Finland's largest ski resort. Direct flights from across Europe. Everything within reach — no hire car needed. This is our home and our most honest recommendation.
Last updated March 2026 — flights verified for winter 2025–26 season
Levi is the most practical Lapland destination for most travellers from the UK and Europe. Direct flights land at Kittilä Airport, 15 minutes from the resort by bus. You don't need a hire car. Everything — husky farms, reindeer, snowmobile trails, ski slopes, glass igloos — is within easy reach.
It's also Finland's largest ski resort and has been voted Finland's Best Ski Resort at the World Ski Awards multiple times. The 2024–25 season was its most successful ever — 590,000 skier days, an all-time record, with one in four visitors now international.
"We live here. We'd still choose Levi for most travellers — the access is unmatched and the experience is genuinely excellent. But it's a resort. Go in knowing that."
Who Levi is NOT right for: If you want genuine wilderness solitude with no other tourists in sight, Saariselkä is a better answer. If northern lights are your only priority and budget allows, consider going further north. And if you're looking purely for the Christmas Santa experience, Rovaniemi has more infrastructure for that.
Kittilä Airport is 15 minutes from Levi village by bus — and the bus meets every scheduled flight. This is Levi's biggest practical advantage over other Lapland destinations. No hire car. No long transfer. Land, get the bus, arrive at your hotel.
| From | Airline | Frequency | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Gatwick | easyJet / TUI | 2–4x/week | Dec–Feb |
| Manchester | easyJet / TUI | 2x/week | Dec–Feb |
| Amsterdam | KLM / TUI Fly | 4x/week | Nov–Mar |
| Paris CDG | Air France | Saturdays | Dec–Mar |
| Paris Orly | Transavia | 2x/week | Dec–Mar |
| Frankfurt | Discover Airlines | 2–3x/week | Year-round |
| Munich | Lufthansa | 3x/week | Nov–Mar |
| Düsseldorf | Eurowings | 2x/week | Nov–Mar |
| Berlin | Eurowings | 1x/week | Jan–Mar |
| Zurich | Edelweiss / Helvetic | 4x/week | Dec–Mar |
| Vienna | Austrian Airlines | Weekly Sun | Dec–Mar |
| Copenhagen | SAS | Tue + Sat | Jan–Mar |
| Milan Malpensa | easyJet | 2x/week | Dec–Feb |
| Brussels | TUI Fly Belgium | 1x/week | Jan–Feb |
| Riga | airBaltic | Saturdays | Dec–Mar |
If your city doesn't have a direct route to KTT, fly into Helsinki and connect to Kittilä on Finnair. Finnair operates multiple daily flights and the connection at Helsinki is smooth — typically 1–2 hours.
| Route | Airline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Your city → HEL | Finnair / partner | Daily connections |
| HEL → KTT | Finnair | Multiple daily in winter |
Train to Kolari (80km from Levi) with connecting bus — a scenic overnight option from Helsinki. Check VR Finnish Railways for timetables. Good alternative if flights are full or you want the journey to be part of the experience.
Routes change seasonally — always verify directly with the airline before booking. This page is updated each October for the winter season and each March for summer.
We've been through three winters here. Each season is genuinely different — not just in temperature but in what Levi actually feels like and what's possible.
The 2024–25 season opened October 4. Early season snow, long dark evenings, very few tourists. Good for keen skiers who want the slopes to themselves. Cold — typically −5°C to −15°C.
The most popular time for families and Christmas trips. Full snow cover, good skiing, festive atmosphere in the village. Aurora possible but December clouds reduce the odds. Book well ahead — December sells out first.
The best overall months. Deep snow, excellent skiing, best aurora odds of the winter. January and February typically bring the clearest skies statistically. Temperatures −10°C to −25°C — dress properly and it's extraordinary.
Sun returns but snow stays — this is spring skiing at its best. Longer days, warmer temperatures (−5°C to +5°C), still great aurora odds in March due to the equinox effect. Often cheaper too. Genuinely one of our favourite times.
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, three nights out of four in Northern Lapland are illuminated by northern lights when skies are clear. The best months are February–March and September–October due to the equinox effect. Peak viewing time is 9pm–1am. Cloud cover is the main variable — a clear night with low KP activity is often better than a cloudy night with a geomagnetic storm. We use the FMI aurora forecast and the Northern Lights Alert app daily. Levi sits at 67.8°N — good odds, though Saariselkä further north has slightly better statistics.
We've done most of these ourselves and watched hundreds of travellers do them. Here's our honest verdict on each one — including cost context and what to watch out for.
43 slopes, 27 lifts, two gondolas. Levi has been voted Finland's Best Ski Resort multiple times and it earns it. The fell is 531m — not Alpine scale, but the quality of snow, the variety of runs and the atmosphere make it genuinely excellent. Cross-country skiing here is also exceptional — 230km of tracks, 28km illuminated for night skiing.
This is one of the best Lapland experiences — but only if you find a small, family-run farm rather than a large tourist operation. The difference is night and day. Look for farms with 10–15 people maximum, where the owner shows you around personally. Sleigh rides through the forest, feeding the reindeer, coffee in a lávvu by an open fire. Genuinely moving for children and adults.
Husky safaris are worth doing. Once. A half-day run through pine forest, pulled by a team of huskies — it's a genuinely thrilling experience the first time. The second one is the same thing. Do it properly: minimum 2 hours, small group (ask before booking), a reputable local operator. Older kids (around 5+) can often steer their own sled.
This is Finnish culture, not a tourist activity. Every Finnish home has a sauna. The ritual of sauna → ice swimming → sauna → outdoor cooling is one of the most genuinely restorative things you can do — and in −20°C with snow all around, it's unlike anything else. Most cabins include a private sauna. If yours doesn't, find a lakeside sauna experience. Do not skip this.
There are 886km of snowmobile trails in the Kittilä region. A guided full-day safari taking you deep into the wilderness — crossing frozen lakes, through old-growth forest, stopping for a fire-cooked lunch in the middle of nowhere — is one of the highlights of a Levi trip. Better as a full day than a short taster. Driving licence required to drive (passengers fine from any age).
We're not going to recommend specific properties — we have no commercial relationships and that's not what this is. But we can tell you exactly what to look for in each category.
Your own sauna, your own pace, usually surrounded by forest. This is the Lapland experience most people are imagining when they book. Better for couples and families than hotel rooms. Look for cabins with their own wood-burning sauna and a south-facing terrace for aurora watching.
The iconic Lapland photo. A heated glass-roofed cabin where you lie in bed watching the sky. If you're going to do it, do it in January or February — aurora odds are significantly better. One or two nights is enough; use a cabin as your base and add an igloo night as the highlight.
Easier logistics — meals sorted, ski school nearby, everything in one place. Better for families who want simplicity over atmosphere. Levi has good hotel options close to the slopes. The trade-off is you miss the private sauna and the forest feeling. A mix — hotel for the main stay with a cabin night — is a good compromise.
Three years of watching trips go right and wrong. These are the mistakes we see most often — and how to avoid them.
Most first-time visitors over-programme. Two or three activities is enough for a 5-night trip. Leave days free to walk in the forest, sit in the sauna, or chase the aurora spontaneously. The unplanned moments are often what people remember most.
Package holidays to Levi typically include accommodation, flights and a set list of activities — all with a large margin added. The activities are often the tourist-facing operators rather than the genuinely good local ones. You end up paying more for less.
January and February in Levi regularly hit −20°C to −25°C. This is not ski holiday cold — it's serious Arctic cold. Cotton base layers are dangerous. Cheap ski gloves are not enough. Proper equipment matters for your safety and your enjoyment.
Aurora requires three things to align: solar activity, clear skies, and darkness. On any given night, one of these might be missing. A 2-night trip gives you very limited chances. Week-long stays in January–March have a 70–80% success rate.
The large, commercially-marketed husky operators run groups of 20–40 people. You spend half your time waiting. The smaller, family-run farms give you a completely different experience — smaller groups, better guides, more time with the dogs.
This is the most common question we get. The answer depends on what you want from the trip. Here's the comparison without marketing language.
| Levi (KTT) | Rovaniemi (RVN) | |
|---|---|---|
| Airport transfer | 15 min by free bus | 10 min to city centre |
| Hire car needed? | No | Recommended for best experience |
| Direct UK flights | Gatwick, Manchester | 8+ UK airports including all London options |
| Direct EU flights | Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna + more | Wider range — 38 international airports |
| Skiing | Finland's best ski resort — 43 slopes | Smaller ski hill — not a ski destination |
| Santa experience | Smaller, more personal | More commercial — airport village is a theme park |
| Aurora odds | Good — 67.8°N | Similar — slightly further south |
| Wilderness feel | Resort with forest access | City with resort options 30–45 min out |
| Best for | Ski + activities, couples, groups, no hire car | First-timers, widest flight choice, Santa, families wanting city infrastructure |
We live in Levi and would still say it depends on what you want. If direct flights from your city go to KTT, if you're skiing, or if you want a proper resort feel with no car — Levi is the answer. If you need the widest flight choice, want the full Santa village experience, or are visiting for the first time and want more infrastructure — Rovaniemi is right. Both are excellent. Neither is wrong. The mistake is booking without thinking about which suits you.
Tell us where you're flying from, who you're travelling with and what matters most. We'll tell you honestly whether Levi is the right answer — or whether somewhere else suits you better.
Use the where-to-go tool → Browse all destinations