1 Week in Finnish Lapland: Our Family Itinerary from Levi

Some trips end with a worn-out checklist of every sight I managed to see. Then there are those trips where I come home thinking:

“Did we really do all of that in one week?”

Our week up in Finnish Lapland fell squarely into that second category. We picked Levi as our home base so we could catch every bit of magic the region has to offer, though we drew a hard line at giving up one thing

skiing.

Since we’re big skiers, Levi turned out to be ideal for us. The mountain is great, and our apartment sat just a short walk from the lifts. We rented our boots and skis right in town, which meant we

Our 1-Week Lapland Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Levi & our first Northern Lights hunt

How Cold Is Lapland in Winter?

Let’s start with the obvious.

It can be seriously cold.

When I say cold, I mean the kind of deep frost that instantly explains why Finns take their winter gear so seriously. We went right around Christmas, and temperatures stayed well below freezing the whole time. If you’re actively moving—

This is not the trip to underestimate the cold.

Something We Had to Get Used To: The Light

The light was another thing that threw us off for those first few days.

It never really gets light.

We spent Christmas up in Levi, and coming from the Netherlands, the total lack of proper sun was a shock to the system. You don’t get the bright daylight we’re used to back home. Instead, midday brings this

“Is it really only 11 o’clock?”

Honestly though, you adapt pretty quickly. After a few days, the pitch-black afternoons just feel like part of the adventure. And all that darkness actually brings one massive perk:

Northern Lights season.

Day 1 – Arriving in Levi

After the long journey north, stepping inside our apartment in Levi felt like such a relief. The girls barely dropped their bags by the door before discovering what instantly became one of their favorite things about the place.

The sauna.

The moment we walked into our apartment, the girls

Our First Northern Lights Hunt

Once dinner was cleared away, we pulled up our Aurora forecast app for the very first time. The numbers looked promising enough, so we bundled into every warm layer we owned and stepped out past the edge of the village. We wanted to escape

Bright green, dancing curtains of light stretching across the sky.

What we actually got was way quieter—just a faint, bluish haze hovering above us. Was that really it? We honestly couldn’t tell. There were no dramatic movements, and it was nowhere near the bright green curtains

We had probably seen the Northern Lights on our very first night.

Looking back, we’d probably seen the Northern Lights on our very first night. We just hadn’t recognized them, which became one of our biggest lessons from the whole trip:

Take the photo, even when you’re not sure.

Oddly enough, your phone camera often picks up the green glow before your naked eyes even register it. Chasing the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland was nothing like we’d imagined, so we later wrote down everything we

Day 2 – Skiing & Arcandia

Our first proper day in Levi kicked off with clear skies and snow so dry it squeaked beneath our boots. We spent the morning carving down slopes that felt surprisingly uncrowded, stopping only when our toes numbly demanded hot berry juice from a small wooden hut near the lifts. By late afternoon, as the low Arctic sun dipped out of sight, we swapped our ski gear for heavy parkas and

With skiing.

We pulled on our gear, grabbed our skis, and walked right to the slopes. No car, no ski bus, no annoying logistics—just step outside and go. We spent the morning out on the snow, soaking in the

Arcandia

We headed over to Arcandia later in the afternoon, and our timing was spot on. Dusk was already settling in, totally shifting the mood as the lights flickered on. It made for a refreshing break from skiing, husky rides

We didn’t have to choose.

We could just combine them. Once dinner wrapped, we checked the Aurora app again.

Day 3 – Husky Safari & Afternoon Skiing

Today started with a lot of barking.

Husky safari day.

We stepped out into the chilly morning air and were instantly surrounded by eager huskies, practically vibrating with excitement to get moving. That jittery wait right before the anchor pulls up—when the barking reaches a fever pitch—is almost as

Back to Levi

Once the safari finished, we pulled back into Levi for lunch. We were freezing, starving, and desperate for something steaming hot. But the big question was:

Did we still have enough energy to ski?

we hadn’t locked ourselves into skiing that afternoon…”)
* Saw how everyone felt? Yes (“…choosing instead to gauge everyone’s energy first.”)
* Morning excursions priority, ski bonus? Yes (“

Day 4 – Snowshoeing & Skiing

By the next morning, we needed to slow things down a bit. At least for a couple of hours. We traded our skis for snowshoes, which felt like a totally different world. Instead of rushing downhill,

Ski? Or rest?

Since we still had a bit of juice left in the tank, we clipped back into our skis for a couple of hours. There was zero pressure to stay out until our legs completely gave out—we just soaked in the fresh air,

Day 5 – Snowmobile Tour & More Skiing

By morning, we were swapping our slow snowshoes for a pair of snowmobiles. Roaring across the snow gave us a totally fresh view of Lapland. Instead of creeping through the pines, we were suddenly eating

Excursion in the morning.

Lunch.

Skiing if we still had energy.

Dinner.

Northern Lights hunt.

And honestly?
We loved it.

Every Evening – Chasing the Northern Lights

Chasing the Northern Lights wasn’t just a one-and-done tour we booked for a single evening. It turned into our nightly ritual. Every time dinner wrapped up, we’d pull out the Aurora app and start

Christmas Day – Finally, Green Northern Lights

Christmas Day brought us the green lights we’d been hoping for. This time, there was no doubt—a distinct green glow stretched across the sky. It still caught us off guard, though. To the naked eye, the display was

Boxing Day – Our Best Northern Lights Night

Boxing Day turned out to be our absolute best night for the Northern Lights. After dinner, we pulled up our forecast app and saw the conditions were finally lining up. We headed back outside, and this time, our phone screens

Green, dancing lights.

There they were at last—the classic Northern Lights we’d dreamed of finding. Sure, the dancing was still a lot more obvious through a camera lens than to the naked eye, but watching those green bands sweep across the

We just didn’t know it.

If you’re planning your own Northern Lights trip, take this one lesson to heart:

Take the photo.

Your iPhone will often catch faint colors your naked eyes miss, so don’t expect the aurora to look like those polished photos online. I’ve seen it drift softly in green or blue, sometimes leaping across the sky and other

Day 6 – Skiing, Swimming & Sauna

After several packed mornings on the move, we finally dialed things back. We headed back out onto the slopes, where every turn felt natural—we’d genuinely found our groove by now. Splurging a few hours on the snow

Swimming & Sauna

After days of husky sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and skiing, slipping into the pool and sauna was sheer heaven. Soaking in that deep heat was just what we needed. If you’re

Day 7 – One Last Ski & Finnish Food

This was our last full day in Lapland, and we simply couldn’t leave without one final ski. Out on the cold slopes for our last runs, I loved how natural the whole thing felt. Skiing hadn

It was part of it.

After coming off the slopes, we hung around Levi for a bit. But there was still one last thing we wanted to do:

eat!

Finnish Food in Lapland

Tasting our way through Lapland turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. The local menus revolve around hearty, fresh ingredients—salmon, wild berries, earthy mushrooms, and reindeer. After an afternoon outdoors

Day 8 – Goodbye, Lapland

Just like that, seven days in Finnish Lapland blinked by. We packed up our heavy winter gear, dropped off our rented skis and boots, and made our way to the airport.

Setting up base in Levi turned out

How to Plan a Week in Lapland

Our biggest takeaway from this trip?

You can fit a lot into one week in Finnish Lapland without constantly feeling like you’re rushing from one activity to another.

Our secret to a stress-free week? Setting up camp in one spot. We stayed put in Levi for the full seven days instead of wasting precious daylight packing bags and changing hotels.

We scheduled our heavy-

Would We Do It Again?

In a heartbeat. For us, Levi struck the perfect balance between great skiing and winter magic. We managed to hit the slopes almost every day without missing out on traditional Lapland life. We just stacked our days: a morning

You don’t have to choose between a ski holiday and a Lapland adventure.

You really can have both. If trying to piece the logistics together feels overwhelming, let me design your Lapland trip for you. I’ll build a custom, family-friendly plan around what you actually want to do

It’s the one that gives your family the best memories.

Read our Lapland Packing List for more tips and inspiration.

Read our How to Visit Finnish for more tips and inspiration.

Read our Family Hotels in Finnish for more tips and inspiration.