Winter adventures in Scandinavia: our favourites across Norway, Finland and Sweden
The Nordic winter is not something to endure. For those who lean into it, it is one of the most extraordinary travel experiences the world offers: landscapes of impossible stillness, skies that come alive with light, and activities that feel genuinely unlike anything else. Our team at 50 Degrees North have spent years finding the best of it, and here are the winter adventures we recommend most.
Husky safaris
There is a reason husky safaris remain the experience most people remember most vividly from a Nordic winter. It is not just the speed or the cold or the landscape, though all three are remarkable. It is the dogs themselves: the noise and chaos and infectious enthusiasm at the kennel before departure, and then the sudden, total silence once the sled is moving and the dogs settle into their rhythm.
Most husky safaris involve two people per sled, taking turns as driver and passenger, moving through forests of snow-laden birch and pine with nothing but the sound of paws and runners. In Finnish Lapland, where the husky tradition runs deepest, kennel operators have often spent their entire lives with these animals, and that relationship comes through in every aspect of the experience.
For travellers who want the husky experience as part of a broader Arctic journey with a tour leader, our Lapland Highlights small group tour covers all three Lapland countries and includes a husky safari among its highlights. Independent travellers will find it included in our Harriniva Arctic Winter & Northern Lights itinerary, a self-guided five-day programme in Finnish Lapland where accommodation and activities are pre-arranged but you travel at your own pace.
Snowmobile safari
A snowmobile safari sits somewhere between transport and adventure. At its best, it takes you deep into terrain that cannot be reached any other way: across frozen lakes, through dense forest corridors, out onto open tundra where the horizon stretches in every direction. The sense of scale that opens up once you leave the resort and the treeline drops away is something that photographs never quite capture.
Most operators provide full thermal suits, helmets and instruction before departure. Two people typically share a machine, and children can travel in a sled pulled by a guide's snowmobile. A valid driving licence is required to drive.
One of the most memorable snowmobile destinations in our range is Treriksrøysa, the remote tripoint where Norway, Sweden and Finland meet, which is the destination for the snowmobile excursion on our Tromsø & Kilpisjärvi Arctic Route Experience, a six-day independent itinerary travelling between Norway and Finland by Arctic Route Bus. On winter departures of our Iconic Northern Lights small group tour, snowmobiling is included at the ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland, one of the most distinctive settings imaginable for the activity.
Reindeer sleigh ride
Of all the winter activities available in the north, the reindeer sleigh ride is the one that most clearly connects you to something older than tourism. Reindeer herding is the foundation of Sámi culture across northern Scandinavia and Finland, and a visit to a working reindeer farm with a local herder is something more than a tourist attraction. It is a glimpse into a way of life shaped over thousands of years by this landscape.
The sleigh ride itself, through silent forest pulled by animals that have been part of this culture for centuries, has a gentleness that contrasts with the more adrenaline-charged activities around it. It suits every age and every level of mobility.
The reindeer experience on our Experience the Northern Lights small group tour includes time with local Sámi reindeer herders in Finnish Lapland, stories around a campfire and a sleigh ride through the forest. For families travelling independently, it is a highlight of our Family Christmas in Lapland itinerary, a five-day pre-arranged family programme in Saariselkä, Finland.
Ice fishing
Ice fishing is a deeply rooted tradition across Finland and northern Norway, and it is one of those activities that sounds simple until you are actually doing it: sitting on a frozen lake in silence, a hole drilled through ice that may be a metre thick, a line dropped into dark water below. The cold, the quiet, the patience required and the occasional surprise of something on the line combine to make it one of the most unexpectedly meditative experiences the north has to offer.
Most ice fishing excursions include a warm drink by an open fire, stories from a local guide, and a hearty lunch nearby. No experience is needed and it suits all ages.
Our Lapland Highlights small group tour combines ice fishing with a snowmobile safari in a single day in Finnish Lapland, reaching the frozen river by sled through snow-covered forest. It is one of those days that captures the spirit of the far north particularly well. Independent travellers will find it included in the Tromsø & Kilpisjärvi Arctic Route Experience and the Family Christmas in Lapland itinerary.
Snowshoe hiking
Snowshoes are one of those pieces of equipment that feel unusual for about thirty seconds and then become completely natural. They allow you to move through a winter landscape that would otherwise be impassable: through deep forest, across open fells, up to elevated viewpoints above the snowline. No previous experience is needed, and guided snowshoe excursions are designed for beginners.
In Norway, snowshoe hiking is particularly rewarding in the fjord regions, where the combination of altitude and winter light produces views that are simply not possible in any other season. In Finnish Lapland, the open fell landscape of Kilpisjärvi and the forests around Harriniva offer equally memorable terrain.
The nighttime snowshoe walk included on our Lapland Highlights small group tour, heading out into one of northern Finland's most remote and light-pollution-free environments, is one of the quieter highlights of that journey and one that stays with people long after the more dramatic activities have faded.
For independent travellers, our Highlights of Norway in Winter itinerary, a five-day self-guided journey along the Oslo–Bergen corridor with accommodation and transport pre-arranged, includes a guided snowshoe hike to the Stegastein viewpoint above Aurland, 650 metres above the fjord, available from February to March.
Staying at the ICEHOTEL, Swedish Lapland
The ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna in Swedish Lapland, is rebuilt each winter from ice harvested from the frozen Torne River. It is one of the most distinctive places to sleep anywhere in the world: inside a room carved entirely from ice and snow, with the temperature held at a constant -5°C to -8°C, sleeping in thermal bags on reindeer skins laid over a bed built from snow. It is cold, genuinely and completely cold, and it is also extraordinary.
Each year the rooms are redesigned by artists and the interior is unlike anything from the previous season. Warm rooms are available for those who prefer to experience the hotel without sleeping in the cold, and a sauna and breakfast buffet are included in every stay. The ICEHOTEL also operates a permanent 365 section, which remains open year-round using refrigeration to preserve the ice regardless of outside temperature.
Beyond the hotel itself, the surrounding area of Swedish Lapland offers exceptional aurora viewing. The Abisko National Park, a short drive away, is one of the most reliably clear-sky locations in the entire Nordic region for Northern Lights viewing, thanks to a microclimate that keeps it unusually cloud-free through the winter months.
Two of our small group tours include a night at the ICEHOTEL. The Iconic Northern Lights tour travels from Bodø in coastal Norway through Lofoten and Narvik to Kiruna, finishing with winter activities and an overnight stay in the ice rooms. The Lapland Highlights premium small group tour begins at the ICEHOTEL before continuing across Norway and into Finnish Lapland. For those who want to focus their time in Swedish Lapland specifically, we offer the ICEHOTEL Experience in Swedish Lapland and Ice & Auroras in Swedish Lapland as dedicated shorter programmes.
Sleeping in a glass igloo
The glass igloo is one of those ideas that sounds almost too good to be true until you have actually done it: lying in bed looking straight up at a sky that may, if conditions allow, fill with the aurora borealis. The reality lives up to the idea. Modern glass igloo accommodation is warm, comfortable and properly equipped, with thermal glass designed to prevent condensation and keep the view clear through the night.
The best igloo locations are chosen for their distance from light pollution and their orientation toward the most reliable aurora directions. Many properties also offer private saunas, a deeply practical addition in a landscape where the outside temperature can drop well below freezing.
For travellers whose primary reason for coming north is the aurora, the Experience the Northern Lights small group tour is the most deliberately designed product we offer for this purpose, spending three nights in glass-roofed cabins in Finnish Lapland as part of a fifteen-day journey from Oslo. The Chase the Northern Lights Express is a more compact eleven-day version of a similar idea, combining glass igloo nights in Finnish Lapland with a Havila coastal sailing and a stay in a gamme cabin in Kirkenes. Independent travellers will find glass igloo accommodation included in the Helsinki & Rovaniemi Glass Igloo Stay, a six-day self-guided itinerary combining Helsinki with a wilderness resort stay in Finnish Lapland, and in the Arctic Winter Wildlife itinerary, a five-day self-guided programme based at Ranua Wildlife Park near Rovaniemi.
Hunting the Northern Lights
The aurora borealis cannot be guaranteed, but the conditions for witnessing it can be significantly improved by knowing where to go and when. The key variables are darkness, clear sky and distance from light pollution. A good guide understands all three and will move with conditions, driving away from cloud cover or toward clearing skies rather than waiting in a fixed location.
Aurora hunting is available as a standalone evening activity across most of our Lapland and northern Norway itineraries, either on foot, by snowmobile or from a heated vehicle. Some glass igloo properties also have aurora alarms, notifying guests when activity is detected overhead.
All four of our dedicated Northern Lights small group tours are built specifically around maximising your chances of a sighting. The Experience the Northern Lights tour travels from Oslo to Finnish Lapland over fifteen days, combining Norway's fjords and coastal voyage with multiple nights in glass-roofed cabins in the heart of the aurora zone. The Chase the Northern Lights Express covers Finnish Lapland, coastal Norway and Bergen in eleven days. The Iconic Northern Lights positions travellers across both coastal Norway and Swedish Lapland, two of the most reliable aurora environments in the region. The Lapland Highlights tour crosses all three Lapland countries and includes dedicated aurora hunting in some of the darkest skies available anywhere in northern Europe.
For independent travellers who want to put themselves in the best possible position without a group, the Tromsø & Kilpisjärvi Arctic Route Experience is specifically designed around two of the most reliable aurora locations in the region.
Winter fjord safari
The Norwegian fjords in winter are a different proposition from their summer equivalent. The waterfalls freeze solid against the steep mountain walls. The water turns glasslike and calm. The snow lies deep on the high peaks above, and the silence is profound. A fjord cruise in these conditions, on a small electric or hybrid vessel, is one of the most atmospheric ways to experience Norway's landscape.
Our Highlights of Norway in Winter includes a winter fjord safari from Flåm through the Aurlandsfjord and into the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord, with a stop at the tiny village of Undredal for hot drinks and local goat cheese. The same activity is included in our Essential Scandinavia — Winter Capitals & Fjords by Rail & Sea, a ten-day self-guided journey connecting Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Bergen by rail and ferry in winter, where the frozen fjord day is one of the most memorable on the itinerary.
Voss Vind indoor skydiving
For those who want something completely different to add to a Norway winter trip, Voss Vind offers indoor skydiving in a vertical wind tunnel. Three minutes in the tunnel corresponds to around four free-fall skydiving jumps. It requires no experience and suits almost all ages and fitness levels. Voss is conveniently located on the Bergen Railway, making it an easy addition for travellers on the Oslo–Bergen corridor. Our destination specialists can arrange a Voss stopover as part of any Highlights of Norway in Winter itinerary or Highlights of Norway journey.
Winter adventures with 50 Degrees North
Most of the activities described in this article feature across several of our winter itineraries. The right combination depends on your travel dates, destinations and how active you want to be. Our small group tours are the most comprehensive way to experience the full range of Arctic activities, with a dedicated tour leader, carefully chosen accommodation and a pace that allows time for everything.
Our small group winter tours:
Experience the Northern Lights: 15-day small group journey from Oslo to Finnish Lapland, built entirely around maximising aurora opportunities, with glass igloo nights, a coastal voyage and husky and reindeer experiences
Chase the Northern Lights Express: 11-day small group journey from Finnish Lapland through coastal Norway to Bergen, with glass igloos, a gamme cabin in Kirkenes and a Havila coastal sailing
Iconic Northern Lights: small group journey from coastal Norway through Lofoten to Swedish Lapland and the ICEHOTEL, with dogsledding, snowmobiling and aurora hunting
Lapland Highlights: premium small group tour across Sweden, Norway and Finnish Lapland, beginning at the ICEHOTEL and including husky, reindeer, snowmobile, snowshoe and three nights in glass igloos in Levi
Northern Lights Corridor: group tour from Tromsø to Rovaniemi with the full range of Arctic activities across Norway and Finland
Browse the full winter holidays collection to see everything we offer, or get in touch with our destination specialists to build a tailored winter itinerary around your preferred activities and dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time of year for winter adventures in Scandinavia?
December to March covers the core winter season across Norway, Finland and Sweden. January and February offer the most reliable snow conditions and the darkest nights for aurora viewing. March has longer daylight hours and more stable weather while snow conditions remain good. Some activities such as snowshoe hiking above Aurland are available from February only.
Do I need experience for activities like husky safaris and snowmobiles?
No experience is needed for husky safaris. Full instruction is provided before departure. To drive a snowmobile you need a valid driving licence and must be at least 18 years old. Passengers and children can travel in a sled pulled by a guide's snowmobile. No experience is needed for snowshoe hiking, reindeer sleigh rides or ice fishing.
Are these activities suitable for children?
Most winter activities are suitable for families with children aged four and above. Husky safaris, snowmobile rides and reindeer sleigh rides all accommodate children. Some operators have minimum age requirements for driving snowmobiles, and some evening activities are better suited to older children. Our destination specialists can advise on the most family-appropriate itineraries and activities for specific age groups.
Is it really cold sleeping in the ICEHOTEL?
Yes. The temperature inside the ice rooms is held at -5°C to -8°C. The hotel provides full thermal sleeping bags, reindeer skins and all specialist sleeping equipment, and a warm sauna and breakfast buffet are included. Most guests find the experience extremely comfortable once inside the sleeping bag. Warm rooms are also available for those who prefer not to sleep in the cold.
Is the aurora guaranteed on Northern Lights itineraries?
No. The aurora borealis is a natural phenomenon and cannot be guaranteed. Our Northern Lights itineraries are designed to maximise your chances by placing you in regions with reliable dark skies, low light pollution and high aurora frequency during the winter months. Multiple nights in these regions significantly improve the likelihood of a sighting.
What should I wear for winter activities?
All specialist thermal outerwear, including suits, boots, gloves and helmets, is provided for included wilderness activities such as snowmobiling and husky safaris on most of our itineraries. You will need your own warm clothing for travel days, city walks and time at leisure. Layering is key: a thermal base layer, insulating mid-layer and windproof outer layer form the foundation. See our winter packing guide for a full list.