Finnish Lapland with children

The most fun activities and tips

In this blog, you will find the best tips for a vacation to Finnish Lapland with children.

Last January, we traveled to Finnish Lapland with Flynn and friends (who brought along 1 baby and 1 toddler). Lapland had been on our wish list for a long time. As soon as you fly over Lapland, you know something special awaits you. From the airplane, you can already see a beautiful white landscape, and when the plane lands, you see snow everywhere. We were then taken by bus to the small village of Luosto, where we had an amazing week in a cabin in the middle of the woods.

This blog is written by Vonneke.

Finnish Lapland with children - the most fun activities and tips

♥ The best activities
♥ How to deal with the cold
♥ The village

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Finnish Lapland with children - The most fun activities

Since we were traveling with three children under the age of three, we chose to stay in the same place for the entire week. We rented a cabin in the middle of the woods in Luosto and did various activities from there. You can’t do all the excursions with children, which was also the reason we made this trip with friends. This way, we could take turns watching the kids while the other did an excursion. Still, there were a number of exciting activities that we could do together with the children in Finnish Lapland.

Dog sledding tour

At the husky farm, Flynn and I stepped into a dog sled for the first time. Before you depart, dozens of dogs are barking excitedly because they want to leave, but once you’re on your way, it becomes completely silent. We could only hear the dogs panting, the crunching snow under the paws of the huskies, and Flynn occasionally shouting ‘Whoo-hoo!’ or ‘We’re going so fast, Mama!’ It was incredibly magical to experience this together as a trio. By the way, Flynn sat between our legs on the sled while the other person drove the sled.

Reindeer farm (or excursion)

We chose to walk around the reindeer farm ourselves. It was a small loop that was easy to do with the kids on the sled. Additionally, there were feeding stations where we could take food to give to the reindeer. We did this together with our friends and their kids, and it was truly an unforgettable day. In general, kids and animals often go well together.

Watching the Northern Lights

We intentionally chose a cabin in the middle of the woods, away from light pollution, to spend the night. Since we knew we would be fairly bound to our accommodation in the evenings because of the sleeping children, we hoped to spot the Northern Lights from our place when they appeared. This turned out to be a very good decision. All our Northern Lights apps went off at the same time, and from our veranda (or actually even from behind the window), we could see the Northern Lights. We even woke Flynn up to see it (he initially wanted to as well), but once we woke him up, he actually just wanted to go back to sleep before he had really seen it properly. Still, he tells everyone who wants to hear that he has seen the Northern Lights.

Lots of playing in the snow

Flynn might have enjoyed playing in the snow the most. Bring along toys that you would normally use in sand, as they come in handy in the snow. His digger, shovels, buckets—everything was fun! But jumping in piles of thick snow or rolling down a little hill was, of course, hilarious. Racing on the sled or practicing on his mini skis was equally enjoyable.

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Finnish Lapland with children - The cold

The most frequently asked question before we traveled to Finnish Lapland with children was: isn’t Lapland way too cold for such young kids? Yes, of course, Lapland is cold, but both we and our friends regularly go on skiing holidays, where it can also be extremely cold, so we know how to dress for this kind of weather. The same goes for young children. Good clothing is incredibly important! We spent about 4 to 5 hours a day outside with Flynn, even though it was well below zero. He loved it, and with enough layers and a proper (waterproof) outer layer, it was perfectly manageable for him. He couldn’t get enough of it.

Finnish Lapland with children - The village

We stayed in the small village of Luosto, which we found perfect for a trip to Lapland with children. This allowed us to overnight in the middle of the woods while still being within walking distance of a supermarket and restaurants. Additionally, we were next to a small ski area, which was also great for a day of skiing. Don’t expect slopes like those in France or Austria, but the views from the top of the mountain are worth it.

You are also close to the Pihja-Luosto National Park, where you can take a beautiful snowshoe hike. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any nice photos there due to the darkness, as we did it in the evening. Additionally, there are many other excursions available, such as a snowmobile tour or a tour to the amethyst mine. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for that, but it seemed really cool to us. The latter can only be done in Luosto (or the surrounding area of Luosto).

We found our trip to Lapland magically beautiful! The peace and space, the nature, the people, and the delicious food. Reindeer is on the menu everywhere, and it’s so tasty. Are you hesitating about a trip to Finnish Lapland with children? Just book it, but do prepare well!

About Vonneke

My name is Vonneke van Rijn. Together with my husband Jerry, we have visited over 30 countries. In 2020, our son Flynn (3 years old) was born, and since then, we have been taking him on our adventures. Flynn has already visited 8 countries. For example, we took him to Madeira (a Portuguese island), Slovenia, Croatia, Finnish Lapland, and more.

In daily life, I work as a graphic designer and am the author of the children’s book ‘Flynn Goes to See the World.’ Flynn Goes to See the World helps parents prepare young children aged 2 to 6 for a (world) trip. The book comes in handy because this summer we have the opportunity to travel together as a family for an extended period. It’s a dream come true that we’ve been thinking about since Flynn was born.

For three months, we will be traveling through, among other places, Western Canada, where we will be touring in a camper, and Sri Lanka, where we will explore the country from a TukTuk.

Follow Vonneke on Instagram @flynngaatdewereldzien and through her website www.flynngaatdewereldzien.nl.