ICEHOTEL – Things to Do

Last Updated on 17th December 2018

There are so many activities to choose from at the ICEHOTEL. I had one wish and that was to see the Northern Lights. When it came to choosing the other activities, it was a very difficult task.

I booked most of these activities through the ICEHOTEL. The snowmobile tour was booked through Kiruna Guidetur. The first activity you must is explore the area surrounding the hotel.

The area surrounding the ICEHOTEL is beautiful. Every morning I would go for a walk to the Sámi church and back, stopping at the Coop supermarket to buy breakfast and coffee.

You never know who you might bump into while on your walk.

The Hunt for the Northern Lights

The entire day had been overcast and the night was no different. The guide’s opinion was that there would be very little chance in seeing the lights. As we were discussing whether or not to continue with the tour, a couple of latecomers came skipping over with excitement. The reason they were late? The Northern Lights were overhead! And there they were in all their pale green glory. We all jumped in the mini bus and off we went on our extremely easy search for the Northern Lights. Our guide drove to clear spot so we could take pictures. 

Our group was extremely lucky to see the Northern Lights. When booking on any Northern Lights tour, please remember seeing them is not guaranteed. It’s surprising the number of tourists who think the Lights are something that can be switched on.

Sled Dog Ride

It was windy on the day I did this excursion, which meant we had icy cold wind hitting our faces as we race down the Torne River and woodlands on sleds. Dressing in all the winter layers from the hotel is a must.

After our journey, we stopped for fika around a much needed and welcomed camp fire. Swedish coffee is the best! Swedish wilderness coffee brewed over a camp fire is out of this world. 

Meet the Reindeer

I loved this experience! It wasn’t as adrenaline fuelled as the other activities, it was educational and fun.

Our small group were taken to Nutti Sámi Siida to learn about the Sámi culture and meet the reindeer. The highlight of this activity was the opportunity to drive a reindeer pulled sled. After the sleigh ride, we huddled around a fire to drink coffee, while our host gave a talk about Sámi culture.

Aurora Expedition with Dinner

Kiruna Guidetur have changed their booking policy since my experience with them. You can no longer drive a snowmobile without a licence.

This was the one excursion I had to do! Zooming around in darkness on snowmobiles in search of the Northern Lights, it’s a no brainer. It was also this tour where I realised that travelling solo can be a very lonely experience, even when you are with other people.

As a solo traveller this tour was difficult to book, you have the option to book a piggy back ride with the guide, or pay a single supplement for your own snowmobile. While I had opted for the piggy back ride, Kiruna Guidetur lost my booking , giving my space to another. The only option available to me was to drive solo. Now, there was one problem, I don’t drive. But hey! It’s all part of the experience, right? 

I was extremely nervous about driving the snowmobile and my anxiety levels were high. The first thing I did when I got on the snowmobile was to accelerate, driving at high speed straight into the bushes. I honestly wanted give up there and then, but our guide was patient and reassured me that it will be okay once I got use to driving the mobile. She was right, once back on the mobile I was fine, albeit driving slowly which annoyed the others on the tour. Once we were out of the forest and on the lake, I decided to speed up a little and then a lot. I was speed demon!

We sped through the night to the cabin for our meal around an open fire. My vegetarian meal was gruel, that’s the only way I can describe it. The meat eaters got a hearty meal of meat stew. The time at the cabin was a lonely experience. Everyone on the tour was Swedish and spoke amongst themselves. My attempts to join a conversation were ignored. Defeated, I pulled my hood over my eyes and silently sobbed. A kind soul realised something was up, realising that I spoke no Swedish he asked everyone to make an effort to speak English. The man sitting next to me proclaimed he thought I was German and he hated the Germans! 

Once everyone realised I wasn’t German my experience vastly improved. My new German-hating friend, chatted away to me at every moment even taking photos for me. My confident had improved with the snowmobile and I was able to drive at the same speed as everyone else on our return. I spoke to the guide afterwards and she very apologetic, saying it was highly unusual for the tour to be filled completely with Swedes. She took full responsibility for what had happened in the cabin.

We didn’t get to see the Northern Lights on this tour. I was so very pleased that I had booked two Northern Lights related tours on my stay.

While I had a miserable time in the cabin, I did thoroughly enjoy the experience of driving the snowmobile. I do highly recommend doing this tour.