SNOWMAN WORLD GLASS RESORT

ITINERARY advice: WHAT, WHERE & WHEN

1. Transport

TO FINLAND:

Finland is easy to get from any point of the globe. The first point to come is Helsinki-Vantaa international airport. It has air connections with almost all countries and it is an important transfer hub in whole Europe. Since 1997 Helsinki Airport has been selected as being among the best airports. It has been placed in the top rank in Europe and also worldwide.

Airport is located about 20 kilometres from the centre of Helsinki and has very convenient transport connection with the city. It gives great possibility to visit Helsinki between flights and spend time there visiting main sightseeing and do shopping.

Helsinki Airport has train, bus, taxi or car connections with central Helsinki.

Train-metro: Price is 5€. Every 10-30 min depending the time. Duration - about 30 min from central Helsinki (railwaystation) to airport.
Finnair city bus shuttle: Price is 6,70€. Every 20 min. Duration - 30 min from central Helsinki (railwaystation, Eliel Square, platform 30) to airport.
There are also some public buses available.

TRANSPORT HELSINKI - ROVANIEMI:

Finnish Lapland is easily reachable from Helsinki by air, train or car. Rovaniemi airport is the biggest Lapland airport and it has daily flights from Helsinki and seasonal flight connection with some other European cities.

By air: Helsinki-Rovaniemi daily flights by Norwegian and Finnair, 4 flights per day.
Flight time - 1h20m.
Price from 35€.
Distance from the Airport to Igloo resort: 3 km (easy transfers by taxi).

By train: Daily trains by VR from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
Duration - 8-12h. 9 trains every day. Day and night trains to choose from.
Price from 68€.
Distance from Railway station to igloo resort: 8 km. Santa’s Express Bus №8 leaves from the Rovaniemi railway station to Santa Claus village and Snowman world every hour / every day.

As an romantic and stress-free option: comfortable night Santa Claus Express train to Rovaniemi from Helsinki. It is double-decker night train with sleeper cars. You can choose between compartment with shower and toilet, or compartment with common wc/shower. If you are travelling with kids, it will be fun adventure to come to Santa's home town by train (children under 7 can travel free if they share beds with adults). Train departs from Helsinki central railway station, which is one of the capital sights, at 18.49 and arrives to Rovaniemi at 07.15.

2. Best time to travel

We’d recommend to plan a trip to Lapland from end of November till mid April to get as much as possible from the trip. During this time there will be snow, and many winter activities run from end of November.

Note:
* December and January is time for Polar Night in Lapland when sun does not rise above the horizon. It does not mean that there is dark all the time. There will be some kind of blue shining during a day and sun will be very very low, almost at the horizon line. For example, in Rovaniemi area sun rises for a couple of hours during the day time in December.

* Christmas and New Year time is very popular season in Lapland and especially at Rovaniemi area. People from all over the world try to get there during those 2-3 weeks. Travel companies book hotel rooms and cabins for their customers well in advance (1-2 year ahead). So if you plan your holidays for the same period, be prepared to see a lot of people at main attraction sites, book activities in advance to get available spots and pay more for accommodation as it is a high season.

3. Rovaniemi weather in winter

Average temperature in Rovaniemi during winter is about -15 degrees Celsius. But some days it might be around -30. Snow coverage in March is about 1m depth.

Typical daytime temperatures in the winter:

December: -20 to -10 degrees Celsius
January: -30 to -15 degrees Celsius
February: -20 to -15 degrees Celsius
March: -15 to -5 degrees Celsius

There is quite dry air and wind is not very often, so even severe frost is not so terrible.

Some Rovaniemi activity companies provide winter multi-layer clothes for rent which can be used during holidays as daily overall.

4. Short Lapland break – 3 days trip itinerary example

1 day in Helsinki.

What to see in Helsinki in 1 day?

Here you can start your northern adventure and dive into the Finnish traditions and culture.

Helsinki is tiny. Most of the main sights in Helsinki are in a compact central area, easily walk-able from train station where trains and buses drop off from the airport. Visiting it just for few hours gives the feeling of Finland and allow to cover main Helsinki’s attractions.

2 days in Rovaniemi, Lapland.

Take a local flight from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
1 night at Glass igloo and 1 night at Rovaniemi hotel (or vice versa depending on availability of igloos).

We recommend to dedicate 1 full day to Santa Claus village. There are a lot of things to do and see in one place: Santa village and visiting Santa, activities at Santa Park, Husky farm, Ice bar and Authentic food experience.

Next day you can choose from activities such as dog-sledding or reindeer safari, snowmobile riding, evening Northern lights safari, showshoeing, or visiting Arcticum museum in Rovaniemi.