How much does a Lapland trip cost for a family of four?

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How much does a Lapland trip cost for a family of four? Lapland has become one of the most popular winter trips for families, but it’s also known for being expensive. If you start researching holidays, you’ll quickly see prices ranging from a few thousand pounds to well over £10,000 depending on when you travel and how you book. The reality is that the cost of a Lapland trip for a family of four varies hugely depending on whether you book a package holiday or organise everything yourself. Package holidays usually include flights, accommodation, transfers and some activities, while a DIY trip means you arrange everything separately and can control the budget much more closely. Below is a realistic guide to what families can expect to spend, along with the main factors that influence the overall price – I’ve also added the cost breakdown for our own Lapland trip.

Typical cost of a package Lapland trip for a family of four

Most families visiting Lapland stay for three or four nights, usually between December and early March when the snowy winter season is in full swing. For a package Lapland holiday, short breaks typically start from around £700 to £1,700 per person depending on the accommodation and experiences included. For a family of four this often works out roughly as:

Budget package holiday: £3,000 to £4,000
Mid-range package holiday: £4,000 to £6,000
Premium Lapland experience: £7,000 to £10,000+

Many package holidays include activities such as husky safaris, reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobile experiences and a meeting with Santa, as well as thermal suits and winter gear. DIY trips will usually be cheaper depending on when you travel and which activities you choose – keep reading for those costs below.

How much a DIY Lapland trip costs

Planning your own Lapland trip can give you much more control over the budget and I would recommend organising it yourself if you can for both flexibility and to keep costs down. By arranging flights, accommodation and excursions separately you can plan your perfect trip. A typical DIY Lapland trip for a family of four might look something like this:

Flights: £500 – £1,500
Accommodation: £500 – £1,200
Excursions and activities: £600 – £1,500
Food and local transport: £200 – £400
Total estimated cost: £1,800 – £4,600

The biggest savings usually come from choosing apartments instead of hotels, cooking some meals yourself and only booking a couple of key excursions rather than a full schedule. Make sure you check out our 3 day Lapland itinerary to see exactly what we got up to on our own trip (March 2026). We spent around £2500 in total for a 4 night trip to Rovaniemi – here’s a breakdown of how much everything cost for our family break in Lapland with two adults and two teenagers:

Flights: Our return flights from London Gatwick to Rovaniemi cost around £650 in total – this included 2 checked suitcases and seat allocation. We booked midday flights with EasyJet for both routes and it worked out at just over £160pp.

Accommodation: We spent about £850 on our accommodation – this was a 2 bedroom apartment (with Piriko Apartments) in Rovaniemi city centre – fabulous and brilliant location! We stayed for 4 nights and having self-catering facilities definitely kept our food costs down. There were slightly cheaper options for smaller apartments and also hotels priced similarly too. For plenty of places to stay check out my article: Where to stay in Rovaniemi with kids – the best hotels, apartments & igloos.

Food: During our trip we spent about £150 on food across visits to the supermarket and a trip to Burger King. I packed a few bits in the case including marshmallows, biscuits and skewers and some gluten free bread for my son and I. We also had lunch included with the combination tickets we purchased for Lapland Winter Park so we ate really well on that trip without the extra expense.

Transport: We booked airport parking through Holiday Extras for around £63. Once we arrived, the journey from the airport was only around 10 mins and cost us about €30 each way – around £26. We used the Uber app to organise transport when we landed in Rovaniemi and then pre-booked another Uber the day before our flight home to make sure it arrived at the right time. Aside from this, we spent €20 each way to hop on the Apukka Shuttle Bus (around £18) to reach Santa Claus Village. All other transport was included with our excursion bookings.

Excursions: Our excursion costs may be slightly higher than for a family of four with younger children – most trips charge an adult fee for kids over 12 and our kids are 13 and 14 so that did hike things up a bit. We balanced out pricey experiences with a DIY aurora hunt on foot (we saw them – yay!), sledging at the Arctic Garden, walks by the river and playing in the snow. Santa Claus Village is also free to visit so you can wander there without spending a penny.

The three excursions we decided on were a husky ride (2.5km) which cost £200 for the four of us, a one hour snowmobile safari which cost £200 as Get Your Guide gifted us £200 towards the experience and a day at Lapland Winter Park. Our Lapland Winter Park tickets were €84 each – we had to pay for 4 adult tickets due to the ages of our children but under 12s would be €54. The tickets included a buffet lunch and lots of activities like cross country skiing, ice-skating, feeding the reindeer and the longest sledging hill in Rovaniemi! The total from that day was £290 but for those with younger kids it would be around £240. Cheaper tickets without lunch included were also available but it was well worth the extra cost.

For our March 2026 trip, for a family of four, we spent around £650 on flights (with two checked suitcases and seat selection included), £850 on a 2 bedroom apartment for 4 nights, about £150 on food and around £800 on transport and excursions. This brings our total to around £2500 for a 4 night trip for two adults and two teenagers.

The biggest costs on a Lapland trip

Flights: Flights to Rovaniemi usually take around three and a half hours from the UK and operate mainly during the winter season. Prices vary significantly depending on the dates. December departures, especially close to Christmas, are usually the most expensive.

Accommodation: Lapland accommodation ranges from simple apartments to luxury glass igloos and log cabins. Typical prices for three or four nights are: budget apartments for £500-£1000, family hotels for £700-£1500 and luxury cabins or igloos £2000+.

Excursions and Activities: Excursions are often the most expensive part of a Lapland trip so many families choose just two or three excursions to keep costs manageable. I booked our experiences through Get Your Guide – super simple and a one-stop shop if you’re planning a DIY Rovaniemi adventure – typical prices might be:

Husky sledding: around £50pp for shorter experiences, with longer tours costing much more.
Snowmobile safaris: around £100 to £200 per person depending on the length of the tour.
Reindeer sleigh rides: usually £30 to £80 depending on the experience.
Ice-karting or other winter activities: £50 to £100pp.

What’s included in a Lapland package holiday?

Lapland package holidays are popular because they make the whole experience very simple to organise – though you will often pay a premium for this. These holidays are designed to include some of the classic Lapland experiences in one short break, which is why they often come with a higher price tag. A typical package may include:

Return flights
Airport transfers
Hotel accommodation
Thermal suits and winter boots
A meeting with Santa
Some excursions (like husky rides)

TUI is a popular package holiday provider for a family trip to Lapland – some of the packages include food which is handy but the majority of trips are only 3 nights. (I would really recommend 4 nights if possible as you’ll benefit from three full days for your Lapland adventures!) Make sure you look into the locations for any package holidays too – Rovaniemi is a great base with everything on your doorstep but the trips are in a variety of places so make sure that you can easily do your preferred excursions when you arrive.

Are package holidays worth the money?

Package Lapland holidays are often the easiest option, especially if you’re travelling with younger children – everything is organised in advance and some excursions are usually included in the itinerary so there’s very little planning required. However, the downside is that you have less flexibility and may end up paying for activities you might not have chosen yourself. DIY trips can work well for families who prefer to travel independently and are happy organising flights, accommodation and excursions separately – they’re also much likely to be more budget-friendly and you can stay for as long as you like! If you’re planning your own break, this article is a great place to start: How to plan a DIY Lapland trip with kids – travel, excursions & saving money!

How to do Lapland on a budget

Check out my article: Lapland on a budget with kids – how to save money in Rovaniemi! Lapland will never be a cheap destination but there are ways to keep the cost more manageable. Typically, travelling outside the busiest Christmas period will offer better value for money – don’t worry you can visit Santa year round and the city will still be full of Christmas lights! Booking flights early can often secure better prices, particularly for peak winter travel dates – the budget airlines are perfectly fine and you’ll likely be doing just a short trip so don’t over pack. Things like wearing some of your gear on the plane, or hiring it to collect on arrival, can help to reduce luggage costs. And, make sure you take a packed lunch for the plane journey as airport prices are always bonkers. (When I can’t be bothered to make sandwiches, I just cook up some pizzas the night before and chuck it in a bag with fruit, crisps and snacks!)

Choosing self-catering accommodation also helps to reduce food costs, as eating out in Lapland can be expensive – it’s also nice to be able to shed your layers and just relax back at your apartment too. Many families also save money by limiting the number of organised excursions and spending more time enjoying the natural surroundings, sledging and exploring the forests. When you’re planning what you’d like to do look at places like Lapland Winter Park, where a lot of things are included, and just pick a couple of special excursions like snowmobiling or a reindeer sleigh ride. We had so much fun simply sledging and rolling around in the snow as well – allow time to just play and enjoy walks in the beautiful scenery. We opted not to book a pricey aurora tour and it paid off – you can often see the Northern Lights with just a short walk from the city centre so the tours aren’t always necessary. Find out more in my guide: The best places to see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi without a tour.

Is a family Lapland trip worth the cost?

Lapland is not a budget holiday, but for many families it’s a truly unforgettable experience and if you plan wisely you can do it without spending a small fortune! From meeting Santa Claus and riding through snowy forests on a husky sled to watching the Northern Lights above frozen landscapes, it offers something very different from a typical winter break. Whether you choose a package holiday or plan a DIY trip, the overall cost will depend largely on the experiences you want to include and the time of year you travel.

While our family Lapland adventure in Rovaniemi wasn’t as cheap as our usual budget travel over the summer months, I think it was absolutely worth the cost for the once-in-a-lifetime magic – the kids absolutely loved this trip and we will certainly be booking more winter getaways in the future. If you’re still undecided, my article: Lapland with kids – is it worth the money? could be a good place to start. I’ve also written loads of guides to help you to plan your perfect break, so check out these articles and have a fabulous time: