Our trip to Lapland was a dream come true, I’m still pinching myself that we were there and it was so much more than we could have ever hoped!
As someone that prides myself on planning perfect holidays, this package holiday I played no part in arranging was the best of all our holidays this year! Leaving it to the experts created a level of magic I couldn’t have ever imagined or created.
We travelled with Canterbury Travel who are one of the established experts for a magical Christmas experience in Lapland. We booked with our travel agent Davina who made it super simple and gave me plenty of advice with my questions and wants. Lapland with Canterbury had been recommended to us by a lot of friends with good taste so it definitely felt like the right company. Not cheap but worth every penny.
Canterbury fly from airports all over the UK with direct charter flights using Jet2, with lunches included on the plane. We flew from Gatwick. They have four locations in Lapland. Better known and busier Luosto and Phya, and more remote and eastern Suomu and Ruka. Phya is their furthest north so I assume best snow cover, however we were very definitely not short of snow in Suomu! Canterbury do have snow machines if the snow doesn’t come – we saw them at our hotel, covered in snow!! Kuusamo airport had 1 ft of snow, 2025 has been a good snow year!
Canterbury provide a rucksack in advance with a water bottle, a snood, souvenir book and invitations – ideal for a 4am ‘reveal’ before going to the airport!
We chose Suomu as our Lapland base. It’s a 90 minutes coach ride north from Kuusamo airport deep into the wilderness and just inside the Arctic Circle. Nobody has heard of it and therein lies its beauty. I can tell you for certain I would not want to drive in Lapland – snow covered roads are surreal, as is the way people drive confidently on them as if there’s no snow.
We loved Suomu for being remote – there is literally nothing else there apart from forest and an enticing ski slope. There are two hotel’s which Canterbury uses and apart from this all you will find is a few skiers making the most of the empty slopes! Two coaches from our flight went to Suomu, it was a far smaller scale than I had expected. There aren’t other operators (or shops) here either so you’re far away from the commercial resorts.
Our hotel was the Suomutunturi hotel and it was far nicer than we expected. Large clean rooms, epic views of the mountain, elegant yet relaxed with soft/dim lighting, modern set up, pool/gym/sauna, and a separate area for sledging and tobogganing. There are log cabins too, but personally we found being in the hotel gave us more freedom – to eat and when we wanted and use the various facilities – being less reliant on the coach. All rooms have drying ovens, so that snow suits and boots can be easily dried and warmed for the next day. We had all meals at the hotel, always a couple of choices in the buffet and a kids buffet too. Plenty of desserts too! We didn’t have a fridge in our room but I chilled my duty free wine swiftly on the windowsill!
Our trip was the Magical Interlude Lapland package. This is four days – an early morning flight from the UK, an activity on arrival afternoon, followed by two solid days of magic making and then a final couple of activities on the last day before a late afternoon flight home. It was the perfect length for us and slotted together effortlessly with nothing feeling rushed. Our Arctic Star (guide) Rose was always on hand to help and led us expertly from day to day, hour to hour, one singing of “The Elf Song” after the other!
Everything was planned by Canterbury to perfection – for the children and the big children. The ease of enjoyment and the way things knitted together made the magic come alive for everyone. All locations were close to the hotel so there was no time wasted travelling from place to place. We made the most of the few hours of soft daylight every day which were beautiful amongst the snow covered trees. It’s a jaw droppingly beautiful place covered in snow, even in the half light or the dark!
As you might expect, the elves are the stars of the show! And these are no ordinary elves – they are incredible. The elves and Santas 5 special elves were beyond fabulous and full of energy (and childcare)! They brought magic to life in the most majestic way and were a permanent fixture to our days. They had answers for every little question the kids came out with, and we learnt a lot about elf life and speaking elfish. They have wonderful Finnish accents and were so good – they must be exhausted at the end of their days! Their costumes were intricate and beautiful too. It was like an all day immersive theatre experience.
The activities were plentiful and just the right length, so that we did enough of everything in a short visit without it feeling rushed and (more importantly) without getting cold: husky mushing, reindeer feeding and sleigh ride, sledging, snowmobiling and many other things. Activities finished around 3.30 on both main days which was ideal as it gave us all downtime ahead of dinner.
We were never far from a kota teepee with a log fire and warm berry juice to keep us toasty. We did take marshmallows and sticks but never needed them. Snow suits and boots are dished out on arrival evening and make keeping warm simple. All the Lapland locations are private to Canterbury so there’s no crowds, chintz or gimmicks – just wilderness, snow and magic.
Bertie’s favourite activity was the huskies and the location was sublime. Mr P did the mushing and Bertie and I snuggled up and enjoyed the sunset ride. Healthy, well looked after dogs that desperately wanted to run and run! The other animal encounter was with reindeer at another well run location. Feeding them moss and lichen (not oats and glitter) and learning about them before a wonderful sleigh ride through the forest really was special. As a family of 3 we could all ride in one sleigh together.
Meeting Father Christmas was wonderful. It’s a separate experience for each family. Starting in a sleigh pulled by a snowmobile you are driven off into the woods and met by the elves who walk you deeper from kota to kota, before you arrive at Father Christmas’s office. Through a hidden door Father Christmas is found and with a particularly special touch, he has the letter your child posted and a present from that letter. True magic you can’t imagine. Father Christmas was like no other we have ever (or will ever) met – the kindest Finnish gentleman, no doubt in Bertie’s mind he was the real one.
Snowmobiles and sledging were the higher octane activities. We did sledging each day for a little while and it was enjoyed by children and adults (and elves) alike. The snowmobile experience was run by Canterbury staff and was at dawn. Children under 140cm drive a mini one on a rope which they loved and is safe. The adults go on a snowmobile safari into the forest – making the most of the views and the heated handle bars!! I loved them both and they’re not the sorts of things I normally like!
Sprinkled in amongst these activities are plenty of other activities – to keep people warm and tell the story of the search for Santa. Baking with Mrs Claus, the spectacular theatre which is Santa’s post office, a we found Santa evening party with the Special Elves, the elf Olympics (not just for kids, very competitive) and elf school! It knits the trip together magically and children and adults alike are entranced – everywhere we visit Santa has been at just ten minutes earlier! Having the coach is a godsend as you can load up your backpacks with spare clothes and snacks and water, just in case you need them, and it stays on the bus all day.
A few things that surprised me about Lapland:
- The roads – are basically ice and snow and people drive on them like we drive on a tarmac road!
- The inside of buildings is more like the inside of a sauna – I’d take a fan on another trip!
- Dehydration – because of the cold, dry air you need to drink more than you think you need.
- Sunburn – despite very little light our cheeks glowed as the UV is amplified by the snow.
- Polar nights – the sun rises just above the horizon for a few hours and the sky is soft and beautiful.
Packing is fun, especially if you aren’t a skier and haven’t been on a cold weather holiday before! We packed for the north pole, just in case! And I made sure to buy things I could return if we didn’t use them! Canterbury provide the snow suits and boots (which were as good as new) but other things we made sure to pack:
- Winter boots to travel in – not essential but I found some on Vinted
- Merino base layer top and tights – two sets of each
- Mid layer top and trousers – two sets of each (merino joggers and my AÇAI dog walking trousers were ideal)
- Christmas jumpers and other knitwear
- Down jackets for under the snow suit, Mr P wore a fleece gillet
- Ski trousers – we took ours just in case it was cold as an extra layer under our suits
- Ski gloves and spare gloves, buy some that let you use your phone with gloves on
- Ski socks and spares, keep a spare in your rucksack
- Trapper hats and waterproof sealskinz hats
- Snoods and balaclavas
- Goggles in case it was very cold for the outdoor sports (with clear lenses)
- Power bank for phone charging as the battery does drain quicker in the cold
- Snacks – we didn’t need snacks as the hotel food was good but we packed lots anyway
- Marshmallows and sticks as there are little log fires all over the place
- Flask and hot chocolate (that doesn’t need milk adding)
- Water bottles for the coach
- Disposable handwarmers and footwarmers
- Torches – red light is good to include to not blind people
- Light wrist bands – handy to identify your child when sledging in the dark!
- Lipbalms – used by the British Army this is the best stuff
- Medicines – you’re in the middle of nowhere there isn’t a doctor or pharmacy
People call Christmas in Lapland the trip of a lifetime. It really is. But I can’t see how we can keep ourselves away from the Artic so much was our love of the snow, the silence, the wilderness and the beauty. It was really hard to put into words just how magical this trip was – I hope I’ve done it justice. We’re already planning another trip north! And Bertie knows where he wants to do a winter season when he’s older!
