Itinerary to end up in Lapland

Where do you want to fly into?

I've considered flying into Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, or Amsterdam. These are all roughly the same cost so I can do any of them. I'm also open to other suggestions as well.

Where are you starting from? What are your interests? Have you been to Europe before? ....

You really need to be more specific else my suggestion is to start in Athens, hit Dubrovnik, then Prague, maybe a sidetrip to St. Petersburg and then into Helsinki. Might not be realistic and I wouldn't do it but you did ask for suggestions

I'll be flying from Memphis, TN. I have been to Europe before - 3 weeks to London, Munich, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Rome, Cinque Terra, Paris.

Have you thought about flying into Stockholm? One suggestion would be:
1) Fly into Stockholm and spend a couple of days there.

2) Take the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. There is beautiful scenery in the Stockholm archipelago.
3) Visit Helsinki and then make your way north to Rovaniemi.

Laura's suggestion is excellent! Stockholm is a very beautiful city (my second favorite in the world after Edinburgh). The overnight ferry to Helsinki is great -- you will go through the archipelagos of both Sweden and Finland and you'll have tons of daylight to enjoy it. Helsinki is a very interesting city with lots to see. I don't see how you can top this plan.

This sounds great! Thank you! Is there a particular ferry line that you prefer? Viking or Silja? I read that there was a Stockholm-Tallin-Helsinki cruise as well. What do you think of that?

Amen on the Stockholm-Helsinki ferry. This is one of my most memorable journeys in all of Europe, the scenery is spectacular. The Viking boats have more of a reputation for being party boats with heavy (tax-free) drinking going on. Silja cater more to families and the older crowd. But the scenery is identical:)

I vote for the Silja line, but one word of caution...book your dinner reservations early...I was put off by the early "waiting line" to sign up for reservations, left with the intent of coming back to sign up...later told that all available seats were taken (in the best dining room). We still had a very nice dinner (Norwegian Lobster) in one of the auxilary restaurants on board...but I felt that I missed something.

I absolutely agree on Laura's suggestion to take a ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. I would definitely use Silja Line. I will be doing it in June myself. It is a good idea to book the buffet dinner when you book your trip on the Silja Line. The dinner is an integral part of the trip. The scenery is breathtaking and to have a wonderful gourmet meal with it - you can not beat it! I am from there and I still do it every year when I visit.

You can also take a Ship from Helsinki to Tallin Estonia. It only takes about 3 hours and then spend the day in Tallin and take another ship back in the evening.