How expensive is a trip through Lapland? And what to budget for a holiday to Lapland in Finland? Many blogs will say Lapland is a super expensive destination. We visited Lapland in Finland and to be honest, many expenses and costs were not too bad at all! In this blog, we will tell you how much money we spend on our trip through Finnish Lapland and what a good budget for Lapland is! We will also share some budget tips, give you an idea of what general travel expenses are in Lapland and indicate a realistic daily budget for Lapland.
Is Lapland in Finland expensive? Or can you travel Lapland on a small budget?
Finland is certainly not cheap. Activities, accommodation and alcohol are expensive. Lapland is hard to travel on a small budget, backpacking is not really an option here. That said, we would have expected Lapland in Finland to be way more expensive than it truly was.
We made this trip together with our friends Thomas and Christine. Because we were travelling with four, some things such as accommodation, car and gasoline were a lot cheaper. However, we were not budgeting as much as usual, this was a more luxurious holiday for us. Especially in terms of activities, we have not looked at prices at all.
Our budget for travelling in Finnish Lapland!
First a disclaimer: during this trip, we were no extreme budget backpackers. By this, I mean that we never stayed in a dormitory and didn’t cut back on activities. On the other hand, we certainly do not travel luxuriously either. Everyone travels in his own way and has different priorities. That is completely fine, but keep this in mind when you read through our expenses. It can always be more expensive or cheaper!
We spend €231,80 per person per day in Finnish Lapland. This is, of course, a big amount, but keep in mind we were only in Lapland for five days. Also, we did all the activities we wanted to do in these five days. Our trip was in the high season ( December – March) meaning prices are up. Finally, we stayed in cool accommodations and lodges, which were not cheap at all. If you want, you can travel for much less money in Lapland in Finland.
During this trip, we had a number of collaborations with companies, which gave us discounts on activities or accommodation. I didn’t include these discounts in the calculation below since I want to give a representative picture of the actual prices in Lapland in Finland.
What were our total spendings in Lapland in Finland?
Total spend: €2318/ $2628
Spendings per person: €1159/ $ 1314
Daily spendings per person: €231,80/ $262,80
Flight tickets: €632/ $716
Accommodation (4 nights): €490/ $555
These expenses include airline tickets and are based on two people. I have calculated the prices and exchange rates Euro / Dollar at the time of this trip. The currencies displayed are: Euro (€) and USA Dollar ($).
Curious about what we packed and wore to stay warm in Lapland? Then read our Lapland packing list tips!
What do hotels and accommodations in Lapland cost? – 21,1% of the total budget Lapland
Total spend: €490 / $555
Number of nights: 4
Average price for 2 people per night : €122,50 / $138,85
Accommodation in Finnish Lapland is not cheap. Together with our friends, Thomas and Christine, we rented lodges, which cut the costs somewhat. The first two nights we stayed in the cosy holiday home Inarin Kalakenttä, in Inari, a 30-minute drive from Ivalo. Here we paid € 85 per couple.
Then we went to the luxury cabins of the Giellajohka holiday park. These beautiful lodges are surrounded by nature. This accommodation is slightly more expensive, it costs € 160 per night per couple. There are also budget options here. You can sleep here for as little as € 63 per couple.
What are the most special & unique hotels to sleep in Finnish Lapland? Read this blog with the best hotels in Lapland!
Is transportation in Lapland expensive? – 35,2% of the total budget Lapland
Total spend: €816 / $925
Flight tickets : €632 / $716,40
Car rental: €146 / $165,50
Gasoline: €38 / $43
It is not cheap to fly to Lapland. We flew at Ivalo airport with Finnair and paid € 316 per person for a return trip. There are also last-minute deals where you can fly to Finnish Lapland for as little as € 160.
Looking for a Lapland itinerary? Read our blog for the ultimate trip to Finnish Lapland!
I divided the cost of the rental car and the gasoline by two because our friends Thomas and Christine were also with us. If you are not with friends, then these costs should be doubled.
Click here to see the most recent flight deals to Lapland in Finland!
What are the prices for food in Lapland? – 12,3% of the total budget Lapland
Total spend: €284 / $321,90
Spendings in restaurants: €210 / $238
Spendings on groceries: €74 / $83,90
The costs of food were doable for Lapland in Finland. We thought in advance that food would probably be very expensive because Finland is a Scandinavian country. However, it soon became apparent that the prices for food are almost the same as in the Netherlands. Only alcohol is a lot more expensive. We have cooked ourselves a number of times in the lodges where we stayed. We went out for lunch twice and had dinner twice in a restaurant.
On our last evening, we went out for dinner to celebrate that Ries and I are engaged. The restaurant where we ate, Laanilan Kievari, had delicious dishes but was not cheap.
Curious on how to spot the Northern Lights in Lapland? Read our blog full of tips!
What are the prices of activities in Lapland? – 31,4% of the total budget Lapland
Total spend: €728 / $825
Husky sledding: €338 / $383,15
Snowmobiling: €260 / $294,70
Aurora Chasing: €130 / $147,35
Well, this is the real reason why Lapland can be pricy: expensive activities. To a large extent, your trip to Lapland really revolves around these activities. The most expensive one was our four-hour Husky tour, with a price of € 169 euros per person (including lunch).
I found the snowmobile trip at Ivalo Trek Lapland by far the most fun. The price was not too bad, € 130 per person for a three-hour private trip. Read more about this experience here. The Aurora Chasing that we did at Polar Creek was also a great experience, we only paid € 65 per person for this.
Read our tips in the blog about a husky tour in Lapland!
What do things cost in Finland (and Lapland)?
What is the price level in Finland? I answer that question below by displaying the prices of food and travel related expenses.
- Kilo apples: €2,19 / $2,48
- 250 ml Olive oil: €4,49 / $5,09
- bag of potato chips: €1,89 / $2,14
- Kilo tomatoes: €2,29 / $2,60
- Bowl of Yogurt (1L): €2,75 / $3,12
- Loaf of Bread: €2,49 / $2,82
- Oreo’s: €1,95 / $2,21
- Pack of milk (1L): €1,35 / $1,53
- Coca Cola (1,5L): €2,69 / $3,05
- Water (1,5L): €1,25 / $1,42
- Wine in the supermarket (750 ml): €8,90 / $10,10
- Beer in the supermarket €1,69 / $1,92
- Bottle of Shampoo: €3,39 / $3,85
- Cappuccino: €3,20 / $3,63
- Glass wine in restaurant : €7,50 / $8,50
- Local beer in restaurant: €4,50 / $5,10
- Simpel lunch/dinner (1 pers): €15 / $17,00
- Liter gasoline: €1,48 / $1,67
Conclusion: is a trip to Lapland expensive?
A trip to Lapland is certainly not cheap. The airline tickets are costly, the hotels are not cheap and well the activities really increase your spendings. Scandinavia is not a cheap destination, but in our opinion, Finland was not too bad. We expected that the costs for food and drinks would be higher.
Could we have done Lapland cheaper? Probably, if we had not been eating out, had not done any activities and had slept in cheaper hotels. Had I wanted that: absolutely not. This trip was perfect!
What is a realistic daily budget for a trip to Lapland in Finland?
If you have a budget of +/- €180 per person per day, you should be more than fine (excluding flight tickets). That’s a lot of money, however, you won’t stay many days in Lapland. In case you travel with kids, lower this amount to €120 per kid. In case you do fewer activities and will cook every meal, you can definitely lower this amount.
Looking back, I think Finnish Lapland is more than worth the money! It is an incredibly beautiful destination with special activities. A once-in-a-lifetime journey! And the best part is simply free: the northern lights!
Click here for all my other blogs on Lapland and Finland!
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This was such a beautiful read & amazingly informative!
Thank u so much 💥
Happy to hear it helps!!!
Hola :) has this trip happened in 2021? I plan a trip there and speaking about prices I wonder could it be a bit different today due to inflation if few years has passed by :)
Hi Goda,
Yes this trip happend before 2021, before covid (2019). Yes indeed, I do think prices might have inflated a bit.
Kind regards
we (2 adults 1 child) are due to fly out on 19th dec, all we looking for is spending money for activities (how much are they), shop to buy snacks as we are full board and drinks. We are there for 3 nights 4 days. I was thinking about takings 1500-2000 euros. but on tui they reckon all we need is 500 euro
Hi Will,
Thanks for you message and what a Wonderfull trip you are going on! I do think your estimate is fairly right, at least much better then the one from tui. I would say, when you are only spending money on activities and some snacks, for four days with 3 people, 1500 should be enough (of course depending highly on type of activities). But I do think it is a good estimate!
Kind regards and have fun!
I love the detail information regarding the price. Lapland is always on my bucket list but I want to combine Sweden and Finland together.
Wauw that sounds amazing, combining them!
Cool post! I am from Finland but I have only been to Lapland once. Finns generally prefer to travel south than north haha.
I can also recommend taking the arctic train to Lapland, it's a cool experience :)