Lapland travel tips

British Airways has added Lapland to its list, and checked it twice, as it prepares to launch new flights to Santa Claus’s home region this winter. Departing from London Gatwick, new twice-weekly flights will launch on 3 December 2024 and fly customers to Ivalo, which is home to Finland’s most northerly airport.

This is part of Travel Firsts, a series featuring trips that required a leap of faith or marked a major life milestone.

Visit Finland has hired a special new influencer to promote a new marketing campaign.

Get out the eggnog! Because all the fun with Santa starts very soon.

You can visit his twinkly grotto 365 days a year at the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, just five miles south of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland — and a 3.5-hour direct flight from the UK. The resort runs an Elf Academy, welcoming ‘little helpers’ and offering reindeer-driven sleigh rides. It’s also home to Santa Park, which features an ice-sculpture gallery and elfin workshops making gingerbread. If you want to venture out of town, there’s husky sledding and aurora-chasing.

Every year, Santa is the main attraction in Finnish Lapland. But there’s so much more to discover in this winter wonderland.

It’s almost that time of year again, when the nights get longer, the temperature drops and the smell of Pumpkin Spiced Lattes is in the air. Not only will autumn (hopefully) bring relief from summer's extreme heatwaves, it will also treat us to stunning fall colours.