Lapland in July - is it worth a visit ?

Hello,

We are reaching Helsinki on 21st of July 2009 (with two kids 7 and 3).

We have gone through previous forum messages but still unclear on following:

1) Around 21st of July, will we still have activities like Santa Village, snow-mobile, reindeer sleigh, husky rides, touring ice hotel? Looks like most people visit around xmas.. so not sure if it%26#39;s worth visiting at this time.

2) Looks like cheapest is take a overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and back. Given that we want to do activities above, where should we stay - in Rovaniemi or some other city?

3) Once we are there, how do we travel around? Taxi? Coming from US, I assume we may have some trouble renting a car and driving opposite side of road.

4) Are there any tour operators locally, who can possibly have cheaper package to do to/from train-station and taking to above activities?

Thanks a lot

Angel

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Your basic knowledge is slightly flawed, and it%26#39;s hard to answer questions which are only loosely connected with reality, but here goes:

1. There is no snow or ice in Lapland in the summer. Some of the Santa Claus stuff is year-round, like the post office on the Arctic Circle. Summer activities in Lapland include fishing, hiking, gold-panning and enjoying the barren scenery.

2. Rovaniemi is the only real city in Lapland. In view of the summer activities being what they are, a city is not the best base.

3. Finns drive on the right, as do all other continental Europeans. There are no problems with hiring a car. Taxis are not advisable as the distances in Lapland are considerable.

4. Yes.

Check this out: http://www.lapland.ws/

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Hi John

Thank you very much. This helps.

Angel

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Hi, for more information check also www.laplandfinland.com and www.visitrovaniemi.fi .

In addition to Santa Claus Village these might be intereseting for you:

- Provincial museum of Lapland (www.arktikum.fi). Presents northern way of living.

- Ranua Wildlife Park (www.ranuazoo.com). The park is about 80 km from Rovaniemi.

- Arctic Husky Park (http://www.polarspeed.fi/20), next to the Santa Claus Village.

- for tasty Lappish food have a dinner at restaurant Nili (www.nili.fi, closed on Sun and Mon).

How long do you plan to stay in Rovaniemi? If you have time and want to explore the surroundings take a day trip to Pyha-Luosto area, about 120 km from Rovaniemi (1 1/2 hrs by car). Pyha-Luosto is a national park and a ski resort, very nice also in the summer, beautiful scenery, hiking for every taste etc. For more, visit www.pyha-luosto.fi .