FAQ – Questions about Rovaniemi

Annual temperatures in Rovaniemi vary between as cold as -30 degrees Celsius in the winter to +25 degrees Celsius in the summer. There are stark contrasts between seasons this far north, and each of them have their own characteristics. Please read more on our seasons page.

If you’re wandering for the best time for you to travel to Rovaniemi, please get to know our seasons and find more information here.

Rovaniemi has excellent travel connections, please see our Getting here page. You can reach Rovaniemi by taking a flight, a train or a bus connection. One option is also to drive with your own or rental car.

During winter season you can get from the airport to the city and from the city to the airport by Santa Claus Bus or Airport bus.

During summer season you can get from airport to the city and from city to the airport Monday to Friday by Airport bus.

Otherwise taxi is the only option, please see more here.

The Northern Lights can be seen in Rovaniemi from late August until early April on clear, dark, cloudless nights away from city lights.

For information on the phenomenon, viewing spots, activities and more, please see our Northern Lights page.

The Midnight Sun period in Rovaniemi officially lasts from early June until early July. However, nights are white and there’s light around the clock from the end of May until early August.

For information on the phenomenon, viewing spots, activities and more, please see our Midnight Sun page.

The best way to prepare for the cold frost is to dress in warm layers: warm undergarments (long-sleeved and long-legged thermals), warm garments under your coat (e.g. wool or fleece) and external garments made of close-woven fabrics.

As for footwear, bring socks, woollen socks and lined, thick-soled shoes. Your shoes should be big enough to leave room for wiggling your toes. Wear woollen or other warm headgear that protects your ears, cheeks and neck. For you hands, you will need over-gloves and under-gloves or mittens (cotton, wool, fleece, quilted fabric).

Many activity companies rent out winter clothing including thermal overalls and footwear, woollen socks, warm hats, balaclavas, mittens and scarves.

More information about equipment and clothing rental here.

Please find a list of luggage storage facilities in the city centre and in the Santa Claus Village here.

Among the most popular winter activities are reindeer sleigh rides, husky tours, snowmobile safaris, Northern Lights tours, as well as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing trips. See all winter activities here.

Please note! Snow-related activities are usually available from late November/early December to early April. Although first snow often falls in October, the permanent snow cover is usually in place by December, allowing winter activities to take place. By mid-April, the sun is already warm enough to begin softening and melting the snow.

However, even if there isn’t enough snow in early winter for the snow activities, we still offer plenty of other experiences: visits to reindeer and husky farms, nature trips, Northern Lights tours and sauna programmes.

Spring (late April – May): Among the most popular are visits to reindeer & husky farms and nature trips. See all spring activities here.

Summer (June – August): Among the most popular are Midnight Sun tours, riverboat cruises, visits to reindeer and husky farms, nature trips (hiking, fishing and canoeing), moose watching and sauna programmes. See all summer activities here.

Autumn (September – November): Among the most popular are Northern Lights tours, visits to reindeer and husky farms, husky carriage rides, nature trips (hiking, fishing and canoeing) and sauna programmes. See all summer activities here.

You can book tours and safaris online on Visit Rovaniemi webpage www.visitrovaniemi.fi/see-do/activities/ or directly from the activity companies.

To guarantee the availability of the desired activities, we’d recommend to pre-book well beforehand.

You can also book activities after your arrival in Rovaniemi Tourist Information (Koskikatu 12) or directly from the activity companies.

Solo traveller! Many excursions are operated with a minimum of two full-paying customers, but single travellers are most welcome to join if a tour already has enough participants. Kindly check the availability from Rovaniemi Tourist Information (on spot) or from the company providing the tour.

It is recommended. Since Rovaniemi does not have a central booking system, we recommend you contact accommodation providers directly.

Another option is contacting a travel specialist, as they often have pre-reserved accommodation, particularly for the busy Christmas and New Year period.

Local transport bus number 8 and Santa Claus Bus will take you there. Please find the timetables here:

Local bus 8 (all year around):
timetable (valid 3.6.-6.8.2024)

timetable (valid 7.8.2024-1.6.2025)

Santa Claus Bus

There are several equipment rentals, plase find more information here.

For renting cars, please see our Getting around page.

In Rovaniemi, you can visit Santa Claus every single day of the year in Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle.

You can send Santa a letter to this address:

Santa Claus
Santa Claus’ Main Post Office
Tähtikuja 1
96930 Arctic Circle
FINLAND

Because Santa receives more than 700 000 letters a year, he can’t possibly reply to all of them. However, together with his elves, he reads every one of them and tries to answer as many as possible. If you want to be sure of Santa’s reply, you can order a letter from Santa Claus.

You can see reindeer year round in quite a few places in Rovaniemi, go on reindeer sleigh rides and farm tours. Please have a look at reindeer related activities in Rovaniemi here.

If your visit to Rovaniemi includes Santa Claus Village, you’re likely to see some there. One sure bet is Ranua Wildlife Park.

Ounasvaara outdoor area has an excellent network of cross-country skiing trails within walking distance from Rovaniemi city centre. Altogether, there are around 100 kilometres of trails, around 50 kilometres of which are lit.

Ounasvaara is also the place for downhill skiing and snowboarding. Ounasvaara Ski Centre is suitable especially for beginners and those who enjoy doing trick in the snow park. Equipment hire is available on site.

Very good option close to the city centre is Ounasvaara hiking trail.

A twenty-minute drive north of the city centre, the Arctic Circle Hiking Area is a round nature spot with several hiking trails.

Both places are accessible year round.

More hiking routes and other nature spots around Rovaniemi can be found here Etiäinen.fi.

Food and department stores are generally open:

• Mon-Fri 8 – 21
• Sat 9 – 21
• Sun  9 – 21

Smaller, specialist retailers tend to be open:

• Mon-Fri 10 – 18
• Sat 10 – 16
• Sun 12 – 16

Most shops have limited opening hours on public holidays.

Many shops in Rovaniemi city centre and Santa Claus Village sell souvenirs and local handicrafts. For more details, please see our Shopping page.

There are several options in Rovaniemi for local food experiences. Please see our Eat and drink page.

For more information on local food culture, please see here.

From mid-June to mid-August, there may be large numbers of mosquitoes and other small insects that pester you. They’re not a nuisance in the city centre, but in forested areas, on shorelines and on river banks they can be quite unpleasant.

Not to worry – they’re not dangerous. Their bites cause itchy bumps, but they do not carry disease or anything of the sort. All food shops and kiosks, service stations etc. sell a range of mosquito repellents. Long-sleeved and long-legged garments will also protect you from mosquitoes. One tip is to wear light colours.

We hope e-version suits you, please find them here as we are trying to reduce the number of sent paper brochures. You can also download the PDF files.

You can find information about parking in Rovaniemi here.

Parking at Rovaniemi train station, see Moovy application.

Elsewhere than in the Santa Claus Village, you can meet him for example in SantaPark – the Home Cavern of Santa Claus, Santa’s Secret Forest – Joulukka and in the city centre Santa Claus City Office or in other other private venues.

Us Finns believe there’s nothing to be ashamed of in naked human bodies, so in the public saunas in Finland people don’t wear swimsuits. The public saunas are divided to women’s and men saunas. In the mixed, all gender saunas people often tend to use towl or swimsuit. Yet, we totally understand wearing a swimsuit or wrapping a towel around you for sauna feels more comfortable for you.

No preparation is needed. Wet and wash yourself in the shower and enter the steam room. Wear a towel or a swimsuit, if you like. If you attend a sauna tour or have book a sauna experience, it is adviced to check what is included. It might be a good idea to bring a bottle of water with you, if you are not used to sauna and some warm clothes to wear after the sauna at winter time.

Just relax and enjoy. Sit on a sauna bench on your bench covering cloth. If more benches than one is available, you can choose a higher bench for more heat or a lower one for less. Anyone in the steam room can throw water on the stove to add more steam and heat. This will make a hissing sound and bring on a little extra heat quickly. Everyone stays in the steam room for as long as they feel like, there’s no rule to it, it can be from a minute or two, or much longer. If you are not used to sauna, listen to your body and get some fresh ait in the between of the heat whenever necessary.

This depends on the sauna and the people. Some like alternating from the sauna steam room to a dip in a pool, natural waters, or a jacuzzi. Some step out of the sauna to sit for a drink on the terrace. In the winter, taking a break from the steam room might mean a dip in a winter swimming spot or rolling in snow. The ultimate sauna experience is meant to leave a wonderful feeling to your whole body and relax your mind.

It depends on the situation, but generally the temperature is anything between 70 to 90 up to 100 centigrade. It also depends on a sauna type, wooden and electric sauna can feel different even though the temperature would be the same.