Lapland Region

Lapland is the Wild North of Finland. Outside cities wilderness – with half-wild reindeer – is everywhere. Even by the roads the distances between villages are long and villages on the map may be home only to a few families, some even uninhabited part of the year.

Lapland has traditionally been home for the Sámi people, who for centuries have got their living from this barren region, mainly from fishing, hunting and reindeer husbandry. In the northernmost municipalities they are a sizeable minority, within some regions even majority. Most tourist enterprises – especially those not Sámi – from Rovaniemi onward draw on Sámi culture, offering you invented "genuine" rituals etc. Take it for what it is and just enjoy – or avoid such programmes. Genuine Sámi culture is better experienced in community centres, at cultural events and using services of Sámi tourist businesses (which often do not make any notion about their ethnicity). In southern Lapland the original Sámi population integrated with the Finnish and disappeared, but many from the North study or work in Rovaniemi or the southern cities. Rovaniemi, Oulu, and Helsinki have the largest Sámi population in Finland by the number!

There is not too much history to see. At the end of the Second World War, the retreating German troops implemented a scorched Earth policy to punish their Finnish allies for agreeing to peace with the Soviet Union, razing everything in their path. This episode is known as the Lapland War (Finnish: Lapin sota, Sámi: Lappi soahti). The war lasted only from September 1944 to April 1945 but by the time they were done, some 100,000 people had fled, 675 bridges were blown up, all major roads were mined, and the capital Rovaniemi had only 13 houses left standing. However, it might be useful to understand that before this sad episode, locals and the German troops had a rather deep friendship from which the tourist can still find exciting relics.

From Sweden, the border towns of Haparanda and Tornio are the main alternative. Train and coach services across the border seldom reach farther than to the other of these towns, which share a more or less invisible border. There are several border crossings farther north, notably Karesuando/Karesuvanto (along E45), but the few coaches from the rest of Sweden to there do not cross the border.

From Norway, there are at least seasonal coach connections via Kilpisjärvi (from Tromsø) and Utsjoki (via Tana. perhaps serving also Nuorgam), possibly via Hetta (via Kautokeino) and Karigasniemi (via Karasjok). No coaches via Näätämö (but it is only 15 km from Neiden on E6).

The border to Russia is closed as of mid 2020s, but you might be able to come in via Norway.

By plane:

Flying is the fastest means of reaching much of Lapland, but for most destinations services are sparse and prices often steep. There are commercial airports in Hetta ("Enontekiö"), Ivalo, Kemi, Kittilä and Rovaniemi. Best options for airlines are Finnair and Norwegian. Air Baltic flies to Rovaniemi and Kittilä from Riga. The coaches mostly drive via the airports. In addition to the regular flights, mostly from Helsinki, there are seasonal flights and charter flights from abroad in season.

By train:

Most of Lapland is reachable only by bus or car, but even when there is no train service to your destination, using the train for the first leg often makes sense. For some destinations you can buy a combined train/coach-ticket, also otherwise the transfer is usually smooth.