INSIDE: Everything you need to know travel wise on how to get from Rovaniemi to Santa Claus village.
Are heading to Santa Claus Holiday Village on your next family vacation?
Then you’ll need to know the best way to get to Santa Claus Village from Rovaniemi or Helsinki.
How far from Rovaniemi to Santa Claus village?
Santa Claus Holiday Village is located 8km from Rovaniemi city centre.
Rovaniemi is 12 hours by train north of Helsinki, or 1.5 hours flying time.
Yet, you will feel like you’ve entered an enchanted universe, especially in winter when the snowflakes fall and cover the forests with inch thick snowfall.
Lappish Finland is a magical world!
Find all the details of how to get there below.
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THE INSIDE SCOOP: How to get to Santa Claus Village from Rovaniemi Train Station
Correct at time of publication on Roam the Gnome. Please check with venue for updates. We apologise in advance if there have been any changes we are unaware of. All prices in euro, unless otherwise stated
How to get to Santa Claus Village by bus
Take the SANTA EXPRESS bus from the Rovaniemi train station.
The Rovaniemi to Santa Claus village bus takes about 25 minutes.
It runs a one way route.
Click here for details of the route map, where it stops, and the Santa Express bus cost. (Update coming soon)
NB: Read the guide above to make sure you don’t get caught out like we did.
How to get to Santa Claus Village by local bus 8
The other option is to catch the Local Bus No.8 from the Rovaniemi railway station.
The stop you need is “Arctic Circle” – the bus will pull in at the Arctic Circle Tourist Information center – located inside the Santa’s Gifthouse shopping centre.
(Look for the red “Santa Claus Gift House” sign on the building)
It’s highly likely there will be a huge exodus of people from the bus at Santa Village.
Follow the crowd.
Hot tip: If you are staying on site in one of the Santa Claus holiday village hotel cabins, head to the Three Elves Restaurant building to your right – this is where the hotel check in desk is located.
RELATED: Big List of the Best Things to do in Santa Claus Holiday Village with kids
How to get to Santa Claus Village by Taxi
If you prefer, book a taxi.
A taxi from Rovaniemi to Santa Claus Village will cost you around 25-30 euro to drive the 8km distance.
Taxi’s are EXPENSIVE in this part of the world.
But if you don’t want the hassle of waiting for all the passengers to load and unload at every stop, a taxi ride is worth every cent.
There’s no need to book a taxi in advance from your home town, but you may like to book one before you depart Helsinki if you like the comfort of knowing one will be waiting for you.
But don’t stress about it. It’s fine to wait.
There are plenty of taxi’s available at the Rovaniemi airport, and at the train station platform
(You’ll see them when you disembark the train).
How to get to Santa Claus Village from Rovaniemi Airport
You can also catch the Santas Express bus, as above, from Rovaniemi airport to Santa Claus village.
The Airport is on the one way bus loop, between the railway station and the Santa Claus Holiday Village stop.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, as of February 2023, there is no longer a FREE pick up option from Santa Claus Holiday Village reception. Please enquire directly with the hotel about the current transfer fee.
How to get to Santa Claus Village from Helsinki
How to get to Santa Claus Village via the Santa Claus Express Train (Also known as the Helsinki to Rovaniemi Train)
The most fun way to get to Santa Claus Holiday Village from Helsinki is to catch the VR overnight train.
We wrote a guide with all the tips including details about the dining car on board, menus and prices of food, photos of the overnight sleeper cabins, Helsinki to Rovaniemi train cost, and more.
Find it here: Everything you need to know about the Santa Express Train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi & back.
(Check out our video of the Helsinki to Rovaniemi train ride in the link above)
How to get to Santa Village from Helsinki by plane
You can also fly direct from Helsinki.
Or from London, via Helsinki.
Flights from Helsinki to Rovaniemi are exorbitant.
And flights from Rovaniemi to Helsinki are equally as expensive.
It cost us almost half of what we paid for return tickets from Australia to London, for a ONE WAY, 80 minute flight from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
The problem is there is not much competition on the flight route, so the airlines have the monopoly on price when it comes to peak travel times with huge amounts of families needing to get home.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: HOW TO GET TO ROVANIEMI FINLAND
How to get to Rovaniemi from Helsinki
The closest airport to Lapland Santa Village is Rovaniemi.
How to get to Rovaniemi from London
Details coming soon
Rovaniemi Map
Looking for the best things to do in Santa Claus Holiday Village?
Rovaniemi is a one stop shop – one place in Lapland where you can:
- try see the Northern Lights (if you are lucky and the weather is on your side)
- meet Santa Claus at the Main Santa Claus Office,
- visit the main post office where all the mail to Santa from around the world is delivered, and
- play in the snow.
There are tonnes more free and paid Santa Claus village activities to do too.
Want more ideas of what to do in Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi?
Check the guides below for more Lapland tips including the best hotels near Santa Claus Village,