Rome Around: The North Pole, Arctic Circle, Santa’s Village, Rovaniemi, Finland

Going to visit Santa at the Arctic Circle was a magical, Christmas trip! So worth it - but especially because we got lucky with fairy tale snow fall all day. We opted to stay outside of Santa’s Village, only 10 minutes away in town, at the Arctic Light Hotel and we are so, so glad we did. An incredibly festive 5 star hotel, their rooms were Arctic circle themed. While Santa’s village is a trip for kids, a stay at the Arctic Light Hotel was perfect for mom and dad - incredible dining experiences, and an elegance I imagine isn’t quite the same in the village. Their restaurants and bars were cozy, with perfect ambiance, but incredible food and service. There are a few other great restaurants in Rovaniemi you must book in advance! It can be quite pricey to book a packaged North Pole trip, so we broke it down. We flew through from Gatwick, through Paris, and back to London through Helsinki. This cut the direct costs of flights to Santa’s village down significantly (to 250 round trip per person from closer to 1000 direct) and gave us the opportunity to visit Helsinki for 2 nights (including a ferry over to Tallin for a day trip.) 3 nights in Rovaniemi was more than enough. You can book each activity separately, which can get quite pricey, so we booked a full day tour through Get Your Guide, to get a “taste” of everything - including transportation, a visit to the husky park and ride, Santa’s village entry and reindeer ride, entry to Santa’s petting zoo, time to snowmobile, and a nighttime northern lights hunt, for $230 a person. This was a really reasonable price to include it all! Day 2, we booked ice fishing the day before. Unrelated to Santa’s village but a classic must-try Arctic circle experience! We loved Finland. Rovaniemi was peaceful. #thenorthpole #santasvillage #arcticcirclefinland #rovaniemi #arcticlighthotel