Tui launch ‘Search for Santa' day trip to Lapland amid concerns over impact on climate
The 'Search for Santa' experience in Kittila, Finland, promises families the 'chance to meet the real Santa Claus' but to be back in 'your own bed the same night'.
Included in the package are Lapland transfers, return flights with in-flight meals, thermal clothing and a hot lunch in Santa's Village – starting from £750 per person.
Direct 'Search for Santa' flights depart between 5 and 23 December from 11 UK airports as part of Tui 's Winter 2026 schedule.
Departure airports for the 'festive adventure' include Bournemouth, Newcastle, London Stansted, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, London Gatwick, East Midlands Airport and Bristol.
A traditional English breakfast is served in-flight before landing in Kittila to pick up snowsuit and boots.
From there, families can part in activities such as a reindeer sleigh ride, a husky adventure or a snowmobiling session.
A skidoo to a private meeting with Santa, and a fireside hot berry juice, are also included on the jam-packed itinerary before elves transfer travellers back to the airport.
Then, of course, passengers can enjoy a full Christmas dinner on the flight back home.
Chris Logan, commercial director at Tui UK, said: "Our much-loved festive 'Search for Santa' day trips are back, and we're making it easier than ever for families across the UK to experience the magic of Lapland.'
With whistle-stop travels on the rise, climate campaigners aren't sold on the pitstop package to Santa's hometown.
Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, told The Independent that the growing trend in extreme day trips is 'very worrying for the climate'.
She said: 'In terms of emissions, it doesn't actually matter how long you spend in your destination, but taking short journeys such as day trips to far-flung places encourages more frequent travel than if you were staying for a longer holiday. This means many more flights are being taken overall.'
The environmental campaigner added that day trips to Lapland 'feel in especially bad taste' as flight emissions will 'directly contribute to damaging the place you are going to see'.
Hughes explained: 'Lapland has been struggling with snowfall for many years; a direct result of climate change caused by our rising emissions.' The area has been hit by an intense heatwave in the past fortnight, with temperatures around 10C above the seasonal average
'If you still want to experience the 'extreme day trips' trend, sleeper trains can help: it's possible to leave work one evening, wake up in somewhere like Berlin or Prague the next morning, and return later that day on another night train. It means you can still explore the world but for a fraction of the emissions.'
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