Santa Claus in Ylläs
Illustration photo: a wrapped gift in the snow, not at Ylläs.
The short answer
If you want Santa without leaving Ylläs and are staying in a cottage, book the private visit: he comes to you or you go to his cabin, and the price covers the family. If you would rather make an outing of it among other families, Levi is the nearer trip, with booked programmes. If Santa is the centre of the holiday, give Rovaniemi a whole day, where you can also meet him without booking.
Ylläs has a Santa of its own, who visits one family at a time. For a family that wants other things from the day, the choice is still a trip to Levi or Rovaniemi.
At Ylläs
Moment with Santa sells three private visits: Santa at your cottage door, Santa arriving with his reindeer, or your family at his cabin outside Äkäslompolo.1 What happens on each is on a private Santa visit in Ylläs, and what each costs a family on Santa Claus prices in Ylläs.
Levi: the nearer trip
Levi and Ylläs share Kittilä Airport, about fifteen and thirty-five kilometres away respectively,2 and the Ylläs tourist site lists buses via the airport as well as taxis.3 In Levi every Santa meeting is a booked programme, from a short private meeting to an afternoon in an elf park, and they are compared in the Levi Santa guide. Book one for a set time, then plan the journey around it.
Rovaniemi: the long day
Rovaniemi is about two hours’ drive from Ylläs, and the tourist site advises a car or taxi for it. It is the place to go if you want the free walk-in visit as well as the paid programmes, and the choice there is set out in meeting Santa Claus in Rovaniemi. Four hours on the road is a lot for small children, so keep the rest of that day empty.
The rest of the resort is on the Ylläs destination page.
Tours you can book
Santa at your holiday cottage in Ylläs
Run by Moment with Santa
From €270per group
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)Santa and his reindeer at your holiday cottage
Run by Moment with Santa
From €570per group
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)A visit to Santa's hidden cabin near Äkäslompolo
Run by Moment with Santa
From €760per group
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Can we meet Santa at Ylläs without booking?
Not that we found. Every Santa meeting on sale at Ylläs is a private visit booked in advance, and the operator asks families to check availability by email first. A walk-in meeting is a Rovaniemi thing: plan a day there if the children should be able to just turn up.
Which Levi programme suits small children?
The Levi guide points families with small children to the short private meeting or the sled ride to a cabin, which keep the afternoon manageable, and older children to the snowshoe hike. Add the journey from Ylläs to whichever you choose, because it lengthens the day for the youngest most.
Will a Levi programme collect us from Ylläs?
Do not assume so. The Levi programmes are sold as outings from Levi, and none of the listings checked for the Levi guide mentions a pickup at Ylläs. Ask the operator when booking, and otherwise plan the bus or a taxi so that you arrive before the booked time.