Santa Claus in Utsjoki: where the nearest meeting is
Illustration photo: a frozen river valley between bare fells, not in Utsjoki.
The short answer
If the children should meet Santa, drive to Inari: the hotel there sells a private visit for a family in the weeks around Christmas, and it is the shortest trip south. Go on to Ivalo or Saariselkä only if you want a sleigh ride to Santa or an afternoon of elves and reindeer around him. Rovaniemi's free office is too far for a day trip and suits the journey in or out.
Utsjoki has no Santa Claus of its own on sale. The village’s tourist site lists twenty-one things to do in the municipality, and he is not one of them.1
Inari: the nearest
The hotel in Inari village, 93 minutes south by road, sells a private visit for a family: a short walk to Santa’s secret place, twenty to forty minutes with him and presents for everyone, from late November to early January, booked by email.2 What it includes is set out on private Santa visit in Inari.
Ivalo and Saariselkä: further south
Ivalo, 125 minutes away, has private visits at a reindeer farm and a husky farm, and Saariselkä, 149 minutes away, has several more as well as an afternoon programme with an elf, reindeer and gingerbread around a meeting in Santa’s cabin.3 They are matched to different parties on the best Santa Claus visit from Utsjoki.
Rovaniemi: free, and far
Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus office costs nothing to enter and is open all year, as meeting Santa Claus in Rovaniemi sets out. It is also 320 minutes from Utsjoki, more than five hours each way. For a family that flies into or out of Rovaniemi, it fits on that day of travel; as a trip from Utsjoki, it does not.
If Santa is the reason for the holiday, Utsjoki is a long way from most of him. If Utsjoki is the reason and Santa would be a bonus, Inari is the realistic drive. The reindeer outings closer to home are compared on best reindeer tour in Utsjoki.
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)A private sleigh ride to Santa near Ivalo, with a gift for each visitor
Run by Ivalo Reindeer Farm
From €490per group of up to 4
Length0.7 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Is there anything Christmassy in Utsjoki itself?
Not as a programme with Santa. What Utsjoki sells in winter is reindeer, huskies, snowmobiles, ice fishing and the northern lights, and several of its reindeer outings are exactly the picture a child has of Christmas: a sleigh behind a reindeer, a herder's farm, a fire in a lávvu. The herding family's forty-minute day ride is the fullest of them.
Can we book the Inari visit if we are not staying at the hotel?
The hotel's page does not say. It takes Santa bookings by email to its sales team rather than through a booking system, so write to ask whether guests staying elsewhere can book, and which dates are free, in the same message. Allow for a reply before you plan the drive around it.
Does the Saariselkä programme need booking far ahead?
It is sold for set times rather than as a walk-in, and before the day the organiser emails a questionnaire so that Santa can greet each child by name, so book early enough to return it. Its page does not print exact dates for the season or any cancellation terms, so ask both before paying, particularly when a long drive depends on the date.