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Private Santa visit in Saariselkä: how private, and at what price

Santa Claus sitting between two children in plaid pyjamas in front of a Christmas tree

Illustration photo: Santa Claus with children, not in Saariselkä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a family of five, or four who want the whole visit to themselves with a lift from their door, book the resort's private visit: its price covers the party. A family of four who mainly want Santa's attention should compare the hotel's forest meeting, priced per person. If you would like reindeer and gingerbread too and do not mind other families before and after, ask the safari house for its price.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

Resort, whole visitHotel, forest meetingSafari house, cabin
What is private The whole visit The meeting The meeting
Family of four €712.51 €660 – the lowest total for four Not stated
Family of five €712.51 – the lowest total for five €825 Not stated
Length 1.5 h 1 h 3 h

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest total for four and the lowest total for five. The hotel prints no child fare, so its totals count children at the adult price and may be lower in practice. The resort's figure is its lowest 'from' price, and its booking calendar sets the party at up to five.

Where these figures come from
  • Resort, whole visit: An hour and a half at Santa's house with nobody else there, collected and returned by the resort.
  • Hotel, forest meeting: An hour with a short car ride to Santa's secret place and a meeting for your family alone.
  • Safari house, cabin: An afternoon shared by up to four families, each taken alone by sleigh to meet Santa.

Three Santa visits around Saariselkä keep other families away from the meeting. Only one keeps them away from the whole visit.

The whole visit to yourselves

At Kakslauttanen, the resort south of the village, the private visit covers up to five people, collects them and brings them back, and leaves no one else at Santa’s house while they are there.1

A private meeting

Wilderness Hotel Saariselkä’s forest visit is priced per person and brings each family to Santa alone, after a short drive, with a present for everyone.2 Lapponia Tours’ afternoon is shared by up to four families with reindeer and gingerbread, but each goes to Santa’s cabin on its own; it prints no price.3

The shared programmes are compared on the best Santa Claus visit in Saariselkä.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Priced for the whole party

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Can Santa know about our children in advance?

At the hotel, yes: families are asked to hand letters written to Santa to reception, confidentially, at least a day before, so that Santa can read them first and make the meeting personal. The resort and the safari house do not describe a way to do this on their pages, so ask them when you book whether they can pass on a letter.

Who meets us at the resort?

On the private visit, Mrs Santa greets the family at the reindeer fence and takes you into Santa's house; on the resort's regular visit, an elf walks a group there instead. Both visits end with a hot drink in the resort's decorated Celebration House, and on the way you may see the reindeer or the elves.

Can we add more guests to the resort's private visit?

Yes. Its booking asks whether you want to visit with more than five and lets you add up to ten more guests, but the page does not show what each extra guest costs. Ask before you book, since a party of eight could find the hotel's per-person price cheaper, or more expensive, depending on the answer.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

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