Northern Scandinavia in Winter

Northern Scandinavia in Winter

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8 Days From

$4520

Northern Scandinavia in Winter

8 Days Starting in Rovaniemi and ending in Tromso

Visiting: Rovaniemi, Lulea, Lapland, Tromso

Tour operator:

Intrepid Travel

Tour code:

BMSL

Group size:

1 - 12

Physical rating:

Medium, Medium

Age range:

15-99 years

Activities:

Walking

From: $4520

NB: Prices correct on 25-Dec-2024 but subject to change.

Tour Overview

Make the most of the cold season and take a trip to Lapland in winter – this is Northern Scandinavia blanketed in white! Over eight days, you’ll travel through Finland, Sweden and Norway to see a hotel carved from ice, bake bread the traditional Swedish way, visit the UNESCO-listed church town of Gammelstad and search for the Northern Lights. Take a tour at night with a local expert in Abysko National Park and give yourself the best opportunity to see the sky light up, then meet the local Sami people and soak up their history, way of life and resident reindeer. Wander around beautiful cities and small towns, like Rovaniemi (Santa's official hometown), Lulea, Narvik and Tromso – all with a local leader by your side to give you all the insights.

Highlights

  • Journey through Lapland – the home of Santa Claus – in winter. During this harsh but incredibly beautiful season, there are far less tourists and you’ll be treated to a new perspective of Northern Scandinavia.

  • Learn the traditional break-baking techniques and surrounding folklore during a fun workshop in Lulea. Then, walk through the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gammelstad Church Town by lantern light with a local guide.

  • Discover the fascinating culture and traditions of the Sami people – Europe's only Indigenous people – and meet a local reindeer herder in the village.

  • Take a Northern Lights tour as nightfall descends in the scenic Abysko National Park – this is one of the best places in the world to spot the colourful displays of the Aurora Borealis!

  • Travel to new cities you’ve never seen blanketed in snow – like Narvik, where you can visit the war museum, and Tromso, where you can walk along the picturesque streets packed with colourful houses.

Itinerary

Expand All

Day 1: Rovaniemi

Location: Rovaniemi

Accommodation: Hotel

Tervetuloa! Welcome to Finland. Your adventure begins in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, with a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight. This city is an urban oasis in the Arctic wilderness, full of culture and scenic hiking opportunities. If you arrive early, maybe explore the city at your own pace, visit Santa’s workshop, or go hiking among the rapids and aapa mires. After the meeting tonight, consider heading out with your leader and fellow travellers for an optional welcome dinner.

Included Activities:
-Rovaniemi - Welcome meeting

Optional Activities:
-Rovaniemi - Arktikum
-Rovaniemi - Santa Claus Village - Free

Day 2: Rovaniemi

Location: Rovaniemi

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals Included: breaksfast

Head out on a leader-led orientation walk of Rovaniemi this morning. Almost totally destroyed during World War II, this modern city is known for being the ‘official’ hometown of Santa Claus, as well as a popular spot to see the Northern Lights. After your walk, you’ll take the bus to the Arctic Snowhotel – carved differently every year and with a temperature of 0 to -5 °C, the walls and furniture inside are all completely made from snow and ice! Explore the rooms, adorned with snow art and light installations and maybe stop at the ice bar for a drink. After, return to Rovaniemi and maybe visit Arktikum – a museum and science centre that explores the Arctic region and the history of Finnish Lapland. You might like to spend the afternoon pedalling through the city on a bike, or on the Ounasvaara walking trail – here, you can wander through the forest, past a ski area to a wooden observation tower for views over the white expanse.

Included Activities:
-Rovaniemi – Rovaniemi Leader led orientation walk
-Rovaniemi - Snow Hotel Entrance

Optional Activities:
-Kemi - Sampo Icebreaker from
-Rovaniemi - Fatbike rentals
-Rovaniemi - Ounasvaara Winter Walking Trail and Observation Tower - Free

Day 3: Lulea

Location: Lulea

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals Included: breaksfast

Drive to Lulea – a coastal city in Swedish Lapland known for its cluster of well-preserved wooden houses and the stone Nederlulea Church, built in the 1400s. When you arrive, head to the open-air museum of Hagnan for a bread-baking workshop. You’ll learn about the Swedish baking traditions of kladda bread, try the techniques out for yourself and hear about Swedish folklore beliefs (it's said that the number of folds on your bread will reveal how many suitors you’ll have!). Tonight, head to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gammelstad Church Town – unique to northern Sweden, these towns speak of the past when there were few churches and locals had to travel from far away. With no way to get home, the people built small homes around the church to stay the night. You’ll meet with a local guide who will take you on a tour of the town by lamp light. Later, maybe go in search of the Northern Lights!

Included Activities:
-Lulea - Gammelstadt Lantern Tour and Bread baking

Optional Activities:
-Lulea - Norrbottens museum - Free
-Lulea - Dog sledding
-Lulea - Northern lights tour

Day 4: Lapland

Location: Lapland

Accommodation: Guesthouse

Meals Included: breaksfast

Travel like the locals this morning and hop on a public bus from Lulea to Kiruna – Sweden’s northernmost city. When you arrive, take a leader-led orientation walk to get your bearings, then take the opportunity to rest at your accommodation. Tonight, you’ll head out in the darkness to the incredibly scenic Abysko National Park to go hunting for the magic of the Northern Lights with a local guide. If you’re lucky, you might see the natural displays of colours – green, red and purple – light up the sky. Did you know that the Vikings believed the Northern Lights were Valkyries taking fallen soldiers to Valhalla?

Included Activities:
-Kiruna - Orientation Walk
-Abysko NP - Northern Light Hunting Trip

Optional Activities:
-Kiruna - LKAB’s Visitor Center
-Kiruna - Aurora Spa Visit - Free
-Kiruna - Husky Northern Light tou

Day 5: Lapland

Location: Lapland

Accommodation: Guesthouse

Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch

Today, you’ll head out on a daytrip to the Sami Village – the Sami are Europe’s only recognised Indigenous people. When you arrive in their homeland, you’ll meet with some of the locals and learn about traditional Sami culture, traditional knowledge and their relationship with nature. Meet with a local reindeer herder and hear stories about how reindeer are integral to their livelihoods. You’ll then sit down to enjoy a traditional lunch with the locals. After, head back to Kiruna for the night, where you’re free to find a good dinner spot or rug up and sit outside, in search of a sky lit up by colour.

Included Activities:
-Lapland - Trip to Sami village with lunch

Day 6: Tromso

Location: Tromso

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals Included: breaksfast

Today will be a bit of a long travel day as you head to Tromso. You’ll first take the train to Narvik, where you’ll have a couple of hours to stretch your legs and find some lunch. Narvik is an ice-free port, originally built to ship iron ore from the mines in Kiruna – Nazi Germany tried to gain control of this vital supply during World War II and the Allies tried to stop them. If you like, you can visit the war museum here and learn more about the town’s history. Then, take the bus to Tromso – this picturesque city in Norway is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights!

Optional Activities:
-Narvik - War Museum

Day 7: Tromso

Location: Tromso

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals Included: breaksfast

This morning after breakfast, head out on an orientation walk through Tromso’s colourful houses, backdropped by snowy peaks. With your leader, you’ll explore some of the sights of this gorgeous city, then you’re free to choose your own adventure. Maybe go on a show-shoeing mission to help the local Arctic owls! This project aims to provide nesting sites for three species of local owls and monitor their population in response to a mission for sustainable tourism. You’ll meet with a local guide from Wild Lab Projects – this organisation partners with The Owl Team and Birdlife Troms to connect travellers with nature conservation – and, depending on the time of year, put nest boxes in trees, check existing boxes for owls and learn about these amazing birds. In the afternoon, regroup with your fellow travellers and head over to MACK Brewery for guided visit. This is the most northernmost brewery in the world and was founded back in 1877. After the tour, enjoy a final evening in Tromso.

Included Activities:
-Tromso - Orientation Walk
-Tromso - MACK Brewery Guided Visit

Day 8: Tromso

Location: Tromso

Meals Included: breaksfast

With no further activities planned after breakfast, your trip comes to an end this morning. If you’d like to extend your stay in Tromso and increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights, just speak to your booking agent ahead of time and organise additional accommodation.

What's Included

  • Accommodation
    Hotel (5 nights), Guesthouse (2 nights)

  • Meals
    7 breakfasts, 1 lunches

  • Rovaniemi - Welcome meeting

  • Rovaniemi – Rovaniemi Leader led orientation walk

  • Rovaniemi - Snow Hotel Entrance

  • Lulea - Gammelstadt Lantern Tour and Bread baking

  • Kiruna - Orientation Walk

  • Abysko NP - Northern Light Hunting Trip

  • Lapland - Trip to Sami village with lunch

  • Tromso - Orientation Walk

  • Tromso - MACK Brewery Guided Visit

Transport

OVERNIGHT TRAINFinnish overnight trains are a very comfortable way to travel long distances without losing valuable time to explore the destinations. Compartments usually consist of 3 or 4 berths (2 bottom bunks and 1 or 2 top bunks), lockable doors with key-card access, communal bathroom facilities at the end of each carriage (sink and toilet), and plenty of space for luggage. Blankets, pillows and linen are provided, and each berth has a reading light. The exact layout of the cabin depends on the carriage type the group are allocated to. All trains have heating, however please note that windows can't be opened.

Accommodation

OCCASIONAL ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATIONThe style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline. On rare occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our usual accommodation. A similar standard of accommodation will be used in these instances.TWIN SHARE BASISAccommodation on this trip is on a twin/multishare basis. We pair up solo travellers with another traveller of the same gender as per the gender marker on each of their passports. Please note there may be times where facilities will be shared rather than ensuite and rare occasions when you share a room with passengers travelling on different Intrepid trips than your own.CHECK-IN TIMEThroughout the trip we request that our hotels prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination.PRE/POST TRIP ACCOMMODATIONIf you've purchased pre-trip or post-trip accommodation (if available), you may be required to change rooms from your trip accommodation for these extra nights.FACILITIESYour accommodation may not always have private en suite facilities or air-conditioning. European hotels generally don't provide kettles or fridges.

Important Information

1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip, subject to availability at the time of booking. Please also note that due to the small properties we use in Europe there is only a limited amount of single supplements available per trip departure. If you would like to book a single supplement and enquire about availability please speak to your booking agent for further information.2. Scandinavia can be extremely cold at this time of year. Please bring appropriate clothing for adverse weather conditions. Please see the Packing section in the Essential Trip Information document for what we recommend you should bring along.

Check out our Q&As

  • Is this trip right for you

    Lapland can be extremely cold in winter. Please bring appropriate clothing for adverse weather conditions and see the ‘Packing’ section in the ‘Essential Trip Information’ for more details.

    Your leader may have to alter the itinerary and activities due to the weather. In this case, alternatives will be offered. Even though it will be cold, there may not always be snow cover, so snow dependent activities will be replaced.

    The Northern Lights (also known as the Aurora Borealis) are a natural display of coloured lights in the night sky of the northern hemisphere. While sightings can never be guaranteed, you do have a higher chance of seeing them in locations at high latitudes, such as Northern Finland. Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies!

    Accommodation on this trip is twin share and hotels in Europe often don't have double beds, but rather two single beds that can be pushed together/apart. Single travellers will share a room with another traveller of the same gender. If you’d prefer not to share, a single room supplement is available at an additional charge.

    Rooms in Finland can be small, and at times you may be accommodated a short walk away from the main building. Many guesthouses will also have shared bathrooms, rather than ensuite facilities.

    Finland can be an expensive destination, so budget accordingly if you plan to take optional activities and eat out.

    It’s advised to pack lightly, with a maximum of 15 kg, as you’ll be expected to carry your own bag between destinations and on and off public transport. You'll also need a day pack to carry water and a camera for daytrips.

  • What policies are in place for Covid-19?

    Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies

  • How long has the tour company been trading?

    Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers around the world for over 30 years

  • Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?

    Yes

  • What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

    Since 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has supported over 130 organisations across the world. We’re creating positive impact through the joy of travel, community and connection.

  • Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?

    Over 50% of traveller travel solo with Intrepid. You can choose to share a room with another solo travelle of the same sex for no additional charge, or choose to pay a single supplement if you’d like your own room. Please request this when booking, and we will secure you a single supplement wherever possible. Please note, if you are booking a last-minute trip, it may be harder for us to secure a single room

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Prices last published on 24-Dec-2024

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  • Free Date Changes

    Intrepid Travel allows you to make 10 free date changes, as long as the change is made at least 56 days before the start of the tour.

  • Transfer as credit to Future Tours

    Intrepid Travel allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform intrepid travel, 56 days before departure.

  • Low Deposit

    Intrepid Travel requires a minimum deposit of 400 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 56 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of intrepid travel charges.

    Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 30% of booking price.

    At 30 days before tour starts: Forfeit 60% of booking price.

    At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.

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