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 for our family of four.

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 affordability. By arranging flights, accommodation and excursions separately you can plan your perfect trip. The typical cost breakdown for a DIY Lapland trip for a family of four might look something like this:

Flights: £500 – £1,500
Accommodation: £500 – £2,000
Excursions and activities: £600 – £1,500
Food and local transport: £200 – £500
Total estimated cost: £1,800 – £5,500

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 for 4 nights – this was a 2 bedroom apartment (with Piriko Apartments) in Rovaniemi city centre – fabulous and brilliant location! For plenty of options, check out my article on where to stay in Rovaniemi with kids.

🍔 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. 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 – via the Uber app. Aside from this, we spent €20 each way to hop on the Apukka Shuttle Bus (approx £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, so having two teens hiked things up a bit. We balanced out pricey experiences with a DIY aurora hunt on foot, 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 GetYourGuide 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 (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 cost was £290.

👉 To summarise we spent:

£650 on flights
£850 on a 2 bedroom apartment for 4 nights
£150 on food
£800 on transport and excursions
Total cost: £2500

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 GetYourGuide – 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 more.
Snowmobile safaris: around £100-£200 per person depending on the length of the tour.
Reindeer sleigh rides: usually £30-£80 depending on the experience.
Ice-karting or other winter activities: £50-£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. Make sure you look into the locations for any package holidays – 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 – 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 that you might not have chosen yourself. DIY trips work well for families who are happy to organise flights, accommodation and excursions separately. They’re also likely to be more budget-friendly and you can stay for as long as you like! If you’re planning your own break, my article on how to plan a DIY Lapland trip with kids is the perfect place to start.

How to do Lapland on a budget

Check out my article on how to do Lapland on a budget with kids for all my tips and tricks – it’ll never be a cheap destination but there are ways to keep costs down. Typically, travelling outside the busiest Christmas period will offer better value for money – don’t worry you can visit Santa year round. Booking flights early can often secure better prices, particularly for peak winter travel dates. Things like wearing some of your gear on the plane, or hiring it to collect on arrival, can help to reduce luggage costs.

Choosing self-catering accommodation helps to reduce the cost of food – eating out in Lapland as a family of four would add up quickly. Many families also save money by limiting the number of organised excursions and spending time enjoying the natural surroundings and sledging. Look at places like Lapland Winter Park, where a lot of things are included, and just pick a couple of special excursions. 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. Find out more in my article on the best places to see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi without a tour.

Is a family Lapland trip worth the cost?

Lapland isn’t 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: