantastic age. They were old enough to enjoy the snow and deal with the cold, as well as old enough to take part in all the activities (things like husky sledding often have a younger age limit). They were also young enough to have their little minds blown by meeting Santa, yet old enough to not be overwhelmed by the experience. 

Another thing to consider is the weather. It goes without saying it gets COLD in Lapland and even with all the gear on some toddlers might not enjoy the experience as much as you’d hope (especially for the money!). While I’d definitely wait for children to be 4 and up before visiting Lapland, I really don’t think there’s an upper age limit. It’s impossible not to get swept up by the magic – even typically unimpressed teens will love every minute.

Will we get cold in Lapland?

Temperatures in Lapland in November and December can range between 0°C to -30°C, even colder in fact. When we travelled late November, it was a positive balmy -4°C when our flight landed, but dipped down to -21°C on our Search For Santa day. We were lucky enough to have lots of falling snow, which really added to the magic.  

It sounds a bit of a cliché but it’s a ‘different’ kind of cold in Finnish Lapland. It’s not the damp, biting cold we get in the UK – it feels fresher somehow and more manageable. The most important thing is to make sure you’re wearing the right clothes. Most holiday packages, like Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic, include cold-weather clothes hire. And, with the right layers underneath the cold won’t stop your fun.

Santa’s Lapland trip – what to pack

I remember heading down a ‘what clothes to wear in Lapland?’ worm hole when I started planning our trip. So I’m here to let you know exactly what you do need, from my own experience.

I’ve created a separate blog post all about what clothes you’ll need to pack, so have a read of that here and screenshot to your heart’s delight.

When it comes to other non-clothing related essentials, here’s what I’m very happy we took with us:

• Snacks for the kids. I packed the usual oaty bars, mini cheddars, YoYo bears etc in my suitcase and hand luggage to keep the kids going between meals and for airport delays. I shudder to think how I would have got through that 3-hour flight delay stuck on the plane without all the snacks. Yes, of course there are shops in Lapland, but the last thing I wanted to do was go shopping for food during our very limited time there.
• Hand and feet warmers. If you don’t know what these are, they are like big teabags which start to heat up when you take them out of their packet. Slip these babies between your socks and boots, or inner glove and mittens and you’ll feel toasty all day. The only time we needed these were on the Santa’s Lapland Search for Santa day but I’m SO glad I packed them. It really helped take the edge off the cold, especially for the kids, and meant we could properly enjoy our day. These are what we used for our hands and these are what we used for our feet.
• Lip balm. Just the thing for protecting lips from the extreme cold.
• Face moisturiser. The adults and kids will all benefit from a thick moisturiser to treat weather-beaten faces at the end of the day (avoid applying before you go outside). Just make sure you go for a non-water-based moisturiser.

What is the Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic Santa like?

Spoiler alert – the Santa we met on our Santa’s Magic package with Santa’s Lapland was the ACTUAL Santa. The real deal. Warm, friendly, unhurried, calm and exactly what you’d imagine, hope and expect. Still recovering from the fact I met the real Santa to be honest.

Will my phone run out of battery really quickly in Lapland?

This was something that seemed to come up a lot when I started researching our family holiday to Lapland. I had visions of my phone battery draining the moment I took it out to take a photo, but it really wasn’t the case. We just kept our phones in a woolly sock in the inner pocket of our snow suits and they were absolutely fine.

How much does the Santa’s Magic package cost?

Prices seem to change very quickly, but this is what we paid for our holiday in 2023. We booked through Santa Claus Trips (essentially a kind of ‘Compare the Market’ for Lapland holidays, who try and find the best deal to suit you) and paid £3,550 for the Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic 3 day/2 night half-board package in a Type D Gielas Room with Sauna at Hotel Tunturi. 

Shout out to the amazing Caitlin Murphy at Santa Claus Trips who found us an unbelievable deal. We held our nerve and waited until mid-September to book for the same year, in the hope there may have been a last-minute cancellation, and I’m so glad we did. OK, so this method isn’t foolproof, and I can’t guarantee it will always pay off, but if you’re prepared to be flexible with dates and departure airports you may be able to grab yourself a great value deal. I was looking at the same holiday for 2024 and it seems to be coming in at around £4,700.

Is Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic worth the money?

I won’t pretend this isn’t an expensive holiday, because it is. We saved for a while to take the family to Lapland and missed out on a summer holiday to be able to afford it. BUT, I can hand on my heart say it was worth every single penny and I would do it again in an instant. We have no regrets about spending £3,550 on such a short holiday, because every minute was packed with magic. We all still talk about it ALL THE TIME and looking through the photos will always make me feel happy. This is a genuinely unforgettable trip, every member of the Santa’s Lapland team went out of their way to make it extra special for us and I’m so grateful that we were able to give our children such a magical experience. If you’re unsure about spending so much money on a holiday all I can say is, it’s worth it.

Where can I book my Santa’s Lapland Santa’s Magic family holiday?

You can book your Santa’s Lapland holiday directly through their website – www.santaslapland.com – or, like us, through Santa Claus Trips – www.santaclaustrips.co.uk

If you’re searching for the perfect Lapland trip to see Santa, I cannot recommend this enough. If you do decide to book, let me know and make me jealous!

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