Green northern lights over snow-crowned spruces and deep snow in Finnish Lapland
Photo: Thomas Kast / Visit Finland
Finland
From
€
16100
pp

per person · based on two guests sharing
Includes hand-picked stays, experiences, trip planning and 24/7 support.

Private Lapland Christmas & New Year Tour | 9 Days

9 days from Helsinki to Lapland for Christmas or New Year: Waldorf Astoria, three nights in a glass igloo, a private Santa visit, huskies, reindeer and your own villa in Levi.

Availability

Christmas or New Year, flexible dates

Duration

9 days / 8 nights

Places you will see

Helsinki, Rovaniemi, Levi — Finland

Pace

Private family festive trip

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The journey

Learn more about your trip

At a glance

  • Two nights at Waldorf Astoria Helsinki, with a private guide for the city in its festive lights
  • Three nights in a two-storey glass igloo at SkyView Igloo Resort in Rovaniemi
  • A private visit to Santa, your own husky ride, reindeer and a private northern lights hunt
  • Three nights in your own villa in Levi, for Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve

Any eight nights from mid-December to early January, planned around your family, with no shared coaches and no queues. Come for Christmas or for New Year: the route stays the same and we set the dates around your holidays. You start with two nights in Helsinki, when the city is lit for the season. A private guide and driver show you the old centre at the children's pace, with the Christmas market on Senate Square if you arrive before it closes, just before Christmas.

Then north to Rovaniemi for three nights in a glass igloo with its own sauna and hot tub. These are the days for what children come to Lapland for: a husky ride with no other guests, and a private meeting with Santa in a forest cottage, with time for every question.

A private driver then takes you to Levi, where a villa with four bedrooms and its own sauna is yours for the holidays. Over Christmas, the 24th follows Finnish custom: a Christmas sauna, then dinner cooked in the villa by a private chef. Over New Year, the chef cooks for New Year's Eve instead. There is a reindeer farm visit, and a private guide takes you out after dark to look for the northern lights. Kittilä Airport is about 20 minutes away for the flight home.

The from price is per person for two adults and two children sharing over Christmas week, the most expensive week of the season, and includes VAT. Dates, length and family size are all adjustable. Hotels and villas set minimum stays over the holidays, so we confirm availability and the final price before you book.

Day by day

The itinerary

Day 01
1

Day 1 — Arrive in Helsinki

Your private driver meets you at Helsinki Airport and takes you to Waldorf Astoria Helsinki in the city centre. The family has two rooms, connecting where the hotel can arrange it. The evening is yours: a short walk under the festive lights on Esplanadi, then an early night before the days ahead.

  • Private meet and greet at Helsinki Airport
  • Private transfer to Waldorf Astoria Helsinki
  • Evening at leisure
  • Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Helsinki
Christmas lights, glowing reindeer and the Runeberg statue in Esplanadi park in Helsinki at dusk, with Uspenski Cathedral behind
Christmas lights in Esplanadi park, Helsinki. Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Helsinki Partners / Visit Finland
Day 02
2

Day 2 — Festive Helsinki with your own guide

Three hours with a private guide and a driver, at a pace that suits the children. Senate Square and the Cathedral steps, the Esplanadi lights and the harbour, with the Christmas market if you arrive before it closes, just before Christmas. The car stays close, so cold hands are never far from a warm seat. The afternoon is free.

  • 3 hours with a private guide
  • Driver and car at your disposal for the tour
  • Senate Square, Esplanadi and the harbour
  • Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Helsinki
Tall ships moored in Helsinki's South Harbour in winter, with the city waterfront behind
Helsinki's South Harbour in winter. Photo: Jussi Hellstén / Helsinki Partners / Visit Finland
Day 03
3

Day 3 — Fly north to a glass igloo in Rovaniemi

A private transfer to the airport and a flight of about 80 minutes to Rovaniemi. A driver meets you on arrival, and SkyView Igloo Resort is about 15 minutes away on a hill above the forest. Your two-storey igloo has a bedroom under a glass roof, a private sauna, an outdoor hot tub and a sofa bed downstairs for the children. On a clear night you can watch for the northern lights from bed.

  • Private transfer to Helsinki Airport
  • Flight Helsinki–Rovaniemi
  • Private transfer to SkyView Igloo Resort
  • Overnight: SkyView Igloo Resort, Rovaniemi
Spruces heavy with snow on Ounasvaara hill in Rovaniemi under a winter sky
Snow-laden spruces on Ounasvaara, Rovaniemi. Photo: Marko Junttila / Vastavalo / Visit Finland
Day 04
4

Day 4 — Your own husky team in Lapland

A private husky safari of about an hour, just for your family, with no other guests on the trail. You meet the dogs and their mushers before you set off through the snowy forest. Thermal suits, boots and mittens are delivered to the resort for the whole Lapland stay. The rest of the day is free for the sauna and the hot tub.

  • Private husky safari, about 1 hour
  • Private transfers
  • Winter clothing for the Lapland stay
  • Overnight: SkyView Igloo Resort, Rovaniemi
Husky team on a snowy forest trail in Lapland
Husky team in Lapland.
Day 05
5

Day 5 — A private visit to Santa

A private meeting with Santa in his cottage in the forest. No queue, and time for every question. Afterwards the children feed the reindeer, and everyone warms up by the campfire with sausages and a hot drink. Pick-up and return are included, and the visit takes about two hours.

  • Private Santa visit, about 2 hours
  • Reindeer feeding and a campfire snack
  • Pick-up and return
  • Overnight: SkyView Igloo Resort, Rovaniemi
Santa Claus with two reindeer in a snowy forest in Lapland
Santa Claus and his reindeer in a snowy Lapland forest. Photo: Santa Claus Foundation / Visit Finland
Day 06
6

Day 6 — To your own villa in Levi

A morning drive north with your private driver, about two and a half hours on quiet roads, to a Levi Spirit villa. It has four bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a loft, a sauna and a jacuzzi, and it is yours for the holidays. If your trip falls over Christmas, this can be Christmas Eve: Finns celebrate on the 24th, with a Christmas sauna and dinner cooked in the villa by a private chef. Over New Year, the chef cooks for New Year's Eve instead.

  • Private transfer Rovaniemi–Levi
  • Sauna in the villa
  • Festive dinner by a private chef, on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve
  • Overnight: Levi Spirit villa, Levi
The living room of a log villa at dusk, with a fire burning, warm lamps and a large window onto snowy trees
A log villa by the fire at dusk. Photo: Harri Tarvainen / Visit Finland
Day 07
7

Day 7 — A private reindeer farm visit in Levi

Breakfast is brought to the villa. Later, a private visit to a reindeer farm near Levi: meet the herder, feed the reindeer and take a short sleigh ride through the forest. Over the holidays we fix the day with the herders, as some keep Christmas Day and New Year's Day for their own families. The rest of the day is for the villa and the snow outside.

  • Breakfast in the villa
  • Private reindeer farm visit with a sleigh ride, about 2 hours
  • Private transfers
  • Overnight: Levi Spirit villa, Levi
A smiling couple on a reindeer sleigh ride through a snowy forest in Lapland
A reindeer sleigh ride in the snowy forest, Lapland. Photo: Juho Kuva / Visit Finland
Day 08
8

Day 8 — A free day and a private aurora hunt

A slow day in Levi. Sledging by the villa, the slopes of Levi fell, or simply the sauna. After dark, a private guide picks you up and drives to wherever the forecast is clearest, with warm clothing for everyone and photos of the family under the sky. The northern lights are never guaranteed, but the weeks around the turn of the year give long, dark nights to look for them.

  • Day at leisure in Levi
  • Private northern lights hunt by car, with photos
  • Overnight: Levi Spirit villa, Levi
Vivid green northern lights over a small hut and snow-covered trees on a fell in Levi
Northern lights over the fells of Levi. Photo: Visit Levi / Visit Finland
Day 09
9

Day 9 — Departure from Kittilä

Breakfast in the villa, then a private transfer of about 20 minutes to Kittilä Airport for your flight to Helsinki and your connection home. Want to stay on? Extra nights in Levi are easy to add.

  • Breakfast in the villa
  • Private transfer to Kittilä Airport
  • Flight Kittilä–Helsinki
  • Optional extra nights in Levi
Snow-laden spruces and a small hut at blue hour in Riisitunturi National Park, Lapland
Blue hour in Riisitunturi National Park, Lapland. Photo: Harri Tarvainen / Visit Finland
What's in, what's out

Inclusions & exclusions

What's included

  • 8 nights: 2 at Waldorf Astoria Helsinki (two rooms), 3 at SkyView Igloo Resort in a Signature Igloo Suite, 3 in a private Levi Spirit villa
  • Daily breakfast: at the hotels in Helsinki and Rovaniemi, served in the villa in Levi
  • Flights Helsinki–Rovaniemi and Kittilä–Helsinki
  • All private transfers, including Rovaniemi to Levi
  • 3 hours in Helsinki with a private guide and driver
  • Private husky safari
  • Private visit to Santa with reindeer feeding
  • Private reindeer farm visit with a sleigh ride
  • Festive dinner by a private chef in the villa, on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve
  • Private northern lights hunt by car
  • Thermal winter clothing for the Lapland stay
  • 24/7 contact during the journey

Not included

  • International flights
  • Lunches and dinners unless listed
  • Travel insurance
  • Tips and personal expenses
  • Optional upgrades and add-ons, such as ski passes or extra chef dinners
Where you stay

Accommodation options

01 Tier

Waldorf Astoria Helsinki · Helsinki

A five-star hotel in the centre of Helsinki, a short walk from Esplanadi and Senate Square. The family stays in two rooms, connecting where available.

02 Tier

SkyView Igloo Resort · Rovaniemi

Two-storey glass igloos on a hill about 15 minutes from Rovaniemi Airport. Each has a bedroom under a glass roof, a private sauna and an outdoor hot tub.

03 Tier

Levi Spirit · Levi

Private timber villas of 256 m² in a quiet forest setting in Levi, each with four en-suite bedrooms, a loft, a sauna and a jacuzzi. Room for the whole family and a chef in the kitchen.

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Private Lapland Christmas & New Year Tour | 9 Days

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