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Santa Claus price from Posio: what a family pays, and for what

A white bauble painted with stars, a pale candle holder cut with a star and a red glass star ornament resting in snow

Illustration photo: Christmas ornaments in the snow, not at any visit named here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

The meeting itself can cost nothing: the Rovaniemi office is free, and the drive is the price. The Salla programme opens at 105 euros but does not say for whom. The guided day from Kemijärvi costs 349 euros a head, so two adults pay 698, with the photo with Santa extra. Private visits in Rovaniemi start at 249 and reach 2,159 euros a family. None of the paid options prints a child fare.

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.

Santa Claus Office, RovaniemiNapapiiri Café, SallaGuided day from Kemijärvi
Price Free €105 €349
Priced per No charge Not stated Person
Two adults Free Not stated €698
Child price Free Not stated Not stated
Photo with Santa Sold separately Included Extra charge
Road from Posio 132 km 123 km 111 km to Kemijärvi

Not ranked: one price has no stated basis. The guided day's distance is to its start in Kemijärvi; it then drives on to Rovaniemi within its five hours.

Where these figures come from
  • Santa Claus Office, Rovaniemi: The meeting with Santa at his office in the Santa Claus Village, free to enter, open every day of the year.
  • Napapiiri Café, Salla: An afternoon programme at the Arctic Circle: gingerbread with Mrs Santa, the post office and a family photo with Santa.
  • Guided day from Kemijärvi: Five hours to the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi with a guide, lunch and winter clothing, picked up in Kemijärvi.

From Posio the cheapest way to meet Santa and the dearest are both in Rovaniemi, and between them sit two paid programmes that price in different ways.

The free meeting

The Rovaniemi office charges nothing to enter; what a family pays for is the road there and back, and anything bought in the village. How that day works from Posio is on Santa Claus from Posio.

The two paid programmes

The Salla programme and the guided day are not the same kind of purchase. One is an afternoon of crafts and a meeting at a price with no stated basis; the other is five hours with lunch, clothing and a guide, per person.1

The private end

Private visits in Rovaniemi start at 249 euros and reach 2,159 euros for a family of up to six outside the peak weeks, more in December, and they are compared on a private Santa visit from Posio.

Questions people ask

What can we cancel?

The guided day from Kemijärvi refunds in full if you cancel up to 24 hours before it starts. The Salla listing in this site's records says nothing about cancellation, so ask. Among the private visits in Rovaniemi, the cheapest refunds only if you cancel at least seven days ahead and charges everything after that, which is worth knowing before a long drive in doubtful weather.

Why is the Salla figure left out of the totals?

Because its listing prints 'from 105 euros' for an afternoon programme and does not say whether that is for one person or for a family. Multiplied by four it would be one number, taken once it would be another, and the listing supports neither. Ask the café which it is before comparing it with the per-person guided day.

Is the photo with Santa extra everywhere?

Not everywhere. The guided day's listing says photographs with Santa cost extra, and at the Rovaniemi office the meeting is free and the pictures are sold separately. The Salla programme names a family photo with Santa as part of the visit. On the day you choose, decide in advance whether you want the official photo or will take your own.

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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