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
Covering popular topics such as:
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
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
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.
Superb holiday to Iceland, well organised, advice regarding trips informative and far exceeded our expectations (Glaciers and ice Cave) run by South Coast. Hotel Ranga is a lovely hotel, perfect to see Northern Lights (which we did see on our 3rd night), very comfortable, food excellent, staff helpful and informative. SouthCoast Adventure tour company were excellent, guides knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced.
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.
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.
A well organised trip which was tailored to our specific requests. The arrangements all ran perfectly and any queries prior to the holiday were handled very quickly and professionally. The standard of accommodation and organised tours was very high. I would use this company again and recommend them.
A fantastic short break which fulfilled all expectations. Well organised with a polished delivery, we could not have asked for more. The accommodation was perfect for us and the guides knowledgeable and helpful. Every day was packed with adventure, each lasting longer than scheduled but we were never rushed; the guides took pride in showing and explaining their beautiful country. We would certainly use Weekend a la carte again and recommend them to others.
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.