Finland Itinerary With Kids: Our 2-Week Winter Travel Guide

We can say Finland is one of the best, if not the best destination for a winter family destination, especially if you have young kids. We spent two weeks in Finland with our kids, then ages 7 and 11. We can say our Finland travel with our kids was epic! People loved our Finland itinerary with our kids, and we would love to share it with you.

Finland really has it all: fluffy snow, the Northern Lights, Christmas markets, church choirs, reindeer, huskies, elves, and Santa. It is, after all, the official home of Santa.

Most travel agencies and tour operators will sell you Rovaniemi, home of the famous Santa Claus Village. But consider going further north in Lapland, like Levi.

And don’t forget Helsinki. You might be tempted to spend as little time in the capital and just focus on Lapland, but you will regret it. You should also spend some time in Finland’s capital Helsinki as it has its own Christmas charms.

In our case, we spent roughly six days in Helsinki and eight days in Lapland. You can pack a lot of sights and activities in this period without feeling rushed.

Here’s our two-week epic Finland itinerary with kids:

Day	Location	Activities
1	Helsinki	Arrival Kamppi Chapel of Silence Amos Rex
2	Helsinki-Rovaniemi	Train to Rovaniemi
3	Rovaniemi-Levi	Arktikum Bus to Levi
4	Levi & Kittilä	Lainio Snow Village Northern Lights
5	Levi & Kittilä	Reideer Ride, Ice Fishing & Snowshoeing
6	Levi & Kittilä	Husky Ride
7	Levi	Kids Land Snowmobile Evening Snowshoeing
8	Levi-Rovaniemi	Bus to Rovaniemi Santa Claus Village
9	Rovaniemi	Santa Claus Secret Forest Santa Claus Village
10	Rovaniemi-Helsinki	Train to Helsinki
11	Helisnki & Porvoo	Porvoo Senate Square
12	Helsinki	Cafe Regatta Sibelius Park Design District Oodi
13	Helsinki & Suomenlinna	Suomenlinna Loyly Rock Church Senate Square Old Market Hall
14	Helsinki	Aleksarinkatu Esplanadi Uspenski Cathedral

Read more about our itinerary below:

Day 1: Helsinki

Our Finland itinerary with our kids begins at the capital. Helsinki is your jump-off point, spending a few days here is certainly worth it. But we recommend you head off to Lapland immediately for your adrenaline fix and return to Helsinki for the more leisurely latter part of your trip.

Highlights

• Visit the Kamppi Chapel of Silence for an impressive example of Finnish architecture and quiet moments.
• Visit Amos Rex, an underground art museum.
• Explore Kamppi Center, the biggest shopping center in Helsinki and an excellent base for travelers as it has the largest public transportation hub in the city, plus there are plenty of food options at their shopping centers.
• Eat at Hesberger, the largest fast-food chain in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It’s Finland’s answer to McDonald’s.
• Eat at Pizzarium, which serves Roman-style pizza (or pizza al taglio) in rectangular slices.
• Stay in Hotel Helka, a hip and stylish mid-range hotel considered one of Helsinki’s best in its category.
  

Day 2: Helsinki-Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland and the gateway to other northern parts beyond the Arctic Circle. It’s also where most tourists stay for their Lapland experience. If you’re planning your Finland itinerary with kids, you must include Lapland.

If you plan to travel in December, head off to Lapland as soon as you arrive, so you can still catch as much sunlight as possible. The days are very short in winter, so save your Helsinki tour at the tail end of your trip.

Highlights

• Visit Helsinki Central Station, which is where you take the train to get to Rovaniemi via Finland’s VR. You can take the plane from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, which is the fastest way, about an hour and a half. But we chose to take the more scenic and relaxing eight-hour ride on Finland’s VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or Railways of Finland).
• Eat at Da Zhong Hua. It may be a weird choice, but after a long, tiring train ride — and if you’re Asian — you’ll crave for a hot meal with rice.
• Stay at Hotel Aakenus, a mid-sized, family-owned hotel, for its strategic location and cozy room.

Day 3: Rovaniemi-Levi

While Rovaniemi offers a great Lapland experience, it’s even better to travel farther north. It’s less touristy, more scenic, and much more remote. That means you also have a higher chance of seeing the Northern Lights. There are several options, but Levi is a great one for families. It’s around 150 kilometers from Rovaniemi, around two-and-a-half hours by bus.

Highlights

• Visit Arktikum, Rovaniemi’s popular museum and science center, before heading off to Levi.
• Eat at Ravitola Roka, a popular street bistro that serves generous portions of its signature sandwiches. The Reindeer ‘Wich is a must-eat!

Day 4: Levi & Kittilä

When we were researching for our Finland itinerary with our kids, we came across Levi, which is not a usual destination for travel agencies. Levi is a winter wonderland! This is where you should spend most of your time. It’s a ski resort and offers many winter activities even if you don’t ski.

Highlights

• Visit Lainio SnowVillage in Kittilä, famous for its ice hotel, ice bar, ice restaurant, and ice chapel. When we went, the theme was Game of Thrones. Pretty cool.
• See the Aurora Borealis at the frozen lake Sirkkajärvi, Kittilä. We booked our excursion through Kinos Safaris. Amazing experience!
• Stay at Levilehto Apartments, where you can book a spacious cabin or apartment, complete with a kitchen, dining room, living room, sauna, and other amenities.

Day 5: Levi & Kittilä

Levi is just a beautiful setting to experience all kinds of winter excursions. We spent four full days here (plus two half days, which were really arrival and departure days), which we felt was a really good duration for a relaxed pace. Besides, it’s impossible to cram a lot of activities in one day.

Highlights

• Do reindeer riding, ice fishing, and snowshoeing in Kätkäjärvi (Wolverine Lake) in Kittilä. We booked through Wolverine Fell Wilderness and Nature Ltd., which was a great decision as we loved our experience with them.
• Explore the Levi Village Center, with plenty of souvenir shops, cafes, and restaurants to check out.

Day 6: Levi & Kittilä

We’ve experienced husky rides in Alaska before, one through the woods and another on top of a glacier. But we felt that doing it in Lapland can still be a different experience, and it was! It was a much longer ride and it was at freezing temperatures.

Highlights

• Do a husky ride, at least 10km, booked through All Huskies Sled Dog Safaris. We took the 15km option, which was about an hour. It’s wild!
• Eat at Nili Poro for authentic Lappish dishes like reindeer meatballs and traditional sauteed reindeer.
• Eat at Pannukakkutalo Pancake House for sweet or savory pancakes.

Day 7: Levi

The great thing about staying at or near a ski resort is that the slopes are a great place to do sledging with your kids. Plus, there are plenty of activities from various providers, including snowmobile and snowshoeing at night.

Highlights

• Do sledging at Kids Land, which offers lots of slopes and hills for kids and kids-at-heart.
• Do a snowmobile safari, booked through Wild Nordic. We did the three-hour program where we drove a snowmobile to a reindeer farm at night.
• Do snowshoeing at night on top of the ski slopes, also booked through Wild Nordic. It’s an eerie but unforgettable experience.

Day 8: Levi-Rovaniemi

Santa Claus Village is what really started this trip. We discovered it by accident while researching places to go in winter. Admittedly, it was great marketing on their part. Even though it turned out to be kinda kitschy and overcrowded, we’re still glad we went here.

Highlights

• Visit Santa Claus Village, a theme park with activities, rides, restaurants, and souvenir shops. Instead of being cynical about this tourist trap, just embrace it! Have your family photo taken with Santa, and send letters from the Arctic Circle at the Santa Claus Main Post Office.
• Eat at Kauppayhtio, for the really cool, retro vibe and affordable but delicious pizza.
• Stay at Scandic Polar, a strategically located hotel in Rovaniemi.

Read our guide on:

Santa Claus Village With Kids

Day 9: Rovaniemi

What really made our trip to Rovaniemi super special is joining the Santa Claus Secret Forest – Dream of Joulukka program. It’s an immersive, story-based, and magical experience that was one of the highlights of our Finland vacation.

Highlights

• Join the Santa Claus Secret Forest – Dream of Joulukka program. It’s an immersive, story-based, and magical experience that was one of the highlights of our Finland vacation. You will not regret it!
• Eat the best-grilled salmon you’ll ever have at Santa’s Salmon Place.
• Eat at Kotipizza for their simple but addicting pizzas.

Day 10: Rovaniemi-Helsinki

After all the winter excursions and activities, this is a good time to slow down and appreciate what Helsinki offers.

Highlights

• Eat at Burger King inside the iconic Helsinki Central Station. Same junk food, superb ambiance.
• Stay at Hotel Aakenus, just because you deserve to spend another night here.

Read all our Lapland guides:

Best Things to Do in Lapland With Kids

Best Places in Lapland With Kids

What to Do in Levi With Kids

Rovaniemi Attractions

10 Things to Do in Rovaniemi With Kids

Day 11: Porvoo & Helsinki

There are several day trips you can do out of Helsinki, and if you have to choose one, choose Porvoo. We almost took out Porvoo in our Finland itinerary with kids, but we’re so glad we didn’t!

Highlights

• Explore Porvoo, the second oldest city in Finland. The colorful wooden houses, cobbled streets, and charming shops and cafes make it a must-visit.
• Eat at Hanna Maria, a family-owned, canteen-style restaurant for home-cooked meatballs, mashed potatoes, and salad.
• Stay at Scandic Grand Marina, a historic refurbished factory-turned-hotel in a fantastic location in Helsinki.

Read our guide on:

What to Do in Porvoo With Kids

Day 12: Helsinki

The next few days are a good time to explore Helsinki, including famous landmarks and hip districts.

Highlights

• Eat at Cafe Regatta, a seaside red cottage cafe that’s quirky and charming. Don’t miss the cinnamon buns and hot chocolate!
• Visit the Sibelius Monument and Park in Töölö, dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
• Eat at the famous Ekberg, Finland’s oldest bakery, patisserie, and cafe for sandwiches, cakes, and coffee.
• Explore the Design District, Finland’s creative hub of design and fashion shops, galleries, designer studios, cafes, restaurants lined up along 25 streets.
• Visit Oodi, Helsinki’s beautiful new central library. You can spend hours reading and taking photos.

Day 13: Suomenlinna & Helsinki

Aside from exploring Helsinki, this is a good time to do another day trip, this time at the atmospheric Suomenlinna.

Highlights

• Explore Suomenlinna, an 18th-century sea fortress accessible by ferry from Helsinki. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site worth visiting.
• Visit Löyly, a modern and stylish seaside public sauna, and dip in the ice-cold lake!
• Visit Temppeliaukion, better known as Rock Church as it was carved directly from rock. We watched a choir concert, which made it an even more memorable experience.
• Explore Senate Square, Helsinki’s historic and main square. It’s where the Christmas market is held in winter. This is also where you can visit the famous Helsinki Cathedral and the beautiful National Library, among other examples of Neoclassical architecture designed by Carl Engel during the 18th century.
• Eat at the historic Old Market Hall and sample cheese, cold cuts, seafood soup, coffee, and more from the indoor merchants.

Day 14: Helsinki

You can spend your last day for last-minute stops to popular landmarks you haven’t visited yet and shopping for souvenirs before you fly out the next day.

Highlights

• Explore the posh shopping area of Aleksanterinkatu, which is transformed into a Christmas Street in December, and Esplanadi, an esplanade and park that’s lit up during the holidays.
• Visit Stockmann, Finland’s oldest department store.
• Visit Uspenski Cathedral, the largest orthodox church in Western Europe famous for its redbrick facade.
• Eat at Fazer Café, made popular by its chocolates and its art deco design. Hoard their chocolates!

Read our guide on:

Helsinki With Kids: A Complete Travel Guide

Conclusion

This is an immersive Finland itinerary with kids that gives you the best of Helsinki and Lapland (not only Rovaniemi but also Levi), with a couple of side trips to Porvoo and Suomenlinna.

It’s not just sightseeing (although there’s a fair amount), but more importantly, there are plenty of experiences with exciting winter safaris and explorations, with time to chill.

Northern Lights, Santa Claus, husky and reindeer rides, snowshoeing and snowmobile rides, sledging, frozen lakes, a snow village, Christmas markets, train rides, ferry rides, sauna, ice dipping, historical and modern architecture, Scandinavian design, museums, libraries, cathedrals, wooden houses, reindeer meatballs and sandwiches, pizzas, grilled salmon, chocolates, coffee — it’s an epic Finland itinerary that you and your kids will love!