Explore Lapland

Helsinki to Rovaniemi by train

VR’s Santa Claus Express is an overnight train from Helsinki or Turku to Rovaniemi, Kolari or Kemijärvi, covering the roughly 820 km to Rovaniemi in about 8 hours 22 minutes at its fastest. A seat starts at 22.90 EUR, a two-person sleeper cabin at 49 EUR, and a car space, booked separately, at 39 EUR.

Last checked 18 September 2026
A VR night train, hauled by two orange and white diesel locomotives, crossing a snow-covered clearing lined with birch and spruce near Kolari.

Helsinki to Rovaniemi, 820 km, while you sleep

VR calls its overnight service to Lapland the Santa Claus Express. It runs from Helsinki or Turku to Rovaniemi, Kolari or Kemijärvi, and a separate night train runs from Tampere to Kolari. Kolari is the end of the line for Ylläs and the western fells; Rovaniemi is the stop for the city itself and for onward buses further north.

Helsinki to Rovaniemi is about 820 km, and VR gives the fastest journey as 8 hours 22 minutes, so you sleep through most of it. On the busiest nights of the ski season VR says up to five night trains leave Helsinki: two to Kolari and three to Rovaniemi. Outside those peak dates, expect fewer departures a night. There is a restaurant car, and VR offers breakfast delivered to your seat or cabin. You can bring a bicycle, and pets travel for 4.10 EUR to 8.30 EUR depending on the length of your journey.

Seats, cabins and what they cost

You choose between a reclining seat and a private cabin. VR’s cabins come in three types: a two-person cabin on the lower deck, a two-person cabin with its own shower on the upper deck, and what VR calls a nostalgic three-person cabin. A car needs its own booking, separate from your ticket.

What the night train starts at VR’s lowest published fares. A seat starts at 22.90 EUR, a bed means a cabin from 49 EUR, and a car needs its own ticket.
What the night train starts atSeat: 22.90 EUR, from, a reclining seat, no bed. Two-person cabin: 49 EUR, from. Two-person cabin with shower: 74 EUR, from. Three-person cabin: not separately published when we checked. Car space: 39 EUR, from. Motorcycle space: 29 EUR, from.Seat22.90 EUR · from, a reclining seat, no bedTwo-person cabin49 EUR · fromTwo-person cabin with shower74 EUR · fromThree-person cabinnot separately published when we checkedCar space39 EUR · fromMotorcycle space29 EUR · fromWhat the night train starts atSeat: 22.90 EUR, from, a reclining seat, no bed. Two-person cabin: 49 EUR, from. Two-person cabin with shower: 74 EUR, from. Three-person cabin: not separately published when we checked. Car space: 39 EUR, from. Motorcycle space: 29 EUR, from.Seat22.90 EUR · from, a reclining seat, no bedTwo-person cabin49 EUR · fromTwo-person cabin with shower74 EUR · fromThree-person cabinnot separately published when we checkedCar space39 EUR · fromMotorcycle space29 EUR · from

Starting fares. Seats and cabins cost more as the train fills or the date gets closer.

Source: VR, night trains and the Santa Claus Express. Checked 18 September 2026.

VR’s night train options and their lowest published fares. Checked 18 September 2026.
OptionWhat it isFrom
SeatA reclining seat, no bed22.90 EUR
Two-person cabinPrivate cabin, lower deck, shared washroom on the carriage49 EUR
Two-person cabin with showerPrivate cabin, upper deck, its own shower and toilet74 EUR
Three-person cabinVR’s “nostalgic” three-berth cabinNot separately published when we checked
Car spaceA place for your car on the car-carrier wagons39 EUR
Motorcycle spaceA place for a motorcycle29 EUR
PetAny pet, in the cabin or with you4.10 EUR to 8.30 EUR, by journey length

These are VR’s lowest published fares. Book early and a cabin plus a car space can come to as little as 88 EUR (a 49 EUR cabin and a 39 EUR car space); seat and cabin prices rise as the train fills or the date gets closer. When we checked, VR was selling tickets for journeys up to 25 April 2027, so whatever the name suggests, the service runs well beyond Christmas.

The train stops short of every resort

No fell resort has a station, Levi and Ylläs included. From Kolari station, VR suggests a 35 km bus to Ylläs, or 85 km to Levi by bus or by a car you have brought or hired. From Rovaniemi station, VR says the alternative is a 2.5-hour bus to Levi.

Build that last leg into your arrival time before you book anything else around it. Getting around Lapland covers the car hire and the buses once you are there.

The train stops short of every resort The night train reaches Rovaniemi or Kolari, and a bus covers the last leg to Levi or Ylläs.
The train stops short of every resortTo Levi through Rovaniemi: Helsinki (Night train, about 820 km, 8 hours 22 minutes at the fastest) → Rovaniemi (Bus, 2.5 hours) → Levi. To Ylläs or Levi through Kolari: Helsinki (Night train) → Kolari (Bus, 35 km to Ylläs; bus or car, 85 km to Levi) → Ylläs or Levi. Not to scale.Diagram, not to scaleTo Levi through RovaniemiNight train, about 820 km, 8 hours 22 minutes at thefastestBus, 2.5 hoursHelsinkiRovaniemiLeviTo Ylläs or Levi through KolariNight trainBus, 35 km to Ylläs; bus or car, 85 km to LeviHelsinkiKolariEnd of the lineYlläs or LeviThe train stops short of every resortTo Levi through Rovaniemi: Helsinki (Night train, about 820 km, 8 hours 22 minutes at the fastest) → Rovaniemi (Bus, 2.5 hours) → Levi. To Ylläs or Levi through Kolari: Helsinki (Night train) → Kolari (Bus, 35 km to Ylläs; bus or car, 85 km to Levi) → Ylläs or Levi. Not to scale.Diagram, not to scaleTo Levi through RovaniemiHelsinkiNight train, about 820 km, 8 hours22 minutes at the fastestRovaniemiBus, 2.5 hoursLeviTo Ylläs or Levi through KolariHelsinkiNight trainKolariEnd of the lineBus, 35 km to Ylläs; bus or car, 85km to LeviYlläs or Levi

Source: VR, trains between Helsinki and Rovaniemi, and an active winter holiday in Lapland. Checked 18 September 2026.

What people get wrong

Expecting the train to reach the resort. It stops at Kolari or Rovaniemi, and Ylläs and Levi are still a bus ride beyond that.

Reading the name as a Christmas special. The Santa Claus Express is VR’s name for its regular overnight Lapland service, which runs across the whole season.

Leaving the car space until the last minute. On the busiest ski-season nights up to five trains leave Helsinki, and car-carrier space is part of what sells out.

Booking a seat and expecting a bed. The lowest fare buys a reclining seat. A bed means a cabin, from 49 EUR.

Expecting the pet to travel free. VR charges 4.10 EUR to 8.30 EUR depending on how far you are going.

If flying suits your dates better, flights to Lapland covers the airports and the direct routes from the UK.

Who this is not for

Anyone looking for local buses and car hire once in Lapland, which are in our guide to getting around Lapland, or for flights, which have their own guide. This page is VR’s overnight trains from southern Finland to Lapland, and it quotes no fare beyond VR’s published starting prices, because seat and cabin prices change with demand and with how far ahead you book.

Sources

  1. VR, Santa Claus Express, checked 18 September 2026
  2. VR, night trains, checked 18 September 2026
  3. VR, trains between Helsinki and Rovaniemi, checked 18 September 2026
  4. VR, an active winter holiday in Lapland, checked 18 September 2026

Last checked 18 September 2026.

Photographs, all from Wikimedia Commons: Near Kolari, Finnish Lapland, on the line VR’s night trains use in March by Kabelleger / David Gubler (http://www.bahnbilder.ch), CC BY-SA 3.0, colour-adjusted. Each is cropped and resized here, and our versions carry the same licence as the original.