Husky sledding

No. What the providers promise is a refund or a repeat if no aurora is captured — and the conditions differ, so read them on the booking page. The lights themselves depend on the sky. The season runs from late August to early April, and it gets harder to see them as nights brighten towards mid-April. More than one night gives better odds than one.

It depends on what you come for. The polar night, with its blue twilight, runs from mid-November to mid-January; the sun does not rise at all around 21 December. The midnight sun lasts from early June to early July. Almost all the offers on this site are for winter — only about one in eight is a summer or autumn programme — so in summer the choice is much smaller.

ICEHOTEL is in Jukkasjärvi, 17 km east of Kiruna. You can visit independently by regional transport, taxi or car; check the current timetable first. A guided product is useful when it includes pickup, admission and another activity, but compare those inclusions because an admission ticket and a half-day tour are not the same purchase.

For the tours on this site, usually not: many include pickup from your hotel, though not all, so check the meeting point on the booking page. A car helps for ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi or Abisko on your own schedule. In winter, driving means snow and ice, and reindeer can be on the road — if that worries you, a guided trip is the easier choice.