Swedish Lapland and Iceland offer the two most contrasting Northern Lights Holiday Destinations. Swedish Lapland is home to Abisko, probably the world’s best location for consistent sightings of the Northern Lights and a must visit destination for all Aurora Lovers!
Swedish Lapland
It is also home to two iconic properties – the Original ICE HOTEL & Unique Tree Hotel.
Additionally we offer exclusive lodges and luxury cabins in both Sweden & Iceland and some of the best Arctic experiences including Husky sledding, snowmobiling, whale watching, Volcano & Geysir 4WD safaris with some of the top guides.
Fabulous multi destination trips combine Swedish Lapland with the best Northern Lights locations in Tromso and Iceland for some truly amazing longer Northern Lights holidays.
We have an extensive Aurora Academy if you wish to learn more about this truly amazing phenomenon.
Holidays
Abisko Aurora Breaks
Autumn Aurora in Sweden
Classic Short Breaks in Sweden
Exclusive Aurora Breaks in Sweden
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question? We are always happy to help.
What is there to discover in Swedish Lapland?
Sweden ranks very highly as a Northern Lights holiday destination. Unlike its neighbours, everything in Sweden is small-scale and suits a more discerning traveller. From small family-run lodges and cabins to two of the most unique properties in Scandinavia, the Original Ice Hotel and the unique Tree Hotel you can construct an intimate but varied holiday experience.
The team at Aurora Nights have an in-depth knowledge of this region. We travel several times a year to view new places, experience new things and meet new people. This knowledge is reflected in our itineraries which we continuously try to ensure are the best in the market.
Swedish Lapland stretches from Lulea, the thriving town on the eastern side of the region through the inland rivers, lakes and fells to the border with Norway at Abisko.
We are often asked ‘ Where should I go’ when referring to a northern lights holiday and we openly say that Abisko should be on every aurora hunter’s radar. Situated along the fabled King’s Trail, one of the most spectacular hiking trails in Europe, Abisko is a mecca for aurora hunters. The reason for this is its unique microclimate that results in more clear nights than in any other place in the region.
After all having clear nights is the primary goal for the northern lights holidaymakers and then it’s down to nature and physics which are answered in our information hub on what are the northern lights and when can you see the northern lights.
Abisko is 90 kilometres from the most established tourist destination in Swedish Lapland – Kiruna. There are daily flights to Kiruna from Stockholm with a flight time of around 90 minutes. From Kiruna you can either do a transfer to Abisko (around 1 hour) or you can enjoy a spectacular northern lights holiday in and around the town.
On one side you have the original IceHotel celebrating its 30th reincarnation. This incredible complex is built every year for the 4 month winter season and no 2 hotels are ever the same. As the popularity of the concept has grown over the years the team at the ICEHOTEL decided to launch an all-year-round version of the ICEHOTEL and thus ICEHOTEL 365 was born.
Whether you wish to stay and experience the ICEHOTEL or simply see it we have a range of itineraries that combine this with other select places that give a rich and varied northern lights holiday experience.
What about somewhere a little more small-scale in Sweden?
Many of our clients like smaller-scale places to stay and we complement the ICEHOTEL with two places we rate highly. Máttaráhkká Northern Lights Lodge is a 7-bedroom lodge 5km outside Kiruna which sits on an incline with commanding views westwards towards the Abisko Alps. It is a perfect base for an adventure into some spectacular scenery.
Also worth noting are the Arctic Gourmet cabins, 2 cabins situated in a remote valley, where gourmet meals are served in probably Sweden’s smallest restaurant and also Camp Ripan which is the ideal spot for a family northern lights holiday.
Tell me about some of the guides you use.
We have over the years realised that while clients, when planning a Northern Lights trip talk about where they wish to go and what they want to do upon their return they more often than not talk about who they met and the guides that looked after them. We place a huge emphasis on the guides we use in Sweden, many of whom we have worked for more than a decade. You will find in our breaks that we refer to people by name which makes the whole experience that much more personal.
Andrea Mikko who runs Máttaráhkká Northern Lights Lodge does most of our snowmobile tours, Ylva Sievertsson looks after our guests on snowmobile tours, Hakan Enoksson guides our clients through the life of the Sami whilst Petri Tuominen ensures that everything runs smoothly and clients are in the right place at the right time!
What about places like Lulea?
Moving to the Eastern part of Swedish Lapland your arrival point is the thriving university town of Lulea which is situated on the edge of the Gulf of Bothnia, which freezes, due to the amount of river water that is swept into it during the summer months. This frozen expanse creates a stage for some wonderful snowmobile and even hovercraft adventures when based at either Brandon or Pine Bay Lodge.
It is possible to have a cost-effective northern lights break based in the city itself but most guests head to the coast or the interior, an area rich in forests, lakes and rivers.
Around an hour’s drive from Lulea is the unique Tree Hotel with its eye-catching design. Stay in a UFO, Birds Nest, Mirror Cube or one of the other 7 rooms and join an international client base that has flocked from all over the world to experience this radical concept.
Around 45 minutes away from the Tree Hotel, in a remote river valley location is one of our favourite places, The Arctic Retreat. If you are looking for an authentic northern lights experience in wonderful log cabins then this is a must.
Have you anywhere off the beaten track?
If you want to get off the beaten track and experience a traditional Sami experience, the Sapmi nature camp run by Lennart Pittja, is recommended. Stay in a Sami Tepee in the middle of Lapponia, one of Europe’s last great wilderness areas.
What is it like in Autumn?
Sweden is increasingly a destination for Autumn aurora hunters, where fly drive programmes are popular. Experience the Autumn Fall with incredible auroras for a simple special northern lights experience.
Can we combine countries?
As experts in Swedish Lapland we create journeys that allow you to explore the whole of the region and also drop down into neighbouring Norway and Finland too! Connections by the regional train network run well between Lulea and Kiruna allowing you to combine say the Tree Hotel with the ICEHOTEL or create a journey that goes from one coast of Lapland to the other. For the intrepid explorer or if you are travelling from far and want to do as much as you can in a short time then you can combine Sweden, Iceland and Norway in one mega northern lights holiday.
See what our clients say
This was a bucket list trip. The company are specialists and I’ve valued their advice. Everything from the when to go for the best opportunity to see the lights and equipment needed and provided.Our activities included, the Ice Hotel, night photo shoot, snowmobiling, guided walk and the sky station meal. All excellent and well run by knowledgeable experts and guides. The Abisko Lodge is warm comfortable and relaxing the food is excellent and the staff welcoming, friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different and exciting experience.
Brilliant short break. Hotel Ranga was lovely, excellent food. Managed to see the Northern Lights as well! Iceland on the whole was quite expensive but a lovely place to visit, the people were very friendly.
An amazing trip and excellent service provided by all involved. Great value for money too. Food was excellent. Accommodation was wonderful and the trips booked were outstanding. An amazing trip
An excellent holiday which was enjoyed by all. The super jeep ride on the second day to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was memorable and thanks to our driver Margaret who proved to be a really good guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the facilities in the hotel Ranga. The staff were very helpful and we managed to see the Northern Lights. The Hotel Reykjavik Centrum was very nice with amazingly helpful staff. All in all, the whole holiday was brilliant.
Superb holiday to Iceland, well organised, advice regarding trips informative and far exceeded our expectations (Glaciers and ice Cave) run by South Coast. Hotel Ranga is a lovely hotel, perfect to see Northern Lights (which we did see on our 3rd night), very comfortable, food excellent, staff helpful and informative. SouthCoast Adventure tour company were excellent, guides knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The Abisko Mountain Lodge was fantastic, every member of staff was friendly welcoming and charming. Accommodation, upgraded room was excellent. The food in the lodge definitely deserves the high reviews. Good breakfast, great hime made lunch soups and extremely tasty evening dinners.
The included trips were great. The only let down was the camera night, couldn’t see the lights no one fault, but we were walked through thigh high snow to be left on a frozen lake for the duration of the trip. There was no warning of the difficult walk and we had a 91 year old with us and I have hip problems! That said the guide was great, as were the ones on the skimobile and husky rides. We went up to the sky station in a snow storm with high winds, added to the experience!
Would go back in a heart beat.
We had little communication with Weekend a la carte, no need as all communications were clear and contained all the information we needed. Very informative emails
Would use again if going back
A well organised trip which was tailored to our specific requests. The arrangements all ran perfectly and any queries prior to the holiday were handled very quickly and professionally. The standard of accommodation and organised tours was very high. I would use this company again and recommend them.
We did the aurora nights break and had a great time overall. Everything related to flights, hire car, and hotels ran smoothly. There were a few issues largely relating to the weather and driving conditions (we travelled in mid March), but what we did manage to do was amazing.
The blue lagoon was easy to access from the airport and was a brilliant experience. We booked the standard package and it came with a free drink and face mask. Facilities were clean and organised with free toiletries in the shower rooms, which helps if you’ve gone there straight from the airport.
The drive to Hotel Ranga afterwards was long but fine (check out the road on google streetview to know what to expect). The hotel and staff were great. We were limited to one option as vegetarians on the bar and a la carte menus, but the food was lovely and if you are a meat eater you will see options of unusual dishes like puffin and reindeer.
Our northern lights super jeep trip was cancelled on both nights due to a poor forecast, but we were lucky enough to get an aurora wake up call from Hotel Ranga the first night. We couldn’t use the hottubs as there are only a few and they were always taken in the limited time we spent at the hotel, so don’t go expecting to get lots of time in one and you won’t be disappointed. View them as an add on if you can time it right. We were travelling with an 11 year old, so we didn’t stay up really late. If you are a couple you probably have a better chance of getting one later on.
The glacier/volcano super jeep trip was outstanding. Our driver, Íbí was excellent. She went above and beyond and gave us such an awesome experience. We were also super lucky with the weather the first two days and had great views across Iceland.
The ice cave tour was also incredible and the guides running it were excellent. The group size was much bigger than expected (especially after the more exclusive volcano super jeep tour), but it was broken down into smaller groups that were managed well, with plenty of time factored in for photographs. There were several unexplained delays getting to the cave during the tour that meant we weren’t able to ‘mini tour’ the rest of the South Coast afterwards, so if you plan to do the ice cave don’t overplan for the afternoon as you may not have much time. Not a huge disappointment for us as we got to experience the cave, but I imagine someone who planned a full itinerary afterwards might be frustrated by the estamiated timings not always being right and subject to change with the weather (which was wicked that day).
Driving around Reykjavik was a horrible experience as we arrived around rush hour and weren’t prepared for all the traffic, having only experienced quiet roads along the south coast. It was difficult finding a parking space, so be prepared to drive around a little when you arrive. If you haven’t driven on the right before and are not a confident driver this could leave you feeling stressed. Again, check out the roads into Reykjavik on Google maps to get a sense of what awaits if you aren’t used to self-driving.
We didn’t get to tour the golden circle because of road conditions/ice/road closures, so we spent the day in Reykjavik instead. This turned out okay for us as we did some of the attractions (Lava Centre and Fly Over Iceland – both hughly recommended), but it ended up being an extra expense and we missed out on the golden attractions. Again, not a big issue if you are aware this could happen. The weather is so changeable that having a plan B is a good approach.
Weekend a la Carte sent us a text warning us about the bad weather conditions, which we’d already seen on the Safe Iceland app, but we were grateful for anyway. It was good to know they were looking out for us!
All in all, a remarkable trip, with some unique experiences. If you book this in the knowledge that nature will have her own way, and you may not see everything you want (especially in winter), you will have a great time. Ranga is definitely the best place to maximise your chances of seeing the lights.
Ready to witness the Northern Lights?
We are experts in providing once in a lifetime northern lights holidays to Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Norway and Finland.