Saariselkä Travel Guide: Is It Worth a Stop in Finnish Lapland?

We went to Laplands in Finland between Christmas and New Year’s in 2017 because we wanted to see the Northern Lights. That was really the whole reason for the trip. We booked a hotel on top of a mountain with huge windows specifically so we could watch for them from our room. They never showed. It was cloudy every night we were there.

But we ended up loving Saariselkä anyway. We stayed at the Star Arctic Hotel, which had only been open for a few weeks. We spent our days sledding down the mountain on the longest tobaggon run in Finland, also newly opened. We rode through the snow behind reindeer and snowmobiling in what felt like the middle of the night even though it was the afternoon.

It was cold. Really cold. We thought we had packed for Finland in December. We had not. My hair froze, Dylan was convinced he had leeches in his boots because his feet were so cold and we ended up in town buying warmer clothes.

We were only in Saariselkä for a few days, but fell in love and want to go back. So yes, we went all the way to Lapland and missed the Northern Lights. Here’s why I’d still go back.

Our Tip: We thought our regular winter gear would be enough. It wasn’t. We ended up buying warmer gloves and other gear in Saariselkä. If you’re visiting Finnish Lapland in winter, bring proper cold-weather layers, especially for activities where you’ll be sitting still outside.

Is Saariselkä Worth Visiting?

Yes, especially if you’re looking for a winter trip to the Finnish Lapland. Saariselkä is small, very cold in winter and has limited daylight, but that’s also a big part of the experience. You can go reindeer sledding, snowmobiling, ski, toboggan down Kaunispää and use Saariselkä as a base for trying to see the Northern Lights.

We went specifically hoping to see the Northern Lights and never saw them because it was cloudy during our entire stay. We still loved the trip. If seeing the aurora is your main reason for going, I’d stay longer than we did to give yourself a better chance of getting a clear night.

Star Arctic Hotel: A Suite on Top of Kaunispää Fell

We stayed at the Star Arctic Hotel on top of Kaunispää Fell. It had only opened a few weeks before we arrived, so everything still felt very new.

Our room was a two-story suite with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the night sky. (and by night i mean all day) Dylan and I slept upstairs, while Lisa stayed downstairs. The stairs were tiny and steep, almost more like a ladder than a normal staircase, but the upstairs view was incredible. The whole point of those windows was that you could watch for the Northern Lights without leaving the room. The hotel even had an alert system that was supposed to wake you if the aurora appeared during the night. Ours never went off.

Lisa was also dealing with a lot of hip pain at the time and was waiting for another surgery. For some reason, once we got to Lapland, the pain stopped. She still jokes that Finland was her first experience with cryotherapy.

We ate dinner at the hotel most nights because there really wasn’t much else around once it got dark. The restaurant had a cozy lodge feel, and Lisa tried reindeer while we were there. They had great saunas obviously, because Finland!

One random thing we still have from the hotel is one of their printed napkins with an illustration of the building on it. We brought a few home, and somehow they survived all these years.

Aurora Tobogganing: Finland’s Longest Toboggan Run

Our first evening at Star Arctic, we bundled up and went outside to play in the snow around the hotel. There was so much snow that every tree was completely covered. We didn’t realize until the next day that the toboggan run started right near the hotel.

This ended up being one of our favorite things we did in Saariselkä. You take the chairlift up Kaunispää and then toboggan all the way back down. It’s a long run, and Dylan was old enough to go down on his own. Lisa took off ahead of us while I stayed behind Dylan.

The only part I didn’t love was the chairlift. I’m afraid of heights, and an open chairlift is never going to be my favorite way up a mountain. Going back down on the sled was another story. I loved it.

There were sleds everywhere when we visited. We used them to get down toward Saariselkä and left them for someone else to use when we were finished. It was such a normal part of getting around that we saw people using sleds all over town.

Worth knowing if you go now: Aurora Tobogganing is still the longest toboggan run in Finland, with a run of about 1.8 km from the top of Kaunispää. The setup has changed since our 2017 trip. The run is now operated by Saariselkä Ski & Sport Resort during lift hours, and you’ll need a ticket, sled and helmet. The free sleds we remember seeing everywhere are also gone because of problems with plastic waste. You can rent sleds at the resort and at several places around Saariselkä.

Reindeer Safari in Saariselkä

Before the reindeer safari started, they gave us these huge winter coveralls, thank goodness because is was COLD. We hung out with the reindeer first, feeding them and taking pictures. Then we got into the sleds. Dylan and I shared one while Lisa had her own.

The sled ride took us out through the snow where there were no roads or buildings around us. This was one of those times when being on an organized tour got us somewhere we never would have been able to get on our own.

After the ride, we were taken into small hut where they gave us hot berry juice and little ginger cookies. We had never had hot berry juice before and loved it. For the rest of the trip, every time we finished an activity we were hoping there would be more of it.

Dylan’s feet got so cold during the ride that he became convinced he had leeches in his boots. We knew there weren’t actually leeches in there, but his feet were so cold that we were worried about them. As soon as we got back, we went looking for foot warmers.

Snowmobiling in Saariselkä

We also did a snowmobile tour while we were in Saariselkä. I had my own snowmobile while Lisa and Dylan rode in a covered sled behind one of the guides so they could be covered in fur lined blankets and completely shielded from the cold.

I had snowmobiled before and loved it, but this was completely different from anything I’d done. It was already dark even though it was still afternoon, and it was so cold. Being on the snowmobile meant I was much more exposed to the cold than Lisa and Dylan were in the covered sled. But that was ok by me.

We stopped partway through for hot berry juice. Lisa got out of the sled long enough to have some and then went straight back under the blankets. At this point we were all very happy whenever an activity included hot berry juice.

I would absolutely go snowmobiling in Saariselkä again, but I would be much better prepared for the temperature next time.

What We’d Do Differently

We would definitely stay longer. We went to Saariselkä with the goal of seeing the Northern Lights, but the clouds did not make that possible. With only three nights, we didn’t have much room for bad weather. A friend of ours went a couple of years later around Christmas and did much more than we did, including dog sledding and Santa’s Village. Both are things we want to do. We’d also consider staying in one of the glass igloos for a night.

Other things we didn’t get to do on that trip but want to are ice fishing, although I may take some convincing. We’d also like to spend more time exploring Finnish Lapland rather than staying in one place for the entire trip.

We loved Saariselkä enough that we’d absolutely go back. Next time, we’d stay longer, pack much better for the cold and give ourselves more nights to try for the Northern Lights.

Getting to Saariselkä

We flew from Florence to Helsinki and spent the night in a small pod hotel in the airport before flying to Ivalo the next morning. From there, Saariselkä is about 30 kilometers away, and the drive takes around 25 to 30 minutes. Our hotel arranged our transfer from the airport.

There was aso much of snow on the road when we arrived. I remember being nervous when I first saw it, but our driver went incredibly slowly and we never felt unsafe. These drivers are obviously much more accustomed to those conditions than we were.

Short on time? See our One Day in Saariselkä itinerary for how we’d plan your day.

Listen to Our Finnish Lapland Episode

We talk about this trip in more detail on the getAwayZ podcast, including what it was really like visiting Saariselkä in December, why we completely underestimated the cold and how we still loved the trip even though we never saw the Northern Lights.

Planning More Finland Travel

Saariselkä was our first trip this far north in Finland, but there is much more of the country to explore. Start with our Finland Travel Guide for more ideas and practical information for planning your trip.

Saariselkä was the main reason for our trip to Finland, but we spent our final day in Helsinki before flying home. If you’re following a similar route, see our One Day in Helsinki guide for what we saw and did before heading home.