Rovaniemi hints for travelers

Thank you for choosing one of our tours. What now? Check out these Rovaniemi hints for travelers to plan your next move.
Click here – Public bus no 8 to the Arctic Circle, route and stops.
Click here – for all bus connections to the Arctic Circle / Santa Claus village and other transportation tips.

Rovaniemi eats

1. Creamy salmon soup – or Reindeer Sauteé you’ll find it at least in Roka Street Bistro, Restaurant Nili and Railway Station Restaurant Alvari.

2. Karelia Pie “Karjalanpiirakka” you’ll find it in grocery stores like Alepa, K-market etc. most hotels serve it as part of the breakfast also.

3. Leipäjuusto “Squeaky cheese” with cloudberry jam. You’ll find it in grocery stores like Alepa, K-market etc.

Restaurants in Rovaniemi

Sights and places to see and feel the city of Rovaniemi

Want to see the Northern Lights?

Best time for that is from November to April. It needs to be dark with clear skies and on top that, the solar winds from the sun most be strong enough. If the Northern lights are strong, it is possible to see that even in the city streets of Rovaniemi. But, outside the city lights they will be more spectacular.

There are hundreds of companies and individuals offering Aurora excursions in Rovaniemi area. Nobody can truly rank them reliably, but here are some general pointers.

There are basically 2 kinds of Aurora tours: Hunts and Barbeques.
However, the companies often don’t name them promptly. So you’ll need to read the descriptions of the event to find out which type of tour it.

Aurora Hunts

Typically a minivan full of people is driven 1 or 2h outside of Rovaniemi to the direction which has the best forecast for clear skies and Aurora probability. These tours can take you further with a car and have higher probability to see the Auroras, but only slightly. Probably there will be more sitting in a car on these tours. Some hunts a have guarantee to see the auroras. If the changes are very low the departure is usually cancelled.

Aurora Barbeques

These tours go to a fixed location, 0,5-1h outside of Rovaniemi, like a forest shelter etc. to wait for the Auroras. At a shelter the guide will prepare a simple barbeque meal, like sausages etc. Then you’ll eat the simple foods and wait. The barbeque fire will keep you warm. Maybe the aurora’s appear, maybe they don’t. Barbeques more likely go every night and they usually don’t have guarantees to see the auroras.

Public Sauna’s in Rovaniemi