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Snow Village from Ylläs: which trip to book

A castle built of ice blocks with towers and battlements, lit warm yellow from inside against a blue evening sky

Illustration photo: an ice castle at a winter festival, not the Snow Village at Lainio.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For the cheapest guided visit, and the one that sells child fares from birth, book Lapland Safaris' afternoon trip by coach. For an evening out, the same company's dinner trip seats you at ice tables for three courses. To arrive by snowmobile, Northwind Lapland's ride from Ylläsjärvi is the shorter and lists the entry ticket, while Safartica's takes five hours with transfers and winter clothing. Nothing runs before the Snow Village opens on 25 December.

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.

Lapland Safaris (YLWF010)Lapland Safaris (YLWF013)Northwind LaplandSafartica
Price €102 – the lowest price per person €183 €195 €198
How you get there Coach Coach Snowmobile, about 20–25 km Snowmobile
Length 2.5 h 3.5 h 2.5 h 5 h
Food Warm juice in the ice bar Three-course dinner Not included Hot drink and a sweet bun
Entry ticket Not stated Not stated Included Not stated
Children Child fares 0–3 and 4–14 Child fares 0–3 and 4–14 Not under 4 Not stated

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per person. All four price per person. Only price is marked: a dinner or a five-hour safari is not comparable with a short visit on price alone.

Where these figures come from
  • Lapland Safaris (YLWF010): The cheapest trip: a guided afternoon visit by coach with warm juice in the ice bar, three afternoons a week. Child fares for every age from birth.
  • Lapland Safaris (YLWF013): The evening trip: a guided visit and a three-course dinner at ice tables in the ice restaurant, by coach, three evenings a week. Drinks at the ice bar are extra.
  • Northwind Lapland: About 20 to 25 km by snowmobile from Ylläsjärvi with admission included, collected from your accommodation there but not from Äkäslompolo. No food or drink. Not under four.
  • Safartica: Five hours with transfers, winter clothing, a hot drink and a sweet bun. The longest trip of the four, and a driver's excess of up to 990 euros.

The Snow Village stands at Lainio in the municipality of Kittilä and is built again from snow and ice every winter. Its own page gives 25 December 2026 as the reopening date, and puts it about 15 kilometres from Ylläsjärvi by the shortest skiing route.1 Every trip below runs only once it is open.

By coach

Lapland Safaris sells two coach trips on different days. The afternoon visit, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, is the cheapest way there with a guide, serves warm juice in the ice bar and sells child fares down to babies. The dinner trip, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, adds a three-course dinner at ice tables and chairs in the ice restaurant, with drinks at the ice bar to buy.

By snowmobile

Northwind Lapland rides about 20 to 25 kilometres in total from Ylläsjärvi in two and a half hours, collects you from your accommodation in Ylläsjärvi and lists the entry ticket; it does not collect from Äkäslompolo. Safartica takes five hours, includes transfers and winter clothing and serves a hot drink and a sweet bun. Lapland Safaris also sells a four-and-a-half-hour snowmobile safari with the entrance fee and lunch, for 229 euros, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, listed under the table.

The same Snow Village from the other resort is compared in Snow Village from Levi. Snowmobile rides at Ylläs are compared in snowmobile safaris in Ylläs, and the rest of the resort is on the Ylläs destination page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can we visit before Christmas?

No. The Snow Village's own page says it is closed and opens again on 25 December 2026, with details of the new season to be published in the autumn. The trips from Ylläs appear in the operators' calendars before then, so check that your date falls after the opening before you pay, and expect the programme to be confirmed once the season is announced.

Is the entry ticket included?

Northwind Lapland lists admission among what its snowmobile trip includes, and Lapland Safaris' snowmobile safari lists the entrance fee. The coach and dinner trips from Lapland Safaris and Safartica's snowmobile trip describe a guided visit without naming the ticket on the parts of their pages that open without a date, so confirm it when you book.

Can we get there on our own?

Yes. The Snow Village's page names a bus from the tourist centres of Ylläs and Levi that runs daily while it is open, with tickets sold on the Matkahuolto website or by the driver. Going that way, you buy the bus and the entry ticket separately and plan your own time there.

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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