6 of our Favourite Experiences to have in Arctic Europe

To visit Arctic Europe is to stand on the edge of a towering cliff at the northernmost point on mainland Europe. It’s about sleeping on a bed of ice or navigating frozen lakes with reigns between your fingers. Here are 6 of our favourite one-and-only Arctic experiences you can have in this unique place…

1. Husky Sledding through the Arctic

2. Stay in an aurora bubble

Up in the northern reaches of Finnish Lapland, the Nellim Wilderness Hotel has a handful of glass-domed cabins where guests can watch the Northern Lights—visible almost 200 nights a year—while sheltered from the -22°F winds outside. Feast on traditional Lappish cuisine like reindeer meat and smoked fish at the on-site restaurant, then retire to your igloo-like room, with decor inspired by indigenous Sami culture. Whilst there’s no guarantee you’ll see the aurora, but with the Murmansk border just eight miles away, you can almost see Russia.

3. Watch out for the northern lights at wilderness Camp Nikka

4. Sleep in an igloo

A normal hotel is where you sleep and nothing more…but this is no normal hotel. You’ll lie in bed staring at the ice ceiling, snuggled deep into your sleeping bag (that can handle temps down to -15°F), spending ages totally transfixed by the steam coming out of your mouth. You’re not dreaming — this is the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel (27,000 square feet of ice and snow), and it’s the northernmost ice hotel in the world.

5. Journey to the North Cape in Norway

6. Sleep in a room made entirely of ice

Bring your warmest long underwear, lie down on the reindeer hide, and zip up the sleeping bag… Spending the night in a room at Icehotel 365 (the world’s first hotel made of ice and snow, where the temperature’s always 17-23°F) means you’ll be falling asleep while watching the steam of your own breath. The Art Suites in Icehotel 365 are uniquely designed and built entirely of ice and snow according to the same concept as the classic, vinter hotel.

This solar-run hotel is situated in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, about 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Best of all, you don’t have to wait till the middle of winter to feel like Elsa — the hotel’s open throughout the year.

“The very first Icehotel was the result of friends Par Granlund and Yngve Bergqvist’s vision to build an igloo that would be a meeting place which would cross cultural boundaries and symbolise local traditions, nature, history and the environment. The little town of Jukkasjarvi, which actually means ‘meeting place by the lake’, has been a centre for trade and commerce amongst the native Sami for around 400 years – now it would attract ice artists and visitors from around the globe. Their vision has been brought to life, year after year, on the banks of the frozen River Torne. The first igloo, a simple art gallery, had just 50 square meters of floor space, visited mainly by curious locals. Growing in size annually in a never-to-be-repeated design, ice rooms were included in the late nineties and the Icehotel remains one of the most spectacular art galleries in the world.”  

Feeling Inspired?

If you have any questions about any of our Arctic Experiences or want to get your own holiday underway, call us on 01737 214 250 or you can email our travel specialists to start discussing your options.