How Much Does a Lapland Family Holiday Really Cost? Our Exact Ruka Budget Breakdown for a Family of 3

Lapland has a reputation for being magical… and expensive. Before booking our trip to Ruka, the biggest question we had — and the one I get asked most now — was:

“How much does a Lapland holiday actually cost for a family?”

So rather than vague estimates, this guide shares our real numbers from a Christmas trip to Ruka, Finland, travelling as a family of three during the UK school holidays with Crystal Ski. Planning a trip to Ruka with kids? Start here: → Crystal Ski Ruka Review (Lapland): With Kids – Honest UK Family Guide

You’ll see exactly what we paid travelling over Christmas Week in December 2025, where the money goes, and where you can realistically adjust costs depending on your priorities.

This guide also links to the exact packages, accommodation and tools we used or considered when planning our trip. Some links may be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only ever recommend options we would use again ourselves, and hope this helps you plan a trip that feels exciting rather than overwhelming.

Quick Answer: How Much Does a Lapland Family Holiday Cost?

Total trip cost (family of 3): £5,708
Average cost per person: ~£1,903

Our Total Cost: At a Glance

This included:

• Accommodation

• Flights

• Transfers

• Ski passes & equipment (we chose premium skis — standard options would reduce costs)

• Ski school for our son (5 days — shorter options are available)

• Santa experience

• Reindeer sleigh ride

• Night‑time snowmobiling

We deliberately didn’t book every excursion available. Instead, we focused on the experiences that mattered most to us as a family, which is one of the easiest ways to keep costs under control.

This is what we actually paid booking as a package — it made the whole process much simpler. → See the full trip we booked

Base Holiday Cost

Basic holiday package: £4,098

We saved £100 with a promotional discount on our booking, and it’s definitely worth knowing that Crystal Ski regularly runs offers on Lapland and Ruka trips.

While we were researching, we also saw free child places pop up on Ruka accommodation — but they disappeared literally within a day. That tells me one thing: these holidays book up incredibly fast, especially for UK school holiday dates.

At one point, we even saw our exact same holiday package (including ski hire, lift passes and ski lessons) for around £4,000 with a free child place for February half term. The catch?

• It was flying from Gatwick, not Birmingham

• And it wasn’t over Christmas week

That is great value for a Lapland family ski holiday.

What this really shows is:

• There is a premium for travelling during Christmas week

• But there are brilliant deals to be had if you:

  • Book early

  • Stay flexible on airports

  • Keep an eye on flash sales and free child place offers

If you’re planning a Lapland trip during UK school holidays, it really pays to start watching prices early and be ready to jump when a deal appears.

Skiing Costs in Ruka (6 Days skiing)

One of the main reasons we chose Ruka, Lapland was because we didn’t want to sacrifice a proper ski holiday just to get the “Lapland experience” — so we decided to combine the two. And honestly? It was one of the best decisions we made. Here is a breakdown of our costs for skiing:

Lift Passes

• 2 x Adult lift passes (6 days): £432

• 1 x Child lift pass (6 days): £133

Total lift passes: £565

Ski Hire

• 2 x Superior skis (adults, 6 days): £248

• 1 x Standard skis (child, 6 days): £61

Total ski hire: £309

We upgraded adult skis and kept our child on standard equipment — a good balance of comfort vs cost.

This was reasonable value. Small groups, patient instructors, and no tears — which is saying something after past experiences elsewhere. If your kids are an experienced skiers and you don’t mind having them around I think 3 days would be sufficient for ski lessons, we actually took Joshua out on Christmas day so he could ski with us so ended up using only 4 days of lessons.

Ski School (Child)

• 5 days of ski lessons: £182

Compared to France or Italy during school holidays, this felt very reasonable or at least comparable.

If you want to know more about what it is like to ski in Ruka, see: Skiing in Ruka with Kids: Is It Beginner-Friendly?

Santa & Christmas Experiences

If you’re visiting Lapland with kids, this is usually the emotional (and financial) highlight. This was the whole reason we booked this trip so of course this was a mandatory add on to our itinerary.

Santa’s Secret Cottage

• 2 x Adult tickets: £118

• 1 x Child ticket: £53

Total Santa experience: £171

Was it worth it? For us — yes absolutely, however we did definitely miss the English family Christmas experience on Christmas day.

For a full breakdown of what to expect (including the reality vs expectations), read: - What Actually Happens When You Visit Santa in Finland

Reindeer Sleigh Ride

This is a gentle, peaceful experience — perfect for younger children and a lovely contrast to the adrenaline activities. We loved this experience as it wasn’t just about the reindeer’s it had a real overall ‘Lapland’ experience feel through the sledging, grilling Finnish sausages over the fire and hot chocolates all included.

• 2 x Adult tickets: £172

• 1 x Child ticket: £59

Total reindeer ride: £231

If you’re deciding whether this is worth prioritising, we’ve shared our honest experience here: Is a Reindeer Ride in Lapland Worth It? Our Honest Review

Snowmobiling (Night-Time)

This was one of the more expensive activities, but also one of the most memorable.

• 1 x Snowmobile (1 driver + 1 passenger): £190

• 1 x Snowmobile (1 driver): £124

Total snowmobiling cost: £314

This allowed both adults to drive, with our child riding as a passenger. Night-time rides are particularly magical and feel very “Lapland”. This was also an opportunity to go exploring for the Northern lights.

If you’re wondering how safe this actually is with kids (and whether it feels worth the cost), read our full breakdown: Is Snowmobiling in Finland Safe for Families? Our Experience

Total Activity Spend

When you add everything together:

• Skiing (passes, hire, lessons): £1,056

• Santa experience: £171

• Reindeer sleigh ride: £231

• Snowmobiling: £314

Total activities & skiing: ~£1,772

Children are noticeably cheaper in Lapland thanks to reduced lift passes, equipment hire, and activity pricing — something that really helps families.

Spending Money in Ruka: What We Actually Spent Day-to-Day

One thing that really surprised us was how easy it was to control spending once we were in Ruka. There are lots of optional extras you could add on, but you don’t feel pressured to spend constantly.

There are activities like:

• Bowling – around €30 per game

• Ruka Coaster – €19 per ride, or half price with your ski pass

• Pool table – around €16 per hour

Food is expensive if you eat out a lot, so we mostly cooked at the chalet. Supermarket prices weren’t cheap, but also not outrageous considering how remote Lapland is. Eating out, you’re generally looking at:

• €15–€30 for a pizza, depending on takeaway vs eat-in

• Colorado Bar snacks were cheaper – around €16 for a basket meal

• But beer was pricey – around €13 per beer

Wine, however, was much cheaper in the supermarket and perfectly decent quality, so that’s what we mostly did.

We only ate out twice (both at Colorado Bar), plus a few treats like the famous churros van — which were amazing, but €5 for 3 plain churros or €9.50 with chocolate sauce (lucky there were only three of us!).

All in, we spent around £300 total on extras, which covered:

• Optional activities

• A couple of meals out

• Snacks and treats

• A few drinks

• Plus meals ‘on the go’ while travelling at the airport and on the flight – including a big Weatherspoon’s breakfast on the first day to get us going at 6am!

Honestly, for a week in Lapland, that felt very reasonable if you remain conscious of your spending.

Seeing the full package helps make sense of where the money goes. → View the package we used

Is Lapland Worth the Cost for Families?

I’ll be honest — this isn’t a cheap holiday. But when you factor in:

• Christmas magic

• Guaranteed snow

• Minimal queues

• Short transfer times

• Child-focused experiences

• Reasonably priced skiing

…it felt good value than many alpine ski trips we’ve done during school holidays. And unlike some holidays, this one felt truly once-in-a-lifetime for our child.

Planning Tips to Control Costs

If you’re budgeting for Lapland, these helped us:

• Travel as early in December as possible if Christmas Day isn’t essential, note that after Christmas you won’t be able to book to see Santa

• I would definitely prioritise experiences (Santa, reindeer etc) – but base these on your preference and age of your children

• Book ski school early — it fills fast

• Don’t overbook activities; downtime matters in the cold – there are plenty of low cost or free activities (snowy walks, sledging) for kids to do in the snow

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.