Guide · Getting there

How to go to Lapland and reach Levi

Levi lies 170 km north of the Arctic Circle, yet it is one of Lapland's easier resorts to reach. Fly to Kittilä, ride the night train to Kolari or Rovaniemi, or come by bus and car; here is how each works.

Check availabilityfrom $230 · cancellation is free

Editorial team, levihuskysafari.comUpdated October 22, 2026read in 6 minutes27 sources

The tour this guide is about Levi 7 km self-drive husky safari 4.7 (502 reviews) 3 hoursYou drive, 2 people per sledWinter clothing and a warm drink included from$230per person Check availabilityCancellation free up to 24 hrs in advance

Getting there in brief

01Fastest: Fly to Kittilä Airport, 15 km south of Levi and a 10-minute drive.¹
02Airport to hotel: An airport bus meets each arriving and departing domestic flight.¹
03By rail: Night train to Kolari, then a bus of around 1 hour 15 minutes for 80 km.²
04Via Rovaniemi: 170 km by bus, around 2.5 hours from the railway station.³
05By road: Helsinki is 980 km from Levi, Rovaniemi 170 km.⁴

Plane, night train or road

There are three practical answers to how to go to Lapland for a few days in Levi. You can fly to Kittilä, ride an overnight train to Kolari or Rovaniemi and finish by bus, or travel by road all the way. Levi itself sits at Sirkka village in Kittilä municipality, about 170 km north of the Arctic Circle.⁵

The plane is quickest. Finnair flies daily from Helsinki to Kittilä all year, and Kittilä Airport is 15 km from Levi centre.⁶ ⁷ The train is the slower, more relaxed route: Visit Levi points out that you board in the evening and wake up in Rovaniemi or Kolari, with a bus connection from both.⁸ ⁹

The road works too, but it is long from the south. Visit Levi gives the driving distances as 170 km from Rovaniemi, 370 km from Oulu and 980 km from Helsinki.⁴ For a husky safari it is worth knowing that this site's 7 km ride collects you from set locations in Levi, so you need no car once you are there.

By rail

The night train route to Levi

Evening

Board the train

You board in the evening, on a night train.⁸
Morning

Wake in Lapland

You wake up in Kolari or Rovaniemi.⁸
Kolari

Connecting bus

A bus meets each arriving train for Levi.¹⁰
On the road

80 km to go

Around 1 hour 15 minutes by bus.²
In Levi

Safari pickup

The 7 km ride collects you from set locations in Levi.

Kittilä Airport, the gateway in the fells

Kittilä is the nearest airport to Levi: Visit Levi puts it 15 km south of the resort, a 10-minute drive.¹ Finavia, which runs the airport, places it about 5 kilometres from the centre of Kittilä municipality and lists Levi 15 kilometres away and Ylläs around 35 kilometres.¹¹ ¹² It also holds the Sustainable Travel Finland label and has reached net zero carbon emissions.¹³

Getting from the terminal to your room is simple. An airport bus serves each arriving and departing domestic flight, and Visit Levi adds that a bus transfer runs from the airport to Levi hotels and back for all scheduled flights.¹ ¹⁴ Taxis wait at the airport all year, and private minibuses can be booked.¹⁵ ⁷

If you land without winter clothes, you do not have to drive into town first. Visit Finland notes that rental winter clothing can be pre-ordered for collection at the airport.¹⁶ On a short break that saves a trip to the shop on your first evening and lets you head straight out to the dogs the next day. Give the sizes of everyone in your group when you order, and keep the booking confirmation on your phone for the pickup desk.

Distance to Levi in km

How far each starting point is from Levi

Distances as Visit Levi and VR give them; Oulu and Helsinki are road distances.¹ ² ³ ⁴

Routes compared

The ways into Levi, side by side

From	Distance	Last leg	Time on last leg
Kittilä Airport	15 km	Airport bus or taxi	About 10 min drive
Kolari station	80 km	Connecting bus	Around 1 hr 15 min
Rovaniemi station	170 km	Bus	Around 2.5 hrs
Helsinki by road	980 km	Car or coach	Not stated

Distances and bus times from Visit Levi and VR.¹ ² ³ ⁴

Three ways north

Fly, sleep on the train, or take the coach

Quickest

Fly to Kittilä

15 km from Levi

From Helsinki: Daily flights
Last leg: Airport bus
Drive: About 10 min

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Sleep on the way

Night train

To Kolari or Rovaniemi

Kolari: 80 km to Levi
Bus: Around 1 hr 15 min
Car: Car-carrier trains

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No flight needed

Coach and bus

OnniBus to Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi: 170 km to Levi
Bus: Around 2.5 hrs
Season: Winter services

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Decision helper

Which way north suits you?

Start from your time and your budget

Fly to Kittilä

15 km from Levi, a bus for every domestic flight.¹

Night train to Kolari

Board in the evening, wake up in Lapland.⁸

Car-carrier train

Cars travel on designated car-carrier trains.¹⁷

Coach to Rovaniemi

OnniBus winter services, then the bus to Levi.¹⁸ ³

Bus between them

170 km, around 2.5 hours.³

The nearest railway station is located in Kolari, approximately 80 km (49 miles) away, followed by Rovaniemi, about 170 km (105 miles) from Levi’s centre. From Kolari, a connecting bus service meets each arriving train, providing onward transport to Levi.

Visit LeviSource 10

Flights from Helsinki and from Europe

Finnair flies daily from Helsinki to Kittilä all year round, with several flights a day in the high season.⁶ Finavia describes multiple daily connections from Helsinki and scheduled flights from major European cities.¹¹ From outside Europe, a change of plane in Helsinki is the simple way in.

In winter the network widens. Visit Levi lists Finnair and other airlines, among them Austrian Airlines, Discover Airlines, EasyJet, Eurowings, Lufthansa and Transavia, offering direct flights to Levi's airport from Europe, starting in November.¹⁹ Schedules change every season, so check the airline before you plan around a particular weekday.

If flights to Levi are full or expensive on your dates, Rovaniemi is the fallback. Finnair flies there too, and it lies about 170 km south of Levi.²⁰ From Rovaniemi's railway station the bus to Levi takes around 2.5 hours, which turns a direct arrival into a half-day transfer.³

Map

From the rail stations and the airport to Levi and its kennels

The two railheads and Kittilä Airport on the way to Levi, then a closer look at the places around the resort that the husky listings name.

Map of western Finnish Lapland with Rovaniemi, Kolari, Kittilä, Kittilä Airport and Levi — Getting to Levi

Map of the area around Levi with Sirkka village, Kittilä Airport to the south, the lake Rautusjärvi to the north-east and Muoniontie to the north-west — Around Levi

1
Rovaniemi
The railway station 170 km from Levi; the connecting bus ride takes around 2.5 hours.³
In Google Maps ↗
2
Kolari
The nearest railway station to Levi, 80 km away, where a connecting bus meets each arriving train.¹⁰ ²
In Google Maps ↗
3
Kittilä Airport
15 km south of Levi and a 10-minute drive, with an airport bus for each domestic flight.¹
In Google Maps ↗
4
Kittilä
The municipal centre, about 5 km from the airport.¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Levi
The resort at Sirkka village in Kittilä municipality, where this site's 7 km safari collects guests from set locations.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
6
Rautusjärvi
The lake named in the itinerary of the 5 km and the 2 km rides that start from Burger King Levi.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Muoniontie 955
The parking area where the guide meets guests for the horse and husky farm visit.
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you travel north

Book early

Sleeper places for peak winter weeks
The husky ride before the rest of the week
Rental clothing for airport pickup if needed

On arrival

The airport bus or the Kolari connecting bus
Your safari's pickup point and time
Parking at your accommodation if you drive

Cost calculator

Budget the husky day after you arrive

Pick what you will book in Levi and the group size.

7 km self-drivePickup in Levifrom $230 5 km, RautusjärviMinivan transferfrom $173 Winter clothing setLevi rentalfrom $54

People 2

Total from$459

per person from $230

Check availabilityfree cancellation

We take the lowest price GetYourGuide shows for each option, multiply it by your head count and convert it with the ECB rate; checkout gives the exact figure.

Video

Waking up north of the Arctic Circle on the Finnish night train to Levi

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By night train to Kolari or Rovaniemi

VR, the Finnish railway, runs night trains to Rovaniemi, Kolari and Kemijärvi.²¹ For Levi, Kolari is the nearest railway station, about 80 km away, and a connecting bus meets each arriving train.¹⁰ VR puts the bus ride from Kolari at around 1 hour 15 minutes.²

Rovaniemi is the other railhead. VR gives 170 km from its station to Levi and around 2.5 hours by bus, and Visit Levi says many trains to Rovaniemi have a bus connection to Levi.³ ²² VR's own trip search sells the train and the matching bus in one booking, which spares you from timing the change yourself.²³

The night train suits travellers who would rather save daytime hours, and it has a practical bonus: you can bring your car on designated car-carrier trains.¹⁷ Visit Levi notes that a bus to Kolari station runs for all the night trains arriving at or departing from Kolari.²⁴ Book sleeper places early for the peak winter weeks.

Helsinki to Levi by road and coach

For anyone asking how far Lapland is from Helsinki, the road answer for Levi is 980 km.⁴ That is a long drive in short winter days, best split over several stages, or replaced by the car-carrier train for the longest part. Visit Levi also lists distances of 270 km from Tornio and 850 km from Tampere.⁴

Coach travel is the budget route from Helsinki to Levi. In the winter season OnniBus runs several services on its Helsinki to Rovaniemi route via Lahti, Jyväskylä and Oulu, and from Rovaniemi the bus to Levi takes around 2.5 hours.¹⁸ ³ It is a slow way north, and a sensible one for a traveller with time and no wish to fly.

If you drive, plan for parking. A hotel or cottage with its own parking spot is worth asking about, and on safari days you can leave the car where it is: the 7 km husky ride picks up from set locations in Levi.

Getting around once you are in Levi

Levi is compact, and the resort runs its own winter buses. During the winter season Ski Buses run between Levi fell and the main accommodation areas every half hour from 9:00 to 19:00, on two routes.²⁵ Taxis work around the clock, and bus transfers for larger groups can be arranged.²⁶

Husky rides handle their own transport, each in its own way. This site's 7 km safari collects guests from set locations in Levi. Keo Wilderness's rides leave from a minivan in front of Burger King Levi, and Polar Lights Tours meets at Hissitie 11, next to the Kotipizza restaurant. Levisafari's farm rides are the exception: there you arrange your own transport.

Check the pickup instructions in your booking confirmation the day before, and be early. Keo Wilderness wants guests at the minivan 10 minutes early, and anyone who misses it forfeits the ride without a refund. In the dark of a winter morning or afternoon, finding a minivan in a car park takes longer than you think. Save the meeting point on your map while you still have a signal, and agree with your group where to meet if anyone is late back from the slopes.

Which route suits your trip

For a long weekend, fly. The airport is 15 km from Levi, the bus meets every domestic flight, and you can be on a husky sled the next day.¹ Book the ride in advance: Visit Levi calls husky safaris possibly the most booked activities at the resort.²⁷

For a week, consider the train at least one way. Boarding in the evening and waking up in Lapland turns the journey into part of the holiday, and the bus from Kolari covers the last 80 km in around 1 hour 15 minutes.⁸ ² The car-carrier option makes sense for families who want a car for day trips without the long drive.¹⁷

If you are combining Levi with Rovaniemi, the bus between them is the link: 170 km and around 2.5 hours from Rovaniemi's railway station.³ Our page comparing a husky safari in Rovaniemi with one in Levi helps decide where to spend the dog day.

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