Questions and Answers

When is Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka open?

Our Group Programs are available on dates specified in our pricelists and online shop. Most of the Private Programs are available all year around at the time convenient for you and available for booking. For booking your private program, please contact our customer service for assistance.

What is the difference between group programs and private programs?

Group Programs are experiences shared by multiple families, whom we collect from specific pick up points around Rovaniemi. There can be 4-60 participants per experience depending how many people have purchased places for that program. Private Programs are organized for one family / party exclusively guaranteeing full attention of the elves and allowing more customization. For booking your Private Program, please contact our customer service for assistance.

How can I book my visit to Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka?

Group Programs can be purchased from our online shop or by contacting our customer service. If you would like to have your Christmassy experience a bit more magical and have a Private Program, please contact our customer service for assistance.

I didn’t receive the order confirmation for my online purchase via email. What should I do?

Unfortunately, many times the confirmation voucher ends up in the junk mail folder. Please check that folder, and if you can’t find your confirmation there, please contact us at info@santapark.com.

Does my Christmas experience in Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka include entrance tickets to SantaPark as well?

As Santa Claus Secret Forest and SantaPark are two different attractions, your booked program in Santa Claus Secret Forest does not include entrance tickets to SantaPark. However, we would be delighted to see you also in the SantaPark – home cavern of Santa Claus! Do not hesitate to check out all the information about the location and book tickets from here.

SantaPark is a great place to visit and enjoy all the Christmas-themed attractions, however if you are planning to visit Santa in Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka we would highly suggest avoid meeting Santa in SantaPark and enjoy your special time with Santa Claus in Joulukka.

I am searching accommodation in Rovaniemi, what would be a good choice?

Our best advice for accommodation in Rovaniemi would be Arctic TreeHouse Hotel. The Scandinavian designed hotel with Arctic view and feel offers extraordinary stay experience in the middle of the nature, at the same time very close to other big Christmas destinations – SantaPark and Santa Claus Holiday Village. Discover Arctic TreeHouse Hotel on the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland.

The actual location of Santa Claus Secret Forest Joulukka is very well-kept elf secret; however, we are happy to reveal it to our guests who booked their adventure – it takes nearly 30 minutes to arrive there from Rovaniemi. All our experiences include return transfers from the main hotels and apartments in Rovaniemi (pick-up and drop-off from/to the same location) for the convenience of our guests. In our online shop you may select your pick-up point directly at the time of booking.

Are transfers included from my accommodation to Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka?

All our experiences include return transfers from the selected hotels in Rovaniemi (pick-up and drop-off from/to the same location). In our online shop you may select your pick-up point directly at the time of booking.  If you are unsure about your pick-up place, please contact our customer service for assistance.

Our pick-up locations for our Group Programs:

• Area 1: Santa Claus Holiday Village Reception (Three Elves Restaurant), Arctic TreeHouse Hotel
• Area 2: Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus Reception
• Area 3: Lapland Hotel Sky Ounasvaara Reception, SantaSport Institute Reception, Lapland Hotels Ounasvaara Chalets Reception

For Private Programs we pick-up from the main hotels and private apartments in Rovaniemi area ( max 10km from Rovaniemi city centre).

How do I know where I need to be and when?

Pick-up time and Pick-up place are confirmed to you upon reservation. Please make sure that you are at the right place at the correct local time ready for the pick-up. It is good to be there approx. 10 minutes earlier.

Do I need to print out the confirmation of the booking and bring it with me to the experience?

As we highly appreciate our beautiful Lappish nature, there is no need for printing confirmation voucher and bring it with you to the experience. However, make sure you at least have the booking confirmation on your electronic device in case we would need to confirm your details.

Can I arrive to Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka with my own car?

As Santa Claus Secret Forest is a truly a secret forest of Santa Claus you cannot unfortunately arrive there with your own car as it cannot even be found on a map! If you are unsure which pick-up place you should select, please contact our customer service for assistance.

Can I make a reservation for group to Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka?

Our group activity expert will take care of designing a perfect event for you. Feel free to share your wishes regarding group experiences and contact our customer service for assistance.

Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka offers various spaces and services ideal for any group occasions, meetings, incentives, and events. Our dedicated team is here for you to design your perfect group experience, especially if it is a group dining, meeting, or fairytale experience. We are happy to customize any program as well as to combine it with lunch or dinner, adjusting the event specifically for adults or for children, making this a purely unforgettable event.

Can I provide information of my family/party in advance?

If you are attending one of our delightful Group Programs, during the transportation, you will have the chance to fill in special forms with the names of the little ones and their most special Christmas wishes. This information will be used during the program.

If you have treated your family to one of our Private Programs we have room for customization thus we would appreciate if you provide us with some information about your nearest and dearest in advance (names, ages, hobbies, etc.) This information will be used during the program by our magical staff.

Is the whole program taking place outside?

This depends on which kind of program you have purchased. However, all our programs include time indoors as well as outdoors. Elves are doing their best to keep every participant warm and jolly. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend wearing warm winter clothing!

How should I dress for the program in Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka?

As Santa Claus Secret Forest is located deep in the forest area, temperatures might be colder than in the city so we do recommend dressing warm. Our experiences do not include thermal clothing but there are companies in the Arctic Circle and city centre area where you can rent thermal clothing if needed.

Some tips for dressing in the cold weather that you might find useful:

• Dress in layers. Use many thin, warm layers rather than a few thick layers. It will insulate better and allow you to strip off some layers if the temperature climbs. Staying dry is the top priority.
• Add a first layer consisting of a comfortably light fabric that will remove the sweat away from your body. Avoid pure cotton, linen, or other similar materials, however, because these fabrics retain moisture and will chill you down. The best material is synthetic fiber.
• Next layer should be a knit sweater, sweatshirt, or fleece. This layer is to keep you warm. Also, a warm tracking suit will do or the latest trend of one-piece overalls.
• Thick socks (best thing would be to wear 1 thin and 1 or 2 thick pairs of socks on top of each other)
• Thin under gloves (best material is fleece)

VisitFinland prepared a short fun video about how to dress, that would be very useful for your adventures in Lapland.

What is the language of the programs?

Our primary guaranteed language of the program is always English. We are also happy to make your fairy tale come true in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, and other languages on a preliminary request and based on our availability. If you would like to request service in other language, please contact our customer service for assistance.

Can I take pictures in Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka with my own camera?

Yes, of course! You can take as many pictures as you want with your own camera of your unforgettable Christmassy adventure, Santa Claus, and other magical creatures of Santa Claus Secret Forest.

Is Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka wheelchair accessible?

As Santa Claus Secret Forest is in the forest, sometimes outdoor areas can be quite tricky to access with the wheelchair. However, wider forest paths and some of our venues are wheelchair accessible. Please contact our customer service for further assistance.

Do children receive a gift from Santa Claus?

Every child will always receive a toy from Santa Claus if program includes Santa Claus Experience.

Can I buy souvenirs from Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka?

Santa Claus Secret Forest – Joulukka designed for fairytale explorations for the whole family to enjoy, without any commercial souvenir shops and extra fees. Every child always gets a toy from Santa Claus if program includes Santa Claus Experience.

Do the experiences include food?

Usually our programs do not include food by default, so as for the private experiences we would like to encourage you to contact us for request this possibility. If you would like to enjoy gourmet experiences, we are happy to offer you our selection of dining experiences.