The 6 best campsites for families in Finland

When camping in Finland, prepare for being surrounded by untouched nature and coming home with a unique experience in the backpack. Finland, with its many lakes being called the land of a thousand lakes, offers wonderful natural experiences, friendly people, and delicious food.

While the Right of Public Access allows wild camping in nature, spending the holidays on a good campsite can be just as good – especially with children. If you’re looking for the best Finnish campsites for families, look no further. In this article, we will present the most family-friendly campsites in Finland.

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Camping Wildlife Park

Ranua

Camping Wildlife Park is – as the name suggests – right next to the wilderness, at the Ranua arctic animal park. The campsite offers a variety of amenities and services that you can take advantage of, which range from kitchens and BBQ stations to saunas and a playground. You also have access to a restaurant that offers, among other things, prepared lunches, perfect for when you are ready to explore the beautiful landscape of northern Finland.

Information about Camping Wildlife Park

Nature lovers love Lapland, and feel at home in Camping Wildlife Park. The campsite serves both as an optimal holiday destination and a stopover on your road trip through Finland, offering almost everything a camper could wish for. The campsite, open all year round, has both a kitchen and a BBQ area outdoors for those who want to cook their own food, as well as plenty of places to eat if you want to have someone else cook the meals for you. The children (and the parents!) can enjoy a playground, and you will of course also find the usual amenities of a campsite, such as washing machines, showers, toilets, and emptying stations.

Now that we’re in Finland, there’s only one thing missing, right? A sauna. At this campsite, you do of course have access to a sauna – even several. These are included in the accommodation price and are heated every evening from 19.00 to 23.00. Many people find saunas an excellent way to relax after an eventful day, so feel free to jump in if you feel like it. Here, it can for sure be a good rounding off, as there are plenty of experiences around the campsite. Scroll down to my excursion tips for some suggestions!

Excursion tips:

If you are in Finland, you cannot miss seeing reindeer. There is no better time of year to do it than during the magical summer. So, go on a reindeer safari and take in the sounds and smells of nature while exploring the reindeer and their calves live and thrive in the forest. You can book an excursion at Ranua Resort. If you don’t want to rely too much on chance, you can also visit a reindeer farm. The receptionists will be happy to help you in this matter as well.

2. Santalahti Resort

Kotka

Santalahti Resort, located in southern Finland, is a five-star campsite that impresses across the board – not only with its excellent facilities, but also with its location. Just 100 meters from the campsite, you are already on a beautiful sandy beach and can take in the wonderful Finnish nature. Moreover, Santalahti, the restaurant of the campsite, creates a Mediterranean atmosphere.

Information about Santalahti Resort

Santalahti Resort offers more than 120 pitches for caravans and motorhomes, all of which have electricity. The area is located on the southern edge of Mussalo headland in a large forest area. Many meadows, bushes, and rocks create a beautiful setting, but the pitches themselves are paved for comfort. This makes it easier to move around and park your vehicle.

The three service buildings have everything you need to make your holiday as convenient as possible. This means that showers, toilets, washing machines, and a kitchen are readily available for you. In addition, there are several nice barbecue areas with firewood in the area. A TV room and a large children’s playroom ensure that even colder evenings or rainy afternoons are filled with pleasantries. There is of course a sauna on the campsite as well, which is included in the price. At Santalahti Resort the sauna is available every morning. The beach with its food service, mini golf course, as well as bike and SUP rentals complete the family-friendly offerings of the campsite.

Excursion tips:

You don’t necessarily need to fly to the tropics to admire the fascinating underwater world, as Finland also has a lot to offer underwater. It should not really come as a surprise though, because the country has 187,888 lakes, 25,000 kilometers of rivers, and 46,000 kilometers of Baltic coast – quite a lot of water, in other words. Ar Maretarium, you and your family are able to get to know the Nordic aquatic life and learn about the over 60 species of fish that live here. A really lovely day for young and old alike.

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3. Napapiirin Saarituvat

Rovaniemi

Napapiirin Saarituvat is a small, cozy campsite with around 50 pitches. The USP of this campsite is its location. As you probably know, Rovaniemi is said to be the home of Santa Claus, and this is only a few kilometers away. Isn’t this an optimal campsite for the whole family? A lot speaks for it!

Information about Napapiirin Saarituvat

Napapiirin Saarituvat is located directly on the beach of Kemijoki and is considered one of the most beautiful places in Rovaniemi. Originally, the campsite only offered accommodation in traditional red cabins, but since 2022, they also offer pitches for campers arriving with motorhomes and caravans. That’s great news because the place is truly something to be amazed by, both in terms of nature and hospitality.

What might be good to know is that the price includes only the bare essentials – but there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with that, right? You have access to bathrooms, showers, and a kitchen, as well as water for your mobile home, greywater disposal, electricity, and internet. Again, what else would you need, really? If you want to use the sauna here, it incurs an extra fee of 20 euros, but it gives a genuine Finnish feeling. Moreover, Napapiirin Saarituvat is run personally and privately, as it does not belong to any big organization or large network. Some may get a sense of it being a guest house or bed & breakfast, and the owner prefers that you check in and pay during reception opening hours (3 pm – 8 pm or 7 pm on weekends). This campsite clearly falls into the “small, but very nice” category.

Excursion tips:

A trip to Santa’s home is a must for the whole family. While this may sound a little cliche, it really is a magical place. Yes, it is touristy, but the kids love it. In the heart of the village, you will find Santa’s office, which is open all year round. In the Christmas House, you have the opportunity to meet Santa in person, and admission is free. It is also worth going for a walk in the Christmas tree forest. Last but not least, you can cross the Arctic Circle in Santa Village. This is the southernmost latitude where you can experience the midnight sun in the summer, meaning that the sun shines 24 hours a day.

4. Mäntyranta camping

Kesälahti

Mäntyranta camping is located in south-eastern Finland. Its opening hours are very limited, as the campsite is only open from June to August. However, if you manage to squeeze in your holidays during this time, it is the perfect place for a relaxed camping holiday with the family.

Information about Mäntyranta camping

At Mäntyranta camping, you can choose from a little over a hundred pitches, all of which have electricity. Places near the beach are, as you might understand, particularly popular, but there are also many great options. The kitchen, toilets, and showers were renovated a few years ago and are clean and functional. You can also empty gray water here.

If you and your family like sports, you will feel right at home here, as tennis and badminton courts, as well as volleyball courts, are available. There is also a table tennis table and you can rent racquets and balls at the reception. The same applies to petanque balls. For the children, the area also has a playground with a trampoline, swings, a sandbox, and a playhouse. If you are more attracted by the water, Mäntyranta is still the right place for you, as a total of seven rowing boats are available. And when you’ve exercised enough, it’s time for a sauna. Mäntyranta doesn’t just have one sauna, but three! They have room for four, six, or ten people and they are all located directly on the beach. One thing’s for sure, and that’s that sunsets and saunas go hand in hand here.

Excursion tips:

Visiting a zoo with children is usually appreciated, right? Kitee Zoo is about 15 minutes drive from Mäntyranta camping. It is the fourth largest zoo in the country and here, you can see over 50 different animal species along a two-kilometer-long path. Here you can find, among other things, yaks, deer, alpacas, reindeer, wild boar as well as the bear Riku and the lynx Väinö.

5. Kalajoki Camping

Kalajoki

Relaxation, fun, and action – all in one campsite? Yes! At Kalajoki Camping, everything is possible. You will find Kalajoki in the heart of the most famous beach area in Finland and the campsite, which is surrounded by sand dunes and sandy beaches, offers you and your family a wide range of adventures and services.

Information about Kalajoki Camping

Do you want to park your motorhome directly on the beach? If yes, Kalajoki Camping is the right place for you. The area is located on a fantastic beach and offers countless pitches that will impress you and your family. Most places have their own electricity connection, and standard services include showers, toilets, cooking facilities, drinking water, and campfires. The morning sauna is also included in the price, so you have everything you need for an authentic Finnish experience!

Cooking in a motor home is of course part of a camping holiday. But there are days when you just don’t feel like it, right? That’s when you just want to sit in a comfortable place and enjoy delicious food. This is for sure possible at Kalajoki Camping’s beach bar Surfari. Here, you’ll be having a good time while the kids are playing on the playground right next to you. Isn’t this exactly what a nice holiday can look like? Additionally, there is a lot of other family-friendly entertainment here, such as pedal boats, mini golf, water park, theater, surfing, and mini golf… So, yes, there is absolutely plenty to do – all for a memorable holiday.

Excursion tips:

Are you not afraid of heights? Then we have a really cool excursion tip for you and your loved ones in the immediate vicinity of Kalajoki Camping: Adventure Park Pakka. Here, there is a high-altitude ropes course, an adventure tower, and a bungee trampoline. In the largest outdoor adventure park in Scandinavia, you climb between trees at different levels and at different heights – a challenge that requires both agility and courage. The blue course is specially designed for families. You can find more information about the adventure park on the website.

If you are traveling by ferry to Finland, you can find the best ferry connections and more information about it in our article “The most beautiful ferry destinations in Europe“.

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6. Mossala Island Resort

Mossala

“Nature is our playground. We are all part of it – and we are all responsible for it” is the philosophy of those who run Mossala Island Resort. And that’s exactly how we live here: sustainable development is priority number one. One visiting the campsite, you can truly feel the love of this special place, having made the owners take good care of it! Here, you can recharge your batteries, relax, and enjoy one of the finest camping areas in Finland, which of course is family-friendly as well.

Information about Mossala Island Resort

In this spacious camping area, the pitches are located in a peaceful location, surrounded by a beautiful forest, and you can park your vehicle in the gravel area. At the campsite, there are showers, toilets, and washing facilities, as well as two saunas that the staff will be happy to heat for you for an extra fee. You can also use the barbecue area that you share with the other camping guests. If you don’t want to cook the dinner yourself, you can also treat yourself to having it served at the Mossala Island restaurant. There’s also a children’s menu, so you have everything you need for a family-friendly holiday.

The facility also offers various activities, perfect for young and old alike. Among them are windsurfing, stand-up kayaking, kiteboarding, and yoga, but also hikes where you can pick berries or mushrooms. Fishing is also possible, and a very special experience. You can either rent your own boat or sign up for an organized fishing trip. With a bit of luck, you may also see eagles during the journey. If you’re not lucky enough to see any at the water’s edge, we recommend climbing the nearby observation tower. Finally, we want to highlight something else that is also highly recommended: disc golf. Mossala Island Resort has an entire 18-hole course – and the trees in the fairway make everything extra fun for the whole family.

Excursion tips:

The island of Mossala can be reached by a free ferry. In connection with this, we strongly recommend that you enjoy the wonderful archipelago, and then experience Turku, the islands of Pargas and Nugu. This will allow you to get to know the wonderful archipelago world of Finland before reaching the end point Mossala.

To conclude we hope that at least one of these fantastic family-friendly campsites has made you want to travel to Finland with your motorhome or caravan. If you are already on your way to Finland, we truly recommend you stay at one of these campsites!

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