How Much Does a Trip to Lapland Cost? My Lapland, Finland Budget in Winter

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Key Factors to Note in This Trip to Rovaniemi Budget Guide

Before we get started, here are factors that will affect the price of your trip!

• Finland is on the Euro. If you use another currency, you may be losing some money on the exchange rate. €1 at the moment equals $1.15 USD, £0.88, $1.62 CAD, and $1.78 AUD.
• Timing is everything. Are you visiting Rovaniemi at Christmas or New Year’s? Chances are you’re going to pay a premium for that versus mid-January or later in the season. 
• This budget is specifically for winter travel to Lapland. Prices are more expensive in general during the winter months here as it is a popular time to visit. So if you travel during spring-autumn, chances are you’ll find better deals (but not a winter wonderland aesthetic). Some places will be closed in summertime too as it is low season.

Note: While I tried to be as up-to-date with prices as possible when I wrote this, know that prices can and do fluctuate based on many factors. These are all estimates based on what I spent and adjustments for current prices. 

Cost of Lapland Trip Factor #1: Flights

First of all, you have to get here. Yes, Rovaniemi does have an airport, but it is tiny. Chances are that you’ll be flying into Helsinki. From there, you can either fly to Rovaniemi or take the train. 

Flights from the US to Helsinki are around $500 round trip per person for an economy flight. Yes, I just looked it up on Skyscanner testing Cleveland (where I live), NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver for February. Obviously this can vary, though.

For business class, you’re looking at $1,000+ round trip for flights per person to Helsinki depending on where you’re flying from. Obviously, it’s cheaper from east coast larger cities than smaller airports and out west (those were like $2-3,000+ per person round trip). 

The great thing about this is that you’re likely traveling to Europe in the typical off season, so that’s why flying is cheaper than it would be at the height of summer travel. 

Now, if you plan to fly to Rovaniemi from Helsinki, you’re looking at around $185 per person round trip. 

And if you’re a lucky person who already lives in Europe and is quickly hopping over to Rovaniemi with a direct flight from a city like London, then it’s like $150 per person round trip. However, even for many cities in Europe, it’s likely far cheaper to fly to Helsinki than Rovaniemi. 

Lastly, you can use points too if you have it! That’s what I did! I used 49,500 American Airlines points and $174 to fly from Cleveland to Paris, and we spent a few days in Paris both before and after Finland. 

Note: Checking a bag, selecting a seat, or sometimes even a carry-on bag may cost extra.

How Much Do Flights to Helsinki and Rovaniemi Cost?

Here is what it costs to fly round trip to Helsinki and Rovaniemi in winter based on budget.

Budget/Mid-range: $335-685 per person ($670-1,370 for a couple) round trip including the flights to Helsinki and Rovaniemi. The lower end is if you’re using points and just paying taxes/fees and the cost to get to Rovaniemi from Helsinki. 

If you’re going straight from London to Rovaniemi, then it’s only about $150 per person round trip ($300 for a couple). 

If you plan to take the train to Rovaniemi, then your flights would be between $150-500 per person round trip to Helsinki. This would be $300-1,000 per couple.

Luxury: If you’re a business class traveler, then you’re looking at about $1,185+ per person ($2,370+ for a couple) for your flights round trip to Helsinki and Rovaniemi or $1,000+ per person ($2,000+ for a couple) round trip to Helsinki if you plan to take the train. 

Check flight prices on Skyscanner!

Cost of the Train to Rovaniemi:

Alternatively from flying to Rovaniemi, you could take the train, which is what we did! You can take the Santa Claus Express train from Helsinki. It’s an overnight train that leaves at night and arrives the following morning. 

It is about a 12-hour journey, but they also have sleeper cabins. Are they pretty cramped? Yes. But is it a decent spot to sleep and then you wake up in the arctic? Also, yes! 

Then, on the way back, the train ride is a bit shorter (I think they’re allowed to go faster during the day?). We just did a regular seat on this train. 

This costs about $466 for the sleeper cabin there with its own bathroom and the regular seat on the way back for 2 people, or $233 per person. It’s about $437 for 2 people or $219 per person for a sleeper cabin there (without its own bathroom) and regular seat on the way back. 

For a solo traveler, it’s around $408 for the sleeper cabin there with bathroom and regular seat on the way back. 

Honestly, as the price difference is pretty small, I highly recommend just getting a cabin with its own bathroom. 

However, if you want a regular seat there and back, it costs about $108 per person round trip. 

Cost of Train: 

Budget: $108+ per person round trip depending on if you want to preorder breakfast, upgrade your seat, etc. For a couple, this would be $216+. These are for regular seats there and back.

Mid-Range/Luxury: $233+ per person round trip depending on if you prebook a meal, upgrade your seat back, etc. For a couple, this is about 466+. For a solo traveler, that is $408+ for the sleeper cabin/seat back. This is for the sleeper cabin with bathroom on the way there and regular seat on the way back.

Book your trains here!

How Much Do Hotels Cost in Rovaniemi?

Okay, now you’re finally in Rovaniemi, but how much do hotels cost? I’ll be honest, they aren’t the cheapest hotels because you’re staying there during peak travel season, and Rovaniemi isn’t a large city at all. 

But I will say that hotels in Finland are amazing because 1) they almost always have a sauna for guests to use, and 2) breakfast is almost always included. And it’s usually a good breakfast spread. 

For a hotel like the Arctic City Hotel in the heart of Rovaniemi, it is about $332 per night. This is where we stayed, and it was great! We could walk everywhere we wanted to in Rovaniemi, and it wasn’t far from the bus stops to go to Santa’s Village, the Arctic SnowHotel, etc.

For a more budget place like Hostel Cafe Koti (they have private rooms as well), it is around $250 per night for a private room. 

And then for the famous glass igloos, like at Apukka Resort, you’re looking at about $875 per night (although they require a 2-night stay in the winter). This is where we stayed for 3 nights at the end of our trip as it is outside of the city, and it was fabulous!

I also recommend that if you’re staying here, that you book one of their packages. That is what we did and ended up booking their It’s All About Aurora Package that included the snowtrain to their Northern Lights Camp, a reindeer sleigh across the night, airport transfers, daily breakfast buffet, an app to track if the northern lights were visible in your cabin, and thermal clothing if you need it.

It is for a 3-night minimum stay and costs around $4,000 for the 3-night stay and all the things I listed. This is for 2 people. For a solo traveler, it is $3,565.

Total Cost of Hotels in Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland:

Here is how much it costs to stay in Rovaniemi in the wintertime! 

Budget: $250 per night or about $1,500 for 6 nights if you’re staying here for a 7-day trip. 

Mid-Range: About $332 per night, or around $2,000 for 6 nights. 

Realistically, you’re probably going to want to do a mix of both staying in town and maybe enjoying a resort like Apukka for a few nights. This is what we ended up doing so it’s around $1,000 for 3 nights in Rovaniemi and then $4,000 for the 3-night stay package at Apukka. That will total around $5,000 for 2 people to stay in Lapland, Finland.

For a solo traveler, Apukka is about $3,565 for 3 nights, making your total about $4,565.

Luxury: You could also ball out and spend 6 nights straight at a resort like Apukka, where you’d be spending about $7,060+ for 6 nights with this package. 

For a solo traveler, the cost is about $6,750 for this package.

Cost of Tours and Activities During Your Time in Lapland, Finland:

While you’re in Lapland, chances are you want to do way more than just explore museums in Rovaniemi and hope to catch the northern lights from your window at Apukka Resort. 

Here is a list of the things we did during our time that I highly recommend:

• Northern Lights Chasing Tour: $232 per person. This is SO worth it to actually find the northern lights as they will drive to wherever they can find them as long as they believe they’ll be out that night. Book it here!
• Santa’s Village: $8 per person for the bus there and back on the Santa’s Express bus, plus additional fees to meet Mrs. Claus (Santa is free to meet) or do any activities there (or purchase photos with Santa).
• Arctic SnowHotel Package: $280 per person for this package. It is required to have at least 2 people. This includes transfers to the hotel from Rovaniemi, ticket and tour of the ice hotel, dinner at their Ice Restaurant, use of their snow sauna, traditional sauna, and jacuzzi under the stars, and use of their sledding hill. It was totally worth it to see a hotel entirely made of ice and snow and enjoy the best it has to offer. It’s only $200 per person for the package to visit and enjoy the dinner at the Ice Restaurant and this can be booked individually. 
• Snowshoeing at Apukka Resort: $107 per person.
• Dog sledding at Apukka Resort: $220 per person. You can book dog sledding tours from Rovaniemi too. 
• Lakeside sauna at Apukka Resort: $115 per person. It is booked as a package for 2 people at $230.
• Arktikum Museum entrance: $23 per person. 
• Art Museum: $13 per person.

Activities in Your Lapland Holiday Cost:

This will vary depending on what you choose to do. But here are suggestions based on your travel style.

Budget: If you’re here on a more budget-friendly getaway, I still highly recommend doing a lot of these activities. I’d say at the bare minimum you need to do a northern lights chasing tour, especially if you don’t plan to stay outside of town. 

I’d also recommend the SnowHotel visit, Santa’s Village, dog sledding, and perhaps exploring the Arktikum Museum in Rovaniemi as it is fascinating. 

So the cost for activities here would be around $750 per person, or $1,500 for a couple.

If you’re going solo, it would be around $685. 

Mid-Range/Luxury: I’d do all of the above (as well as the other activities included in the Apukka Resort package). This totals out to around $1,000 per person (if you can’t tell, I round up a little as currency exchanges will cause some differences to the exact total) or about $2,000 for a couple. 

For a solo traveler this is closer to $920. 

How Much Does Dining Cost in Rovaniemi?

So you’re finally in Rovaniemi in the Arctic Circle. You’ve got your flights, hotels, activities booked, etc. But how much does it cost to eat and drink in Lapland, Finland?

As you can imagine, dining in the Arctic Circle isn’t exactly a cheap experience. A lot has to be imported (although you’ll find some delicious reindeer specialties that are local). 

Again, most hotels do include breakfast so you won’t typically need to budget for that (although if you’re staying in the hostel dorm room at Hostel Cafe Koti it isn’t included). 

But here are some prices from my trip when it comes to food:

• Coffee House latte price: about $6
• For lunch at Coffee House: about $17
• Roka Street Bistro OR Yuca for lunch or dinner: about $25
• Roka Kitchen & Wine Bar dinner: about $65
• Kota 3-course meal at Apukka Resort: about $60

So, for a typical day of paying for lunch, dinner, and a coffee, you’re looking at around $88 per person. I’d say if you want a drink, maybe round this up to $100 per person, per day. 

If you’re doing this more on a budget, then you could just do about $50 if you eat at Coffee House and Roka Street Bistro or Yuca for lunch/dinner. 

Cost of Dining in Lapland, Finland:

Budget: $50 per person, per day, or about $350 for a week per person. This is $700 per couple.

Mid-Range/Luxury: I’d say about $50-100+ per person, per day or $350-700+ per person for the week, or $700-1,400+ for a couple. This will vary as some days we did coffee, lunch at Coffee House, and dinner at Roka Street Bistro and it’d be like $50. Other days we splurged on a sit down nicer dinner. So this is a good range to go off of.

Other Things to Consider in Your Cost to Visit Lapland:

Here are a few other things you might want to consider for your trip to Lapland cost!

• Transportation/Taxis: If you’re taking the train in, we found it helpful to prebook a taxi here to get us to our hotel. We also prebooked a taxi to take us back to the train station. This cost us about $72 or $36 per person. Check out taxis in Rovaniemi here.
• E-Sim for data: Need data while traveling on your phone? I used this e-sim and spent like $5 to top up my data for this portion of the trip. 
• Travel insurance: I ALWAYS buy travel insurance for international trips. If flights get canceled, baggage is lost, something bad happens, etc., travel insurance is a good idea. I spent about $107 per person (although this can vary based on age, where you’re from, length of trip, etc.). I go with World Nomads. 
• Other: Want photos with Santa Claus? Get sick and need to stop by the pharmacy for cold supplies (Yup-that happened to me! It’s also cold and flu season this time of year), etc. Perhaps an extra $100 per person is good to budget for this. 
• Souvenirs: This is totally up to you! If you plan to send post cards home, go shopping, etc., you’ll want to budget a little more for this!

Total Other Items:

$285 if you’re a solo traveler, or about $500 as a couple. 

So How Much Does a Trip to Lapland Cost?

After breaking it all down fully, here is how much it would cost to visit Lapland, Finland in the wintertime based on your travel style.

Budget Travelers:

If you’re flying straight to Rovaniemi from Helsinki and not taking the train, it is around $4,870-5,570 for a couple for a 7-day/6-night stay in Rovaniemi. This is about $2,435-2,785 per person. 

For a solo traveler $3,155-3,505 would be around that range. 

If you’re planning to fly into Helsinki and then take the train, here is your cost for a budget traveler.

For a couple, you’re looking at around $4,720-5,420. This is around $2,360-$2,710 per person. 

For a solo traveler, it would be around $3,080-3,430 for a week in Finnish Lapland. 

Mid-Range Travelers:

If you’re flying straight to Rovaniemi from Helsinki and not taking the train, here is what you can expect to pay. 

A trip to Lapland, Finland costs around $5,870-10,270 for a couple for a week in the winter. 

This would be around $2,935-$5,135 per person. 

For a single traveler, it is between $3,890-7,155. 

If you are taking the train and flying into Helsinki, here are your costs.

For a couple, expect to pay around $5,970-10,370. This is about $2,985-5,185 per person. For a single traveler, you will pay around $4,115-7,380. 

The higher end is if you eat more luxuriously and stay at a glass igloo resort for half of your stay. The cheaper end is if you eat more budget-friendly and stay in Rovaniemi at a hotel the whole time. 

Again, I highly recommend splitting time between Rovaniemi and Apukka as it is in the wilderness and dreamy (and there is a chance of seeing the northern lights from your igloo)!

Luxury Travelers: 

And lastly, if this is a honeymoon or splurge-worthy getaway, you may pay around $13,330+ if you’re flying to Rovaniemi or $13,430+ if you fly to Helsinki and take the train as a couple. This is about $6,665+ and $6,715+ per person, respectively. 

For solo travelers, that is around $9,840+ if you fly to Rovaniemi, or 10,065+ if you fly to Helsinki and take the train. 

Note: These are estimates, and prices will vary based on your travel style, where to go, when you go, things you do, etc.

How Much Did I Spend on My 7-Day Lapland, Finland Trip?

For every budget guide that I make, I like to be honest in how much I’ve spent. I can spout off numbers all day, but it does help to have tangible numbers from someone who has been there. 

So for my 7-day Finnish Lapland trip, I spent about $4,770 for my portion as I split some costs with my friend! So for 2 people, this would be $9,540. 

Now this was in late February/early March of 2025 so prices have changed a little for this coming winter (which I have updated in all the numbers above). But I spent $554 on my flights because my friend and I flew into Paris round trip from Cleveland. I used points and $174 in taxes and fees to fly round trip into Paris and then $380 to fly round trip from Paris to Helsinki. 

We ended up spending a few days in Helsinki (which I highly recommend!), but that isn’t part of this particular budget as this is specific to Lapland. But the train when we booked it was $447 for the both of us to take the overnight train there for a sleeper cabin with an ensuite, and we prebooked breakfast. Then we took the regular train back. This was about $224 for my portion. 

For hotels, it was $454 for my portion of our 3-night stay at the Arctic City Hotel in Rovaniemi. Then, it was $2,053 for my portion of our 3-night stay at Apukka Resort with the It’s All About Aurora package. We also added on dog sledding and dinner at Kota there so this price includes the extras we added on. 

So my hotels totaled $2,507 for 6 nights.

My tours were around $748 because, again, we added on stuff to our Apukka package, and then we also added on snowshoeing and the lakeside sauna when we got there. We also did the northern lights chasing tour, went to Santa’s village, visited the Arctic SnowHotel, and went to the Arktikum and Rovaniemi Art Museum.

But prices have increased a little since then. 

My dining cost was $472 because we also had a couple of prepaid dinners. And my extra was about $264 for my travel insurance, getting photos with Santa, taxis, and even a couple of pharmacy visits for my stuffy nose. 

If I were to go back in 2026, those numbers would likely be closer to $4,915 for the same trip. That would be closer to $9,830 for a couple.

So there you have it! My super detailed trip to Rovaniemi budget! From flights, hotels, resorts, activities, dining, and more, this is how much it costs to visit Lapland, Finland in the winter! 

What travel budget questions do you have? 

Check out my video about this topic too! 

@worldwidehoneymoon How much does it cost to visit Lapland Finland in the winter for about a week? Let’s talk about it.🇫🇮❄️ I updated activities to what it would cost now, but hotels, trains, etc., were what we paid. Also, this is not budget travel. Could you do this cheaper? 100%! You could also do this far more expensive too. I’m a mid-range traveler and this is what I paid. I also went with Amanda from @Amanda | Travel Inspo! #laplandfinland #rovaniemi #travelcosts #travelbudget #arcticcircle ♬ Morning Bossa Nova – Bossa Nova Terrace

Note: There are some differences as I had to squeeze a lot of information into a short form video, and I tried to adjust costs to today’s numbers and some prices have changed a little.

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