TTT

My wife and I will be flying into Rovaniemi in late November and plan to spend 2 days. We are looking for some advice on what to do and how to get around. Should we get a car or will we be able to manage with public transport? We are not all that interested in the Santa Clause Village but would like to see the Rauna Wildlife Park and some of the science centers. Also interested in walks/hikes but that time of year I don't know if that is possible. We don't mind the cold and will pack appropriately.

Of course, would also like to go above the Arctic Circle (just to say we did it).

Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Alsacienne

I think it will be too cold and/or dark to pan for gold at Tankavaara, but I would strongly recommend the Arktikum museum. Ranua Wildlife park is very attractive, but make sure you have good non-slip shoes to negotiate the wooden walkways (unless things have changed in the last couple of years).

I think you will need to hire a car ... and be aware (if you were not already) how limited real daylight is at that time of year, as distinct from greylight.

manneca

The aurora is at maximum for the next year or so. The hotel may have a service to let you know when the aurora is "on". Be sure to see it if you can.

nanyang

Ranua Zoo
I reckon renting a car is probably easiest, but there should be a few buses each day that go from Rovaniemi to Ranua. Travel time around 1hr.

for timetables:
http://www.matkahuolto.info/lippu/en/

Arctic circle
Going to the santa claus village is the easy option though, given that it is right on the arctic circle. Again, if you don't have a car, I recall there is a local bus that goes there - probably every 60min or so.

Ounasvaara
We walked up this hill which is next to the town. They have a hotel at the top.
http://www.ounasvaara.fi/en/

Kallio

Actually the real arctic circle is nowadays little bit north from the Santa's village due to small changes in earth's tilt. However I think it still crosses RVN airport runway so you will probably cross it while in ground when you are landing or taking off.

TTT

Thank you all for the help and suggestions so far.

I think renting a car maybe just for one day to go to the zoo and drive around a bit would be easier given our short time there. I assume the Arktikum museum is in town? Maybe we will just rent the car the second day and spend the first exploring town.

We are thinking of doing an Aurora "tour" one night. Does anyone have any experience with Lapland Welcome? They have a "coach and walk" tour for €79.
http://www.laplandwelcome.fi/activit...vaniemi?id=133

After our visit to Rovaniemi we are then spending 2 days in Helsinki before flying back home. We were thinking of taking the sleeper train from Rovaniemi to Helsinki but that would only give us one shot at seeing the Aurora. Would spending another night in Rovaniemi and taking a morning flight be a better option?

Thank you all again!

nanyang

Correct, Arktikum is in town - you can certainly walk there.

Forrest Bump

Did it last weekend.
Don't regret the choice to rent a car. Without, I see hard to enjoy the calm of the Rovaniemi surroundings, plus the easy access to walking trails.
Rental is not cheap, but well worth it.