Finland Tour — Lapland, Northern Lights, Glass Igloo & Santa Claus Village

Breakfast at the hotel, then a short walk or tram ride to the West Terminal for your morning sailing. Around 10:30 hrs, cross the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn, Estonia — roughly 2 hours by fast ferry, with open-deck views of the frozen archipelago on the way out.

• Spend the day in Tallinn Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe, still ringed by its 13th-century wall and 20 surviving defence towers.
• Town Hall Square — the 600-year-old Gothic town hall, and Raeapteek alongside it, a pharmacy trading continuously since 1422.
• Toompea Hill — the onion domes of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and the Kohtuotsa viewing platform looking out over the red-tiled roofs to the harbour.
• St. Olaf’s Church — briefly the tallest building in the world in the 16th century.
• Lunch is at your own arrangement; the cellar restaurants around Vene and Viru streets are the atmospheric choice on a cold day.

Return sailing in the evening, reaching Helsinki around 21:00 hrs, then transfer back to the hotel.

Overnight Stay in Helsinki

Carry your passports for the day — Estonia is a separate Schengen state and identity checks are made at the terminal.

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out and leave your bags with reception for the day. Board the Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing bus, which loops the city centre with commentary and lets you get off wherever you like.

• Temppeliaukio Rock Church — blasted directly into solid granite in 1969, roofed with 22 km of coiled copper wire.
• Senate Square and the white neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral, the city’s defining postcard.
• Sibelius Monument — 600 hollow steel pipes welded into a wave, honouring Finland’s national composer.
• Market Square and the Old Market Hall for hot salmon soup and a coffee out of the cold.

Late afternoon, collect your luggage and transfer to Helsinki Central Station.

• Around 19:00 hrs, board the Santa Claus Express — the overnight sleeper north to Lapland. Your private sleeper cabin is booked with beds made up for the night.
• The train covers roughly 830 km while you sleep. Dinner is available in the restaurant car, and you wake to spruce forest under deep snow.

Overnight on board the Santa Claus Express

Pack an overnight bag with what you need on the train — cabin storage is limited, and it saves opening the large cases in a narrow compartment.

The train pulls into Rovaniemi, capital of Finnish Lapland, at around 08:00 hrs. Breakfast is served on board before arrival. Private transfer to your hotel. Rooms may not be ready this early — luggage can be stored and you can freshen up while you wait.

• Collect your thermal outer suit, boots, gloves and balaclava for the Lapland days. These are supplied on each tour, but it is worth checking the fit today rather than in the dark at −20°C.
• The day is deliberately light — you have come off a night train, and every evening here runs late.
• Rovaniemi’s compact centre was rebuilt after 1944 to a plan by Alvar Aalto laid out in the shape of a reindeer’s head; the Lordi Square area is a 10-minute walk end to end.
• Around 20:00 hrs, depart for the Guaranteed Northern Lights Tour with Photography, operated by Polar Lapland.
• The guides track cloud cover and the auroral oval live and drive to wherever the sky is clearest — sometimes over 100 km — rather than to a fixed spot.
• A professional photographer shoots you under the lights on a tripod-mounted camera; the images are shared afterwards at no extra cost.

This tour carries a 100% money-back guarantee — if the aurora does not appear, the tour cost is refunded.

Return to the hotel late, typically between 23:30 and 01:00 hrs.

Overnight Stay in Rovaniemi

Hotel check-in time at the hotel is 14:00. Early check in will be surcharged by the Hotel and the availability is not guaranteed

Breakfast at the hotel, then pick-up at around 09:30 hrs for the Santa Claus Village, Husky and Reindeer Combo Safari.

• Santa Claus Village, 8 km north of town, sits directly on the Arctic Circle — the line is painted across the ground and lit at night.
• Meet Santa Claus in his office. He receives visitors here every day of the year, and the meeting itself is free; photographs are handled by the official studio and charged separately.
• The Main Post Office will postmark a card with the Arctic Circle stamp, or hold it for delivery at Christmas.
• You receive an Arctic Circle crossing certificate.

Husky safari — a briefing at the kennel, then out on a sled through the forest trail. Couples share a sled and take turns driving and riding, with time afterwards to meet the dogs.

• Reindeer sledge ride — a slower, quieter counterpoint, guided by a Sami herder, ending with hot berry juice by the fire and your official reindeer driving licence.
• Return to the hotel by late afternoon for a rest before the evening.
• Around 19:30 hrs, depart on the Northern Lights Hunt with Lappish Barbecue, operated by Nordic Unique Travels.
• A smaller, slower evening than yesterday’s chase — a wilderness camp away from light pollution, an open campfire, grilled sausages and hot berry juice while you watch the sky.

Overnight Stay in Rovaniemi

Two aurora evenings back to back is deliberate — the lights are a weather event, and a second night roughly doubles the odds of a clear sky.

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out. Around 10:00 hrs, transfer out for Daytime Arctic Ice Floating on a frozen lake outside Rovaniemi, operated by Nordic Adventures Oy in a small group.

• You are sealed into a thermal survival suit that keeps you completely dry and warm, then step into a hole cut through the lake ice and simply float on your back.
• Body heat is retained by the suit, so the water temperature is never felt directly — most people describe it as weightless and unexpectedly quiet.
• Guides are in the water with you throughout and take photographs. No swimming ability is required.
• Warm up afterwards by the fire with hot drinks.

Late afternoon, transfer to your glass-roofed igloo and check in before dark.

• The igloos are heated year-round, with a thermal glass dome over the bed. The glass is treated to stay clear of snow and frost, so the sky is visible from where you are lying.
• There is an aurora wake-up alert — the property calls if the lights appear during the night. Set out a warm layer within reach before you sleep.
• A quiet evening with nothing scheduled. This is the night to stay in and keep watching.

Overnight Stay in a Glass Igloo, Rovaniemi

Hotel check-in time at the hotel is 14:00. Early check in will be surcharged by the Hotel and the availability is not guaranteed

Wake up under the glass and take your time over breakfast — the light in Lapland at this hour is worth sitting with.

• Check out and transfer to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN), 10 km from the centre, roughly 15 minutes.
• If your schedule allows, there is time on the way for last purchases in town — Lappish knives, birch wood, cloudberry preserve and reindeer leather are the things actually made here.
• Reach the airport 2 hours before a domestic connection and 3 hours before an international departure. Winter mornings can mean de-icing delays.

Claim your VAT refund before security if you have shopped — the desk is landside and cannot be used once you are through.

Connect via Helsinki for your onward flight home to Bangalore, carrying the certificate, the reindeer licence and a set of photographs under the aurora.

Tour Concludes

Hotel check-out time is 11:00. Late check out will be surcharged by the Hotel and the availability is not guaranteed