Family Trip to Lapland - Package vs Independent Travel

We have travelled as a family to Lapland – each time for 10 days in total - both in 2014 and 2017. The first time we travelled with a 2, 4 and 6 year old, and then again (with the same children) as 6, 8 and 10 year olds. We did really similar things each time but with different twists. We absolutely loved it and would highly recommend the way we did it to any family after a most magical adventure with lots of relaxation too.

The main decision which shaped both our trips to Lapland was whether we wanted to go on a package tour or do it alone - booking and travelling independently. The options for packages seemed tempting due to the ease at which we would have transfers, warm clothing and our itinerary and transport all arranged for us… but at the same time, for us, it all felt a bit too organised, schedule-driven and suffocating. We were taking a 2 year old, 4 year old and 6 year old… and whilst some people might think that would be the exact reason to choose a package holiday under the careful watch of a big travel company… the thought of having to be ready, breakfasted and dressed in reception at any given time so the coach (laden with other expectant holidaymakers) could leave for the next excursion, made my stomach lurch with stress so much that I knew pretty quickly this option wasn’t for us! Children are unpredictable and our timekeeping is pretty shocking at the best of times, the idea of a lost glove or a last-minute toilet visit making us late all the time filled me with dread and would take the shine off the magic somewhat. You have to be honest with yourself in how your family operate and what keeps your stress levels low(er) and enjoyment high(er)! We were also keen for this to also be a holiday and that meant rest-days snuggled up in a cabin with the fire on and movies playing, and we didn’t want to do this at the expense of missing activities that we would have pre-paid for in a package trip.

Flexibility aside, we must also remember that our main motivation for going to the arctic circle was to fulfil a bucket-list goal of seeing the northern lights. We were originally going to go in March, touted as the month with the clearest skies coupled with lots of aurora activity, but it seemed slightly more charitable to go in December so the children would get a glimpse of the magic of the Christmas wonderland, see the reindeer, lashings of snow… and meet the Big Man himself in his home way up north. It would seem crazy and mean to go to Lapland when Father Christmas was on his post-Christmas holiday in Hawaii. To give us the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights in December (which can be cloudy some nights) we concluded that we needed to be in the arctic circle for a week – and once doing the financial calculations, going independently would definitely make this THE way to make the trip feasible. Decision made. We also realised when we arrived, how glad we were to be staying in our own privately-rented accommodation, away from the bright lights of the hotel resort centre… the northern lights were often at their busiest and brightest very late at night, and you had to be in a darkened area to see them properly and get decent photography. It was easy for us to pop outside of our cabin in the woods whilst the kids were asleep to see them. Having been anywhere on a floor of a hotel would have made it near-on impossible to see them as we couldn’t have left the children alone in their room whilst making our way out of the hotel and away from the bright lights to see them, and they certainly wouldn’t have welcomed being woken up and dragged outdoors in the middle of the night (!). Decision confirmed.

Our AirBnb Cabin next to the lake, and almost buried in snow!