A cabin holiday in Lapland: 12 things to check before you book

A cabin in Lapland can mean almost anything.

It might be a modern villa on the edge of a fell resort with three bedrooms, a dishwasher and an electric sauna. Or a small wilderness cabin where you carry in your water and the toilet is at the far end of the yard.

Both can be perfect. The trouble only starts if you book one and expect the other.

1. Where exactly is the cabin?

“Ten kilometres from Levi” sounds close. Without a car, it can mean a taxi for every restaurant evening, every shopping trip and every activity.

Check the distance to the supermarket, the bus stop and the place your booked trips leave from.

2. Do you need a car?

In a cabin near the centre, not necessarily. By a lake, at the end of a forest road or outside a small village, usually yes.

In winter, also ask whether the road and yard are ploughed regularly.

3. Is final cleaning included?

Don’t assume it is. Some cabins include final cleaning in the price, others sell it as an extra, and at some you clean up yourself.

Check before you discover on your last morning that the final hour of your holiday is booked for mopping floors.

4. What about bed linen and towels?

The same goes for these. Duvets and pillows are usually provided, but you often need to bring your own sheets and towels or rent them for an extra fee.

5. What kind of sauna is it?

“Sauna” can mean an electric sauna in the bathroom or a separate wood-fired sauna by the lake. Both work, but the experience is different.

If you specifically want a wood-fired sauna, check. Read also our guide to sauna and ice swimming.

6. Is there running water?

In a well-equipped holiday cabin, yes. In a more rustic cabin, water may be carried from a well or another water point. Don’t make assumptions from the photos.

7. How many real bedrooms are there?

“Sleeps six” doesn’t necessarily mean three bedrooms. Two places might be in a low loft and two on a sofa bed in the living room.

For a family or a group of friends, a floor plan is often more useful than a cosy photo of the fireplace.

8. Is there a drying cabinet?

In winter, many people value one more than any luxury. Gloves, socks, children’s snowsuits and ski clothes dry quickly, and the next day starts with dry gear.

9. Is firewood included?

Often at least some, but not always. If the fireplace or a wood-fired sauna is an important part of your holiday, check.

10. Where is the nearest shop?

A 30-kilometre drive to the shop is no problem if you know about it in advance.

Buy food for the first evening before driving to the cabin, especially if you arrive late or on a public holiday.

11. What are you allowed to do around the cabin?

Making fires, snowmobiling, fishing and cutting wood aren’t automatically part of a cabin rental.

Finland’s everyman’s rights allow a lot in nature, but not, for example, making an open fire on someone else’s land or driving a motor vehicle off-road. Ask the owner.