Santa's Pets — Attraction in Rovaniemi sub-region

I waited a couple of weeks after visiting to decide how I wanted to review Santa’s Pets. Our private reindeer walk was about 150 euros for me and my son. It is not as idyllic as pictured on the website. Also my son was disappointed he couldn’t walk the reindeer by himself (he is 12) although I absolutely believe this was the right decision by Santa’s Pet as our reindeer was definitely strong and wanted to go where he wanted to go. If you go in spring/summer definitely bring rain boots to keep your feet from getting soaked and muddy.Ultimately our experience wasn’t as idyllic as expected but it was a fun and memorable experience! We also enjoyed feeding a baby reindeer! Also if you do the walk in the fall you will get to walk with a mama and her baby 🦌💙 a few other notes: there are some older and newer parts to the property. Some parts aren’t that pleasant to view but it seems like they are making upgrades. Also my son felt sorry for the reindeer in captivity. However we learned that they send most of their reindeer out into the wild in the summer, just keeping back those who have babies or could not survive in the wild. For a more natural farm experience and to see baby reindeer, also check out Porovara Farms. I’m glad we did both although it was expensive doing...

We did a hiking with alpacas activity in the beginning of November, and it was a fun experience!

We arrived at the farm and met Inka, our guide for the activity. She then took us to meet Pena and Eevertti, the 2 cute alpacas who accompanied us in the hike.

The hike was through the forest behind the farm, and the landscape was beautiful, with tall trees covered by snow, as well as some smaller pine trees and bushes at which the alpacas were stopping to have a snack :D.

Along the way, Inka told us a couple of things about alpacas, and she helped us taking some great pictures with the alpacas with our phone.

After the hike, we spent a couple of hours at the farm, where you can see some other animals, like goats (which you can brush and pet), reindeers which you can feed (it costs 5 euros for a bag of twigs), a pony, etc. Also they have a couple of kotas in which the fire is burning, so you can buy some hot drink and drink it in the kota to get warm.

There was also a place for kids with swings and stuff, and also a small icy slope to slide down on with a mattress.

Overall it was a fun activity, and given the fact that you can also visit the farm afterwards, it’s something really...

Feels overpriced for what you get as a guest. Small overall area with very few animals that seem to live in tiny habitats. Considering the vast Finnish landscape that would allow for much larger enclosures, it’s just sad. Even many zoos provide more space for these animals than here.

Also, some animals seem injured or at least not at their best health; which would be fine if they were living in the wild but alas that’s not the case here. As there is no information whether this is a rescue place that nurtures wounded animals back to health and releases them back to the wild, I have to assume that they just pretty much exploit these poor animals for financial gain.

Overall, it definitely feels more like a tourist trap instead of a genuine heartwarming experience. To be fair, the two people working there during the time we visit also seemed...