Are you traveling to the unforgettable winter wonderland of Swedish Lapland? Have you been dreaming of seeing the Northern Lights, going dog sledding, snowmobiling through the trees, floating in the arctic circle, and more?!
You’re in the right place! We took an unbelievable, bucket-list trip to Swedish Lapland last winter, and we still talk about it almost daily! This was without a doubt one of the best trips we’ve ever been on, and we’re sharing all the details with you!! We’ll be covering where to stay, how to get there, what to do, and even our detailed one-week itinerary!
Wondering what to pack for your Lapland bucket-list adventure? After this post, make sure to check out our super detailed packing guide here!
This post contains everything you need to know to plan an amazing winter adventure in Swedish Lapland!!
Where is Swedish Lapland?
Basically, Lapland refers to the northern-most areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Swedish Lapland specifically refers to the portion of Lapland within the Swedish borders.
Swedish Lapland vs Finnish Lapland
People often ask which part of Lapland to visit. The great news is, you really can’t go wrong! We chose Swedish Lapland because it contains Abisko National Park. This park is where you are statistically most likely to see the Northern Lights! We also chose Swedish Lapland because the ICEHOTEL Sweden was the first ice hotel in the world, and I have dreamed of staying there since I was a kid!
Finnish Lapland tends to get more precipitation than Swedish Lapland, making the Northern Lights potentially harder to see.
We found in our research that both Norwegian Lapland and Finnish Lapland seemed more expensive than Swedish Lapland, which was another big reason we chose Swedish Lapland.
Keep in mind, it is really easy to drive to other parts of Lapland once you’re up there! For example, you’ll notice in our itinerary we cross briefly into Finnish lapland for one of our tours.
How do you get to Swedish Lapland?
From Stockholm, you can fly or take a train to Swedish Lapland. You could technically also drive there, but it would take over 12 hours.
If flying to Swedish Lapland, you will likely be taking SAS (a Scandinavian airline) from Stockholm to the regional airports in either Kiruna or Luleå.
If you have the time, you can also take an overnight train from Stockholm to Kiruna.
Warning!! When we were traveling to Swedish Lapland, there was a huge snow storm the day before we arrived that seriously delayed all train travel. So please keep that risk in mind if you’re planning on taking the train!
Swedish Lapland Hotels
For Abisko National Park, we strongly recommend staying at the Abisko Mountain Lodge. We loved that it was easy to get to, had plenty of parking, included a delicious breakfast, provided a cozy sauna, and had an superb restaurant onsite called BRASSERIE FJÄLLKÖKET. By the way, every single dish we had at this restaurant was INCREDIBLE!!
If you’re traveling to Abisko to see the Northern Lights, please consider staying at Abisko Mountain Lodge!
If you’ve been wondering whether or not an overnight stay at ICEHOTEL Sweden is worth it, you need to read our insanely detailed review of our experience staying in an ICEHOTEL Deluxe Suite here!
Bottom line, it was worth every penny in our opinion. We had an incredible experience, and it was a bucket-list dream come true!
In Kiruna, we spent two nights at the Hotel Arctic Eden, a Best Western Property in the heart of Kiruna. This hotel is quite unique, as it is actually a renovated school building! It also has plenty of parking and is easy to reach. Best of all, the hotel has a great restaurant and bar by the lobby!
We also stayed one night in LuleÃ¥, in an AirBnB. We booked an AirBnB because we knew we would need a washing machine at some point, since we were traveling carry-on only (BTW, if you’re wondering how we were able to travel throughout Sweden with only 2 carry-ons, check out our packing guide to Lapland in Winter here!)
However, our AirBnB wasn’t excellent, and we wouldn’t recommend it to you. Instead, look at something centrally located with great reviews, like this Clarion Hotel Sense.
Activities Swedish Lapland
See the Northern Lights
Okay, now to the best part … this is the actual Northern Lights Sweden Tour we took to successfully see the Northern Lights in Swedish Lapland!
They picked us up promptly from our hotel in a small bus, and we ended up with a group of 15 people on our tour bus. Our guide and our driver took us to 3 different spots around Abisko where there was little to no light pollution, minimal cloud coverage, and amazing views of the Northern Lights!
Best of all, our guide was excellent!! Not only did he and our driver know exactly where to go to get great aurora sightings, but he also ran around between all the guests offering to take pictures, teaching us how to get the right settings on our phones to get best photos, and setting up lighting around the bus.
Larry also loved that our guide passed out piping hot Lingonberry juice from a thermos and cookies halfway through the tour (If you knew Larry, you wouldn’t be surprised that the juice and cookies were a big hit with him!!)
Take a Dog Sledding Adventure!
If you’re going to Swedish Lapland, you need to do a Dog Sledding tour! We also made this booking through Get Your Guide. They picked us right up from the hotel in Kiruna and took us to their impressive farm.
The dogs were so playful, healthy, and unbelievably well-trained. Our guide gave clear directions and helped us manage the 3-hour dog sledding tour without any issues. They also provided us with excellent cold weather gear that was clean and new.
This was one of the biggest highlights of our entire trip to Swedish Lapland, right up there with seeing the Northern Lights!
The exact tour we did is no longer available, but here is a very similar looking tour!
Go Snowmobiling
Another tour we loved was this snowmobiling tour through Abisko National Park! It’s easy to think that Abisko is only good for seeing the Aurora, but it is actually a stunning park in the daytime as well!
We loved getting to see a lot of the territory safely with our knowledgeable guide. Once again … Larry was particularly a fan of the lingonberry juice and cookies our guide passed out!! The snowmobiles were in great condition and the cold weather gear they provided kept us perfectly warm.
Tour the Kiruna Mines
While you’re in Kiruna, you need to take a tour of the Kiruna Mines if you have any interest in mines or geology! It is the largest underground iron-ore mine in Europe and a major employer in Swedish Lapland.
Unfortunately, the mines are so extensive and deep that the town of Kiruna is actually sinking!! Residents are gradually being relocated to a “New Kiruna” several miles away due to the destabilization caused by the mines.
Float in the Arctic Circle
Right on the border of Swedish Lapland and Finnish Lapland, you can board the Polar Explorer Icebreaker! You will get to spend the day learning about icebreakers, walking on the frozen sea, and … best of all … floating in the arctic circle in a special survival suite!!
This was one of those amazing experiences we never thought we’d get to have. Don’t worry, the survival suites do keep you very warm, even if they make you look a little goofy!!
Travel to ICE HOTEL Sweden
Even if you don’t stay overnight, visiting the ICEHOTEL is a must if you’ll be in Swedish Lapland!! You’ll want to spend at least 3 hours here. You can check out all the various cold areas. The Art Suites and Deluxe Suites alone are stunning, and you’ll want to see them all since each is totally different!
There’s also a Ceremony Hall made of ice that will take your breath away, and don’t forget about the ICEBAR!! Having a cocktail or prosecco from an ice flute while sitting in a bar completely made of ice was a bucket list experience in and of itself! Luckily, the ICEBAR is open to all visitors, not just overnight guests.
Thinking about staying overnight in an ice room? We wrote a whole post about our experience and shared every single detail – even weird ones like … how do you go to the bathroom at the ICEHOTEL?! Check out our insanely detailed review of our experience staying in an ICEHOTEL Deluxe Suite here!
Pictured here:
Visit a traditional Sami Village
Just a five minute drive from the ICEHOTEL, you can visit Nutti Sámi Siida. This is a traditional Sámi Village with multiple exhibits, gift stores, and even a reindeer enclosure!
Nutti Sámi Siida was a great stop that we would highly recommend to anyone visiting ICEHOTEL. You’ll love learning about the indigenous communities of Lapland, shopping for souvenirs made by local artisans, feeding reindeer in the reindeer enclosure, and even having lunch in the traditional tipi restaurant!
Pictured here:
One Week Swedish Lapland Itinerary
Here’s how you can actually fit all the above activities into just one week in Swedish Lapland!
Day 1:
Land in Kiruna airport, rent a car, and drive directly to Abisko. Check into the Abisko Mountain Lodge and have an early dinner at Abisko Mountain Lodge’s restaurant called BRASSERIE FJÄLLKÖKET (make a reservation with the hotel in advance of your stay!!) That night, take the Abisko: Guided Aurora Chase to see the Northern Lights!
Day 2:
After enjoying the large, included breakfast at Abisko Mountain Lodge, take a snowmobile tour of Abisko National Park! When you get back, enjoy the sauna at Abisko Mountain Lodge to warm up. Have dinner in town or at the hotel’s restaurant again.
At night, go on a self-guided Northern Lights tour in your rental car. How did we do this? Larry dropped pins at all the locations we visited on our Aurora Chase tour the first night, so that we could explore on our own later! Worked like a charm!! Just another brilliant idea fueled by lingonberry juice and cookies 😉
Day 3:
Enjoy the plentiful breakfast included at Abisko Mountain Lodge. Check out from the hotel and drive south to Kiruna. Check in to Hotel Arctic Eden. That afternoon, take a Kiruna based dog sledding tour! Then, have dinner at Hotel Arctic Eden’s restaurant (make reservations at the front desk at check-in!!)
Day 4:
Enjoy the huge, included breakfast at the Hotel Arctic Eden. If interested, take the Kiruna Mines tour before leaving town. Drive further south and check into ICEHOTEL Sweden.
Explore the nearby Nutti Sámi Siida, a traditional Sámi Village only 5 minutes from the ICEHOTEL. There, you can enjoy a delicious lunch in their traditional tipi restaurant. Go back to the ICEHOTEL. Explore the ice rooms, enjoy a drink at the ICEBAR, and have dinner on the property (all ICEHOTEL dining options are explained in this post.)
Day 5:
Indulge in the massive included breakfast at the ICEHOTEL and check out. Drive to the city of LuleÃ¥. Check into the Clarion Hotel Sense. While in LuleÃ¥, be sure to explore the old, historic church town of Gammelstad! It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site!
Day 6:
Early breakfast either at the hotel or Café La Vache in downtown Luleå. This is a charming spot with a kind owner and delicious bites! Drive to the Polar Explorer Icebreaker meeting point. Enjoy an unforgettable day of walking on the frozen sea and floating in the Arctic Circle!!
Pro tip: Buy extra sandwiches from Café La Vache to bring with you on your expedition. Though there are some drinks/food sold onboard, the options are super limited (there was lingonberry juice, to Larry’s delight). We were very grateful we’d brought extra food with us!
Drive back to LuleÃ¥, and have dinner in town. We celebrated the end of a wonderful trip with a delicious, swanky meal at Bistron! Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fresh take on Swedish staples.
Day 7:
Fly out of LuleÃ¥’s regional airport to Stockholm.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this post covering everything you need to know for an amazing adventure in Swedish Lapland!
Next, check out our super detailed packing guide for Lapland in Winter!
