This Aurora Break in the Lulea Archipelago is an exciting, emerging Northern Lights destination in northern Sweden. This break includes snowmobiling, husky sledding and Northern Lights hunting in the evening.
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Aurora Break in Lulea Archipelago
Credit Per Lundstroem
Credit Per Lundstroem
Situated on the eastern side of Swedish Lapland, the bracken waters of the archipelago freeze during winter and form a giant frozen expanse to explore.
Lulea, the main town, has a thriving and dynamic feel, with good restaurants and arctic experiences.
This 3-night weekend break based at the fabulous centrally located Clarion Sense Hotel, with a stunning spa and roof top bar, includes a snowmobile safari, drive your own husky sled experience, and a Northern Lights hunting evening! It’s perfect if you are looking for a short break with great value. With great views over the harbour from the well stocked cocktail bar and restaurant you can watch the world go by, and also keep an eye out for the Northern Lights across the bay.
Location
Sweden
Duration
3 Nights
Available dates
Dec - Mar
Price per person (excl. flights)
from £2,000
Overview
Highlights
- 3 nights in the beautiful Clarion Sense Hotel
- 2-hour drive your own sled dog experience
- 2-hour snowmobile safari in the forests around Lulea
- Northern Lights hunting
- Excellent restaurants for dining
What’s included
- 3 nights accommodation with breakfast in standard room at the Clarion Sense Hotel
- 2-hour snowmobile safari on shared snowmobile
- 2-hour drive your own Husky safari – 2 persons per sled
- A Northern Lights chase on one of your nights
- Welcome dinner on your first night
- Transfers
- Arctic clothing during activities”
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
Day 1
Fly into Lulea in Swedish Lapland, where you will be met and driven in style to the beautiful Clarion Sense Hotel, the region’s latest and finest 4-star hotel, with a stunning spa, and well stocked cocktail bar with a view over the harbour.
Located on the edge of town with far reaching views over the frozen Lule river and the northern night sky, this sleek and stylish hotel offers excellent rooms with their colourfully modern murals, bold dark furniture, super comfortable beds and lovely large windows that create an airy atmosphere.
Lulea is situated on the coastal edge of the Luleå Archipelago in the bay of Bothnia, which has a total of 1,300 islands and only 100 residents and is a unique wilderness environment where the sea around the island freezes up to a metre thick in winter. From the hotel you look out over the frozen expanse of the Lule river with great views for miles.
Once you have settled into your hotel, we suggest that you enjoy a pre-dinner drink in the sky bar with its great views. We have included dinner on your first night as after traveling you may wish to have an easy start to your break.
Enjoy a three-course dinner under the stewardship of Chef Marcus Samuelsson who has received widespread critical acclaim. His kitchen transforms the freshest, local ingredients into cosmopolitan inspired dishes that are stunning.
Note: if you would like to increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights, we recommend upgrading to a deluxe room with views over the frozen river to the northern horizon. This comes with free spa entry too!
Day 2
Snowmobile Adventure
Buffet breakfasts in Sweden are feasts in their own right! Indulge before heading out on a 2-hour snowmobile adventure in the forests around Lulea and bordering on the frozen archipelago.
You will be provided with arctic clothing and training before heading out with your partner on a guided exploration of the countryside. There is something special about being on a snowmobile adventure off the beaten track, soaking up the beauty and majesty of the forests and frozen lake views. With vast winter landscapes, this truly snowmobiling adventure takes your breath away, drop a location pin and see how far you are from your friends back at home! When you return to the hotel and you can enjoy some downtime, and try out the spa (charges may apply if you have not upgraded your room).
You have the facilities at the hotel or you can wander into the centre of Lulea. Our recommendation would be to walk the Ice Road. There is a road marked out on the frozen ice which allows people to walk, ski or skate around the city. See the locals in deep conversation, mothers pushing their children around in adapted push chairs or students racing each other around on skates.
It’s a totally unique experience and well worth a try! There are kick sleds available at certain points of entry to the ice road.
This evening you are free to enjoy dinner at one of the restaurants in town before an evening Northern Lights hunt. You will be picked up from the hotel by your guide and his minivan and taken out to some remote vantage points for seeing the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights are not guaranteed, but this trip out will give you the best options for seeing them if the forecast is good.
The guides might change the night of this tour if they believe the chances of seeing the Northern Lights are better on an alternative evening during your stay in Lulea.
Return around 23.30 and overnight.
Day 3
Dog Sledding Adventures
After breakfast, experience what for many is the highlight of any trip to the Arctic (after seeing the Northern Lights!) and that is the joy of riding your own dog sledding team through pristine snowy landscapes.
Your guide will transfer you to the kennels about 15kms away from the lodge. With 2 people per team, learn to take control of a husky team and have the satisfaction of mushing them as you drive on the forest and lake trail. The experience lasts 2 hours and is sure to leave you with some fantastic memories.
You will stop for a Swedish Fika as part of the trip.
On your return to the hotel, enjoy exploring Lulea or if you have upgraded your room, enjoy your free access to the Spa and enjoy a typical Swedish Sauna.
This evening venture into town for dinner maybe followed by a drink in the Sky Bar at your hotel keeping a careful watch on the sky for the auroras.
Day 4
Return Home
After breakfast, at leisure prior to your transfer to the airport for the flight home.
If you would like to make the most of your time there is the opportunity of detouring via the UNESCO world heritage site of Gammelstad en route to the airport. This is the best preserved example of a ‘Church Village’ in Scandinavia.
At its centre is the impressive 15th-century Nederlulea Church surrounded by 424 wood-built houses. The houses were only used on Sundays and during religious festivals to accommodate worshippers from the surrounding countryside who could not return home the same day because of the distance and difficult travelling conditions.
If celebrating a special occasion, why not extend your trip and experience a night in one of Sweden’s iconic hotels – the Tree Hotel.
Alternatively you could include a mini break to Stockholm, Sweden’s capital city and one of the most picturesque capital cities in Europe.
Where You'll Stay
Clarion Sense Lulea
The Clarion sense is Lulea’s latest hotel and a super base for a northern lights weekend hunt with some arctic experiences included. It is centrally located and commands wonderful views over the frozen Lulea river, which empties into the Archipelago at this point. A feature is the restaurant and the sky bar at the top which overlooks the ice road in winter and also faces out towards the northern lights if they are visible.
Each floor is inspired by the year’s four seasons in a timeless, sleek design with harmonious color schemes. Here you can experience the changing seasons, interpreted by prominent photographers and lighting designers.
Clarion Hotel Sense’s guest rooms all have flat-screen TV, a desk, minibar and free WiFi. Each room also features unique photo art and designer furniture. Superior Rooms feature views out across the frozen expanse and we offer these as standard for our clients.
The on-site á la carte restaurant Kitchen & Table is open for dinner Monday to Saturday. There are also 2 hotel bars, of which one features spectacular views over the city. A short walk away are the main restaurants of town so there is no shortage of dining options available.
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Reviews
See what our clients say
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.
Carol Wrack
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.
Brian Coombs
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.
Linda Palmer
Fantastic service, with every detail taken care of and communicated to your agencies and hotels. Would definitely recommend and will be using again.
Robin Higginson
Fantastic trip with great hosts & made even more special by seeing the Northern Lights twice!!
Wendy Naphine
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.
Sarah Brooks
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.
Mark Nicholson
Dear Abigail, We have safely returned from Iceland and we wanted to say a huge and sincere thank you for all the plans that you put into place to make this one of the most memorable holidays we have ever had. It was simply beautiful each and every day. The cabin was idyllic and so cosy and warm. The tour guides were so knowledgeable and friendly and the scenery was breathtaking. All the arrangements worked so well and we will remember the trip for a long time to come.
Thank you once again.
Gillian Griffiths