Santa's Magic - Part 1
The excitement starts the second you book, and communication before you travel is very good. You receive various packs through the post that explain how things work and offer plenty of ideas around how to tell the kids that you’re off to see Santa as well as a special list for the little ones to complete. It is explained that this is called your Magic Ticket and it is very important that you remember to take it with you!
Santa’s Lapland charter planes from both Titan Airways and Jet2, and we were lucky enough to be on the branded Titan Airways plane that helps build the excitement when you board. There are games for all the passengers to play, songs for the kids, jokes and a really good crew all decked out in their Christmas gear to help to get the party started!
We flew to Ivalo in Northern Finland which is only a 25-minute coach transfer to Saarislelka, where we were based. Stepping off the plane is a bit of a shock to the system (it was -30 on the day we arrived), but it’s a small airport and you’re soon in the arrivals haul and at the mercy of some very mischievous elves that get the kids worked up into a Christmas Frenzy. Utter carnage.
On the coach, you get a lot of info about your itinerary and how the next few days will work, sing a few more Christmas tunes, drive past a Reindeer Farm and take in the amazing views with snow everywhere. (Weather can’t be guaranteed, but Santa’s Lapland have a solid No Snow policy – if there’s not enough of the white stuff to do your activities they’ll tell you before you go and you can move dates or potentially cancel for a refund).
There’s a small element of ‘faff’ when you arrive, as with most holidays to be fair, as you need to get checked in, but here you have the added activity of collecting your thermal gear (we were given boots, socks, gloves and suits), but you’re well signposted and the hotels do a great job of getting rooms ready as soon as possible. The staff in the Lapland Safari’s shop which was attached to the Hotel Riekonlinna, where we were staying, do quite a good job of guesstimating your suit size just by looking at you, to help the lines move quickly - although I had to swap mine for a more slim fit option as the one I was given looked like one of those blow up Sumo suits… Something that made the wife and kids nearly wet themselves laughing! I’d recommend putting a few snacks in your bag to keep you going as given the flight times and the restaurant serving from 5pm, there’s a chance you might have some hungry tummies before you get your first meal. Whilst on the subject of food, the buffet in the restaurant is spot on. There’s enough variety for a 3 night stay and it’s good quality with options for the fusspots in your group.
Saariselka has a few accommodation options and they’re all within walking distance of each other, from what we could tell. You feel remote and it’s not busy but at the same time you aren’t isolated or lonely. There’s just the right amount to create a good atmosphere whilst remaining subtly magical and authentic. The Riekonlinna is a brilliant base for your trip, in a good location, is clean and perfect for a short visit. It’s not 5-star luxury but the bed and pillow were very comfortable and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.
For what will be an unusual trip for most people with the weather etc and with so much going on, the company do a great job of having staff at every corner that would point you in the right direction but without feeling like you’re being pushed along or watched. They’re there as much or as little as you need them and they’re all wearing the branded uniforms making them really easy to find. You can tell they’ve been doing this for years as it runs so smoothly.
Once you’re fed, suited and booted, the rest of the day is yours to do as you like. We opted to head off in no particular direction and just see what we found. There are signposts and walking trails you can follow and plenty of hills if you fancy a toboggan. The resort has sledges lying around everywhere so you can head out and pick one up and use it until you’re sledged out then leave it for somebody else. I enjoyed these few hours so much. Laughing and carrying on with kids, diving about in snow up to my thighs and just experiencing something so different in a permanent disbelief of where I was.
Our first day was very cold but a few layers and the thermal suits do a great job. The feeling of the inside of your nose freezing with every inhale was very strange at first! It was a relatively clear night and during one of our snow fights, we looked up and caught the Northern Lights. I say we looked up, I was dangling one of the kids upside down and he asked, “Wait, wow, is that the Northern Lights?” I thought he was trying to make up an excuse to avoid a dunking in the snow, but it turns out he was telling the truth. Breathtaking.
There’s a bar next to the hotel called Giitu which had board games and Uno that the kids loved playing whilst we had a few beers and a bit more food. These trips are on a half board basis and you burn a lot of energy so you’ll need to pay to refuel on top of what’s given. If you like a pint or two then be prepared to pay 9 or 10 euros per pint but it’s Christmas so you’re allowed to fill your boots.
Day two was our adventure day. This is a day where you can do as you please. Breakfast was between 7am and 10am, and after that we put our snow suits on again and headed out to see what else we could find. It’s very hard to judge what time it is when you visit at this time of year because there’s barely any sunlight. It feels like it’s just different shades of dark! Santa’s Lapland do try and sell extra excursions and activities for you to do on the adventure day, and there is all kinds available, things like Husky Rides, Reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobiling. The price tag is quite hefty & I’m as tight as cramp so we decided to just explore and entertain ourselves. Our mates went snowmobiling & had a brilliant time.
