Escape to Swedish Lapland for a long weekend. On our short breaks to Sweden, you can discover stunning scenery and exciting Arctic adventures by day. Then, chase the aurora borealis by night.
Classic short breaks in Sweden
Our bespoke trips are tailored to you. Take your pick of unforgettable activities — like snowmobiling, husky sledding and ice fishing. Choose unique accommodation, too. How about a stay at the famous ice hotel? Or in a cosy wilderness cabin?
The Aurora Nights team knows Swedish Lapland inside out. So — whatever kind of northern lights short break you have in mind — we’re here to make it happen.
Explore our short breaks in Sweden
Short breaks in Sweden: FAQs
Why choose a classic short break to Sweden?
Whether you’re travelling as a couple, a family or a larger group, a classic short break in Sweden makes for a memorable getaway. Across three to four nights, you’ll experience spectacular landscapes, Arctic adventure and plenty of aurora hunting.
You can browse and book one of the tours above. Or go bespoke, adjusting our short breaks to create your ideal trip. Take your pick from awe-inspiring destinations, like Lulea, Kiruna and Abisko — and adapt a tour to suit your budget and interests.
How long are your northern lights short breaks?
Our short breaks to Sweden 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 want a longer northern lights holiday in Sweden, take a look at our exclusive aurora holidays and Abisko northern lights holidays.
You can also book northern lights mini breaks in our other Nordic destinations:
When is the best time of year to book weekend breaks in Sweden?
The northern lights are visible in Swedish Lapland any time from September to March.
In September and October, the landscape blazes with golden autumn colours. From November to March, this northerly region of Sweden is snowy and cold.
Our winter breaks — including our New Year and February half-term holidays — are popular with travellers keen to see the aurora borealis. That’s because, during long winter nights, you have a much better chance of seeing the northern lights.
If you’re unsure when to book your weekend break in Sweden, just get in touch with the Aurora Nights team. We can recommend the best month to visit.
What can you see and do on a Swedish weekend break?
That all depends on the kind of weekend break you’re looking for.
Sweden offers outdoor adventure, stunning natural landscapes, traditional Sámi culture and — of course — the aurora borealis. We can customise any Swedish short break to include your choice of sights and activities.
Here’s a taste of what you can see and do:
- Travel beyond the treeline, across the icy tundra or to the top of Mount Ednamvarri on an epic snowmobile safari.
- Embrace relaxation. Sample Swedish sauna culture. Or soak in your own hot tub, with the stars and the aurora borealis above.
- Try your hand at exciting Arctic activities, like skiing, ice skating, ice fishing or ice climbing.
- Hone your night sky photography skills. Get the kit and expert guidance you need to take beautiful photos of the northern lights.
- Wrap up warm for a cocktail at the Icehotel ice bar. Or — for an enchanting experience — stay the night in an exclusive ice suite.
- Discover Sámi culture. Visit huskies and reindeer. Savour Sámi cuisine in a traditional tipi. Then, embark on sledding adventures through the snowy landscape.
- Enjoy unforgettable northern lights experiences. See the aurora from your glass-roofed igloo or at a wilderness dinner underneath the starry night sky.
Where will I stay?
It all depends on the type of accommodation you’re looking for.
You can stay in a traditional Swedish cottage, a log cabin with a hot tub or a glass-roof tipi with panoramic views.
For something truly out of the ordinary, there’s the Aurora Sky Station atop Mount Nuolja, the inimitable Icehotel and the unique treetop rooms at the Treehotel.
There’s a huge and varied selection of accommodation to choose from in Sweden. So we’re confident of finding exactly the right stay for your weekend break.
Can I book a Sweden city break?
Yes, you can. On our Sweden city breaks, you’ll use Kiruna and Lulea as a base for exciting Arctic adventures.
The university city of Lulea sits on the north-eastern coast of Sweden, surrounded by lakes and evergreen forests. It forms part of the Lulea archipelago, a collection of over 1,000 islands, which are connected by ice roads in winter.
You can also enjoy a Swedish city break in Kiruna, 200km north of the Arctic Circle. Kiruna is home to Sweden’s tallest mountain and acts as a gateway to Abisko National Park — one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights.
If Stockholm is on your wishlist, talk to us about planning a longer northern lights holiday to Sweden. On a longer trip, there’s time to explore Sweden’s capital city before travelling north in search of the northern lights.
What’s included in your Sweden mini breaks?
Our Sweden mini breaks include the following as standard:
- Accommodation
- Transfers
- Half-board or full-board dining
- 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 Swedish Lapland from the UK or US, just let us know. We’ll be happy to help.
What should I wear on a northern lights weekend break?
During winter, temperatures in Swedish Lapland don’t rise above freezing. So in cities like Kiruna and Lulea — and certainly in the Arctic countryside — people dress for warmth and comfort.
We provide warm Arctic outerwear for the duration of your trip. This includes a snow jacket, thermal overalls, snow boots and Arctic gloves.
We recommend that you bring thermals, lots of layers, a warm hat, gloves and thick socks. You’ll also need to bring a winter coat for travel to and from the airport.
Read more: What to wear on a northern lights trip
Why book your Sweden mini break with Aurora Nights?
When you book a northern lights trip with Aurora Nights, you can count on:
- Tailor-made trips — we craft bespoke northern lights adventures, tailoring a trip to your budget and interests
- Exceptional experiences — with in-depth knowledge of Swedish Lapland, our team can recommend the very best the region has to offer
- Expert local guides — our experienced guides show you a lesser-seen side of Sweden — and they’re great at tracking down the aurora, too
- A hassle-free holiday — we take care of holiday organisation so you can relax and look forward to your northern lights adventure
Whether you book a classic short break, an exclusive aurora holiday to Sweden or an Abisko northern lights holiday, it’s sure to be a trip you’ll remember forever.
How do I book my northern lights short break?
Choose one of the tours above and make an enquiry. We can then customise your tour 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 be happy to build your Sweden trip from scratch.
See what our clients say
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 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.
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.
An amazing trip and excellent service provided by all involved. Great value for money too. Food was excellent. Accommodation was wonderful and the trips booked were outstanding. An amazing trip
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The Abisko Mountain Lodge was fantastic, every member of staff was friendly welcoming and charming. Accommodation, upgraded room was excellent. The food in the lodge definitely deserves the high reviews. Good breakfast, great hime made lunch soups and extremely tasty evening dinners.
The included trips were great. The only let down was the camera night, couldn’t see the lights no one fault, but we were walked through thigh high snow to be left on a frozen lake for the duration of the trip. There was no warning of the difficult walk and we had a 91 year old with us and I have hip problems! That said the guide was great, as were the ones on the skimobile and husky rides. We went up to the sky station in a snow storm with high winds, added to the experience!
Would go back in a heart beat.
We had little communication with Weekend a la carte, no need as all communications were clear and contained all the information we needed. Very informative emails
Would use again if going back
This vacation has without without doubt, has been the best experience we have ever had. The organisation from the minute we landed in Kiruna until we departed at the close of our trip was second to none. The transition between hotels was always seamless and punctual. Everywhere we stayed was beautifully clean and the meals were top quality. Every driver was polite, entertaining and very knowledgeable, furnishing us with invaluable information about Sweden and the activities in which we were to participate. The snowmobiling was wonderful giving access via our guide, to stunning panoramic views of the mountain whilst viewing reindeer in their natural habitat.
Our guide demonstrated how to use the snowmobile safely he was pleasant and informative. When visiting the reindeer on the Sami reservation; we found the brother and sister team who hosted lovely. Again they were so hospitable and helpful and feeding the reindeer up close was a wonderful experience.
They provided additional activities for us to try and we were treated to a traditional Sami lunch in their hut. They provided us with invaluable information appertaining to their culture and caring for their reindeer. The reindeer were in superb condition and happy in their environment. Similarly, when out with the dog sleds the experience was magical. Two hours of beautiful scenery, and frozen lakes, finishing with a one-on-one experience massaging the dogs. Magic! We were so impressed with the care that was placed upon ensuring the dogs were comfortable, well-nourished and so loved by their owners/handlers.
Now to the photographic experience. A large group of us were treated to a demonstration of how to operate some serious camera equipment with tripod. Each of us was loaned the camera and given assistance setting up the camera on a frozen lake in preparation for the appearance of the Northern Lights. We were taken to this lake on large wooden sleighs pulled by a snowmobile. We cannot speak too highly of the two young men who accompanied us on this experience. They could not do enough for us. They were there to offer assistance with our cameras throughout the two-plus hours we were on this beautiful lake.
They advised where to position the camera and when the Lights appeared, what a performance. We had a two-hour display of this most breathtaking phenomenon. We were so fortunate to be able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for which we are so grateful. We will never forget this memorable holiday and cannot thank you and everyone who assisted in making a lifetime dream come true. Karen & Andrew Adamson
I appreciate the fast response to my inquiries regarding my trip. It would take decision making faster on my part, and plan my itinerary and activities being offered by the company accordingly.
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.
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.