What to wear in Rovaniemi in winter

Rovaniemi is properly cold in midwinter. At the airport station north of the centre, January and February both average −10.3 °C, and the average daily low in January is −13.5 °C (FMI, 1991–2020). Those are averages. In FMI measurements from the winters 1998/99 to 2025/26 the airport saw about seven days each January at −20 °C or colder, and in 8 of those 28 winters it reached −30 °C at least once. Visit Rovaniemi tells visitors to expect −30 to −15 °C during the day in January, which is a sensible range to pack for. The good news is that Finns have a tried system for this weather, and many tours lend you the bulkiest part of it.

Colder out of town than in it

Most activities happen outside the centre, on frozen lakes and in the forest, and the countryside can be much colder than the town. The rural Apukka station east of town averages −11.7 °C in January and measured −47.5 °C in January 1999, the month the airport recorded its −38.1 °C. Wind adds to it: the Lapland safety brochure for travellers warns that wind can cause frostbite quickly even just below zero. And the nights you want for the northern lights are the cold ones. FMI notes that the sky is often clear in hard frost, and that the dark, cloudless nights needed for the aurora are practically always cold in Finland.

Three layers and a spare

Both Visit Rovaniemi and Visit Finland recommend dressing in layers. The idea is a dry layer next to the skin and air between the layers.

• Base layer. Long underwear next to the skin that keeps you dry. Wool is the Finnish favourite; merino, bamboo and silk are other natural options.
• Mid layer. Fleece, a second woollen layer or another warm top and trousers.
• Outer layer. A windproof, water-resistant jacket and trousers, or an overall. Visit Finland calls a hood a must for any winter coat.
• Spare layer. An extra thick jacket, spare mittens or a scarf for when you stand still for a long time, on an aurora stop or at an ice-fishing hole.

Choose a loose fit. Tight layers feel uncomfortable on top of each other and are less warm, since there is less air to insulate you. If you buy a jacket for the trip, size up so that two layers fit underneath.

Feet, hands and head

Visit Rovaniemi advises warm winter boots with woollen socks and enough room to wiggle your toes; Visit Finland adds waterproof, over the ankle and sturdy, with space for an extra pair of socks. Lapland Safaris, one of the safari companies, hands out boots at least one size bigger than usual for the same reason: loose-fitting shoes keep feet warmer.

Underfoot, the pavements in town are often icy. Choose soles with good grip or pull separate ice cleats over your shoes, and take shorter, slower steps. If you wear studded shoes, take them off before you walk into Arktikum, which asks visitors to remove them at the door. Remember a hat and mittens, as Visit Rovaniemi puts it. Visit Rovaniemi suggests keeping your phone in an inside pocket, where it stays warmer, and bringing a charged power bank or spare camera batteries, since the cold drains them quickly.

What the tours lend you

You do not need to buy a full Arctic outfit. Visit Rovaniemi says that many activity companies in town rent out winter clothing, including thermal overalls and footwear, woollen socks, warm hats, balaclavas, mittens and scarves. Visit Finland notes that many guided safaris in Lapland, such as aurora trips and husky or reindeer rides, include the clothing in the package. At Lapland Safaris, for example, you keep your own base and mid layers on, the guides hand out woollen socks, boots, an overall, a scarf and a hat, and you return everything at the end.

Not every trip works like this. On some Santa Claus Village visits and reindeer rides the overalls and boots cost extra, and some aurora evenings and ice-karting sessions include no winter clothing at all. Read the inclusions of each tour before you pack, and bring your own base layers in any case.

Special cases

Children

The Lapland safety brochure is direct about it: the cold can be dangerous if you are not dressed for it, so make sure children have warm clothing too. Give them the same three layers as adults. Some tours set their own limits: on one aurora ride in a sled behind a snowmobile, children cannot join when it is colder than −20 °C, and on a family snowmobile tour children under 1.40 m ride in a heated sleigh. More tips for families are on the page about Rovaniemi with kids.

Which aurora tours include overalls and which do not is listed on rovaniemi-northernlights.com.