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The short answer
Independent is easier than most people think, as long as you stay in one base. In Rovaniemi, Levi or Saariselkä you can book the safaris yourself, be collected from your hotel and never drive at all — and you choose the operators, the times and the pace.
A package earns its price when you want a Hebrew-speaking guide, kosher food arranged, a group of other Israeli families — a bar mitzvah trip, for example — or a December week when flights and rooms are hard to put together yourself. Either way, ask exactly what is included, and what happens when the weather cancels a day.
Should we take an organised tour or plan it ourselves? comes up in our group almost every week, usually with a worry attached: is it hard to get around on your own in the snow? Here is the honest comparison, and the questions worth asking whichever way you go.
Independent, no carWorks in Rovaniemi, Levi and Saariselkä: airport buses, and hotel pick-ups for tours
Independent, with a carMain roads are ploughed and empty; winter tyres, darkness and reindeer are the learning curve
Package from IsraelFlights, hotel, transfers, activities and clothing in one price, often with a Hebrew-speaking guide
KosherSome packages for Israeli groups arrange it; independently, you plan it yourself
Winter campervanPossible but demanding: fewer open campsites, deep cold, short days
Book earlyDecember for everything; the February–March school-holiday weeks for cabins and safaris
In this article
Doing it yourself, without a car
The surprise for most people is how little you need a car. In Rovaniemi, Levi and Saariselkä, buses meet the flights at the airport, the town or village is walkable, and almost every safari company collects you from your hotel and brings you back. You book the activities you want, at the times you want, from operators whose reviews you can read — our activities directory and the aurora tours on the Northern Lights page are a place to start — and you keep a spare day for the weather.
What you give up is spontaneity beyond the town: without a car, the aurora hunt is with an operator rather than whenever the sky clears, and the national parks are reached on a tour. For a first trip in one base, that is rarely a real loss. Book the key activities before you fly if you are travelling in December or in the Finnish and European school-holiday weeks of February and March; outside the peaks, a day or two ahead is often enough.
Doing it yourself, with a car
Driving in Lapland in winter is less frightening than it sounds. The main roads are straight, empty and ploughed, rental cars come with proper winter tyres, and an Israeli licence is accepted. The learning curve is braking distances on packed snow, the long darkness of December afternoons, fuel stations far apart, and reindeer standing in the road — all covered in Driving in Finland. A car is worth it if you want to chase the aurora on your own, see more than one area, or stay in a cabin outside town.
A good middle path: no car for the first days while you find your feet, then rent one for a day or two of exploring. Car and campervan rental firms will appear in our car and campervan directory as they join.
What a package gives you
An organised trip from Israel bundles flights, hotel, transfers, a programme of activities and the winter clothing into one price, often with a Hebrew-speaking guide and sometimes with kosher meals. In recent winters some have flown direct from Ben Gurion to Rovaniemi, which saves the connection through Helsinki. That is real value in three situations: when you want someone else to carry the logistics; when the group is several families travelling together, as on a bar mitzvah trip; and in the Hanukkah and Christmas weeks, when rooms and flights are hard to assemble yourself.
The costs are the fixed programme — you are on the bus at nine whether or not the aurora kept you up until two — and a price that carries a margin for all of it. When you see an advertised package, look past the headline: which hotel and how many nights, how many activities and how long each one is, and whether the aurora night is a real hunt or a walk behind the hotel. Operators who run trips for Israeli groups are listed in our organised tours directory.
The questions to ask any operator
- What exactly is included, and what is an optional extra paid on the spot?
- How long is each activity door to door, and how much of that is actually out on the snow?
- If the weather or the cold cancels an activity, is it refunded, rebooked or lost?
- Is the aurora tour a real hunt that drives to clear skies, or a fixed spot?
- Is winter clothing included, and in children’s sizes?
- What are the minimum ages, and the cold-weather limits for children?
- For a package: which flights, which hotel, and is the Hebrew-speaking guide with you on the ground or only at the airport?
- For kosher and Shabbat: what exactly is provided, and who supervises it?
Before you book an aurora night, go through the fuller checklist on our Northern Lights page. For kosher food and Shabbat, see the kosher and Jewish life page.
A word on winter campervans
One question this month was about touring Lapland alone in a campervan in February. It can be done, and the empty roads and the freedom are a real draw, but it is a hard way to learn winter: only some campsites stay open, you need a van that is properly heated and winter-equipped and a plan for electric hook-ups, the days are short and the nights far below freezing. If it appeals, go in March when the days are long, spend the first nights at a campsite with power, and treat the van as a base for skiing or a few safaris rather than a non-stop tour.
If skiing is on the list, Levi and Ruka are the two big resorts — see Choosing a base in Lapland. Whatever you choose, dress for it: Dressing for Lapland covers what the operators lend you and what they do not.
Written in October 2026 from the questions in our Facebook group. Package contents, flight schedules and operator policies change every season — confirm them in writing before you pay.