Looking for some fabulous things to do in Finland? Look no further. This travel video adventure takes you from Helsinki Finland, all the way to Lapland to meet the real Santa Claus, learn about the Sami people, and hunt for the northern lights.

Rovaniemi, Finland

WATCH THE VIDEO ▶︎ Top 10 Things To Do In Finland

1. Try The Finnish Food

Finland is known for its salmon and other smoked fishes. It’s also known for its wild blueberries, root vegetables and wild mushrooms which you can find in the forests. Foraging in the forests is a thing that a lot of Finns do. Wild reindeer meat is another common food source for the Finns.

Food in Finland- Salmon, Berries and Beets

They’ve also got some cool craft cocktails made with similar wild forest berries

Finnish Cocktails

2. Visit Helsinki

Helsinki is not only Finland’s Capital, but the largest city in Finland. It’s a tidy and charming European town with many busy squares, trolly trains, and people enjoying the day. You can join me for a quick stroll around Helsinki in this video.

🇫🇮 Finland is fabulous so far! Helsinki is stylish, cool, and clean as a whistle. The city is delightful but I can’t wait to head further north and into the wild 🌲😳 After the conference of course!

A post shared by 🕶 Alicia Mae Webb (@amaetv) on Sep 26, 2015 at 12:17pm PDT

3. Stop For Nature

Driving north into Lapland, you’ll find plenty of places to stop and see this beautiful and serene environment. The sunsets are astounding, and after you cross the arctic circle you’ll notice special stillness in the air making it clear you are somewhere special.

Finland Sunset

4. Enjoy A Finnish Sauna

As an attendee of the Global Forum conference in Oulu I had a very unique opportunity to visit the Mayor’s guest house in the spectacular forest. It featured a traditional smoke sauna that the men and women took turns using before the dinner party.

The sauna is a traditional Finnish customary experience especially when followed by a dip into the freezing river, followed further by smoked salmon chowder. It’s all in the video!

This is actually a sauna in Amsterdam, but you get the idea.

Where can you enjoy a vintage sauna on the rooftop of an old newspaper factory in Amsterdam? The @Volkshotel of course! Special thanks to this happening and hip hotel for making my stay as interesting as it was comfortable ❤️👍🏼

A post shared by 🕶 Alicia Mae Webb (@amaetv) on Sep 29, 2016 at 12:55pm PDT

5. Meet The Real Santa Claus

Legend has it that Rovaniemi Finland is Santa’s Claus’s official home town and the Santa Claus Holiday Village is where you’ll find his home office, his post office, and the man himself.

Meeting the real Santa Claus was quite the experience and I especially loved how they filmed the discussion, and let us purchase the full video!

Meeting The Real Santa

Santa Claus Holiday Village

6. Meet Reindeer

Here at Santa’s Village you can also meet the reindeer at a special place called the Reindeer Park. They are super sweet and gentle, and you can’t help but wonder about the secrets they keep about their work with Santa.

Meeting Reindeer in Finland

Reindeer Park In Finland

7- Visit A Husky Sled Dog Park

Another major attraction here at Santa’s Village is the Husky Sled Dog Park. Here husky dogs train to become strong and coordinated sled dogs. Since the park was in its off season in October, there were fresh puppies to play with and lots of observations to be made about how the team was being trained. They practiced pulling four wheelers with a pack trainer in place to show them how. They say husky sled dogs love their work and love to run as a team, especially when they get to pull delighted tourists through the snow during later winter months.

🇫🇮 A little hello from the Arctic husky pups of Rovaniemi, Finland 💕

A post shared by 🕶 Alicia Mae Webb (@amaetv) on Oct 3, 2015 at 8:50pm PDT

Husky Sled Dog Park- Finland

8- Learn about Sami Culture

While most come this far north to hunt the northern lights, it’s great to spend the daytime learning about the indigenous Sami people of lapland. The Siida museum tells their rich history through exhibits, artifacts and beautiful representations of the Sami people. This Sami doll shows how the Sami people had to bundle up in furs to keep warm and protected from the harsh winter elements.

Sami People Of Finland Doll

9- Buy Some Finnish Souvenirs

And now that you’ve learned all about Finland and its people it’s time to buy some souvenirs. Your best bet here is to go for their authentic handicrafts, woven pieces all bursting with color and intricate patterns. You can even purchase elements of their traditional Sami costume, sure to brighten up any outfit.

Traditional Sami Costume in Finland

10- See The Northern Lights

And is where things get sad. After coming all this way, NORTH of the arctic circle to maximize my chances of catching the spectacular northern lights-I learned that cosmic solar flare light shows are not that simple. All it took was cloud cover on both nights to block the aurora borealis from shining through and into my camera lens. That’s ok because I did find some amazing creative commons contributions for the video on Flickr, and this simply means my hunt for the aurora borealis, will continue.

What are your favorite things to do in Finland? Let me know in the comments below!

A PIN FOR YOUR TRAVEL BOARDS ▶︎ TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN FINLAND