All you need to know to rent a car in Finnish Lapland in winter
Visiting Finnish Lapland during the cold season is an exhilarating experience for a winter outdoor lover.
With options ranging from skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, ice-skating, dog sledding, and reindeer rides, there's really no shortage of activities to keep cold-weather enthusiasts busy. Throw in the mix the chance to witness the Northern Lights or to meet Santa at the one and only Santa Claus Village, and you can see why this corner of Northern Europe has very few contenders for the perfect winter holiday prize.
There are various options to reach Finnish Lapland in winter and I have written a dedicated guide to explain it all to you in detail. Its international airports have daily direct flights from Helsinki and a few connections from the rest of Europe. The very efficient national railway network includes a station in Rovaniemi (I can’t recommend enough the overnight train from Helsinki) and stretches a little further north to Kolari and Kemijärvi. There is also a fairly extensive bus network that criss-crosses Finland and reaches virtually every village in Lapland.
But whatever the carrier you have chosen to deliver you to this winter wonderland, my heartfelt advice is to continue on by car. Feeling the embrace of seemingly infinite stretches of snowy forest, passing by huge icy lake expanses made to shimmer by the low sun, witnessing valleys open in front of you as the road unwinds among white fells, all from the comfort of a warm vehicle, is one of the joys of a winter visit of Lapland by car. And then there’s the freedom to stop at will, be it to snap a few pictures of the magical scenery and the cute cabins that pepper it, to park at the trailhead of an enchanting nature walk, or even just to listen to the peaceful silence pervading the landscape around you.
For most of us, driving in Lapland means renting a car. I am glad I did and would love to help you if you want to do the same.
Guide to renting a car in Finnish Lapland in winter
In this guide I will cover all you need to know to rent a car and drive in winter in Finnish Lapland. I have been there and am happy to spill the beans.
Contents
Where can you rent a car in Finnish Lapland?
Rental car companies have pickup locations in all four international airports of Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo, and Kuusamo and in the three railway stations of Rovaniemi, Kolari and Kemijärvi. Significant hubs such as Rovaniemi and Kittilä also have downtown pickups.
All major car rental brands operate alongside a few local ones, albeit not all from the same locations and not with the same prices. You can visit their individual websites, check if they serve your desired starting point and work out the price comparison yourself. Or you can do as I always do and rent through a car rental online search engine; this allows me to find all available car rentals in a location of my choice and to get the best possible rates across the board. My go-to car rental search engine in the past few years has always been Discover Cars. They offer preferential rates that we would hardly have access to if renting directly from a car rental company. All we need to do is identify suitable deals, compare review scores of car rental operators (don’t skip this step!), and book online. There is a 48-hour free cancellation policy that gives peace of mind. And the full coverage insurance policy is the best value I have ever come across in my many years of car renting around the world, and certainly much cheaper than when purchased from a car rental agency.
Tip: Even when buying full coverage from Discover Cars, at car pickup time some rental agencies will try to tell you that you need to take on additional insurance; that’s not the case, and you should always reject that offer unless you want duplicate policies in place. They may also warn you that you will still be charged for any damage to the vehicle, and that it will be your job to later claim a refund from Discover Cars; that’s accurate, but the refund process is easy and quick, and the customer service in my experience has always been faultless.
The details of my car rental from Rovaniemi Railway Station
- We rented from Discover Cars a medium car (described as ‘Volkswagen Golf or similar’ - we ended up with an Opel Astra family car) with manual transmission for five days in December.
- We included full insurance cover.
- The total rental price was £210 (around $257 or €245).
- We had unlimited mileage and a full tank of petrol to return full.
- We picked it up at Rovaniemi railway station on the morning of our train’s arrival and returned it to Rovaniemi Airport on our departure day.
- The rental company was Enterprise.
There are no rental car offices inside the small Rovaniemi station, so Enterprise sent a representative to meet us with the car keys. They had also sent us a link with an online ‘check in’ form to complete and speed up the pickup process. We were so excited during our overnight train journey to Lapland that we completely forgot about (ignored?) that online form and had to go through the full process via the Enterprise employee’s tiny laptop at the train station. It was a small price to pay for us, maybe not so much for the poor Enterprise guy. But he was most courteous and didn’t mention the missed online check in at all.
The car was in pristine condition and had the all-important winter studded tyres (more about that later). We loaded our suitcases and hit the long, forested roads of Lapland.
What should your car rental in Finnish Lapland include?
To maximise the freedom that a car rental affords, I recommend selecting an unlimited mileage rental. You don’t really want to worry about how far you go, or to rule out additional destinations in your visit because they don’t fit in your mileage allowance.
I also always rent cars with a full petrol tank, so I can hit the road immediately instead of having to look for a petrol station before I am familiar with the vehicle and before I can start enjoying my holiday. Additionally, if your pickup time falls during the preciously scarce daylight hours of winter Lapland, you don’t want to waste any of those bright minutes on such a tedious task.
All rental cars will come fully equipped with the legal type of tyres (in winter that means winter tyres) and most will provide an engine heater for the coldest days (we didn’t need to use ours).
Finally, you may be a great winter driver, but nothing beats peace of mind: I recommend buying full insurance cover from Discover Cars. This is likely to be a small additional charge per day. We did include it in our Lapland rental, and still managed to score a great deal.
What are the legal rules for driving in Finnish Lapland?
These are some basic but important rules to follow when driving in Finland, Lapland included:
You need a valid driver’s licence. All current EU-issued licences are accepted. Most current non-EU licenses are also considered valid, but if not printed in a Latin alphabet, they need to be accompanied by an official Finnish, Swedish, or English translation. More details can be found on this page from the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.
In Finland you will drive on the right-hand side of the road. When in doubt, remember: passenger to the curb!
Speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside of them. Both limits are enforced if there is no other speed limit posted.
Headlights must be on, no matter the time of day or season.
Seatbelts are compulsory, including in the back seats.
Snow chains are illegal. Instead, by law, from December 1st to March 1st, all cars must have winter tyres.
Is it dangerous to drive in Lapland in winter?
Driving in winter Lapland is not dangerous per se.
Finnish Lapland may be sparsely populated but it is an inhabited area, with people like us (ok, the Finns are quite hardy, but their lives aren’t that extravagant) going about their day-to-day life, driving their cars to the nearest towns or other places to visit family and friends, go to work, do the weekly shopping and, of course, reach the great outdoors to take in the beauty of their land. This is not some remote Arctic outpost requiring special skills to move around it.
Also, Finland ranks 5th among European countries for road safety and, generally speaking, is a country where rules are followed and safety is taken seriously.
In my experience, the conditions of the roads in Lapland were really good at the end of December. This is particularly true on highways, which were quite wide and relatively clean. Mind you, this is an area where between December and February it snows on a regular basis, so a perfectly clear road is an unlikely sight; but you won't need too long behind the wheel to get the hang of it. You will usually be cruising on long straight roads where the speed is pretty constant and braking and turning only happen when reaching a destination. If venturing along minor roads, you are sure to face a few inches of snow under your tyres. Those studded tyres will be your best friends.
We met the majority of traffic close to the main towns, but for most of our time in Lapland we were the only ones on the road, and we didn’t ever feel stressed or pressurised by other drivers. A rare local vehicle would typically overtake us, and we were fine with that.
Another aspect that made us feel safe is that Finland has extremely high mobile phone data coverage all the way to Lapland. So, if you have a data plan (and I suggest you do) you can easily access online maps from your phone.
To conclude, if you respect road rules and avoid any dangerous driving behaviour, you are likely to really enjoy the scenic road trips that Lapland makes possible in winter. Especially if you include that full insurance cover with your car rental.
What are the main hazards of driving in Lapland in winter?
It is a good idea to know in advance what aspects could keep you on your toes. These are factors that affect both you and any other driver on the road, locals included, and are either Lapland-specific or season-related.
Wildlife. We all feel excited at the prospect of spotting a reindeer or a moose in Lapland, but we really shouldn't wish to spot one while driving. Wildlife is a serious cause of road accidents in Finland, especially during the migratory months of fall and spring.
I remember vividly how cautious my Finnish friends were while driving, keeping in the middle of the road and constantly scanning the landscape around for wildlife. They were particularly afraid of moose and it’s not hard to see why: weighting at least 250kg, these beasts can cause some serious damage in a collision with a car.
We didn’t spot any moose during our December trip to Lapland, but we did have frequent sightings of reindeer strolling by the roadside and saw them crossing in front of us a couple of times. With a 200,000-strong population, Finnish Lapland is reindeer realm. We humans are just some irrelevant minority, and they sure treat us as such: don’t expect them to abort a road crossing or to clear the road any quicker just because you are there. They will always go about their business and take the time they need. And that’s why you want to drive cautiously, have your passengers keep an eye on the roadsides, and be prepared to slow down as soon as you see some kind of antler peeking from the forest.
Snow and ice on the road: you will have both in winter Lapland. But you will have studded winter tyres and wide roads on your side. All you have to do is stick to the speed limits and be alert. Isn’t that how we should always be driving anyway? Sometimes you might not be able to see the road under the snow, but you will always be kept on the right track by snow pole markers, tall light-reflecting poles all along the sides of the road.
Snow mist from other cars. Larger vehicles often lift a lot of snow and that will likely land on your windscreen if they are coming from the opposite direction. This is not a real danger, but simply be aware that you will experience this. Just let your windscreen wipers do their job.
None of the above factors felt like a source of worry to us when researching driving in Lapland.
But to err on the safe side, we bought full insurance coverage.