This limited edition Christmas break not only gives you great chances of seeing the northern lights in their full glory, but also the best outdoor activities the Arctic has to offer!
Ultimate Christmas Northern Lights Escape
Immerse yourself in a magical winter wonderland in Lapland this December, where a series of impeccably crafted and unforgettable adventures await you in the untouched Arctic wilderness.
Embrace the opportunity to meet Santa Claus and his reindeer while basking in the captivating spectacle of the northern lights casting their enchanting glow over the snowy landscape from the mountain’s summit.
Overview
Highlights
- 4 Nights at Máttaráhkká Northern Lights Lodge
- Lodge Room based on a Full Board Basis and including Arctic outer clothing
- Aurora 360 Hot Tub
- Aurora Chase
- Husky Dogsledding Adventure
- Decorating the Christmas Tree and Santa Visit
- Visit the Ice Hotel
What’s included
- 4 Nights at Máttaráhkká Northern Lights Lodge
- Lodge Room based on a Full Board Basis and including Arctic outer clothing
- Aurora 360 Hot Tub
- Aurora Chase
- Husky Dogsledding Adventure
- Decorating the Christmas Tree and Santa Visit with Reindeer
- Visit the Ice Hotel
A note on flights
While flights are not included in the holiday price, our team will happily provide a quote and arrange them for you. Simply ask one of our Travel Experts for details of the available options.
Day by Day Itinerary
Enjoy your first evening in Lapland by indulging in a trio of delights: a hot tub, a sauna session, and a delectable dinner at the lodge.
What better way to relish one of nature’s most awe-inspiring wonders—the Northern Lights—than from the cosy confines of a rooftop hot tub, affording you a panoramic 360° view of the night sky!
Tonight is dedicated to unwinding and savouring the local culinary delights. You’ll be treated to a sumptuous three-course dinner, ensuring that as the night draws to a close, you’ll depart feeling utterly relaxed and poised for a restful night’s sleep, following a day filled with travel adventures.
Don’t forget to keep an eye outside for aurora activity.
Experience an entire day of thrilling and expertly-guided snowmobile safaris through the stunning Lapland landscapes.
On snowmobiles, we ascend beyond the treeline to reach the pinnacle of Lapland’s viewpoint. Here, we immerse ourselves in a bit of tradition by trying our hand at ice fishing. We’ll even brew some coffee over a crackling fire and indulge in Swedish fika, making the most of this magical moment.
Your journey continues down to the serene taiga forest, where we pick the perfect Christmas tree. Once the tree is selected and loaded onto the sled, we savor a cup of glögg (Swedish mulled wine) and pepparkaka (ginger cookies) before your return to the lodge. There, you’ll be treated to a two-course lunch prepared with love from the local kitchen. Your evening begins around a cosy fire in a tipi near the lodge.
After savoring a delicious BBQ meal, embark on a quest to witness the mesmerising northern lights. Depending on the weather and conditions, you’ll either search for the auroras with snowmobiles or take a minivan to Abisko, renowned for its prime viewing spots, ensuring a magical and unforgettable encounter with the dancing lights.
After breakfast transfer to the kennel located in a picturesque river valley between Kiruna and Nikkaluokta.
Ylva Sievertsson whose kennel backs onto this pristine wilderness, runs very personal dog sled trips. As you will discover she has a very special relationship with her dogs and it is a thrill to visit her kennel and spend time with her dogs.
Once you arrive at the kennels, you’ll get acquainted with the dogs and receive detailed instructions about how to drive them. Help harness them before heading out into a location outside the major tourist areas where we can almost promise that you will enjoy pristine Arctic nature alone.
You will be out for around two hours, taking turns with your partner driving the team before heading back to base for a warming lunch in the traditional ‘Kota’ adjacent to the family home.
Note: Over the years we have had many guests advise that they would have liked to spend more time with Ylva. If the husky experience is one of the expected highlights of your trip then we offer options to extend this day.
Return and relax prior to Dinner. Suggest tonight is the night to upgrade to the sauna and hot tub and relax by the fire.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After breakfast, we gather to decorate the Christmas tree at the lodge. Once the tree is adorned, Santa and his reindeer await us in the traditional Sami tent (kåta), where he distributes gifts to everyone who has been nice. We also indulge in some delicious traditional Sami cuisine next to the crackling fire. After lunch, we visit the original Icehotel.
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of the original Icehotel, sculpted entirely from snow and ice. Explore the mesmerising Icehotel 365, a groundbreaking concept that offers art suites designed by acclaimed artists from around the globe. Don’t miss the opportunity to sip cocktails from unique ice glasses at the ice bar.
As the evening unfolds, we celebrate Christmas Eve together with family and friends. Team Alex will prepare a traditional Swedish julbord (Christmas smorgasbord) for this special occasion.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Breakfast and at leisure until your airport transfer at the end of your action-packed Christmas break.
You have options to stay a night at the Icehotel, or perhaps take in Scandinavia’s capital city Stockholm on your way home.
Meals Included: Breakfast
We have an extensive Northern Lights Information Hub if you need further information
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Where You'll Stay
Máttaráhkká Northern Lights Lodge
We are proud to offer this small intimate lodge, run by one of our long standing partners, Andreas Mikko, for exclusive use by our clients.
This 7 room intimate lodge is situated in a super location on a slight elevation with magnificent views across the arctic tundra to the Abisko alps. The emphasis at the lodge is on two elements, Sami culture and ensuring you have the best chance of seeing the northern lights.
This small intimate lodge used to be a Sami handicraft centre until the owners had the idea to turn it into an exclusive retreat. With only 7 bedrooms and an open plan lounge and dining room, the emphasis is on relaxing in a cosy environment. The rooms have a downstairs en-suite room with a staircase leading to a loft sitting room.
If you are a group of 8 or more friends or family traveling together and wish to have the lodge privately please let us know. This is a great way of celebrating a big birthday or wedding anniversary
The lodge has a fabulous sauna and a very unusual northern lights hot tub on the roof where you can star gaze or hunt for the Aurora. (This carries an extra charge).
Other benefits of a stay here mean that you can snowmobile straight from your doorstep into the Arctic wilderness.
Evenings are focused on good food, relaxation and the Northern Lights so if you are looking for a ‘home away from home’ experience then look no further.
Enquire Now
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See what our clients say
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.
We had a wonderful time! The food at the lodge was amazing and there were some great vegetarian dishes. I had the best beetroot I’ve ever had (beetroot tartare).
Everyone was really friendly and all the guides were good fun and very knowledgeable.
A special thanks to William and Petri who were really friendly and really added a personal touch to our trip. The activities were really well planned and we especially enjoyed the trip with the huskies. The area we were in is stunning and the lodge was very nice. We would definitely recommend this to friends and family.
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.
My daughter and I had an amazing time on our trip, we didn’t want it to end! Everything went according to plan, each excursion was well organized and everyone involved with each activity, as well as everyone at the lodge was kind, friendly, positive and happy, which makes such a difference to your whole experience. The food at The Abisko Mountain Lodge was also incredibly good. Our room was large, comfortable and well-furnished. The bathroom too was also spacious and well-equipped. The outdoor clothing provided was of very good quality which kept us warm, and the staff members are happy to change items if they are not quite the right size for you. This is my second trip with Weekend a la carte and I’m sure there will be more as I have complete trust in them. I highly recommend Aurora Nights, it was fabulous.
We enjoyed both the hotels that were arranged by weekend a la Carte Aurora nights. The Porsmork trip was very enjoyable, both guides were fantastic and informative.
The Northern Light hunt trip out of Reykjavik with Superjeep was an adventure and we got to see the lights, worth braving the cold at -6.
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.
We had a fantastic 4 nights that included glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, the aurora borealis and more! Lovely hotels, especially Hotel Ranga. We filled every moment and felt thoroughly invigorated on our return.
What a fantastic trip! I booked this for myself and my husband to celebrate my 40th birthday and it didn’t disappoint! Booking was simple and we were kept up to date with all the details from the office team in the UK.
From the moment we arrived at Kiruna airport all the staff we encountered were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. We opted for the upgraded room at the Abisko Mountain Lodge which I would highly recommend. The cold weather clothing which was supplied was fantastic and kept us really warm in the sub-zero temperatures. The dog sledging, snowmobiling and the Northern Lights photography were all superb and the staff leading the trips were really friendly and so knowledgeable. Even though we weren’t able to do the sky station trip because of the weather, there was a lovely alternative evening organised for us which included a traditional dinner and a walk to the lake where we were able to see the lights. The food at the lodge was also exceptional and showcased some lovely traditional dishes using Moose and Reindeer which were wonderful to try.
I would like to send a massive thank you to all the staff at The Abisko Mountain Lodge as well as the guides we used for our guided walks, dog sledging and snowmobiling. I’d highly recommend the trip, it was our first visit to Sweden and we would definitely return. Thanks again to everyone (including the huskies) who made it so memorable!