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Santa Claus price in Ranua: fares, family totals and refunds

Hands in patterned woollen mittens holding out a brown gift box tied with red and white string and a sprig of fir

Illustration photo: a wrapped present in mittened hands, not at any visit named here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For two adults and two children aged three to fourteen, the forest cabin costs 440 euros and the guided day to Rovaniemi 670 euros with lunch and a printed photo. A Christmas escape room costs the four of you 100 euros, and the free office in Rovaniemi costs only the drive. Any change of plan has to reach the resort at least fourteen days ahead: after that, it refunds nothing.

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's secret cabinDay to the Santa Claus VillageChristmas escape roomSanta Claus Office, by car
Adult €125 €195 €80 to €120 per room Free
Child €95, ages 3 to 14 €140, ages 3 to 14 Priced per room Free
Under 3 Free Free Not stated Free
Two adults, two children €440 €670 €100 Free
Photo with Santa Poses for your photos Printed photo included No Santa Sold separately
Getting there Starts at the resort Leaves from the resort At the resort 82 km each way

Not ranked: a short visit, a day out, a game and a drive are not the same purchase. Totals are for children aged 3 to 14.

Where these figures come from
  • Santa's secret cabin: Forty-five minutes: a sleigh ride into the forest and ten to fifteen minutes with Santa, with a small gift.
  • Day to the Santa Claus Village: Six hours from Ranua to Rovaniemi and back, with a guide, lunch, a printed photo with Santa and time to shop.
  • Christmas escape room: An hour's Christmas puzzle for your own party, in either of two rooms at the same prices; no Santa in the room.
  • Santa Claus Office, by car: The meeting at his office in the Santa Claus Village, free to enter, about an hour's drive from Ranua each way.

Every paid Santa option in Ranua is priced by the same resort, per adult and per child, except the escape room, which is priced per party. The totals below are for two adults and two children aged three to fourteen.

What the fares cover

The cabin’s price buys forty-five minutes: the lent clothing and helmet, the sleigh ride and the meeting, with a small gift from Santa.1 Its page mentions Santa posing for photos but no printed photo for sale, so bring a camera. The guided day costs half as much again for four and fills six hours, with lunch and a printed photo included. In December a snow playground can be added to that day, which takes the family’s total to 870 euros.

Getting money back

The resort’s terms for single activity bookings allow free cancellation up to fourteen days before the booked day, and nothing can be changed or cancelled after that.2 For a winter visit planned from far away, that is the number to keep in mind: a child’s fever in the last fortnight costs the full fare.

The three-night package

The Northern Tales package, which includes an activity called Secret Santa, is priced from 2,262 euros for two adults and 635 euros for each child, so 3,532 euros for the family of four, with three nights in a holiday villa, breakfasts and three more activities.3 As a package trip it falls under the package travel terms rather than the fourteen-day rule.

Which option suits which family is on the best Santa Claus visit in Ranua.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is a Wildlife Park ticket included in any of these?

Not in the cabin visit or the guided day, whose pages do not mention the park. The Northern Tales package includes a guided tour of the park. A family buying tickets separately pays 74 euros for two adults and children aged four to fourteen in the web shop, or 80 at the gate, and the resort does not refund park tickets except in cases of force majeure.

Is the Northern Tales package cheaper than booking the parts separately?

That cannot be worked out from what the resort publishes. The package's parts, apart from possibly the Santa visit, are not priced on their own anywhere we found, and the package page does not say whether its Secret Santa is the forest cabin. Ask the reception for the separate prices of the parts you would actually use before deciding that three nights with everything included is the better deal.

When do we pay, and can we book on the day?

The resort takes payment for single activity bookings when you book, not on the day. You can book on the spot at the resort, but such bookings are binding and paid when confirmed, so the fourteen-day cancellation window does not apply to them. With only eight places per cabin visit, a family arriving in December without a booking should not count on a same-day slot.

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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