Sauna and Arctic Spa in Rovaniemi

No. What the providers promise is a refund or a repeat if no aurora is captured — and the conditions differ, so read them on the booking page. The lights themselves depend on the sky. The season runs from late August to early April, and it gets harder to see them as nights brighten towards mid-April. More than one night gives better odds than one.

It depends on what you come for. The polar night, with its blue twilight, runs from mid-November to mid-January; the sun does not rise at all around 21 December. The midnight sun lasts from early June to early July. Almost all the offers on this site are for winter — only about one in eight is a summer or autumn programme — so in summer the choice is much smaller.

About 8 km from the centre, and no tour is needed: local bus 8 runs there all year, and a taxi from the airport is about 4 km. What tours add is the programme — Snowman World, a husky ride and reindeer are separate products with their own tickets, and the combined day trips bundle them with transport.

Korouoma Canyon with its frozen waterfalls is about 105 km, roughly an hour and a half each way, and is a full day. The icebreaker in Kemi is about 115 km and Ranua Wildlife Park about 80 km. All three work as a day trip from Rovaniemi, but none is a short outing — plan the day around the drive.

The Airport Express shuttle bus runs from outside arrivals, about every 25 minutes in the daytime; at the time we checked, a single ticket was €8. A taxi to Santa Claus Village is about 4 km. Timetable and fare change from season to season, so check the current ones before you fly.

No. The big ski areas are elsewhere: Levi is about 190 km away, Ruka about 200 km and Saariselkä about 230 km. Tours that start there are not listed on this site. What Rovaniemi does offer on snow is cross-country skiing, ski trekking and snowshoeing — quiet and without lifts.

For the tours on this site, usually not: many include pickup from your hotel, though not all, so check the meeting point on the booking page. A car helps for Ranua or Korouoma on your own schedule. In winter, driving means snow and ice, and reindeer can be on the road — if that worries you, a guided trip is the easier choice.