Apukka Resort Review: Glass Igloos Near Rovaniemi

What Apukka Resort is and who it suits

Apukka is part hotel, part outdoor adventure centre: cabin accommodation, two restaurants, private saunas and a booking desk for dogsledding, reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobiling and aurora trips. The resort describes itself as an Arctic wilderness hotel on the edge of Rovaniemi, with glass igloos as its signature accommodation and more than 70 guided tours across the seasons it operates. That combination makes it a strong fit for couples and families who want one base for everything.

It suits travelers who value convenience over a la carte independence. You can book activities without being a guest, but the glass igloos are the reason most people come, and they only make sense if you sleep under them. Travelers who mainly want a town base for restaurants and bars are better served by central Rovaniemi hotels.

Where Apukka sits: 15 km from Rovaniemi

The resort stands roughly 15 km from central Rovaniemi, about a 15-minute drive from both the city and Santa Claus Village, on a large lake surrounded by native forest. Cabins are spread across the property, but even the furthest is only a five-to-seven-minute walk from the main lodge.

That layout matters for aurora watching: you are outside the town's light dome, with lake and forest horizons, yet you are not dependent on a long night drive back from a viewing spot. For a broader picture of dark-sky options around the city, see the guide to northern lights in Rovaniemi. If you would rather compare a longer stay across the wider region, the Finnish Lapland northern lights guide sets out aurora options beyond Rovaniemi.

When the resort is open and the best months to come

Apukka operates from August to early April, with winter activities dominating from December through March and autumn packages running from August into November. The property closes each year from early April through the end of July, so a midsummer stay is not an option here.

For snow-covered scenery plus longer daylight for daytime safaris while nights stay dark, late February into mid-March is the sweet spot: days lengthen noticeably but the aurora window is still wide. December is the most expensive month because of Santa-season demand, so shifting a trip to January or March usually buys more nights for the same budget. Autumn visitors should note that aurora conditions improve as nights lengthen from late September.

The glass igloo cabins explained: Aurora Cabin to Kammi

Every cabin category has a private bathroom, a mudroom for boots and gear, wifi, an electric fireplace, blackout curtains and a tea and coffee station, and buffet breakfast is included for all room types. The entry-level Aurora Cabin has twin beds that can be separated plus a pull-out sofa, and it sits closest to the main buildings.

Step up through the Aurora Cabin Queen (queen bed and pull-out couch), King (king bed and larger living area) and Family (one king, one double and a pull-out couch, sleeping up to six), which sits furthest from the lodge with views over the river or Lake Olkkajärvi. Choose Family only if the walk and the group size both suit you.

The two-storey suites are the sky-watching pick: Komsio puts a queen bed under a full glass ceiling with 360-degree views upstairs and a seating area below, while Kammi adds a larger lounge and a kitchenette and sleeps up to four. Apukka Lakeview Suites are not igloos at all but two-bedroom, glass-walled units for up to six, and the single Villa Apukka hosts up to 14.

What the igloos do well and what to expect

The design is thoughtful: heated glass panels can be switched on to clear snow and ice from the roof, blackout curtains deal with summer-bright nights and neighbour views, and the heated mudroom keeps gear dry. There are no televisions, which most guests treat as part of the digital detox.

The honest trade-off is privacy and density. Some igloo clusters sit close together, so depending on which way your glass roof faces you may see other cabins, and the curtains become essential. Light from inside the cabin also reduces what you can see overhead, so dim the room if you are watching the sky.

Winter activities: husky, reindeer, snowmobile and sauna

On-site bookables include dogsledding where you drive the sled yourself, reindeer sleigh rides by day and night, snowmobiling, ice fishing, snowshoeing, winter fat biking, sauna experiences and cold plunging. Complimentary winter clothing rental, including snowsuits and boots, is available to guests.

The signature aurora products are the nighttime reindeer sleigh ride and the aurora snow train out to a wilderness camp, both of which appear in the multi-night aurora packages. Two activities per day is a comfortable pace; stacking three leaves little time to thaw out between outings. Most guided activities at the resort run in the €90–€200 per person range.

Aurora nights at Apukka and how to improve your odds

The glass roofs give you a warm, horizontal view of the sky, which is ideal for waiting out gaps in cloud but useless under a solid overcast. Cloud is the limiting factor far more often than solar activity, so a stay of several nights is the real strategy, not a single booked tour.

If the forecast at the resort looks poor, an independent chasing tour that picks up at Apukka can drive toward clearer skies, and this is worth booking alongside the on-site options. No operator can guarantee a display; treat any sighting as a bonus and plan your days around the safaris and saunas instead.

Dining at Aitta and Kota

Restaurant Aitta in the main building serves all three meals, with a buffet breakfast, a bistro menu at lunch and dinner available either a la carte or as a three-course half-board seating; a dinner buffet has also been offered at times. Restaurant Kota is a small, fire-lit room built like a traditional tent with a set three-course menu, and it usually needs pre-booking.

There is also a lobby bar for evening drinks. Eating on site is the practical choice because taxis to and from Rovaniemi add up quickly, so factor dinner into your budget rather than planning to commute into town each night.

Getting there and the shuttle from town

Most travelers arrive in Rovaniemi by train or plane. Apukka offers private transfers from town and to and from the small Rovaniemi airport, and there is a scheduled Apukka Shuttle Bus linking central Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Village and the resort, with tickets at €8 one way.

The shuttle is the cheapest option if you are already in town, while private transfers make sense for families with luggage or late arrivals. If you are combining a night in town with the resort, Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi is a natural stop on the same shuttle line.

What a stay costs

In the smallest igloo cabins, rates start around €200 per night in the autumn season and closer to €715 per night in winter, and the Queen Aurora Cabin ran above €1,100 per night in February when booked as a package with activities included. December rates can be roughly double other winter months.

Activities are priced separately unless bundled, so a package that includes safaris often works out better value than room-only plus add-ons. For current rates and package contents, the resort's own booking pages at Apukka Resort are the place to price your dates.

How many nights to book

Three nights is the sensible minimum for an aurora-focused stay: it gives you a few separate chances at clear sky and room for two daytime safaris without exhausting yourself. A single night under glass is a lottery ticket, and guests who stay only one night often leave without a display.

If your budget stretches to four or five nights, spend them in late February or March for snow, longer daylight and slightly thinner competition for cabins than in December. Autumn travelers should aim for late September onward, once nights are genuinely dark.

Alternatives near Rovaniemi

Apukka is not the only glass-roof option around Rovaniemi. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, Rovaniemi offers suites on a forested slope nearer Santa Claus Village, and Arctic Light Hotel in Rovaniemi puts you in the town centre with restaurants on the doorstep but more light pollution overhead.

Travelers who want cabins rather than igloos should also look at Santa Claus Holiday Village, Rovaniemi, which groups cottages close to the Arctic Circle attractions. Compare how far each option sits from town lights and how much of your stay is spent on site before deciding where the premium is worth paying.

What Apukka offers guests travelling with a dog

The published material on Apukka Resort describes the property as a full-service wilderness hotel with glass igloo cabins, two restaurants, private saunas and an adventure centre, and the resort offers over 70 guided tours across four seasons, from August to early April. Snowshoes can be borrowed from the adventure centre, and winter clothing rentals, including snowsuits and boots, are provided free to all guests. The property sits on the shore of Lake Olkkajärvi and is surrounded by native forest, with the furthest cabin roughly a 5-7 minute walk from the main lodge building.

For getting out to the resort, the Apukka Shuttle Bus runs between central Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Village and Apukka Resort. Private transfers from town or to and from the small Rovaniemi airport can also be arranged, and a taxi will drive out to the resort. The resort is about 15 kilometres outside Rovaniemi and about 15 minutes from the airport, so the final leg is the same short trip whether you arrive by train, as one visitor did from Helsinki, or by plane.

The available sources say nothing about pets in the cabins, restaurants or on tours, so confirm pet rules and any fee directly with the resort before booking. What they do establish is the shape of a stay: rooms range from the Aurora Cabin, which sleeps solo travellers, couples or a small family with its pull-out sofa, up to Villa Apukka for 14 people, and every cabin has its own private bathroom and a mudroom for boots and snow gear. Cabins also come with wifi, an electric fireplace, blackout curtains, air conditioning, a tea and coffee station, and breakfast is included.

On timing, the resort closes each year from early April through the end of July, so a trip has to fall between August and early April. Packages are sold by season and theme and include activities, daily buffet breakfast and airport transfers, with the winter months of December to March the most popular and late February through mid-March recommended for reliable snow and lengthening days.

Plan Your Apukka Stay

Apukka works best as a three- or four-night winter base where the glass roof, the safaris and the sauna all get used. Book the cabin category that matches your group size, put at least one independent chasing tour on the schedule as a cloud-cover backup, and choose February or March over December if price matters.

None of that guarantees a display, but it stacks the odds in your favour: dark skies on site, a vehicle that can chase clearer weather, and enough nights that one overcast evening does not define the trip.