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There are no direct flights into Rovaniemi from Dubai.  So I flew to Helsinki by Finnair then took a connecting flight with Finnair to Rovaniemi.  There are options to have a one day layover in Helsinki to check out the city.  However I really just wanted to get to the wilderness and save the city dwelling for a different trip.  After two hours of waiting in Helsinki airport, I boarded my flight to Rovaniemi.  I landed quite late and I was tired from the full day of traveling so the first day was a rest day.

I got a really great deal for 28 USD a night staying at  “Wherever Hostel”.  You can look them up on Airbnb.  Myself and one other girl were the only ones in the hostel and it can hold up to twelve people.  We were basically residing in our own private house.  It was a great experience.  They have a full kitchen to cook in and the facilities are immaculately clean.  There is a supermarket that is called K-Supermarket in the city centre which is located less than five minutes from the Airbnb.  Honestly everything in the city is walking distance.  Stock up on cheap groceries for most of the meals and splurge here and there at places that are worth spending the extra cash.

Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge

My itinerary:

• 26 Sunday Day 1: Fly from Dubai with Finnair to Helsinki, transfer at Helsinki and fly with Finnair to Rovaniemi. Night walk on Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge

• 27 Monday Day 2: Bus number 8 takes you to Santa Claus Village (Huskey and Reindeer Rides) eat at Santa’s Salmon Place ….and at night go on a Northern Lights adventure with Lapland Safari.

• 28 Tuesday Day 3: Take the 1A bus from Rovaniemi to Ounasvaara and snowboard for the day. At night dine at one of the many amazing restaurants in Rovaniemi.  Including Nili or Cafe Bar 21.  You can also book another excursion to see the lights! Why not you are in Finland!

• 29 Wednesday Day 4: Rauna Zoo take the Number 6 Bus from Rovaniemi Bus Station.  Then at night snowmobiling Adventure to see the Northern Lights.

• 30 Thursday Day 5: Lapland Welcome offered a great tour for only 119 Euros that involved a full day of Cross country Skiing and ice fishing!

Santa Claus village is completely a childhood dream come true.  You can enjoy either Reindeer riding or Huskey rides.  You can meet the real Santa Claus, and send postcards home to your family from Santa.  Definitely eat some Salmon at Santa’s Salmon Place.  You get a massive amount of blackened Salmon cooked right on an open fire in front of you with a piece of bread and potato salad for 20 Euros.  Ask to keep the wooden plate they serve you the Salmon on, its a nice free souvenir.  Also you can obtain a certificate that says you have crossed the Arctic Circle or you can bring your passport and for 50 cents you can have them stamp your passport with an Arctic Circle Stamp!

Salmon from Santa’s Salmon Palace.

I booked my Northern Lights excursion with Lapland Safari.  They are a great company and the Northern Lights were breathtaking the night I went.  They put you on a bus with a load of people and drive you an hour North into the dark wilderness.  When you arrive there is a nice fire to keep you warm.  They guide you to the middle of a frozen lake which you can watch the Northern Lights show.  Layback on the ice and just wait for it.  The entire sky lit up with all of the colors blue, purple, green, and a little bit of pink.  After the lights fade away you roast some sausages on an open fire, sip on hot berry juice, and then spend the night talking to one another about what an incredible experience it is.

The guides will help you set your camera to the appropriate settings.  Do be sure to bring a tripod though.  My pictures turned out a bit blurry due to the lack of one.

The next day I decided to go snowboarding at a small ski resort called Ounasvaara in Rovaniemi.  Its perfect for a day of skiing.  You can take the 1A bus to and from Rovaniemi to get to the resort.  They have ski rentals and lift passes, and they even give discounts to students!  The bus will drop you at Sky hotel.  This is a hotel on the top of the ski resort, so to get down you have to ride the chairlift.  Which was quite an awkward event for me.  Riding a chairlift in my normal clothes with my backpack on and no snowboarding gear.  After snowboarding they shut down the ski lift and I had a freakout moment for a minute.  How will I get back up to that hotel to catch the bus? I asked the guys at the lift ticket office and they were like ,”yea no problem will give you a lift up on our snowmobile.”  Omg it was awesome! We flew up the mountain and the ride was free!   

The next day I took the Bus to Rauna Zoo.  It was a nice day trip but not a necessity when you are there.  You can also choose to see the Arktikum Museum instead or do a day snowmobiling trip.  I really enjoyed the snowmobiles and would have enjoyed another experience with them.  At night I joined Lapland Safari for another amazing adventure, Sunset snowmobiling.  We drove snowmobiles for miles down a frozen lake.  The sunset over our heads while we just drove into the darkness.  It was truly an amazing experience.  After we arrived at our destination we set up a fire in a small teepee and roasted sausages.  Seems to be the tradition in Rovaniemi.  Set up a fire, roast sausages, and sip hot berry juice! Yum!  On the way back you are supposed to switch drivers, however the girl I was paired with didn’t want to drive.  I got to drive all the way there and back and I was delighted!

The next day I called up “Lapland Welcome” (a different tourist company) and joined them for a day of cross country skiing.  You don’t have to join a tour to cross country ski.  Many companies offer rental equipment and you can just head out onto the lake and enjoy it yourself.  However I never cross country skied before and my nerves go the best of me.  So I decided to join a group.  They took me back to Ounasvaara where there was a great cross country ski path. It was tons of fun.  We used a lot of efforts to conquer the hilly areas and then enjoyed gliding down the slopes.  After we finished the path we headed to a lake to enjoy some ice fishing.  First they teach you to drill a hole in the lake and then its just chilling out with the rod from there.  We didn’t catch any fish, but after we did make a fire and yep you guessed it, roast sausages!!!!

I really enjoyed my time in Rovaniemi and I highly recommend visiting here at least once.  This place is not as expensive as you think it is.  You can get by on meals by going to the local supermarket and staying in a hostel like I did.  Also the bus transportation is cheap and convenient there.  You do have to splurge on the excursions a bit but other than that it wasn’t as expensive as I imagined it.  One thing that I did miss out on was the ice plunging and sauna.  Every Wednesday on the other side of the lake you can dip into the cold ice lake and then jump into a 90 Degree Sauna.  Why? Why not? That’s just what the Finnish do for fun and its only three EUROS!!!

Also if you are ready to splurge a bit there is a thing called the Icebreaker.  It departs from Kemi which is an easy bus or train ride away from Rovaniemi.  The icebreaker Sampo takes you for an icebreaking cruise and then gives you the opportunity to float in the icy waters.  They gear you up with floating suits and then you dive right in.  After the cruise you can visit the ice castle in Kemi.  The prices for the Icebreaker are pretty steep.