Visiting the Santa Claus Village was one of the highlights of my visit to Finland (and my Europe trip!) Visiting had been a bucket list item of mine for years and after watching countless vlog’s on YouTube… it lived up to it’s expectations!

Things to see and do at the Santa Claus Village

Visit the post office – you can reply to children’s letter’s from all over the world, mail a letter home or even send a letter to your future self for next Christmas
Visit the husky farm – there are almost 100 huskies of all ages (they’re usually born in summer)
Do a husky ride
Visit Elf’s Farm Yard petting zoo – why would you visit a petting zoo? Baby reindeer, adorable furry rabbits, woolly sheep etc.
See reindeer – you can feed them, pat them, take a photo with them and there’s more than one in the enclosure
Meet Santa

4 degrees in the middle of September (autumn)… would hate to be here in winter

The petting zoo had baby reindeer which you can feed / pat through the fence (just don’t touch their antlers)

Or you can feed / pat fully grown reindeer. They were about the size of a donkey or small horse (very strong when hungry!)

Is it worth visiting if there’s no snow?

Yes! You can still do most things without snow, the only thing you might miss out on is a husky ride (it’ll be on an ATV type thing if there’s no snow, just as long as the temperature doesn’t exceed 15 degrees).

While it certainly looks more magical with snow, if you go during off-peak:

You can walk straight in and see Santa rather than queue for hours
There are limited husky rides / runs per day – if you go off peak you have more time to pat the dogs afterwards, talk to the trainers etc
Easier to take photos with no one in them
You might have seen photos of the main building in the village – in the snow you can’t see the line on the pavement marking the arctic circle
There is a tiny food court and very limited dining options – I doubt you’ll be able to get a table in peak times
Good luck trying to buy something – the shops are tiny and crowded with stock, you’d barely be able to move in winter
It was 4 degrees the day I visited the Santa Claus Village… in mid-September. It starts snowing in October. Cold weather = lots of layers you have to fit in your suitcase and if you feel the cold like I do it won’t be enjoyable (most of the activities are outside)
In winter the days are very short e.g. 6 hours of sunlight

The cutest rabbit at the petting zoo! (you get to feed them too)

One of the highlights – a husky ride (and getting to meet / pat the huskies afterwards)

How to get there

Santa Clause Village is located outside Rovaniemi on the edge of the arctic circle in Finland.

You can choose to stay in huts or igloo’s at the village, or stay in Rovaniemi and catch the Santa Express Bus or Local Bus Number 8 to Santa’s Claus Village.

I stayed in Rovaniemi and am glad I did. If you stay at the Santa Village you’ll probably end up eating there (convenient)… but also very expensive.

Cost

It’s free to enter the Santa Claus Village but once you get there, be ready to open your wallet. You’ll need to pay to:

Enter the Husky Farm
Do a husky ride (from memory this was about $65 AUD)
Meet / feed / pat reindeer
Enter the petting zoo
Pay for your food
Pay if you want to post a letter
Pay for your photo with Santa (it cost 30 euro for 1 photo!)

Free things to do at the village:

Meet Santa
Enter the buildings e.g. post office, gift shops etc.

The Post Office where you can see all the letters from various countries around the world

Tips for visiting Santa Claus Village

Visit the husky farm as soon as it opens if you want to do a husky ride / run (there are limited times per day – you’ll get given a time to come back for the ride)
If you want to see Santa, do this first thing to avoid spending hours in a queue at peak times (I had to wait about 10 minutes in September)
One day is enough time to see everything – even if you go during peak times I think one day would be enough. During my off-peak times visit I arrived at 10am and left around 2 – 3pm
Check the bus timetable if getting the bus back into town (from memory I think they were 20 – 30 min apart)

And now I’ll spam you with lots of photos of huskies!