Levi Adventures: Explore Levi’s Wacky Wonders and Snowy Delights

Liverpool Rain to Rovaniemi Snow

After a one night pit stop in Liverpool, we landed in the frozen lands of Rovaniemi, Finland. We landed around 8PM with the runway covered with a solid layer of snow and a cozy -10°C.

After the entry formalities, we headed to our car rental (Enterprise). Since we moved a little faster we managed to be in front of the line, only 2 persons in front of us. I’ve booked the car through rantacar.com . It was 360 EUR for 5 days plus 56 EUR for the full insurance. Besides the initial costs I’ve also opted for the Road Assistance 20 EUR (i knew i’m going to drive in snow) and also a child booster 25 EUR for Clara. And of course the Deposit of 300 EUR (which should be returned after you complete your rental) in about 5-7 business days. Even though I’ve rented a small car (VW Polo) I’ve gotten an upgrade, a Toyota Yaris Cross 4×4 which was a great car for our journey.

Headed outside in the cold and started to search for our car in the parking lot. After a few rounds, my wife found it at the end of all the parked cars. The car was brand new, 12k km made, and with a full tank ready for us. Our first stop? Lidl went to do some groceries shopping, since we knew that next morning we would head to some of our planned routes.

Road to Levi and the Northern Lights

It was 20:30 and our objective was to reach Levi by midnight, so we left in a hurry but very cautious since the road was covered by ice and snow, and also with a blizzard in progress. It was a 180 km journey, in the dark with about 10 cars we met on our way. The best surprise for us was once we were close to Levi, about 20 km we saw the Northern Lights, visible with your own eyes, but even more beautiful in the photos we’ve taken after a full stop of our car and lights.

Right after we reached our place in Levi, we easily checked in to our Booking accommodation, the key was in the lock box. The place was right down town (Levi is a small one) right near the Ski Resort, 10 mins walk ready to take us for 2 nights. The location is called Open Keys and it’s a settlement of houses with parking included. Having -10°C outside we had some second thoughts about the temperature inside but fortunately it was very warm considering the outside temperatures. The place had a chimney and also a sauna just in case. Downstairs it was an open space with a kitchenette and upstairs, a small place with 2 more bunk beds, ready for Clara and myself :). It was about 11 PM but I was still eager to see more of the surroundings (pinned a lake nearby) with hope to see some more Northern Lights. After a 5 min drive we were there, but with some cloud coverage we just managed to enjoy the snow, then headed back home to sleep.

Exploring the Christmas Wonderland

It was a freezy morning up north, the winter is here in Levi (GOT reference) and we had a long day ahead of us. First we had tasty breakfast with our choices made a day before on our shopping food spree :). Having this checked, the next thing on our list was to dress as cozy and warm as possible since we knew we were going to spend a lot of time in the cold.

We were finally ready, and we headed to the lake we visited last night to see some people ice fishing. And we spotted one, and with great aplomb we started approaching him to see how he was doing. But after about 200m the ice was starting to melt on some areas, being visible with each step I was talking about. Not sure how the fisherman was moving around the lake, but having a kid with me and not a fan of the freezing lake swimming, made me make a 180 degrees turnover and headed back to the shore. It was a close one, which I’ll remember for a while.

The whole world had turned white, and the snow was still falling.
Tove Jansson

Tonttula, the Elf Village

My expectations weren’t too high, since after my so-called research Arcandia and Santa Village in Rovaniemi were on the top of everyone’s bucket list. Well, I was way off, and even if my plan was to stay here for a couple of hours, we stayed here almost all day and we had a blast, definitely one of my favorite places near Levi and in Lapland. Once we parked our car we saw a group of people dressed the same way (most of the people coming here come with Travel Agencies, that provide labeled winter suits so they can track each other) with a lot of kids playing with the sleights and doing other winter activities. We were excited to join the party and our first stop was the Cafeteria where we ordered a coffee and a warm chocolate to enter the atmosphere. This was happening around 11, at which time the bartender told us the place is booked for the group I was mentioning before and we need to come back after 2PM if we would like to explore the surroundings. Well, I never take no for an answer, so I decided to explore the area anyway (I know it was rude but hey, it was cold and probably never planning to come back here pretty soon).

Headed out in the snow, grabbed a sleigh, Clara loves to ride it at high speeds 🙂, and after exploring a bit the place we went to the toboggan where most of the kids were. Now we were ready to see more, so we headed to the snowy forest, there was a route with multiple checkpoints like the reindeer farm, the Elf House, the Christmas Town and of course the igloos where you could book it for the night with some pretty icy prices and from which you could probably see the Northern Lights from your bed if you were lucky. On our way we crossed a bridge over a water or went to an Ice Tunnel with some really nice ice sculptures. Also there were all sorts of Elf attractions like small houses, chairs or Elf statues. Then we reached the Christmas Town, where in a cercle setup there were 4 main attractions:

The Postal Office – drink a warm juice and have a cookie and of course write your letter to Santa and mail it to him,
The Cookie Factory – make your own cookies, Clara was very excited to use the different shapes, which after her touch went to the oven, you need to wait for about half an hour and then went back to pick up and eat them of course,
The Activity Center – create different kind of things from paper or other materials, with the help of Girl Elves,
The Bathrooms 🙂

The park was covered with colorful lights which brought a ferric atmosphere accompanied by Christmas music. It was almost 2PM, and the group started to organize for leaving. In this case we headed back to the restaurant/cafeteria to eat something since it was quite late. The place was dressed for Christmas and of course with plenty of gifts or sweets for the little ones. My plan was to get only one plush animal, and of course she chose the Wolf with a little wolf no wonder :). Overall the food/coffee was not great nor too expensive. We were ready for another round since outside started to snow(again). So went to the toboggan for another spin with the sleigh and also found a hut where they were roasting marshmallows over an open fire.

It was dark (in this period of the year the sun/light shows around 10AM and it goes away at 2PM), and the lights were starting to give you an even more Christmasy feeling. Made a few more photos for the memory and decided to leave this exciting place, since I had other places to check for the day.

Sleigh power around the city center of Levi

Our next stop? The ski resort, I promised mom she will see us on the public camera 🙂 which you can find here. But before anything we needed to eat again, staying so much in the cold you need energy, a lot of it, and Clara proved to be a tough little one. Parked at the North Point, free of charge btw and chose Colorado Restaurant for our feast. I went for a reindeer soup (yummi) and Diana chose a steak to share with Clara, both really tasty. The ticket was 80 EUR with some drinks included.

Warmed up, and energized, we were ready to head to the web camera. After a visual and phone sync, I wanted to get more info on the ski experience. The place was still open so I went inside to check the prices and the process of renting ski equipment and also card for the lifts. Besides this, i’ve decided to buy a sleigh since we had 5 days ahead of us, only 15 EUR, a real bargain.

Ok, so i had my info on the ski topic, we had a sleigh therefore we need to use it right? Right beside the skiers of course there was a toboggan where even if it was pretty late, about 6PM there were a lot of kids with their parents having the time of their life, so we’ve joined them obviously.

Here I’ve also found that the resort has 3 entry points, the North which is for advanced skiers, West for intermediate, and South for beginners. So since I knew Clara wanted to join me on the slope, and because it was just 6PM I decided to check the South Point as well, it was just a 10 min drive. Once here, the place was deserted already, the ski lifts here were closing 1 hour earlier than North Point.

Arcandia a winter fairyland

Even if most people would have gone home and rested, I’m not most people, and since Arcandia was very close, another 10 mins I’ve decided to head there and see what’s going on. The place was full of lights and looked like a winter wonderland from outside. Parked the car, besides our there were maybe another 3-4 cars. At a first glance it seemed that it was closed or closing. Not really, at the entrance, initially we were not granted access because they had a limit of people inside, but in the end we were let in, I suppose Clara made the sweet eyes 🙂. The prices are as follows, adult / 20 EUR kid under 7yo / FREE. Also each ticket includes only 1 token, and since all inside activities require at least 1-2 tokens you’ll need to buy more. You can check the prices here, also the price on the website is the same as at the entrance, but at least you are sure you can enter.

Right at the entrance there was the reindeer paddock where you could feed them for 1 Coin, but we decided to explore the park first and once we planned our exit we\ll meet the reindeers. After passing the paddock left and right there are elfs houses covered with a rainbow of lights and then there is the main square (which is a cerlce) where in the middle lies the Tavern, where you could enjoy some hot drinks and embrace the wooden fire. Of course we skipped this as well and went forward to see what other activities are available, like shooting the bow, snowball fighting or bubble battle. Everything looked like a fairyland with thousands of colorful lights. After our activity tour we stopped at the tavern to try hot chocolate and tea, and rested at the fireplace. There was one more thing to do, feed the reindeer so we joined the other guests to get acquainted with X and Y. Went to our car and decided to call it a night, but Clara wanted another spin with the sleight near our place. Like a good day, I complied and after getting back home and warmed up a bit, we went outside, again. Made a few rounds and headed to the city center 10 mins walk, or 10 min running or pulling the sled.

And we were done, its was 10PM and after a very long day, in which i’ve managed to cover more the I had planned. Headed back home, to have a solid sleep, the next day was for a skiing session also in Levi.

The Freezing Ski Resort

On our last day in Levi, we decided to brave the slopes, choosing West Point as our launch pad for some frosty fun. Originally, I had big plans to take Clara along for the ride, but when the thermometer laughed at us with a cool -15°C, we decided to put a pin that for another time. Having that sorted out, they decided to have a relaxing day at Ravintola Sivakka restaurant, and enjoy some hot tea and waffles to keep them warm.

After gearing up and grabbing a 4-hour ski lift pass, I headed straight to the top for my first run, feeling like a champ—at least until some fearless kids zipped past me, making me reconsider my life choices. But whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Levi’s got you covered. The views? Stunning. The snow? Like skiing on a fluffy cloud of pure joy. Time flew by faster than I could say “one more run.”

By the time my pass was up, I was starving and ready to defrost, so I joined the gang for a cozy lunch at Ravintola Sivakka. While I had been conquering the slopes, they had been conquering waffles and hot tea. Honestly, I think they won the day! If you’re visiting Levi in winter, make sure to hit the slopes—and don’t skip the warm, delicious pit stops.

In short, Levi’s slopes are an absolute must for any ski lover—thrilling runs, stunning views, and unforgettable moments you’ll be talking about long after the snow melts.

Final thoughts

Even if most travelers, solo, couples or families are choosing Rovaniemi, for us Sirkka was even better. Why? here are w few things to consider when choosing Rovaniemi or Sirkka:

Less crowded, therefore easier to find winter experiences,
Great ski resort, for all ranges, beginner or advanced,
Incredible places to experience authentic Christmas Holidays, Tontulla or Arcandia,
Better chance of seeing the Northern Lights being closer to the pole.

Overall a great place to spend 3-4 days, either to enjoy the snowy experiences or just relax in some of the many saunas that all accommodations have. Sirkka can still be a hidden gem while Rovaniemi is pretty mainstream.