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Overview
The whole of Christmas in one snow-covered village that becomes home for the week, your own cabin and a private Santa visit, with a tour leader carrying every detail so a family finally gets time that belongs to all of them.
For seven days over Christmas, a small village in Finnish Lapland becomes home. Äkäslompolo sits 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, its wooden cabins and frozen lakes set among the old forests of the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. You settle into a cabin of your own, with a fire to light and a sauna to sit in, and you stay put for the week, shopping where the locals shop and learning the walk back through the snow. There is no circuit of hotels to move between, and no fixed buffet hour, only your family's own rhythm.
The days are spent outside. A husky safari through snow-covered forest, the adults sharing a team while the children ride with the guide. A reindeer farm, and a sleigh ride along a forest track. A snowmobile out to a frozen lake, and a line dropped through the ice. A 50 Degrees North tour leader travels with the group throughout, working alongside local guides, so the logistics are carried for you and the free afternoons are genuinely free.
The heart of the week is Christmas itself. In a secret forest clearing, well away from the queues of Santa Claus Village, an old shaman marks your crossing of the Arctic Circle, there is gingerbread to bake and decorations to make, and each family is taken by sleigh, on their own, to Santa's cabin. The visit is private and unhurried, and every child leaves with a gift. Christmas Eve has a dinner made for the occasion.
Lapland Christmas Magic was built by people who know these winters and travel with their own children, with handpicked local suppliers. It runs over Christmas week; for the same trip the week before, at a gentler pace and a lower price, see our sister tour, Lapland Winter Magic. Together, these tours have won the 2024 Luxperience Award and the 2023 Luxury Travel Gold List in the Family Luxury Experience category.
Highlights
- Your own log cabin for the week, with a fireplace and sauna, in one village you settle into rather than a circuit of hotels
- A private, guaranteed visit to Santa's forest cabin, reached by sleigh and well away from the crowds of Santa Claus Village, with a gift for every child
- The crossing of the Arctic Circle marked by an old shaman in a secret forest clearing
- A husky safari, a reindeer farm and sleigh ride, and a snowmobile safari with ice fishing on a frozen lake
- Gingerbread baking, Christmas decorations and snow games, and a special Christmas Eve dinner
- A 50 Degrees North tour leader with the group from start to finish, alongside local guides
- Free afternoons and an unhurried pace, designed by Nordic locals who travel with their own children
- Dark skies well north of the Arctic Circle, with the chance of the Northern Lights
- A Certified B Corporation tour, with handpicked local suppliers
What's Included
- All internal ground transport
- Shared airport transfers on day 1 & 7 (for scheduled flights to and from Kittilä)
- 6 nights' accommodation in your private cabin or cabin apartment, final cleaning of the cabin, electricity, water, heating, firewood and all taxes
- 1 set of linen & towels per person for the 6 nights
- 3 x lunches during your activities (lunches on day 2 and 6 not included)
- 5 x dinners including a special Christmas Eve dinner (drinks paid locally)
- Winter clothing hire: Overall and boots
- All activities as per itinerary including: visit to a reindeer farm incl. reindeer sleigh ride, husky safari (2 adults per sleigh, children in guide's sleigh), ice fishing safari by snowmobiles (2 adults per snowmobile, children 14 years and under in guide's sled), private family visit to Santa's cabin by sleigh, Christmas Eve snow activities (tandem skiing, snowshoe walking, kick sledding, tobogganing and children's snowmobiling), making Christmas decorations and decorating gingerbread. These activities can vary depending on the weather conditions.
- 50 Degrees North Tour Leader on hand - accompanies the group for the whole experience including dinners and activities, working alongside the local guides to make your holiday seamless
Finish:Kittilä, Finland
Options and details
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