Swedish Lapland: Kiruna, the Icehotel and Abisko

Arrive in Kiruna

Kiruna Airport (KRN) to your hotel in Kiruna

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Kiruna
• Environ 15 min de route

Soir

Then we sit down to a welcome dinner of northern Swedish food, perhaps Arctic char or reindeer. If the sky is clear and the forecast strong, your guide takes anyone who wants to go to a dark spot at the edge of town afterwards.

Compris

• Pick-up at Kiruna Airport (KRN)
• Winter outfit fitting and welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner
• An aurora outing at the edge of town if the sky is clear and the forecast strong

Huskies and the Icehotel

Kiruna to a husky kennel and the Icehotel at Jukkasjarvi, then back to Kiruna

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Kiruna
• Environ 45 min de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a hot, sit-down meal in Jukkasjarvi. In the afternoon a guide takes us through the Icehotel, built on the bank of the Torne River from blocks of its own ice: the ice bar, the main hall and suites carved by artists, different every winter, and the year-round Icehotel 365 building. Before heading back we look into the old wooden church in Jukkasjarvi village, one of the oldest in Swedish Lapland.

Soir

The evening is free in Kiruna, or stay behind for a night in an Icehotel cold room if you booked the upgrade.

Compris

• Husky ride of about 10 km near Jukkasjarvi, two to a sled
• Sit-down lunch in Jukkasjarvi
• Guided visit to the Icehotel: the seasonal ice building and Icehotel 365
• The wooden church in Jukkasjarvi village

Activités en option

• A night in an Icehotel cold room in place of the Kiruna hotel, quoted when you book
• Snowmobile safari from Jukkasjarvi (a valid car driving licence is needed to drive)

Kiruna's new centre, then along Tornetrask to Abisko

Kiruna to Abisko on the E10, along the shore of Tornetrask

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Abisko
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

Upgrade guests are collected from the Icehotel after breakfast. We start with a short walk in Kiruna's new town centre with your guide, past the new town hall and to Kiruna Church, the big wooden church moved in one piece from the old centre in 2025, with the mine mountain on the skyline behind. Then we drive about 95 km north-west on the E10, about an hour and a quarter, with a stop on the shore of Tornetrask, a lake about 70 km long, frozen and white from shore to mountains in midwinter.

Après-midi

We reach Abisko for a sit-down lunch and settle into the hotel, our base for three nights. In the afternoon twilight your guide leads a short walk into the Abisko canyon, where the river has cut through layered rock and freezes into ice falls and blue ice.

Soir

Dinner is together at the hotel, and if the sky is clear we walk down to the lake shore afterwards, a few minutes away, to watch for the Northern Lights away from the village lights.

Compris

• Walk in Kiruna's new town centre and Kiruna Church with your guide
• Photo stop on the shore of Tornetrask
• Sit-down lunch in Abisko
• Guided walk into the frozen Abisko canyon
• Dinner in Abisko
• Aurora watch on the Tornetrask shore if the sky is clear

Activités en option

• LKAB's visitor mine tour in Kiruna, on the days it runs (book ahead; we add a morning in Kiruna and leave for Abisko after lunch)

A day on the ice and the Aurora Sky Station

Abisko to the frozen lake and back, then up Mount Nuolja

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Abisko
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

In the late morning a local guide takes us out onto the ice of Tornetrask, or onto a smaller lake near Abisko in December before Tornetrask is safe to walk on. We drill holes with a hand auger and fish for Arctic char and trout, while those who would rather move snowshoe along the shore with your guide.

Après-midi

Lunch is cooked over a fire in a tent or hut on the ice: fish if anyone catches some, a reindeer stew if not.

Soir

The afternoon is free to rest, take a sauna if your hotel has one, or eat an early dinner. In the evening we take the open chairlift up Mount Nuolja to the Aurora Sky Station, at about 900 m above the dark valley, with a view over the lake and no lights in it. Warm drinks, a small exhibition and a terrace to watch from. If the forecast makes another evening much better, your guide moves the visit when tickets allow.

Compris

• Ice fishing on Tornetrask (or a smaller frozen lake in December) with a local guide
• Snowshoe walk along the shore
• Lunch cooked over a fire on the ice
• Aurora Sky Station on Mount Nuolja, with the chairlift up and down

Activités en option

• The Aurora Sky Station's set dinner at the top (book ahead)

Snowshoes in Abisko National Park and a campfire night

Abisko, the national park and a dark spot outside the village

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Abisko
• Environ 15 min de route

Soir

A free morning, for sleeping in after a late night, a cross-country ski on the prepared tracks, or the train along the lake to Riksgransen on the Norwegian border for mountain views. Around midday your guide leads a snowshoe walk of about 3 to 4 km into Abisko National Park, set up in 1909 and one of the first national parks in Europe, through low mountain birch bent by the snow, looking for the tracks of hare, fox and ptarmigan. On a clear day the U-shaped gap of Lapporten, the mountain gate to the south-west, stands out across the valley. After a rest we sit down to a farewell dinner together. Then we drive a few minutes out of the village to a dark spot by the lake, light a campfire, hand round hot drinks and wait for the sky. Your guide checks the forecast and the cloud cover all day and picks the spot with the best chance.

Compris

• Guided snowshoe walk in Abisko National Park
• Farewell dinner
• Campfire aurora evening at a dark spot outside the village

Activités en option

• Cross-country ski hire
• Train to Riksgransen and back
• Snowmobile safari (a valid car driving licence is needed to drive)

Abisko to Kiruna Airport

Abisko to Kiruna Airport (KRN) on the E10

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

A last breakfast with the lake and the mountains outside, and time to hand back your winter outfit at the hotel.

Après-midi

Mid-morning we drive back along the shore of Tornetrask and through the forest to Kiruna, about 105 km and an hour and a half, arriving at Kiruna Airport around midday. Your guide sees you to check-in before saying goodbye. Most flights from Kiruna connect through Stockholm Arlanda, so book a flight leaving after about 1 pm. If the E10 is closed by a storm, as happens a few times each winter, we take the train from Abisko instead. If you would like more time in Sweden, Stockholm is an easy addition: we can suggest hotels and what to see, from Gamla Stan, the old town, to the archipelago. If you want a second week in the snow, our Finnish Lapland trip from Rovaniemi is a short flight away via Helsinki or Stockholm.

Compris

• Drop-off at Kiruna Airport (KRN)