Where Is Lapland? (And Why There Are Two Different Ones)

Two places share this name and they could hardly be less alike. One is a region the size of a country, above the Arctic Circle, where roughly 200,000 reindeer graze across a third of Finland. The other is a ticketed Christmas attraction in Berkshire. British search results routinely put the second one first, which is how this confusion keeps happening.

Where is Lapland?

Lapland is the northernmost region of Finland, extending well above the Arctic Circle and sharing borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia. Its capital and main gateway is Rovaniemi, which sits almost exactly on the Arctic Circle line at 66°32′37.11″ N.

Practically, that means a flight of roughly three and a half hours from London, landing at an airport that handled 1,120,022 passengers in 2025. It is far north, but it is not remote in the way people imagine: Rovaniemi is a working city of around 60,000 people with an airport, a university and normal shops.

The name also has a wider sense. Lapland as a cultural region, historically Sápmi, extends across northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and part of Russia. When British travel companies say "Lapland" they almost always mean the Finnish part, and specifically Rovaniemi.

What is the difference between Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian Lapland?

Different countries, different infrastructure, and for a visitor mostly different priorities. Finnish Lapland has Santa Claus Village and the widest activity market. Swedish Lapland has the original ice hotel. Norwegian Lapland, usually meaning Tromsø and around, is coastal and known for aurora.

This site covers Finnish Lapland only, which is where all 24 tours listed here operate.

Is Lapland in the Arctic Circle?

Partly, and Rovaniemi sits right on the line. The Arctic Circle is marked in the central square of Santa Claus Village at 66°32′37.11″ N, and you can cross it free of charge.

That position has a consequence people find surprising. Because Rovaniemi is almost exactly on the line, its polar night lasts only a couple of days rather than the weeks visitors expect. In December you get a few hours of low blue light rather than permanent darkness. Travel further north to Saariselkä or Inari and the polar night runs for weeks.

At the other end of the year, Rovaniemi's midnight sun runs from 6 June to 7 July, when the sun does not set at all. Our base comparison covers what that latitude difference means for choosing where to stay.

Why do UK searches return a different place?

Because LaplandUK, a ticketed Christmas attraction in Ascot, Berkshire, is a large and well-known British business with a confusingly similar name. It has no connection to Finland or to this site.

This matters practically. If you are researching a trip and reading about ticket prices, timed entry slots and a woodland experience in England, you are reading about a different product entirely. Finnish Lapland has no admission ticket, and entry to Santa Claus Village is free, per the Santa Claus Village information service.

We say this plainly on the site because the confusion is genuinely common and expensive: people budget for a Finland trip using English attraction prices, or the reverse.

Which part should you actually go to?

Rovaniemi for a first trip, and it is not a close call. It has the airport, Santa Claus Village, the Arctic Circle marker and eighteen of the twenty-four tours listed here.

Our airports guide covers which of the three Lapland airports serves which of those, because flying into the wrong one costs you a day at each end.

How far north is it, really?

Far enough that the daylight changes dramatically through the year, and the effect grows the further north you go within Lapland itself.

The Rovaniemi row is the one that surprises people. Sitting almost exactly on the line means midwinter gives a few hours of low blue light rather than total darkness, which is a relief to some visitors and a disappointment to others expecting the full Arctic effect.

Common questions