Consumer Corner: Here's how to do a trip to Lapland on a budget

Reindeer with sledge in winter forest in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland

Trips to Lapland are becoming more popular among Irish families. 

It’s not just the feeling some people might have when standing at the school gate that they are the only ones not boarding a plane to see Santa this year but instead boarding the number 14 bus to town to see him in Dunnes. 

The feeling is real. According to Sunway, one of the main travel agencies organising trips to Lapland from Ireland the trips for 2023 are sold out and sales for 2024 are already ahead of the bumper sales this year.

Mary Denton, CEO of Sunway says Lapland 2023 sold out very quickly.

"Demand was really high, lots of people booked in January maybe spending covid savings. 2024 is on sale now and sales are ahead of 2023 already.” 

This is pretty impressive considering a three-night stay in Lapland for a family of five, two adults and three kids will cost around €8,000 just for the flights, hotel and activities but then you have to add on clothes and extra food and drink and you could be looking at well over €10,000 for your three-night trip.

Sunway says it does offer a payment plan on Lapland and other trips and they allow people to spread the cost of the trip throughout the year.

“It helps people budget and plan for such a special trip,” says Ms Denton.

She says Sunway, like many other travel agencies, have packages that include your flights, hotel, transfers and baggage, meals, thermal snowsuits and all activities including snowmobile rides, husky rides, reindeer rides, snow activities and a private meeting with Santa.

Whatever way you look at it that is a lot of money to spend on a trip. Corrina Stone is a blogger and set up the very popular Facebook group ‘Lapland on a Budget’. 

The group has more than 93,000 members and is run by Corrina, who is a mum of eight and has been to Lapland numerous times and her sister. 

Members and contributors in the group share tips and advice on how to save money with the trip and also they give general tips on the trip.

Corrina says that now, more than ever, is the easiest time to book a trip to Lapland DIY as you can now fly direct from Dublin to Rovaniemi with Ryanair.

“I had always wanted to go to Lapland since I was a young child but it was just too expensive. In 2016 I decided I was definitely going to go and bring our then five children. I was utterly deflated to be quoted €10,000 for two nights in Rovaniemi, the hometown of Santa Claus in Finland. So I set about researching how to book it all myself. In years gone by, the only direct flights to Lapland from Ireland were charter flights that you had to book through a travel agent.” 

After researching she discovered she could fly to Lapland by booking herself and then taking the train from the airport to the location.

“We paid a total of €2,000 for flights, transfers, accommodation, and excursions in Lapland for seven nights for our family of seven. Since then we've flown Belfast - Gatwick - Rovaniemi, paying just €61 per person on flights.” 

Corina’s most recent trip was a couple of weeks ago and she bagged flights for just €58 per person including bags and seats for our family of 10. She booked two hire cars for €200 each for seven days and an Airbnb for €704.

“We've been in November, December and January. We much prefer January as there's deeper snow, fewer people, a little more daylight hours and Santa is available every day of the year in his office at Santa Claus Village. Others prefer February or March as there's still lots of snow but it's warmer then and brighter days with better chances of seeing the Northern Lights at night.” 

Corrina says that it is so easy to get overwhelmed while researching so she advises grabbing a notebook and pen, jot down everything you read that you fancy seeing or doing or tips that you think will help you.

“All you need to pre-book are flights, accommodation and a hire car if you need one, it's exactly like booking any other holiday DIY.” Lapland covers four countries so decide where you want to go first. You can add excursions like husky, reindeer and snowmobile rides, ice karting, ice fishing, ice floating and fat biking.

“Choose your destination, research flights with Google Flights/Skyscanner/Kayak etc and book directly with airlines. The best time to book is usually as soon as flights are released so sign up to the airlines newsletters to be the first to know. Ryanair, easyjet, Finnair, Norwegian to name a few. However, this year Ryanair have been dropping prices of flights dramatically.” 

Corina advises having a good cancellation policy with your accommodation and says that after high season ends in March there will be a lot more accommodation available. 

She also says to determine if you'll need a hire car and advises using rome2rio.com to see how far your accommodation is from attractions or if it's on a bus route.