Crystal Ski Lapland: What’s Included vs What You Pay Extra For (Honest Family Guide)

Lapland is one of those trips that looks completely magical… but also slightly alarming when you start looking at the price.

Before booking our trip to Ruka, the biggest question I couldn’t get a straight answer to was: What’s actually included in a Crystal Ski Lapland package — and what ends up costing extra once you’re there?

That matters more than you think, because while some parts of the trip offer great value, others can quietly add hundreds (or more) if you’re not prepared.

This guide is for UK families planning a Ski Lapland trip with kids — especially if you’re considering booking with Crystal Ski and want a clear, realistic view of the total cost. Planning a trip to Ruka with kids? Start here: → Crystal Ski Ruka Review (Lapland): With Kids

Quick Answer: What’s Included with Crystal Ski Lapland?

Most Crystal Ski Lapland packages include:

• flights

• transfers

• accommodation

• ski passes and equipment (depending on your package)

However, many of the experiences that make Lapland special — like Santa visits, snowmobiling and reindeer rides — are usually paid extras.

The key is knowing what to budget for before you go.

We visited Ruka over Christmas as a family of three, booking a week‑long package through Crystal Ski. Having everything organised in advance made the trip much easier to manage, especially with a child.

This guide includes links to the exact options and tools we used or considered when planning our trip. Some may be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only ever recommend options we found genuinely worked well for our family

What’s Included in a Crystal Ski Lapland Holiday

Flights, Transfers and Basic Logistics

Your Crystal Ski package typically includes:

• return flights from the UK

• hold luggage

• transfers to your resort

• support staff at the airport and in resort

For us, this part was very straightforward.

We flew into Kuusamo Airport, which is small and quick to get through, and the transfer to Ruka took around 20–25 minutes. Everything was well organised from arrival, which made the journey feel much easier with a child.

This was what we found most reassuring — knowing these key parts were already included made the trip feel much clearer from the start. → See what’s included in the trip we booked

Accommodation

Accommodation is included in your package, whether that’s a hotel or a self-catered chalet.

We stayed at Ruka Chalets, which were:

• well equipped

• warm and comfortable

• located in the village

The key thing here is that your base is sorted — but the type of accommodation you choose will have a big impact on your overall costs once you’re there.

Full review: Ruka Chalets Review

Skiing (If You Book a Ski Package)

If you choose a ski package, you can include:

• lift passes

• ski equipment hire

• ski school (optional)

This is one of the main advantages of booking through Crystal Ski — it removes a lot of the organisation upfront and lets you bundle everything together. These are all optional and must be added on during booking.

What’s NOT Included (But Most People Will Pay For)

This is where costs start to add up.

Core Lapland Experiences

The activities that make Lapland special are not included in the base package. Once we understood what was included and what wasn’t, it was much easier to plan the rest of the budget without surprises.

These typically include:

• Santa experiences

• snowmobiling

• reindeer rides

For most families, these are essential parts of the trip — and they come at an additional cost.

Other Optional Activities

You’ll also find a wide range of additional experiences available in resort, such as:

• Snowshoe walking in Oulanka National Park

• Horse riding

• Ice fishing

• River floating (usually height 150cm+ and age 14+)

• Ice karting (usually height 150cm+ and age 14+)

• Dog sledging

These are entirely optional, but it’s easy to overspend if you try to do too many. You can book them as part of your Crystal Ski package or independently.

Do You Have to Book Activities Through Crystal Ski?

No — you’re not tied to booking everything through Crystal.

You can:

• book excursions through Crystal in advance

• book locally in resort

• or use platforms like Viator or GetYourGuide

We used Crystal for convenience, but it’s possible to mix and match depending on availability and pricing.

What You’ll Still Spend Money On in Ruka

Even if you keep activities to a minimum, there are always some additional costs.

Food and Drink

If you’re self-catering, you’ll need to budget for:

• supermarket shops

• occasional meals out (Colorado bar food is the best value we found)

• Alcohol (its ££)

Eating out isn’t cheap, and costs can add up quickly if you rely on restaurants every day.

Small Extras

It’s also worth allowing for:

• snacks and drinks (hot chocolates - yum!)

• small activities (like bowling or Ruka coaster)

• souvenirs and treats (the churro van is an absolute must!)

Individually these don’t feel like much, but over a week they do add up.

We wrote a breakdown of Where You Can Save and Where You Can’t in Lapland to help families with budgeting their trip.

Final Thought

Crystal Ski makes the logistics of Lapland very straightforward — flights, transfers, accommodation and skiing are all easy to organise.

But the real experience comes from the extras, and those are where you need to plan and budget carefully.

If you go in knowing what’s included — and what isn’t — you’ll avoid surprises and get much more out of the trip.

Lapland trips can feel expensive at first — but understanding what’s included makes it much easier to see the full picture.

For us, having most of the key elements bundled upfront meant fewer surprises and a much smoother experience overall.

planning lapland with kids?

Start here — these guides answer the key questions we had before booking

About Plan Family Escapes

We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.

Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.