Santa Claus in Inari
Illustration photo: candles and baubles in the snow, not in Inari.
The short answer
Stay in the village: a hotel in Inari sells a meeting with Santa from late November to the start of January, a short walk from the hotel and booked by email, and a Christmas package that includes it. Drive to Saariselkä only if the children would enjoy a whole afternoon with an elf and reindeer before the meeting. Outside the Christmas weeks there is nothing in the village, and Rovaniemi is the place that has Santa all year.
Inari has a Santa, though no booking platform lists him. A hotel in the village sells the meeting itself, and a Christmas stay built around it, on its own site.
In the village
The hotel’s Santa visit takes the family on a short walk to Santa’s secret place, and runs from late November to the third of January; it is booked by email with the hotel’s sales team.1 The same hotel sells three- and four-night Christmas packages, over the same weeks, in which the meeting is one of the days.2 Which of the two suits which family is on the best Santa Claus visit from Inari, and what each costs on Santa Claus prices in Inari.
An hour away
Saariselkä, under an hour’s drive past Ivalo Airport, sells an afternoon programme that ends in Santa’s cabin, described on Santa Claus in Saariselkä. It is the choice for children who want the build-up as much as the meeting.
The rest of the village is on the Inari destination page.
Tours you can book
Priced per person
Searching for Santa: an afternoon ending at his cabin
Run by Northern Lights Village Saariselkä
From €159per person
Length2.5–3 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Priced for the whole party
A private meeting with Santa, a short walk from the hotel in Inari
Run by Wilderness Hotel Inari
From €275per group of up to 4
Length0.3–0.7 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
What should we know before booking a Christmas stay in Inari?
That the rules tighten at Christmas. Visit Inari's hotels require at least three nights between the twenty-first of December and the tenth of January, and guests at Hotel Inari have to take the special dinner on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The Wilderness Hotels' Christmas terms charge the full price for any cancellation after the fifteenth of September.
Could we combine the Saariselkä programme with the airport?
Yes. The road from Inari to Saariselkä passes Ivalo Airport, so booking the afternoon programme for the day you arrive or leave saves making the drive twice. The regional tourist site puts Inari village about 50 minutes from the airport and Saariselkä about 25. Leave a generous margin for the flight, since winter roads are slow.
Is there anything with Santa after the New Year?
Not in the village: the hotel's meeting ends on the third of January. The Saariselkä programme prints no season on its page, so check its dates if you travel later in the winter. The Santa Claus office in Rovaniemi is open every day of the year, but it is almost four hours from Inari by car.