Swedish Lapland travel guide

Our Swedish Lapland travel guide entices you deep into a vast Arctic expanse illuminated in winter by one of the world’s most incredible natural phenomena: the Northern Lights. It’s a magical, pristine landscape where you can steer sledges pulled by willing huskies, snow shoe through forests, and sleep in a hotel carved from ice.

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Swedish Lapland travel guide

Swedish Lapland is one of vanishingly few places in Europe where you can get a sense of Mother Nature at her most raw and untamed. In winter, branches bend beneath the weight of snow in immense forests of spruce and pine; lakes freeze so solid that you can ski or snowmobile between islands, and Sami reindeer herders diligently trudge after their shaggy charges.

The Northern Lights are notoriously fickle about their public appearances, so it’s a good thing there are so many other incredible experiences here to compensate.

You can sleep in a hotel built from ice; snack on smoked capercaillie and cloudberry jam at a huge Sami market that takes place just once every year; watch the Northern Lights from a treetop cabin; or cosy up around the fire in a log cabin hours from civilisation. In spring the snow melts, and rivers that drain the fells far north of the Arctic Circle become surging torrent. By summer the scenery is transformed, with long days perfect for hiking around national parks. It’s easy to get away from it all here, but near-impossible to tear yourself away.

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Swedish Lapland is…

so remote and so close to the Arctic that it’s one of the best places in the world to witness the phenomenon of aurora borealis.

Swedish Lapland isn’t…

your typical family vacation. Thrilling winter activities, quirky accommodations and magical snowy landscapes all add up to a unique destination.

Things to do in Swedish Lapland…

Life this far north can be tough, but it equips you with useful survival skills. An activity vacation in Swedish Lapland will unleash your inner Ray Mears in no time. Strap on snow shoes as you forage for your meals, cut a hole in lake ice so you can fish for pike and perch, and cook reindeer stew over a campfire. Within a few days, you’ll be a master at mushing your huskies. Why settle for a regular room with a view when you can choose a super stylish tree hotel, with floor to ceiling windows offering amazing forest views? Another famous accommodation is the Ice Hotel, which is painstakingly rebuilt every year in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna. There’s no heating (hardly surprising) in individually designed rooms, where guests sleep in polar sleeping bags under reindeer furs. There is an onsite sauna though, and a church where wedding ceremonies are performed. Keep an eye out for the wildlife. Moose can frequently be seen in forests, or from the car window, and reindeer are everywhere. Lynx are much more of a rarity, but there are small group tours that attempt to track them using binoculars and remote cabins. There are no wolves in Swedish Lapland any more, but there are still a few brown bears around.

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Things not to do in Swedish Lapland…

Leave the Northern Lights until the end of your trip. Viewing expeditions are at the mercy of weather conditions and the level of solar activity, so success can never be guaranteed. Many Swedish Lapland itineraries will include a stay in a remote area where aurora borealis are best observed. If you can schedule that into the early part of your vacation, then if they don’t appear, there is always the chance of rescheduling for another attempt. Forget your thermals. Temperatures can vary erratically, so layering thin undergarments helps you quickly adjust. Tours operating in remote areas will often provide good winter clothing, but you may prefer to bring your own instead. Essentially, pack as though you were going skiing and you should be okay – and if you’re going dog sledding, a pair of ski goggles will come in very handy. Let go of the sledge! Dog sledding is a very popular winter activity in Swedish Lapland, but in patches of thick snow, passengers sometimes need to get out and push for a while. Unfortunately the huskies don’t always appreciate this gesture of solidarity, and may not stick around once they get going again. You might then have to wait for your guide to round them up.

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Written by Rob Perkins

Swedish Lapland travel guide