Snowman World - Skating, Ice Restaurant and Ice Bar Review

Visiting Snowman World

While enjoying our once in a lifetime trip to Lapland I had one child that wanted to learn how to ice skate, one daredevil child that wanted to go tobogganing while the adults were hoping to have a drink at an ice bar.

So Snowman World was the perfect solution.



My daughter had been saying that she wanted to learn how to ice skate as soon as she saw the snow when we landed in Helsinki.  The ice at Snowman World was the perfect spot to try ice skates on for the first time.  The skating area was small with walls surrounding it, giving beginners increased security.  Skates, helmets and beginner skating frames were all provided as part of the entry fee.  Surprisingly within one session my daughter had gone from never seeing skating ice to being able to move around on her own, albeit very slowly.

Snowman World Tube Slides

There were two outdoor ice tube slides, one which was shorter and had a more comfortable gradient which was lots of fun and a much faster, steeper one for the more adventurous.  Our youngest daughter refused to go down either of them.  I could only manage the more sedate of the two slides.  However my husband and son kept going down the rather scary one over and over claiming it was lots of fun.  The tip from my son is that you need to not sit all the way into the tube.  If your bottom is all the way in the tube and touching the ground it can be a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride.

Even if you don’t have kids, there were a lot of adults also learning to skate and having fun on the toboggan slopes.

After a few hours of fun when we needed a break we headed into the igloo alongside the ice skating rink to investigate the ice bar and ice restaurant.  It felt a bit surreal walking through the entrance into an actual igloo.  As the narrow walkway opened up into the cavernous ice bar filled with ornate ice carving and statues highlighted with dramatic lighting we were awestruck. 

Snowman World Ice Bar

We had a drink at the bar in stunning ice cups.  The vodka was €10 per shot, and there were a variety of flavours including Lingonberry, Bilberry, Espresso, Lemon, Mint, Acai, Salted Liquor-ice and Aureus Cloud berry.  There was also Champagne available for €15 per glass or beer for €6 per bottle.  The kids meanwhile warmed themselves up glögi for €3 a cup which was a warm, non-alcoholic drink made with blackcurrant and red grape juice mixed with spices.

Snowman World Ice Restaurant

For a special meal you can eat in the ice restaurant for lunch or dinner, which was €129 per adult for dinner and €89 for children but it needs to be booked in advance.  We didn't stay for a meal, but there was also a cafe available in the entry hall of Snowman World.

The kids rounded out the day building a snowman next to the igloo and decorated it with their hats and scarfs.  It would have been a nice touch to have some items there to decorate Snowmen with like buttons and pipe etc like the children had read about in storybooks.  All up we were there for a good 5 hours, which surprised me as the kids are not used to the cold at all, and I expected to only be an hour or so at the most before they got too cold - but is seems they were having far too much fun to notice the chill.

Snowman World is located in Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland which is a 15 minute drive from the Rovaniemi town center.  The Winter Zone ticket is € 25 and is valid all day (11 AM – 5 PM).  Children under 3 years of age are free of charge.  Snowman World is only open from early December until late March, depending on the weather.

The address is;
Snowman World
Joulumaantie 5
96930 Rovaniemi
http://www.snowmanworld.fi/en