Where To Stay in Lapland: The Best Glass Igloos

Lapland has been on my bucket list for YEARS, ever since I discovered how magical it looked to touch down in the official hometown of Santa Claus. However, I took a bit of a different angle on this visit and decided to visit Santa while he wasn’t so busy, during early September!

When To Visit Lapland

Though I didn’t get the typical experience that most boast about on social media with the snow dusted forest, sauna sessions after jumping in the frozen lake and sled dog racing, visiting during the fall definitely had it’s advantages.

For starters, the fall foliage is something to chase after. We were able to relax in the crisp autumn weather while kayaking on the lakes and still had a chance to do some pull-cart training with the husky puppies and say hello to Santa’s reindeer. Not only that, but visiting outside of peak season meant lower prices and less crowds, which is always something to be excited about.

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty…

How To Get To Rovaniemi From Helsinki

There are a couple of different ways to get to Rovaniemi from Helsinki, the most obvious way being to book a flight. There are quite a few different options for booking and as always, I’d recommend checking Google Flights for the best prices available. My recommended accommodation in Lapland that I’ll get into more below is just a mere 10 minutes from the Rovaniemi Airport.

However, my family and I actually didn’t go the aerial route, we instead went for the scenic route on the overnight Santa Claus Express Train. I’ll be honest, there’s nothing really Christmassy about this train, other than a great marketing name. It took about 12 hours to take the overnight train into Rovaniemi, but I will say, the sleeper cabins felt pretty luxurious after our long-haul flights into Helsinki.

Even though the flights were obviously the faster option, I’d recommend taking the trains into Rovaniemi if you have the time because it was a unique experience that allowed us to see more of Finland and honestly, a non-guilt way to catch up on our jet lag.

Where To Stay in Lapland

My family and I had booked an Aurora Cabin Family Suite at the Apukka Resort in Rovaniemi for four nights to explore northern Finland. This was a glass igloo that could fit up to six people, perfect for my parents and me.

History Of The Apukka Resort

The Apukka Resort had humble beginnings and was just a mere farmhouse in the early 1800’s. In 1865, Apukka was made into a tavern, making it part of a network that placed a tavern every 20 kilometers on essential routes. Because of this, the farmhouse needed to offer a bed, food and a ride on horse and carriage for anyone needing assistance passing through.

The tavern operated for many years and many great memories were made. In fact, in 1926, one of the owners’ sons, Jukka Lindström, actually built an airplane right inside of the tavern with his own hands! After this feat, his brother and him actually built a motorcycle-pulled passenger sled as well, which the owners today like to think of as the ancestor to their Apukka Snowtrain.

The tavern continued on, until, in 1938, the area became a nature research station which held its own until 2012. Just 5 years later, with a dream in hand, the Apukka Resort transformed into what we see today: A place where people from all around the world can come and experience the magic.

And let me tell you…you’d be hard-pressed to come here and NOT feel the magic.

The Layout

In our cabin, there were two main beds, a plush king-size bed underneath the glass viewing area and a 160 cm wide double bed tucked away in a private alcove (perfect for the kids or those with an early bedtime). If needed, the third bed is a pull-out sofa that transforms into a 140 cm wide bed.

This cabin, like the other aurora cabins, also had a private bathroom with a shower en-suite. There was heating available to stay cozy in the winter and A/C to stay cool on those hotter summer days, so honestly, I’d book this again during any season.

The Views

Our views were beautiful during the day, as we were situated right along the shores of Lake Olkkajärvi and during the night, we could watch the northern lights dance above our heads from the glass ceilings. It was truly something out of a dream.

Dining in The Apukka Resort

There are two main restaurants on site, Restaurant Aitta and Restaurant Kota, as well as a bar in the lobby. All of the Apukka Resort’s restaurant services are operated by Finnish top chefs, Arto Rastas and Teemu Korkalainen (North Pole Catering Ltd).

Restaurant Aitta is their main restaurant, decorated to the nines with sweeping views of the surrounding landscape. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner here and we enjoyed breakfast within these walls every morning of our stay and dinner each night.

I can honestly say that every dish we had was a hitter, however, the favorites in our group were probably the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Reindeer Burger and King Crab Soup.

Restaurant Kota is also a really unique spot, as you’ll be dining around a fire in a traditional tee-pee style building. They do two main seatings a night, each a coursed dinner. Pro tip: Don’t dress too much to impress for this one because, due to the fire, you may be leaving with a few other smoky memories in your linens.

So, if you’ve been wondering where to stay in Lapland for bucket-list worthy sleeps, mind-blowing natural scenery and unique activities like no other place on Earth, I’d highly recommend checking out the Apukka Resort in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Things To Do In Rovaniemi

There was NO shortage of things to do in Rovaniemi, even in the beginning of autumn when we visited. We booked a lot of experiences through the Apukka Resort and then did a bit of exploring downtown. To see a full list of things we did in Lapland, you can check out this post: 20 Interesting Things To Do In Lapland During Fall.

If you’d like to see more videos and in-depth reviews of the property, head over to my Finland playlist on TikTok!