Lapland FAQs

It's easy to make a booking with one of our Lapland Specialists. Simply call 0800 270 0150 (UK) or 1800 827300 (IRELAND) or 0044 1923 822388 (INTERNATIONAL).

We know how important your holiday is to you, and our experts are happy to answer your questions and guide you through the booking process so that you choose the perfect Lapland holiday for you.

To make a reservation the required deposit is £/€200 per person. If you book via the Canterbury Travel Reservations Office on 0800 270 0150, the balance is then payable 10 weeks prior to departure. (Other terms may apply if you book via a Travel Agent.)

Yes, you certainly can! You can make a payment towards the balance of your holiday online HERE or call our team on 0800 2700150 or from Ireland 1800 827300. Our Lapland experts will be happy to help.

Pretty much everything and more!  Your flights, transfers, accommodation (short breaks), in-flight catering and all meals in the resort, the loan of thermal clothing and boots to keep you warm while in Lapland, plus an amazing array of activities including husky and reindeer safaris, tobogganing, a mini-drive of a snowmobile, lots of fun and games with Santa's Elves and most important of all, a private meeting with Santa for you and your loved ones only. There are no hidden extras and no need to book extra excursions! Gifts for children aged 2-11 years inclusive on the day tours and a gift allowance for children aged 2-11 years on each of the overnight Santa short breaks. There are no hidden extras!

We are proud members of ABTA and the government-backed ATOL protection scheme - so your money is 100% protected.

We really hope that you will never need to claim on your travel insurance, but it is important to make sure that your family and your belongings are properly covered, just in case the unexpected happens. We recommend taking out travel insurance at the time you make your booking. 

Day trip passengers have a hand luggage allowance only.

Adults and children travelling on one of the Lapland short breaks have a generous hold luggage allowance of 22kg per person plus hand luggage.

Sorry, there is no luggage allowance for infants on any of our Lapland trips.

The New Year Arctic Adventure holiday is suitable for children aged 5 and over. However, please note that some activities are subject to age and height restrictions.

For the snowmobile safari, children must be at least 140 cm tall to ride as a passenger. Smaller children will be able to travel in a sleigh driven by an experienced Ranger.

For ice karting in Ruka, children must be at least 150cm tall. Any children who do not meet the height requirement will be given the opportunity to drive a mini-skidoo as an alternative.

Our Enchanting Lapland day trip operates from a variety of airports including Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Belfast, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Luton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

The Magical Moments 2-night break operates from Stansted Airport.

Magical Interlude operates from Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Stansted Airport.

The 4-night Christmas at Luosto trip is from Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted Airport, while Christmas at Suomu operates from Stansted Airport.

And finally, after Christmas, the Lapland Arctic Adventure tour is from Gatwick and Manchester Airport.

Our short breaks are based in some of the most beautiful resorts in Lapland; Luosto, Pyha, Suomu and Ruka Valley. The Enchanting Lapland day trip is in Enontekio, in a small hamlet on the shores of Lake Ounasjärvi

Infants (age less than 2 years at the time of return travel) are permitted to travel on our tours. However, before booking, parents really need to consider the nature of the terrain and the Arctic weather conditions, where temperatures can fluctuate between -5C to -25C in December. You will be required to supply suitable clothing for your infant. The infant admin fee is £/€200 for day trips and £/€150 for the short break trips.

Please note there are no baby changing facilities at any of our activity locations and the terrain is snowy and bumpy, therefore the use of a pushchair is near impossible.

We understand that for many severely ill and disabled children and their parents, a visit to meet Santa is a magnificent dream. Our promise to you is that we care enough to try and ensure that this dream is realised. We have the honour to work with a number of leading children’s charities and we carry many children with conditions including cancer, cystic fibrosis, blindness and paraplegia. We hope to continue to play a part in making such special dreams come true.

When you travel on the Enchanting Lapland day trip, you will arrive in Lapland around 13:00. After changing into the snow suits and boots we provide, you're transferred to the activity location. You will have around 5-6 hours in Lapland, which is plenty of time for you and your family to enjoy all of the traditional activities that we offer, as well as meeting Santa!

You will leave the day trip location between 18:30 - 19:00, ready for your return flight home.

Yes! You can make payments to reduce your balance throughout the year either online or by speaking to one of our Lapland experts on 0800 270 0150 or 1800 827300 (EIRE).

If you cancel your holiday and the tour is still operating, then a cancellation charge will apply, as detailed in our booking conditions. We will refund any money you have paid towards the holiday, minus the cancellation charge. Your travel insurance may cover this cancellation charge in some circumstances.

Sorry, it's not possible to pre-book seats on our aircraft.  We always try to seat families together and the cabin is economy class throughout. If anyone requires an extra legroom seat, please advise our Lapland expert when making your booking. Extra legroom seats are usually Emergency Exit seats and children or adults with mobility or medical needs are not permitted to sit in this section.

If you're staying in Luosto or Pyha you can pay a supplement to enhance your dining experience. Both Vaisko in Luosto and Huttuhippu restaurant in Pyha offer a menu that centres around Lappish delicacies and local produce such as salmon, reindeer and succulent lamb. A children's menu with favourites such as pizza, burgers and meatballs is also available. Please speak to one of our Lapland experts for prices.

Travel to Europe

Due to recent changes in passport validity, it is very important that you take the time now to check the validity of your passport.

What does this mean?

• On the day you arrive into the EU check that your passport 'date of issue' is less than 10 years old.
• On the day you leave the EU, check your passport will have at least 3 months remaining (based on the date of expiry).

Passport and Visa requirements are your responsibilty, failure to meet these requirements may result in you being denied travel/boarding.

For more information relating to entry requirements to Finland, passport validity, health and Visas please visit the following websites for guidance:

For passengers from the United Kingdom - UK Government website

For passengers from Ireland - Irish Government Department of Affairs website

For non-EU citizens, please check with your local Finnish Embassy. 

If you require a new passport, we strongly recommend that you apply for your passport as early as you can. Current wait times are longer than usual.

We will contact you or your travel agent to advise when your itinerary will be available to view in the Customer Portal.  As a guide, this will ususally be 2-3 weeks before your date of departure.

Canterbury Travel charters aircraft to operate tours and, these arrangements are different to scheduled airline routes. Flight numbers may not be shown on airport websites until the day of departure.

Your activities are subject to local weather conditions which are beyond our control. The Lapland resorts that we operate to, generally have reliable snow records. However, if there is insufficient snow for the planned activities to operate, our suppliers will move activities to where snow is available so that a modified programme can operate. Alternative activities may also be offered that are not reliant on snow or ice. We reserve the right to amend or cancel any part of the tour or safaris if we or our suppliers condisder the conditions are unsafe.  See booking condition 16.

Flights are chartered with Jet2 and operate from the following airport terminals:

Gatwick flights operate from South Terminal.

Manchester flights will operate from Terminal 2.

Flights from all other airports will operate via the Main Terminal.

We try to encourage a sing-a-long with the airline, however, this will be entirely up to the cabin crew and pilot on the day. Your magical trip to Lapland with Canterbury Travel begins when you arrive in Santa's homeland.

We provide an all-in-one thermal snow suit and boots for every adult and children age 2 and above. You will need to bring your own scarves/snoods and gloves. A few weeks before your date of departure, an information guide will be available to view in the Customer Portal where you manage your booking. Until then, you can view the clothing guide HERE

The snowsuits provided for our customers are unisex and designed to be over-sized and roomy. A snug 'fit' will not keep you as warm. At the time of booking you will have been asked if anyone in your party required a snowsuit larger than Gents size XXXL (equivalent to an EU size 58-60/UK Ladies size 28) or an adult shoe size 12+.  And, if you advised us, you will see this noted on your Confirmation Invoice.

If you require a snowsuit or boots larger than the sizes stated above, and nothing has been noted, please contact our Customer Service Team on 0800 270 0150, or from Ireland call 1800 827300.

A note will be added to your booking and we will advise the resort. We need this information no later than 21 days before departure.

Absolutely not! Our tours operate to resorts and venues which are typically authentic, idyllic and traditional. Wherever possible, our activity programmes are not held in tourist centres.

Santa being such a wise man, he knows that you have made a very special effort to find him. When you and your family have your private meeting with him, he will have a gift for all children (ages 2-11 years inclusive) and he will fully understand your children and provide appropriate answers to their questions.

To drive a snowmobile you must be in possession of a valid driving licence with the following exception – where all driving is undertaken on private land, the minimum driving age is 18 unless driving a children’s snowmobile where the minimum age is 4 years. (Children over 140cm in height may ride as a passenger on an adult snowmobile subject to the agreement of the Arctic Rangers locally.) It is important that follow the instructions of your Arctic guides. Please remember that our activities operate in Arctic conditions & in the interests of safety your guide may alter the scheduled contents of the tour at any time.

To drive an ice kart in Finnish Lapland you must be at least 150cm tall. Where this activity is offered, mini-skidoos will be offered as an alternative for those who do not meet the minimum height requirement.

Generally temperatures average between -5c and -25c, although it has been known to drop to -45c. It tends to be warmer late November and early December and you may wish to take this into consideration when booking your tour. However, we do provide a loaned thermal snow suit and boots for the duration of your stay in Lapland.

The transfer time is as follows:

Rovaniemi to Luosto - 90 mins, by coach.

Rovaniemi to Pyha - 120 mins, by coach.

Kuusamo to Suomu - 75 mins, by coach.

Kuusamo to Ruka Valley - 25 mins by coach.

Enontekio to the Enchanting Lapland day trip location - 25 mins, by a snowmobile-drawn sleigh (weather permitting).

An average day in Lapland provides 4-5 hrs of grey light (usually between 10am and 2:30pm, although this can vary subject to your location. When the sky is clear, it may be blue with the most amazing colours. At other times, the sky will be as though it is night time, although any light is reflected by the snow, making it possible to see where you are walking. Venues in Lapland are generally lit by roaring Fires & Lappish outdoor candles, which provide a very attractive setting for our events.

We don't arrange excursions to search for the Northen Lights. It is possible to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in all of our reosrts, although as a natural phenomenon, there is no guarantee. The lights appear like a storm in the sky with white, red or green lights dancing through the atmosphere.

There is an App you can download that will send you an alert when the Northern Lights are visible in your resort.

Clients travelling on a short break holiday will begin the day with a buffet breakfast with a selection of hot and cold options including cereals, pastries, ham, cheese, bread, eggs and bacon. Lunch is usually something simple yet warming e.g. pasta. The buffet dinner is more substantial and caters for most tastes, including children’s favourites, for example chicken nuggets and chips. On one evening there is a celebration dinner, which is followed by a children's party. Buffet stations are replenished frequently.

For day trips a 2-course hot lunch will be served throughout the day at the activity location. The menu usually includes soup, baked potatoes and pasta with a meat or vegetarian topping. Plus, pancakes with lashings of cream and jam for dessert!

The length of the visit will depend on how the conversation between Santa and the children flows. Santa will always start the conversation with the children. The meeting is always magical and very special, with plenty of time for a photo opportunity. 

Your search for Santa will take place in areas just on the outskirts of the resort. Journeys between the locations and the resort are around 10-25 minutes per journey, depending on the resort you choose to stay in.

On the short break trips you are accompanied by a personal tour guide, known as an Arctic Star! They will meet and greet you from the moment you arrive in Lapland and they will be on hand if you need them on each day of your tour. The Arctic Stars have expert local knowledge and they will be able to answer most of the questions you may have while in Lapland.

All of our guides and local representstives speak very good English.

Yes, please bring a UK to European 2 pin adapter with you for your electrical appliances.

The tap water in Lapland, Finland is pure, delicous and refeshing!

WIFI is usally available in the public areas of the hotels.

If you decide to book an apartment, log cabin or other accommodation, WIFI is rarely available and the reception can be poor as you will be in a remote location.

Then again, who needs WIFI when you can be outside having fun in the snow!

A no smoking policy operates on all our charter flights and coaches to Lapland. The accommodation and restaurants used in this programme are non-smoking in all areas.

The Euro is the currency used in Finland. Please note there are no banking facilities at Enontekio Airport and Rovaniemi Airport. Clients should obtain currency prior to departure.

Photography used for day time images in our brochure and website has been undertaken during the period of "greylight", offering the most suitable conditions with clear skies. Due to the changeable nature of the Arctic weather, such conditions cannot be guaranteed. All photography has been obtained using professional equipment & professional photographers. Reproductions to the same standard may not be possible using normal amateur equipment.