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In Finnish Lapland we did several amazing activities. Is Lapland on your bucketlist?! I fully understand! Finnish Lapland is a magical winter destination. In this blog post I will share the 10 best activities to do in in the Kittilä/Levi area of Finnish Lapland. Some unique experiences for sure!
The recommended organizations and activities below are based on my own personal experience. To get the best quality for the most affordable price, that is what I aim for, don’t you?! Keep in mind most activities mentioned in this article will only be available as long as there is enough snow. Please book your accommodation and activities months ahead as winter is a busy period of time, although Levi cannot be compared with Rovaniemi for instance (which is more touristy).
In this article
Snow Village
- Organization: Snow Village
- Location: Lainiotie 99 in Kittilä, 10min off the 80 highway between Ylläsjärvi and Kittilä
- Duration: 1-2 hours (open 10:00-22:00h in winter)
- Price: EUR 18 per person (entrance fee)
Each year, around 20 million kilos of snow and 350 000 kilos of crystal clear natural ice are used to build the spectacular Snow Village which changes in shape, size and design to amaze visitors year after year. Covering an area of about 20 000 square meters, the entire hotel was Game Of Thrones themed when we visited.
Snow Village is an amazing, beautiful annual creation. It was really nice to see all the different rooms, the Ice Chapel and have a drink at the Ice Bar. The Ice Restaurant is also open to external guests (EUR 60 p.p).. Since I actually appreciate my night’s sleep, we decided just to visit and not to sleep here. Good to know: only the snow suites include artistic wall decorations, not the standard rooms!
Reindeer safari
- Organization: Wolverine Fell Wilderness and Nature
- Location: 10 km southeast of Levi at Wolverine Lake
- Duration: 5 hours (11:00-16:00h)
- Price: EUR 195 euro per person
When you think of Lapland, it’s hard not to think of reindeer, right? Riding the sleigh with reindeer Tornado, who participates in reindeer race competitions, galloping through the snow gave me butterflies to my stomach and a big smile on my face. Another great experience I will not quickly forget!
Read the complete story in my earlier blog post Sleigh ride with reindeer Tornado in Finnish Lapland. We booked this activity as a ‘4-in-1’ package deal including lunch. There’s also a cheaper version with reindeer ride and burger only.
Ice fishing
- Organization: Wolverine Fell Wilderness and Nature
- Location: 10 km southeast of Levi at Wolverine Lake
- Duration: 1 hour
- Price: included in the reindeer safari
The ice fishing activity was in our case included in a ‘4-in-1’ package deal, in combination with the reindeer safari mentioned earlier. It’s also available within other packages starting from EUR 60 p.p. If you catch a fish, you will eat it for lunch!
Northern Light safari
- Organization: Lapin Luontoelämys (Finnish for Lapland’s Nature Experience) via Levi Tourist Office
- Location: Rautusjärvi Lake near Köngäs (pick up from Levi Tourist Information)
- Duration: 3,5 hours (20:00-23:30h)
- Price: from EUR 99 per person
Almost all commercial organizations in the area offer northern light safaris (Aurora Borealis). However, most of those tours go regardless the weather conditions, while your chance of seeing the Northern Lights strongly depends on the weather (and luck). A few organizations that can be booked via the Levi Tourist Information offer tours that only go if the sky is clear and the weather conditions give a reasonably good chance of seeing the northern lights.
Due to cloudy weather, our tour had to be postponed four times that week. Luckily we booked the Northern Light safari in the beginning of our stay, keeping our chances to see the Northern Lights open as long as possible. If you have a rental car, you could go out and explore on your own. However, the people of this organization know the area, where to go for the best Northern Light viewing. The pick-up was very close to our apartment, so very convenient.
We went to a warm cabin by the Rautusjärvi Lake near Köngäs, 20 minutes north of Levi by car. The staff helped us putting our snow shoes on and guided us to the middle of the lake. Temperatures drop dramatically when the sky is clear. It was -25° Celsius, freaking cold! My camera did not really work properly at this temperature.
The light rays were not as spectacular as you see on some famous Northern Lights pictures, but it was worth the experience! And a good excuse to go to Iceland next year 😉
- Northern Light Safari by Snowmobiles From Levi
- Levi Northern lights by snowmobile with BBQ
- Levi: Northern Lights Evening Van Tour with Barbecue
Husky safari
- Organization: Rami’s Huskies
- Location: 20 km east of Kittilä airport in the direction of Ylläsjärvi, just off the 80 highway
- Duration: various packages 1.5 to 4.5 hours (5 to 27 km)
- Price: EUR 90-320 per adult (depending on duration, children cheaper)
I love travel. And I love animals, especially dogs. Great to combine both! The possibility of going on a husky ride was actually one of my main reasons for wanting to go to Finnish Lapland. To see them in their natural environment.
An absolutely fantastic, must-do experience when going to Finnish Lapland. For the full story, check out my earlier blog post Tears of happiness: husky ride in Finnish Lapland. Rami’s gives great value for money and is the only one licensed to offer safaris through the magical Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park. Great to combine with Snow Village on the same day.
Cross-country skiing
- Organization: Zero Point
- Location: book & pick up at Zero Point, at the foot of the main ski slope in the center of Levi
- Duration: 1,5 hours
- Price: EUR 45 p.p. + EUR 28,50 for rental gear (3 hours)
Levi is a ski area with numerous ski slopes. I am an adventurous girl but I do not find myself suitable for skiing. Cross-country skiing on the other hand, is something I wanted to try. We booked a trial class and rented pairs of boots, skis and sticks. The minimum rental is for 3 hours. Our instructor Johanna, a friendly local, picked us up at Zero Point. Luckily we were the only ones in this class so we got a private lesson, great!
Cross-country skiing has similarities with regular skiing but with less height. Balance by using your body weight and bending your knees are very important. During this class we also went on a regular cross-country ski track through the forest. Physically challenging and tiring, as it requires a lot of concentration and usage of muscles you otherwise do not use so intense. Would not have want to miss it though!
Snow mobile safari
- Organization: various
- Location: Levi
- Duration: varies, we did 2,5 hours (45 km)
- Price: from EUR 99 per adult
We decided to book the snow mobile safari around the Kätkä fell, at the edge of the Pallas-Ylläs NP. This track takes a bit longer than most of the standard snow mobile safaris in the area and should be quieter. At about 2/3 of the safari we had a break with delicious warm waffles, home-made jam and hot berry juice in a wooden cabin in the middle of nowhere!
There are possibilities for longer, custom-made safaris of up to 6 hours, or to rent a snow mobile and drive around yourself. Snowmobile rental is a possibility that comes with more freedom than group safaris, but also involves more risks. We found and helped a guy who hit a tree and got stuck in the deep snow! This activity requires a buff people!
We shared a snow mobile and switched half-way. I had driven a snow mobile once before in the mountains of Beirut, but that was some time ago and under different conditions. It was snowing pretty hard and got dark already around 14:30h. Getting control of a snow mobile with someone else on the back, especially on a very bumpy track, was not as easy as it seemed, yet we had so much fun! Racing 60 km p/h on this snow track was incredibly cool. Big smile on my face when we got back!
Check out the various snow mobile tour options in the Levi area:
- Snowmobiling Adventure in Levi
- Snowmobile & Ice Fishing in Levi
- Half-Day Snowmobile Tour in Lapland
- Lapland Snowmobile Safari from Levi
- Ice Karting and Snowmobiling in Levi
Ice karting
- Organization: G2 Ice Karting Levi
- Location: between Kittilä airport and Levi town (±30 min on foot or 5 min by car from Levi’s town center)
- Duration: 30-60 min
- Price: EUR 80 per person for 2 heats
I have done the kart racing before, but never on ice, so that sounded like something I needed to do. And I must say, that it was really cool. My boyfriend actually said that this was THE best activity of our whole Lapland trip haha
This video is not mine but gives a good impression of the experience:
Show shoeing
- Organization: various
- Location: Kittilä/Levi area
- Price: varies per package
Walking with snow shoes was in our case included in two other activities we have done: the reindeer safari and the northern light safari. The snow shoes are pretty comfy and easy to put on with straps. Snow-shoeing is a form of hiking. It’s quite a physical exercise, especially going uphill and ‘off track’.
As a first-timer, snow-shoeing for about an hour is just enough to keep it fun and attainable for everyone. You get to see pieces of nature you would otherwise not; it is definitely worth to get a bit sweaty for!
Also very cool: Snowshoeing in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park.
Sauna
Saunas from Finland are famous and exported globally. I love going to the sauna; it’s healthy and very relaxing. Sauna in Finland is a different experience than back home, relaxing in my favorite saunas in The Netherlands. Saunas in Finland seem to be mostly either home-based or combined with a public pool (and children). In the Levi area there are more than two thousand saunas, but only about 10 of them can be rented privately.
If you can find yourself a nice wooden holiday home in the Kittilä/Levi area with a sauna included, you should be fine, enjoy! Levi Spa‘s Water World, in the center of Levi, next to Burger King, can be fun – when you have your own or don’t mind small kids in your sauna. Just don’t let the name fool you; it’s more a regular pool with a few saunas than a true spa (as in wellness). Not the type of relaxation I was looking for, but fun for families.
More activities
Staying longer than a week in Levi, Sirkka, Kittilä or Köngäs, or looking for other entertainment? No worries, the following activities are also available in the area:
- Arcandia Artic Adventure Park
- Samiland
- Skiing and snowboarding
- Fat bike or e-bike
- Elves Village Tonttula
- Kick sledge
- Horse riding
- Hiking
- Bowling
- Bar hopping, for example to Old Mates, Bar Ihku and Panimo
Especially relevant: make sure you wear the right, affordable Lapland outfit to enjoy these activities the most!
By the way, the only ATM we could find in town is located outside at Levi Hotel Spa, next to the Classic Pizzeria joint, and close to the main roundabout at the Tourist Office. Around New Years it was empty for a few days, so we had to go to Kittilä airport for cash.
Map Levi
This map includes places and spots mentioned in this article (and more). This one is ‘smartphone friendly’; you can easily use it via the Google Maps app. Click the icon at the top left to open the menu and see the categories. To adapt the map to your own preferences and interests, (de)select a category. Via Google Drive you can copy the map to your own My Google Maps account.
Do you have Finnish Lapland on your bucket list? I hope you found this article useful and inspirational to visit Levi. Please feel free to leave a comment below this article in case you have any additional tips or questions. And please do share it on social media, so more people will be able to find and read it. Enjoy your trip to Winter Wonderland!
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Last Updated on 05/06/2023 by Elisa Flitter Fever
