Best Santa Claus visit from Muonio: one pick for each party
Illustration photo: a snowy lamp post, not in Muonio.
The short answer
A family spending Christmas in Muonio should take the meeting in the local package, which is private and hands every child a gift. A family on its own arrangements with small children should book the short private meeting in Levi. For a whole afternoon of elves, reindeer and gingerbread, book Levi's elf park. Children of ten and over who like walking will enjoy the snowshoe trip to a cabin. Only if the day is free should you drive to Rovaniemi.
Six Santa visits are within a drive of Muonio, and each one suits a different party.
Spending Christmas in Muonio
Take the meeting in the local Christmas package. Each family goes in to Santa on its own, and each child comes out with a small gift.1 It is the only Santa you can meet without leaving Muonio, and the package books it for you.
Small children, own arrangements
Drive the 46 minutes to Levi and book the private meeting there: a sleigh ride around a lake and about half an hour with Santa for your family alone.2 It is short enough for a toddler’s afternoon.
Children who want a full afternoon
Levi’s elf park gives three hours with an elf of your own as a guide, reindeer to feed, gingerbread and a sledging hill, with Santa as one part of the day.
Older children who like to walk
The snowshoe trip in Levi goes on foot to Santa’s cabin over four hours, with a barbecue on the way, for no more than four people. It takes no child under ten.3
A free day and no budget for a programme
Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus office costs nothing, but it is two and three quarter hours from Muonio. The Levi visits are laid out side by side on Santa Claus in Levi, and the Muonio package is described on Santa Claus in Muonio.
Questions people ask
Is there anything for adults travelling without children?
The snowshoe trip is the one Levi option described without a child in mind, and the free office in Rovaniemi has no children's programme at all. The package and the private meetings are written for families: the package includes a small gift for each child, and the private visit in Levi collects the children's names and ages at booking so that Santa can greet them. A couple is welcome on either, but pays for a programme built around someone else.
What about Levi's cabin visit?
It is the fifth option and the dearest per hour: one hour, private, with a husky or snowmobile sleigh ride out to Santa's log cabin and transfers from the centre of Levi, at 201 euros a head. The listing calls it suitable for all ages but does not say how much of the hour is spent with Santa, so ask before choosing it over the longer private visit.
Can we combine Santa with reindeer?
The Muonio package does it for you: on another day of the same stay it includes a reindeer visit at the old Torassieppi farm with its museum, a go with the herder's lasso and a short sleigh ride under blankets. Away from the package, you would book a reindeer ride separately, and this site's reindeer pages for Muonio and Levi compare what is sold.