Discover the Magic of Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi: A Year-Round Adventure
Ho, ho, ho! Merry, Merry Christmas! Oh wait, but it's not Chrismas! Who cares? We are going to visit Santa Claus! Yes, that's right, not many people know that official Santa lives in the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland. So if we will miss Christmas, we can always visit him.
My trip to Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi was a lifetime experience. We not only saw Santa itself but made a lot of other interesting things, like seeing Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), visiting a reindeer farm, and dog sledding with Siberian Huskies. Sounds awesome, isn't it? And all of that to get to the hero of our childhood, Santa.
Lapland in Finland is a really awesome place in the world. The country offers a lot of beautiful nature views and if you wish to spend some days forgetting about the big civilizations an just fall inside nature, this kind of trip is perfect for you. You will enjoy a fresh and clean air, drink sweet water, and watch the sky with the thousands of stars. All of this inside a beautiful scenery full of snow.
The Santa Claus Express night train from Helsinki to Oulu
If you want, you can get by Santa Claus Express straight to Rovaniemi, but trust me, it's much more fun to get first to the city of Oulu. To get here, you will have to spend 9 hours on the train so I recommend taking a night ride so you will be able to sleep on the train. If you want to get directly to Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, you will have to seat (or sleep) 3 more hours.
There is no problem to book a private "room" with 2 bunk beds, a bathroom, and a shower. Not bad for a train. I paid for the two-way ticket about 80 euros, so the price is similar to the night in a hotel, so for me, it was the best way to get to Oulu.
PS. You can also get to Oulu by airplane, it's a 1-hour flight from Helsinki.
One day in Oulu
Oulu is a gateway to the Lapland region, so if you want to explore it, it's a place to start. There are many different adventures to experience here, so it was really hard to pick the best ones, as I only wanted to stay here one day. Finally, I chose the dog sledding with Siberian Huskies and visiting the Reindeer Farm. It was a hit! Oh, and remember, that the sun is only up for 4-5 hours in Oulu in the winter, so if you are going here during that time, remember that your day will be very short.
Dog sledding with Siberian Huskies
My dog sledding with Siberian Huskies in Finland was an awesome experience I can recommend to all of you. I really like dogs (has one for a lot of years) and Huskies are just awesome, especially in the snow, as they just love a cold weather.
To start this adventure, you must wear some winter clothes, including hats and gloves. The temperature outside was -10 degrees, but because of the wind it felt a lot colder. During the dog sledding with Siberian Huskies in Oulu, you absolutely must listen for all the instructions of your guide, otherwise, you can fall off (dogs won't wait for you), hurt the dogs or hurt yourself.
The dogs just cannot wait to start the sledding, and when they do, we started to move much faster than I thought it will be. I even had a few times to use a break to stop them a bit! I can recommend the dog sledding with Siberian Huskies in Finland to every adventurer, as it was an awesome experience.
Visiting the Reindeer Farm in Panuma
We chose to Visit Reindeer Farm Poro-Panuma in the village of Panuma, 60 kilometers north-east from Oulu. The great thing about it is that this is a real working farm that it's open to visitors only on request.
This means that the Reindeer Farm Poro-Panuma is actually selling the reindeer meat. In Finland, reindeer is a very popular meat and it's a very important part of their diet. But let's back to the farm.
We can walk here around the reindeers, we can feed and pet them. They might scare you at the beginning, but after some time you will see that they are really chilled animals. The whole complex looks like from a book about Finland, with its red wooden cottages, Christmas lights, friendly family that run the place and rivers everywhere.
Visiting the reindeer farm in Finland is a must-do thing while being in Oulu, and I can fully recommend visiting the Reindeer Farm in Panuma. It was awesome and it was so nice to meet living reindeer.
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi
Now it's time for our main goal of the trip to Finland, to meet the Santa! His official residence is located near the Rovaniemi in Lapland. If you want to get to the Santa Claus Village in Finland, right on the Arctic Circle, you will have to drive about 8 minutes from the city or take the Santa’s Express bus that comes from the Rovaniemi Railway Station.
This is the place where you will meet the official Santa Claus, his reindeer and a team of elves. There are also a lot of other things to do here. You can have a drink at the ice bar, buy some souvenirs, send a postcard from the North Pole, and taste traditional Lapland cuisine. There is no fee to enter Santa Claus Village and you can spend here as much time as you want!
Of course, if you want to see Santa and to make a photo with him, you will have to pay some money. Just make sure that you came to the right Santa Claus, as there are few of them around the village (souvenir shop has one, as well as the Santa Park). The right one is waiting for you in the Santa Claus’ Office.
Firstly, when we got inside, some elves came to us and ask our names and where are we from. We didn't know that they secretly told that information to Santa, so when we finally met him, he greets us by our real names in our native language, what an awesome surprise! We spoke to the Santa about 5 minutes, took a photo with him and we went to visit other parts of the village. The North Pole and the Arctic Circle with Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi were just great and it's definitely worth to spend some money to get here.
The Northern Lights in Finland
Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi is a great place to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Finland, so it's a good idea to go here in a time where it can be visible to not miss it. The Aurora Borealis can be seen during the winter months, especially because there is not much light, which increases the chance to see it.
The Northern Lights are all about the luck and it may happen that you will spend here two weeks during the winter and they won't show up. But if they do, prepare for an ultimate show of nature. It's not easy to describe how awesome it is, the colors are just moving in every direction - it's just beautiful. We were lucky to see it, so we were very pleased with our short visit to the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland. If you want, you can read an article about interesting places in Sweden, where I describe my trip to see Aurora Borealis in Sweden.
Conclusion
Visiting Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, as well as one day in Oulu, was an ultimate experience that I will remember for a long time. There were so many things to do in Oulu and some great interesting places around. Santa was a great tourist attraction and I can recommend Finland to every adventure and nature lover. If you have some questions about Finland, Oulu city or Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, feel free to ask me.
