The snowy fells of Finland make for a magical long weekend. Icy taiga forests, the hush of a frozen landscape and the Northern Lights dancing above.
Classic short breaks in Finland
Our classic short breaks in Finland combine the very best the region has to offer. Exciting outdoor adventures, like husky mushing and snowmobiling. Unforgettable log cabin and glass igloo stays. Evenings spent chasing the Northern Lights.
The Aurora Nights team can tailor any of the trips below to include your choice of accommodation and activities. So you’re sure to find the Finland weekend break you’ve been dreaming of.
Explore our classic short breaks in Finland
Classic short breaks in Finland: FAQs
When is the best time of year to book a classic short break in Finland?
To see the Northern Lights, visit Finland from September to March. During autumn and winter, the nights are long and dark, which gives you a much better chance of seeing the Northern Lights.
Winter activities, like dog sledding and snowmobiling, are available from December and March. At this time of year, snow is guaranteed. You also have the option to combine your Northern Lights holiday with Christmas or New Year celebrations.
Unsure when to book your classic short break in Finland? Just get in touch with the Aurora Nights team for advice.
Read more: The Northern Lights: Season by Season
How long are your classic short breaks in Finland?
Our classic short breaks in Finland are between three nights and four nights long. Most are based across a long weekend, departing on Friday and returning home on Monday or Tuesday.
If you’d like to book a longer trip, take a look at our other Northern Lights holidays in Finland:
What can you see and do on a classic short break in Finland?
Depending on the time of year you visit, you can take your pick from activities like these:
- Enjoy the restful calm of the Arctic landscape on snowshoeing or cross-country skiing expeditions
- Try your hand at traditional Finnish activities, like ice fishing and dog sledding
- Experience the thrill of snowmobile, snow tubing or downhill skiing adventures
- Chase the Aurora with your expert Northern Lights guide, travelling into the wilderness in search of nature’s mesmerising light show
- Take a magical reindeer sleigh ride through the forest. Look out for elves as you journey to a private meeting with Santa Claus
- Take time to unwind with exclusive sauna and spa experiences. Or just hop into your own private hot tub as the Northern Lights dance above
- Get off the beaten track and escape into nature. Let our guides lead you through a world of frozen waterfalls and snow-laden trees, sharing tales of the local culture and the natural world
Where will I stay?
Finnish Lapland offers an array of unique accommodation. Wooden houses on stilts. Glass igloos with panoramic views of the night sky. Cosy log cabins with a roaring fire.
You can also stay at boutique hotels, in family-friendly villas and at eco-friendly resorts. Many accommodation options come with their own saunas and hot tubs.
There’s accommodation suited to every type of traveller. From couples to families to groups of friends travelling together. So just tell us your requirements and we’ll find the perfect fit.
What’s included in your classic short break in Finland packages?
Our classic short breaks to Finland include the following as standard:
- Accommodation
- Transfers
- Half-board or full-board dining (as per your preference)
- Arctic clothing for the duration of your trip
- Your choice of guided Arctic activities
Please note that flights are not included in our Northern Lights holiday packages. But if you’d like advice on the best airports and airlines to use when travelling to Finnish Lapland from the UK or the US, just let us know. We’ll be happy to help.
Can I plan a Northern Lights short break to Helsinki?
Helsinki is located in the south of Finland. Its location and high levels of light pollution mean you rarely see the Northern Lights on a Helsinki city break.
If you’d like to see the Northern Lights and Helsinki, a longer Northern Lights holiday is the best option. On a longer trip, you have time to explore Finland’s capital city before travelling north in search of the Northern Lights.
What should I wear on a Northern Lights classic short break in Finland?
During winter, Finnish Lapland is very cold. Temperatures rarely rise above freezing. So people tend to dress for comfort and warmth, even when dining out in the evenings.
We provide Arctic outerwear for the duration of your trip. This includes a snow jacket, thermal overalls, snow boots and Arctic gloves.
Underneath, you should wear plenty of warm layers, including thermal base layers. A hat, gloves and warm socks are also essential. And you’ll need a warm winter coat for transfers to and from the airport.
Read more: What to wear on a Northern Lights trip
Will I definitely see the Northern Lights?
Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee it. However, we do everything we can to maximise your chances of seeing the Northern Lights on your short break in Finland.
You’ll stay at remote lodges and hotels, in areas renowned for their Aurora sightings. We can arrange Northern Lights wake-up calls and book accommodation with panoramic night sky views.
Our expert Aurora guides will also take you on exciting excursions to chase the Northern Lights. They’re experts at finding clear, cloudless skies where the Northern Lights shine brightest.
Why book your classic short break to Finland with Aurora Nights?
When you book a Northern Lights short break with Aurora Nights, you can count on:
- Tailor-made trips — we tailor our short breaks in Finland to include your wish list destinations, accommodation and activities
- Exceptional experiences — with in-depth knowledge of Finnish Lapland, we offer a selection of exceptional hand-picked adventures
- Expert local guides — our experienced guides show you a lesser-seen side of Finland — and they’re great at tracking down the Northern Lights too
- A hassle-free holiday — we carefully craft your itinerary so you can relax and enjoy your Northern Lights trip
How do I book?
Choose from the list of tours above and click Enquire Now. We’ll use this tour as a basis for your bespoke trip, customising it to perfectly meet your requirements.
Can’t see a tour you like? Then just get in touch with the Aurora Nights team and we’ll design a long weekend in Finland just for you.
You may also like to browse our other short winter breaks:
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.
We had five fantastic days in beautiful Iceland, as we had never been before Aurora Nights helped with everything and made the holiday so easy and stress free. We stayed at Hotel Ranga which was amazing, we very much enjoyed the tours and the guides were brilliant, very knowledgable and friendly. We will certainly be returning to Iceland and wouldn’t hesitate to book through Aurora Nights again, special thanks to Abigail as her experience and reccommendations made the trip even better.
Overall very good. Staff excellent and helpful. Accomodation basic but was what we expected. Tour guides very good (nature walks, snow mobiles, dog sleighs). Sky station disappointing as we never got to go up due to the weather and this seem to be a recurring feature.The alternative walk at night and meal was a let down as a result.Overall would recommend to others.
My wife and I had an awesome and memorable trip to Iceland thanks to Alex at Aurora Nights. Alex tailored the itinerary to exactly what we wanted to see and chose excellent hotels to stay at. We totally enjoyed the city of Reykjavik and the many beautiful waterfalls. He went above and beyond to not only recommend sights to see around the Golden Circle and Ring Road, but also mapped it out so we were prepared to drive through the country during unpredictable weather and road conditions. And we were especially pleased to see the Northern Lights on our visit. Alex was very flexible to make changes to our plans and choosing the wonderful Sky Lagoon to replace our tickets for the Blue Lagoon due to the closure from the volcanic activity. We highly recommend Alex and Aurora Nights.
Thank you for arranging a fabulous holiday, we had a really enjoyable time and would love to return in the future. Hotel Ranga is a lovely place to stay and the owner greeted guests in the restaurant, which was an unexpected welcoming touch. We didn’t see the Northern Lights due to the weather and the trip to the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and volcano was substituted by an excursion to Thorsmork, also due to the weather, which we thoroughly enjoyed; the brochure description doesn’t do it justice. We found Iceland and the people there really charismatic. Although the wind and snow cut short the amount of travelling we could do, we still covered a reasonable amount of what we wanted to see and our appetites are whetted for a return, perhaps in Spring or Summer. We found a couple of great places to eat near the Hotel in Reykjavik. Messin does tasty fish dishes and the Icelandic Street Food restaurant was excellent, offering simple but hearty soups with refills included in the price – great value.
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.
We had the most fabulous time and everything worked like clockwork. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and extremely competent. The food was excellent and the experiences, especially Husky Homes, were brilliant. We saw the aurora lights at the mountain top in Abisko where the photography tour will be an enduring memory of a wonderful time. I would very much recommend Weekend a la Carte as a proficient tour operator.
Cannot thank this company enough. Our break to Iceland was the second time we’ve let them organise everything for us and once again they didn’t disappoint. Everything ran seamlessly and the organised tours were wonderful. This company knows what they are doing. If you want to experience the geysers, the volcano, the northern lights and all the other exciting things that Iceland has to offer then this is the company to use.
Ready for an aurora adventure?
Book with Aurora Nights, the Northern Lights holiday experts. We will personally plan your bucket-list Northern Lights adventure holiday to Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Norway and Finland.