A Lapland incentive trip works because it removes the usual world entirely. No conference-hotel corridor, no taxi queue: instead a fell, a forest, snow or midnight sun to the horizon, and a programme nobody on the team has done before. Something shifts when a group steps out of a coach into that much silence, and it is the thing every planner is really buying. Our corporate page has said it for years, and we will keep saying it. Levi is a memorable place to gather, far from the usual. The Lappish solution is relaxed but functional, close to nature but efficient.
Polar Meetings, the corporate arm of Polar Star Travel, organises meetings and congresses, events and company and group trips in Lapland from our home village of Sirkka in Levi. The team behind the programmes has accumulated experience since 1990, and the working promise has not changed. Your trip is built just for you and your group, taking into account your wishes. And you don't have to worry about anything. In our programmes you are served by our own professional guides, from arrival to departure.
This page answers what corporate planners actually ask us: why Levi, what a programme looks like, where groups meet and dine, how the logistics run, and what drives the budget.
Why Levi for incentives
Kittilä Airport (KTT) is about 15 minutes from the village. For incentive travel in Finland, that single fact is the planner's best friend. A group that lands mid-afternoon can be checked in, fitted with thermal gear and standing in Arctic silence before dinner. No transfer day lost at either end, no energy spent on a coach. Airport details are at Finavia.
The second argument is compactness. Levi is a real village, Sirkka, rather than a scattered resort zone. Accommodation, restaurants, meeting venues and trailheads sit within walking distance of one another. And the wilderness begins at the last lamppost. The destination-wide picture is on Levi Ski Resort. For a company event in Levi this means the agenda holds: ten minutes separate the meeting room from the forest, so an active afternoon costs no working morning.
The third is the one-house model, which is ours. We host groups in our own Polar Star Apartments and cottages. We run around 30 of our own experiences year-round with our own guides. We operate our own bike fleet and transports, and we answer the phone ourselves at the village office. One contact, one programme, no hand-offs between anonymous subcontractors. Levi is an added value for your event. The one-house model is what makes it effortless.
And if your company reports on travel sustainability, the credentials here are named rather than claimed. Green Key (our Polar Star and Origo apartments, since 2020). Green Activities (our nature activities). Travelife for Tour Operators (2023). These apartments run on 100% renewable electricity. We make the longer case (light, seasons and the psychology of contrast included) in why Levi works for corporate events.
Sample programmes
The honest caveat first: the outlines below are shapes, not menus, and deliberately not case studies. We publish no client stories, and every real programme starts from a blank page and your wishes. Each element named here is a real product from our own catalogue or our established village network. For a broader idea bank, browse our incentive trip ideas for Lapland.
Shape one: the classic winter incentive (three days)
Day one: land at Kittilä, check in, fit the thermal gear, and walk out the same evening on a guided snowshoe outing under the northern sky, campfire included. If the night is clear, the aurora may appear; nature decides, and the evening is built to be worth it either way. Day two: a focused meeting morning indoors, then an afternoon that wakes the group up. One option is our Amazing Levi winter competition, a team challenge that moves from control point to control point in and around the village. Another is an e-fatbike ride through the snowy forest on our own fleet. The evening ends the way the old page promised: an active day in the nature of Lapland, concluded in the gentle steam of a smoke sauna. Day three: a reindeer farm visit and sleigh ride with the local herding family we partner with. Or our guided excursion to Lainio Snow Village, a partner attraction, which takes about 3 hours. Then the short transfer back to the airport.
Shape two: the leadership retreat
For a small board with real decisions to make, the register quietens. Mornings for strategy. Afternoons outdoors at walking pace. The Levi Summit Tour with Mindfulness on the fell. A spell of Arctic ice fishing on a frozen lake, where phones lose their grip on people. And an evening sauna with an ice hole for the brave (see sauna and ice swimming). The shape borrows from our Finnish Happiness retreats (balance, silence, sauna) and suits groups that need clarity more than adrenaline. More in our corporate retreat in Levi guide and on the Finnish Happiness page.
Shape three: summer and autumn, the underrated window
From June to August the midnight sun keeps the day open as late as the agenda dares. An evening canoe paddle on the free-flowing River Ounasjoki. A gravel ride on Kittilä's quiet roads. The Amazing Levi summer competition. Dinner outdoors at 22:00 in full light. September brings ruska (the autumn colour season) and with it fell hikes through red and gold, plus the first aurora nights of the new season. Summer and autumn dates sit easier in most companies' calendars, and the light does half the event design for you.
How the seasons shape a group programme:
| Season | The register | Signature group elements |
|---|---|---|
| Deep winter (Dec–Feb) | Dramatic, dark, snow-sure | Evening snowshoe walks, e-fatbike rides in snowy forest, reindeer visits, smoke-sauna evenings, aurora outings (nature decides) |
| Spring winter (Mar–Apr) | Bright, energetic | Snow programmes in sunshine, ice fishing, longer outdoor days |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | Light around the clock | Midnight-sun canoeing on the River Ounasjoki, gravel and MTB rides, Amazing Levi summer competition |
| Autumn / ruska (Sep–Oct) | Calm, colourful | Fell hikes in autumn colours, gravel riding, retreat-style programmes, early aurora season |
From the field: A planner once sent us a three-day agenda with fourteen programme items and asked us to make it fit. We pushed back gently and built eight, protecting one entirely empty evening around the smoke sauna. The post-trip feedback ranked that unscheduled evening the best moment of the trip. In Lapland, density is not value; contrast is.
Venues and capacities
Levi's venue stock surprises planners who expect one conference hotel and a tent. The realistic palette starts with meeting rooms and conference facilities in the village's hotels and event spaces. It runs on through restaurant venues, from village dining rooms to fell-top settings. And it ends in the places no ballroom can copy: kota huts (the traditional Lappish hut), lakeside wilderness camps and smoke-sauna venues. Private cabins and villas host dinners that feel like someone's home, because they are.
Our role is the sourcing. We are not tied to a single property. We know which room fits which group on which week. We put the venue, menus and transport together as one programme. And we host delegations in our own apartments and cottages in the village. A leadership group often takes a villa, while larger groups spread across apartments a few minutes' walk apart. The wider accommodation picture, areas included, is in where to stay in Levi.
On size: Levi as a destination hosts everything from a small leadership board to a large company group. Venue capacities vary a great deal, so honest numbers belong in proposals rather than in evergreen marketing copy. Tell us your headcount and dates, and we will shortlist venues that genuinely fit.
Logistics and transports
Incentive logistics live or die on transfers, and Levi's are short. We meet flights at Kittilä Airport, about 15 minutes from the village, with coach transfers scaled to the group. For sustainability-led companies, the VR night train to Lapland plus the coach connection is a genuinely workable arrival, and the nearest bus stop stands 100 metres from our apartments.
On the ground, the village does most of the work: dinners, meetings and many programme starts are within walking distance. Where wheels are needed, we plan them as part of the programme rather than as an afterthought. Moving people and equipment is our daily craft. Our cycling production runs its own bike and passenger transports between Ylläs and Levi through the season. The same logistics thinking carries groups, gear and timetables. The full picture is in our guide to group transportation in Lapland.
Gear is logistics too. Thermal overalls, boots and winter kit for the whole delegation are arranged as part of programme planning. Nobody's city coat becomes the weak link of the week. Outdoors, our guides carry the safety load in every season.
Budget framework
We do not publish prices, because honest incentive pricing is built per programme. But the cost drivers are stable, and knowing them makes planning faster. Six things move a Lapland incentive budget more than anything else:
Season and week. The peak winter weeks around Christmas and New Year carry the highest demand. Early December, spring winter and the summer–autumn window breathe easier.
Group size. Transports, venues and guiding scale in steps rather than smoothly, so headcount shapes the structure of the whole programme.
Programme density. Every guided element adds cost, and as the note above argues, contrast usually beats density anyway.
Venue and dining choices. A village dining room and a wilderness venue with full transport are different undertakings.
Transport distances. Village-centred programmes keep wheels short. Far-wilderness elements buy remoteness with logistics.
Accommodation level and mix. Villas, cottages and apartments combine in many ways across one group.
What we advise against trimming: guiding and gear. They are the safety floor and the comfort ceiling of an Arctic programme, and the difference shows on day one. Tell us your group size, dates and the feeling the trip should leave behind, and we will propose a programme with transparent per-programme pricing: from us, never from a brochure.
Plan your group's trip with Polar Meetings
Tell us about your group, and we build the programme around you. Write to sales@polarstartravel.fi or call +358 10 325 4040 with your dates, headcount and ambitions. The answer comes from the village office, from people who will also be there when you land. Stay in style, meet well, eat well, and let Lapland's nature, outdoor activities and saunas do the rest. And if the gathering is personal rather than corporate, the same house plans weddings in Levi.
Kittilä Airport is fifteen minutes away. The village has welcomed travellers since the road here was marked by a star. Your team is simply the next arrival. See you in Sirkka.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Lapland incentive trip?
A Lapland incentive trip is a reward or motivation trip that brings a team to Finnish Lapland for shared Arctic experiences, usually wrapped around meeting time. In Levi that means programmes built from nature (snowshoeing, e-fatbike rides, reindeer visits, saunas) arranged around a focused work agenda, about 15 minutes from Kittilä Airport.
How do groups travel to Levi?
Most fly to Kittilä Airport (KTT), about 15 minutes from the village, and we meet the flight and handle transfers. The night train to Lapland plus a coach is the low-emission alternative, and the nearest bus stop is 100 metres from our apartments.
What group sizes can Levi handle?
From a small leadership board to a large company group: the destination scales, and capacities vary venue by venue. We state exact capacities in each proposal once dates and headcount are known, so the numbers you plan with are real.
When is the best season for a corporate trip to Lapland?
Winter, from December to April, is the classic: snow, polar-night atmosphere and the full Arctic programme. Summer and autumn are the underrated windows: midnight-sun evenings, paddling, gravel riding and ruska colours, with easier calendars. Each season carries its own programme register. None of them is a compromise.
Can a programme combine real meeting time with activities?
Yes, that is exactly the Lappish format: relaxed but functional, close to nature but efficient. A typical day pairs a focused indoor morning with an active Arctic afternoon and a sauna evening, and the contrast does more for attention spans than a fourth conference-room hour would.
Will my group see the northern lights?
Nobody can promise that, and we never do: the aurora is a natural phenomenon and nature decides. What we arrange is the best possible chance. Dark skies away from the village lights in season, roughly late August to mid-April. Warm gear and a guide who knows tonight's outlook. And evenings designed to be worth it even when the sky stays quiet.
What does a Lapland incentive trip cost?
We price per programme rather than publishing rates, because season, group size, programme density, venues and transports each move the total. Send your dates and headcount and you will receive a transparent proposal. The budget drivers are explained in the framework above.
What languages do the guides work in?
Our tours run with live guides in English and Finnish as standard, and we plan international programmes in English end to end. Tell us your group's needs and we will confirm the arrangements per programme.
Why book through a local Arctic Experience Company rather than assembling the trip ourselves?
Because in Levi we are the house: own apartments and cottages, own guides, own activity fleet and transports, and village partnerships built since 2007. One contact replaces a dozen suppliers, and when Arctic weather edits the agenda, the re-planning happens locally, immediately and around your group.
Written by Heidi Jokela, CEO, Polar Star Travel, an aurora seeker and Levi local since the 2000s.
About Polar Star Travel
Polar Star Travel is a family-owned, truly local Arctic Experience Company based in Levi, Finnish Lapland. We don't just want to show our guests Lapland. We want them to truly feel it. We bring together accommodation, Arctic nature, local people and culture, adventure, and wellbeing to create meaningful Lapland experiences. We know this land, its stories and its special places, and we want to share them with our guests in an authentic, warm and personal way. Polar Star: Find Your True North.
From our home village of Sirkka, about 15 minutes from Kittilä Airport, we have hosted guests since 2007 in our own apartments and cottages, each with its own sauna. We guide around 30 of our own experiences year-round, from aurora canoeing and snowshoe walks to e-fatbike, gravel and mountain-bike tours. Our work is certified by Green Key (Polar Star and Origo Apartments), Green Activities and Travelife for Tour Operators.
Sources:
Finavia: Kittilä Airport, official airport information
Levi Ski Resort, official Levi resort information
VR, night train connections to Lapland
Tell us about your group. We build the programme around you.
Polar Star Travel · Torikuja 10 A, 99130 Levi · +358 10 325 4040 · sales@polarstartravel.fi
