Do you need a car in Finnish Lapland? A local guide to getting around.
One of the most common questions we receive from people planning a trip to Finnish Lapland is:
“Do we need to hire a car?”
The short answer is no, you do not need a car to enjoy Finnish Lapland.
But that does not necessarily mean you should not hire one.
After living in Levi since 2018 and travelling extensively around Finnish Lapland ourselves, we think the decision depends mainly on three things:
where you are staying,
what you want to do,
how independently you like to travel.
Some visitors stay in a resort or a village where restaurants, shops and activities are easy to reach without a car. Others choose more remote accommodation or want to explore different parts of Lapland independently.
Both can work perfectly well.
Do you need a car in Finnish Lapland?
If you are staying in or close to a village centre, you can manage very easily without a car.
As an example, in Levi, restaurants, shops and many services are concentrated around the village centre, there are ski buses, taxis are easily available and many activity companies either have meeting points in the centre or offer transfers.
If most of your holiday will consist of organised activities, skiing, eating in the village and relaxing at your accommodation, hiring a car may simply be unnecessary.
But there is much more than a village centre.
If you are staying further away, want to explore independently or would like to discover more of the surrounding area, having a car can completely change what you are able to do.
A car is not essential for every Lapland holiday, but transport should be considered when choosing your accommodation and planning your days.
Think about where you are staying
This is probably the first question to ask.
If your accommodation is within walking distance of restaurants, shops and your activity meeting points, you may hardly need transport. If you are staying several kilometres outside the centre, the situation is different. You might need transport to go out for dinner, reach activity meeting points, visit shops or simply get somewhere that is not within comfortable walking distance.
Around 30% of our Foxfires guests stay without a car. They use taxis when they need them and manage perfectly well.
There is another type of accommodation to consider. Some resorts are located away from villages and are designed so that you do not need to leave very often. They may have their own restaurant, activities, transfers and other services, so it can be perfectly possible to stay there without a car.
But we think it is worth asking yourself a different question: is that how you want to experience Lapland?
There is nothing wrong with spending your holiday in one resort if that is what you are looking for. But if you want to visit local cafes and restaurants, discover different places, support small local businesses or simply see more of everyday Lapland beyond your accommodation, you need to think about how you will get around.
Wherever you stay in Lapland, it is worth checking transport before booking your accommodation. If you expect to use taxis regularly, look at approximate journey costs in advance, as taxis in Lapland can be expensive and several journeys during a week can quickly add up. Sometimes not hiring a car saves money. Sometimes the opposite is true.
Think about the holiday you actually want
Now imagine two different Lapland holidays.
On the first, you have booked a husky experience, a reindeer visit and perhaps a snowmobile tour. The activity companies organise your transport or you take a taxi to the meeting point. You spend the rest of your time walking, skiing, enjoying sauna, eating well and relaxing.
You probably do not need a car.
On the second, you wake up and decide where you feel like going that day. You drive somewhere for a winter walk, stop when you see beautiful light, visit another village, find a cafe or simply explore somewhere you had not planned to visit.
A car gives you that freedom.
We particularly appreciate having a car because of the way we like to travel. We enjoy photography, quiet places, spontaneous stops and changing our plans when we discover something interesting.
If you travel in a similar way, you may find a rental car very useful.
What if you want to explore more of Lapland?
This is where our recommendation becomes stronger.
If you want to travel between different destinations or explore more widely around Finnish Lapland, we would recommend hiring a car. Public transport between many Lapland destinations is limited, and travelling independently without a car can become difficult.
Distances can also be much greater than they appear when you are planning from home.
Having your own car allows you to leave when you want, stop where you want and change your plans according to the weather, light or simply how you feel that day.
That freedom is one of the things we love about travelling around Lapland ourselves.
But only hire a car if you feel comfortable driving in winter
This is important.
We would never tell somebody that they should hire a car if they are nervous about driving on snow and ice.
Lapland roads in winter are very different from dry roads in Britain, Germany, Italy or Australia.
Main roads are generally maintained very efficiently, and snowploughs can clear fresh snowfall remarkably quickly. Rental cars are equipped for Finnish winter conditions, including proper winter tyres. Traffic is also generally very light compared with most European cities.
But that does not mean winter driving should be taken lightly.
Fresh snow can be slippery. Visibility can become extremely poor during heavy snowfall. Braking distances change. Snow at the edge of a road can pull a vehicle towards it if you drive too close.
And conditions can change quickly.
If you do not feel confident, do not put yourself or other people at risk simply because somebody told you that you need a car to experience Lapland.
Is driving in Lapland difficult?
For someone comfortable with winter conditions, driving here can actually feel quite calm. There are no complicated motorway systems to navigate in Lapland, traffic is generally light and roads are clearly marked.
But you need to change the way you drive.
Slow down. Leave more space. Brake gently and earlier than you would on a dry road. Pay attention to the conditions rather than simply following the speed limit.
Road edges are marked with poles during winter because snow can make it difficult to see exactly where the road ends. Stay within them.
And never rush.
If a journey normally takes an hour, give yourself more time in winter.
Do you need a 4x4 in Lapland?
Usually, no.
This surprises many visitors.
You do not need a large 4x4 simply because you are driving in Lapland. A normal car with the correct winter tyres is perfectly capable of driving on properly maintained winter roads. Good winter tyres matter much more than having an enormous vehicle.
Of course, if you are renting a car, choose something you feel comfortable driving and make sure it has enough space for your luggage and winter clothing.
Watch for reindeer and other animals
This is one of the biggest differences between driving here and driving in many other places.
Reindeer can appear on or beside the road at any time. They do not understand road rules, and they are not particularly concerned about your travel plans. Slow down when you see them and be prepared for more animals following behind. Moose are less commonly seen but are considerably larger, so you should always remain alert, particularly on quieter roads.
And please do not stop in the middle of the road because you have spotted a reindeer, beautiful scenery or the Northern Lights.
Find somewhere safe to pull over first but not someone’s driveway.
Lapland roads may be quiet, but they are still roads.
A few winter driving details that surprise first-time visitors
There are several small things that are completely normal to us now but can be unfamiliar if you have never driven in an Arctic winter.
If your car has been outside during snowfall, allow enough time to clear the snow properly before driving.
You will also see electrical sockets beside many parking spaces. These can be used for engine heaters fitted to cars during very cold weather. They are not necessarily electric-car charging points.
And you may notice that winter roads here do not look like winter roads in many European countries. There are good reasons for this, including how roads are maintained and how snow behaves in very cold temperatures.
We explain this in much more detail in Our Winter Guide to Levi Lapland, together with practical advice about driving in Arctic conditions and the things worth knowing before you collect a rental car and set off for the first time.
These small details are worth understanding before you collect a rental car, rather than discovering them for the first time on a dark winter evening.
If you decide not to hire a car
Do not worry. You can still have an excellent Lapland holiday.
Research your accommodation location before booking and check:
how far it is from restaurants and shops
where your activities start
whether activity providers offer transfers
whether there is a ski bus nearby
what taxis are likely to cost
how you will travel to and from the airport.
A little planning makes a big difference.
Here in Levi, for example, many visitors manage very comfortably using a combination of walking, ski buses, activity transfers and taxis.
If you decide to hire a car
Book it well in advance, particularly if you are travelling during the busiest winter periods.
Availability can become limited and last-minute prices can become extremely high. And once you arrive, do not feel that having a car means you need to spend your holiday driving everywhere.
Sometimes the best days in Lapland are the ones when the car does not move at all.
So, do you need a car in Finnish Lapland?
If you stay centrally, join organised activities and are happy using taxis or local transport when needed, you can enjoy Levi or other Lapland destinations perfectly well without one.
If you stay outside the centre, want to explore independently, enjoy photography or plan to travel around Lapland, a rental car can give you considerably more freedom.
And if you are not comfortable driving in Arctic winter conditions, do not hire one simply because you think you are supposed to.
There is no single correct choice.
Choose according to where you are staying, what you want to do and how you like to travel.
Want to understand winter driving before you arrive?
This blog gives you enough information to decide whether hiring a car is right for your trip.
But if you decide that you are going to drive, there is much more worth knowing before you arrive.
Our Winter Guide to Levi Lapland has a detailed practical section covering winter driving and travelling around Lapland: what the roads are really like, snow and ice, winter tyres, road markings, snowstorms and poor visibility, animals on the road, rental cars, engine heaters, parking, safety and getting around without a car. It also includes detailed Levi-specific information about travelling to Levi, navigating the village and places worth visiting nearby.
It is the information we wish every first-time winter driver could read before getting behind the wheel in Lapland.
We hope this helps you decide whether hiring a car is right for your Lapland holiday and, if you do decide to drive, helps you feel a little better prepared for the winter roads.
Thank you for reading.
See you in Lapland,
Aggie, Paul & Gooseberry
And drive safely!
Every photograph in this article was taken by us in Levi, where we have lived since 2018.
