Santa Station in Ylitornio: what the ticket includes
Illustration photo: a train in winter, not the station described here.
The short answer
Book it as a day rather than an appointment. The 47-euro ticket is valid for the day and covers meeting Santa, seeing and feeding the reindeer, decorating gingerbread, making Christmas crafts and the outdoor snow activities, all inside a converted railway station. Five things can cost extra, among them skating, the café and a printed photo with Santa, so take your own camera. The site is wheelchair-accessible.
Ylitornio’s Santa attraction is a converted railway station on the Swedish border, and its ticket buys a day rather than an appointment.
What 47 euros covers
Meeting Santa, seeing the reindeer and feeding them lichen, decorating gingerbread that has been baked that morning, making decorations from cardboard and yarn, hanging ornaments on the tree, and borrowing a hobby reindeer to ride through the snow. The outdoor ice and snow activities are included too, with the listing’s own caveat that they depend on the weather.
What costs extra
Five things, named on the listing: handicraft and do-it-yourself sessions, skating, the café, the souvenir shop and a printed photograph with Santa. The last is the one worth planning for, because the meeting is included and the print is not. The listing’s advice to bring a camera is the practical response.
How it compares with Rovaniemi
Meeting Santa in Rovaniemi costs nothing, as meeting Santa Claus in Rovaniemi sets out: his office is free to walk into and open all year. Ylitornio charges a ticket and gives you a programme instead. For a family staying in the west of Lapland that programme, and not the drive, is what the money buys.
The husky farm nearby is described on husky safari in Ylitornio, and the rest of the area on the Ylitornio destination page.
Tours you can book
An entry ticket to the Santa Station, with Santa and reindeer
Run by Santa Station
From €47per person
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
What costs extra?
The listing names five things: local handicraft and do-it-yourself experiences, skating, the café and food services, the souvenir shop, and a printed photograph with Santa. The photograph is the one that catches families out, because the meeting itself is included and the print is not, so bring a camera or a phone with a charged battery and take your own.
What is a hobby reindeer?
A stick horse with a reindeer's head, borrowed at the station and ridden through the snow, which sounds odd written down and works very well on children. It is part of the ticket, along with the outdoor snow activities, which the listing notes are subject to the weather rather than guaranteed.
Is this better than Rovaniemi for Santa?
It is different rather than better. Meeting Santa in Rovaniemi costs nothing, because his office is free to walk into and open all year, while Ylitornio charges 47 euros for a ticketed day with a fixed programme of crafts, gingerbread and reindeer. If you are staying in western Lapland, that programme is the point and the drive is short; if you are in Rovaniemi already, the free meeting is on your doorstep.