There’s off-grid… and then there is Rovaniemi, an iconic Arctic wilderness so notorious for its cold, it has long attracted venturers to make that treacherous journey up North- if for no other reason than to trade in the cozy confines of their usual travelling comforts for a raw, unchartered, blistering unknown.

I never expected to find myself back with the Nords so soon after my journey to Sweden just last January, and yet here I was, some twelve months later, slap bang in the thick of the Laplands again, filled with a sense of familiarity and armed with a plan that echoed suspiciously of my time in Kiruna from twelve months before. Dog sled, reindeer rides, the Aurora Borealis and a long train commute – was I really going back to a different place… just to do the same things all over again?

Turns out, the myriad activities might appear the same; but the landscape, the culture, and the entire atmosphere, are entirely Finland’s own.

On the surface it sure looked like I was signing up to do the same things all over again, but, delving into the depths of Rovaniemi’s Arctic wilderness revealed an experience that was unlike my time in Sweden, despite being so much the same. Somehow, these activities took on a new dimension against the backdrop of Finland’s terrain; and perhaps it is precisely because I had my experience in Sweden that allowed these ‘similar’ moments to inch differently into my mind. The dog sledding, and the sleigh rides, and the Sami people and their Northern Lights. They were all no longer novel, and yet, they continued to reward my senses beyond drama or design. It’s arguably a surefire way of knowing that a destination has truly permeated your soul; when you realize that even as you aren’t discovering these things for the vy first time, you are still discovering something else- perhaps even more existentially now- for the first time.

For me, a lot of these differences were found in the subtle nuances that show themselves only when one’s thoughts have had the privilege to mingle with the resonance of familiarity. And it was in these layers that I realized the tiny significant things, like how the activities seem to be characterized more by Culture in the Swedish Laplands, and Nature in the Finnish Laplands; and that terrain differences greatly alter the intensity of experiences you can access between both countries. I also learned that the Finnish Samis are not like the Swedish Samis, even as they were essentially Samis; and generally speaking, they prefer to make very different things out of their exceptional skill with ice.

I was older, wiser, and sometimes possibly even more confused; and often times, it was these very practicalities that I relied on to guide me from left to right; to whisper to me, “not that, this“.

GENERAL TIP: If travel anxiety is your thing, prebook your activities before you even reach Rovaniemi and get all the nitty gritty sorted out way beforehand – especially if you’re visiting in peak season. There is always the option of checking out tour operators in Rovaniemi only when you’re there – but on such short notice (and the fact that not all activities run daily), you just might end up struggling to fit in all the things you want to do, in the way that you want to do them. (I personally booked most of my activities on Viator).

Here’s how Rovaniemi managed to remain a core memory in my mind, despite being so much “the same” as Kiruna… beginning with this.

WEAVING MY WAY UP NORTH WITH A HIGHLY ENCHANTING 8 HOUR TRAIN RIDE

Many expect their experience in Rovaniemi to begin only when they step foot in Rovaniemi – but if you opt for the train ride here from Helsinki, the magic comes at you eight hours earlier.

Following my Fifteen-Hour Train Ride from Stockholm to Kiruna from just the year before, I knew I needed a reprisal of this moment if I wanted to roll back into the Arctic Circle right. And it turned out to be the perfect sequel, this time in full light of day where I was gifted with eight solid hours of dauntingly beautiful snowcapped vistas. Highlights of this experience include full, uninterrupted scenic access to the unbridled majesty of the Finnish countryside, complete with frozen lakes and horses and windmills and dense forests of fir tree after fir tree, draped through and through with pristine snow. As you inch further and further into the North, the landscape becomes more rugged and the scenery more dramatic, and the entire journey is resplendent in ways that transcend the mere purpose of transport.

If time allows, I highly recommend this train ride at least once (and preferably to than fro); the entire passage is an experience in and of itself, and every mile covered will weave a tapestry of memories that will linger in your heart long after the journey’s end.

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW ON REINDEER SLEIGHS

The first impression of the Arctic Circle is almost always fronted by these (not-always-so) gentle creatures, so you might as well make it your moment to remember.

Reindeer activities are available in just about variation you can imagine in Rovaniemi: a reindeer farm visit that includes a sleigh ride; a Sami* cultural tour that includes feeding, mingling and also a sleigh ride; or even a Northern Lights hunt where your transport will be, you guessed it, a sleigh ride.

* The Sami people are an indigenous race inhabiting the Arctic North, and are today in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Russia. They have a deep and symbiotic relationship with reindeer spanning centuries of tradition and culture. They rely on these majestic animals for sustenance, transportation, and livelihood, herding them across vast Arctic landscapes through seasons with skill and reverence. For this reason, I personally believe that no reindeer experience is complete without at least a brief insight into the Samis – and if you’re like me, your best experience from this would be to seek one that is culture-led.

It’s even available as part of the experience at Santa Claus Village, which might be something to consider if you’re a little tight on time and need an option that’s more… tightly condensed.

For all other purposes though, I would not recommend the Village’s version as your go-to because you only get a short sleigh ride and nothing else; and for the price they’ve got tagged on this, you’ll really be better off making a fuller experience out of this.

I BOOKED: This 2 Day Activity Rovaniemi Package on Viator, which actually includes ALL the experiences I have listed here (apart from the McDonalds bit). It’s a super tight outfit and everything was well-run; but, if you want a more catered or immersive time, then I’d suggest you pore the web and thread your itinerary together piece by piece. This option is good only if you need a seamless flow of activities from one to the next. But, if you have time and money to spare, then I’d highly recommend finding something that extends more thought to the experience.

DOGSLEDDING WITH HUSKIES

Just like the reindeer, you can tailor this activity to your preferred experience: a simple sled ride where you are passenger, a complicated sled ride where you get to be musher, a Northern Lights hunt… and I believe if you dig deep enough, you’d probably also be able to find a dog farm somewhere to host your stay too.

CROSSING THE MAGICAL ARCTIC CIRCLE AT SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE

Here the line is marked, and you can literally cross in (or out) of the Arctic Circle and get a certificate for it too (for a fee, of course). You can also virtually tick off your entire Rovaniemi check list from within the confines of these grounds, starting from accommodation in its cabins and igloos, to your more standard Arctic Circle laundry list including reindeer sleds, husky rides, Northern Lights, ice castles, snowbiling, and more.

The one thing you can do here that you cannot do anywhere else though, is write a letter to your loved ones (or even yourself) and post it back via the North Pole post. There’s one that mails out immediately, and one that holds your post until closer to Christmas. It’s all very immersive and whimsical; my niece wrote her six-year-old cousin a postcard and signed off as Santa – we reckoned it would be extremely worth it once the holidays come.

Personally, I am deeply obsessed with Christmas so I cannot even begin to wonder just how to break down this place to you without bias. I love how vast the Village is (like, it is literally a village) made up of all these little shoppes and log cabins and park trails; and I definitely love the giant trees and fairy lights and campfires and its very festive spirit all round. Every tree’s a Christmas tree, and every day’s Christmas; and it all gets twice more magical once the snow starts to fall.

TOURIST TRAP ALERT: I do know of wearied travellers who eschew the experience because it’s highly touristy and everything’s ridiculously overpriced and to be perfectly honest, I do not disagree with any of that. Personally if I were from a neighbouring Nordic country with the same reindeer and the same snow and the same subzero temperatures, I would probably be rolling my eyes at the entire spectacle myself. However, as fate would have it, I am seated on another line on the globe altogether – more specifically, the Equator Line- so you can imagine how (and why) all this was truly a Heaven-on-Earth moment for me.

SPLURGING AT THE NORTHERNMOST MCDONALDS IN THE WORLD

For a country that has one third of its territory lying in the Arctic Circle, Finland strangely does not have enough ‘Northernmost‘ accolades under its belt as it should. In fact, it has the Northernmost McDonalds in the world only because the original Northernmost McDonalds (in Russia) shuttered its doors in 2022 following the dawn of the current War – and it looks like it won’t be holding on to the title for much longer either, with the new Tromsø outlet all set to lay claim on the coveted title.

Nevertheless, ‘Northernmost McDonalds in the World‘ felt like one of those mandatory frivolous things we had to do since we were already on the map – not to mention those Northernmost postcards which have developed such a cult status online* that we too felt compelled to own one, even as we weren’t quite sure what to do with it.

Not gonna lie, between my niece and I, we broke at least a hundred of our own rules just to be here. For what it’s worth, it costs about €16 to get here from town in what is less than a 7-min drive (so put aside at least €32 for a return trip); and somehow, we also managed to spend USD42 on two meals with probably an extra McFlurry and a couple of sides.

* I’m not even kidding, 90% of the 1- and 2-star Google Reviews for the outlet was because they ran out of these postcards. On that note, if you’re obsessed about getting your hands on one too, do not visit too late in the day or you might just end up leaving your own version of a 1-star review.

IS IT WORTH THE HYPE? I wouldn’t venture to decide on anyone’s behalf whether this was worth the hefty tag (essentially a €70 experience 🥲). Personally, I loved the novelty, just because I got to share the moment with my niece; had I been here just for the sake of checking something off the list, I reckon it wouldn’t have been quite as painless a spend. (Click here to view my McDonalds Experience on TikTok!)

BEING AT ONE WITH THE ARCTIC ANIMALS AT RANUA WILDLIFE RESERVE

Amongst many others, expect to find wolverines, foxes, elk, arctic wildcats (including tigers), as well as Finland’s only polar bear (yes, contrary to popular belief, Finland does not have any Polar Bears. Polar Bears typically reside around the Arctic Ocean, which Finland does not share a border with).

Ranua has an exceptionally benevolent atmsophere and more than anything, I truly enjoyed the presence of silence that always seems to accompany any vast expanse of snow. My only forewarning if you’re coming here is that, if you are visiting in the thick of winter, you will want to bring out all the stops for this place: maximum layers, heated gloves, hot flasks, portable heaters, temperature packs, EVERYTHING. Once you begin your route, there are very few indoor opportunities to nip into for a quick warm-up (you’ll probably even have to resort to the WC at least once for respite – which is still not ideal because their WCs are not heated, they just have, walls) and it can get really painful especially if you don’t do well with the cold.

A FAILED HUNT FOR THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

This is the THIRD time in TWO years that I have gone on a failed hunt, and at some point I am probably going to have to self-introspect and wonder if perhaps the problem is me – but for now, I will go ahead and say, Northern Lights or no Northern Lights, invest yourself in the journey and you will come out of it with your very own story to tell, regardless of how your hunt turns out.

Nature decided against bestowing upon us her celestial magnificence that night, but personally, I had such a field day with my niece, being in the thick of the Arctic wilderness in the dead of the night, getting in and out of vans, stomping through shin-deep snow wondering (sometimes derisively) if the next stop was going to be it; that, between that and the frozen lakes and the ethereal forests and the night sky ablaze with a million twinkling stars, it is actually hard to say that it was a waste of any time.

The cold will always be insufferable, and someone or another will always slip and fall somewhere, somehow; and sometimes, Nature will purposefully infuriate you and allow inanimate objects like a camera to capture glints of her ethereal emeralds – all while hiding herself from the inefficiencies of the human eye; but, at the end of it all, I would say it is invariably worth the inconvenience, every single time, every single step of the way.

GETTING OVER FAILED ATTEMPTS: Before you book any Northern Lights activity, you first HAVE to make peace with this: Your Experience Is Not Guaranteed.

Going into it with the notion that the experience is due for you, especially if all the ‘signs’ are right, is a surefire way to come out if it surly and upset. You can even throw money down tours that “guarantee” to chase it to Sweden and Norway and beyond, but Nature is Nature, and if you are not meant for it then you won’t get it, no matter how many borders you are determined to cross (not to mention can you imagine how much those tours cost 🥹.)

Following my trifecta of failures, I dare say that I am in prime position to dispense some good advice on how to deal with Northern Lights no-shows; and personally, my top tip is that, unless you’re heading the expedition, go easy on the apps and the news and the constant swiping for meteorological updates and just, be. Hope, but don’t Expect. And more importantly, find something more that will make this journey worth your while, Northern Lights or not.

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Even as I have now been back from the Finnish Laplands for some two months now, that same voice is still showing me how both landscapes shouldn’t have to compete, and they definitely shouldn’t compare. There is Kiruna, and then there is Rovaniemi. Each is set with its own intricacies that can only truly be felt when you are there, and each is infinitely its own centre stage. You might set out to do the same things, framed by the same backdrop of a very subzero cold; but from the towns and their people to the wilderness and its animals and everything else in between, the experiences you are promised from all these “same things”, no matter how “same” they look, will most absolutely always be, different.

Enjoy Rovaniemi, I know I did.