Getting to Saariselkä

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Almost everyone who comes to Saariselkä in winter lands at Ivalo. The airport opened in 1943 and is the northernmost in Finland; in 2025 it handled about 249,000 passengers. From the terminal the regional tourist office counts about 25 km to Saariselkä, a drive of around 25 minutes. Coming overland takes longer: the train takes you as far as Rovaniemi, and the last 260 km are by coach or car.

Flights to Ivalo

Finavia, which runs the airport, describes daily connections from Helsinki and flights from major European cities. Helsinki is served all year. In winter, seasonal direct flights from several European cities are added, and the Lufthansa Group is among the airlines that fly in for the season. Check the current timetable for your departure city, because these routes change from winter to winter.

One route is new for 2026/27. Discover Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group, starts flights from Munich to Ivalo on 23 December 2026. The route runs once a week on Wednesdays until 24 March 2027, which covers the polar night and the long-light weeks of February and March. If you fly from Germany and your dates are flexible, building the trip around a Wednesday saves the change in Helsinki.

From the Norwegian side there is a third option. Between March and October, flights connect Kirkenes and Ivalo several times a week, according to the tourist office.

From the airport to the village

The airport bus of Eskelisen Lapin Linjat runs between Ivalo airport, Saariselkä and Kiilopää in line with the flight schedule. You do not need a reservation; you get on and pay the driver in cash or by card. Suitcases, backpacks and skis travel with you. The bus only runs when a flight arrives or leaves, so if your flight is cancelled there is no shuttle either. The company publishes the transfer timetable month by month.

The tourist office says the bus operates mainly in winter, for every Finnair flight, and stops in Saariselkä, Kiilopää and Kakslauttanen as well as in the main accommodation areas. For Inari village the municipality lists a charter shuttle instead. A taxi from the airport is the alternative, and it makes most sense for a group with a lot of luggage.

Driving times from the airport, as the tourist office gives them:

• Ivalo village: about 10 minutes (7 km)
• Saariselkä: about 25 minutes
• Kiilopää: about 30 minutes
• Inari village: about 50 minutes
• Utsjoki: about 2 hours

If you plan to split your stay between Saariselkä and Inari, keep the distances in mind. The Siida museum in Inari is 50 km from the airport, 40 km from Ivalo and 75 km from Saariselkä. Ivalo, the largest village in northern Lapland, has the shops and services in between.

Night train and coach via Rovaniemi

Travelling without a plane is possible but slow. VR runs night trains from the south to Rovaniemi, with two-person cabins, two-person cabins with a shower on the upper deck and older three-person cabins. You can also take your car on the train. For Saariselkä, Rovaniemi is the station to leave the train.

From Rovaniemi, coaches continue north. The tourist office gives about three hours to Saariselkä and about four to Inari. Eskelisen Lapin Linjat operates routes from Oulu to Lapland and northern Norway; you buy tickets through Matkahuolto or on board. Skis, snowboards and snowshoes travel free, while bicycles and sledges cost extra. We could not confirm the 2026/27 timetable for this connection, so look it up on Matkahuolto before you plan your arrival day.

By car on the E75

Saariselkä lies directly on the E75, which is national road 4 in Finland. The road distances, according to the tourist office, are 260 km from Rovaniemi, 480 km from Tromsø and 1,100 km from Helsinki. From Kirkenes in Norway it is 120 km to Inari, about 40 minutes to the Finnish border and around one and a half hours to Inari.

Winter driving here needs preparation. Winter tyres are compulsory in Finland from 1 November to 31 March when conditions require them, and studded tyres are allowed. The tourist office warns that even main roads in Lapland are rarely bare asphalt in winter. Keep your headlights on, drive slower and leave a long gap. Reindeer walk onto the roads all year, and where you see one there are usually more.

Arriving with tours in mind

Many tours collect guests from hotels in Saariselkä, and some also cover Ivalo, Kakslauttanen or Kiilopää. That matters when you choose a base. If you stay in Ivalo, check the pickup area before booking: the aurora drive by Arctic Guides, for example, collects within 10 km of Ivalo centre, which leaves Saariselkä outside its range.

The day trip to Kirkenes by Strange World Tour picks up at your hotel in Saariselkä and takes 11 hours. It crosses into Norway, so carry the travel documents you need for the border. The page on getting around covers ski buses, taxis and hire cars once you are in the area.