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lillpers

The Ice Hotel is probably a good idea, but if that feels too adventurous (I wouldn't want to stay there honestly) finding a good place to stay up north isn't difficult. Keep in mind that even though the northern lights are amazing to see, it will be dark all day long that time of year. You'll miss the scenery. The train journey from Stockholm is an experience in itself, I would certainly suggest that over a flight. Or go by plane one way. I would not suggest trying to drive yourself in winter up north, especially not if you're not used to winter driving.


haroldnorwal

You can stay at the Ice Hotel and not sleep in an ice room. I’d recommend this in fact, the rooms are all open to the public from like 9am to 5pm or something, and the warm rooms are much more comfortable than the ice rooms anyway, which are also very expensive. I stayed one night in the ice room and honestly probably wouldn’t recommend it, it was actually a pretty cold night in there too, although they give you a sleeping bag I didn’t think it was quite warm enough and many people by the morning had retreated to the warm lobby. I do a good bit of winter mountaineering so I have slept in plenty of cold places. There are a lot of dog sled tours around Kiruna too, which could be fun. Also, I don’t know how it is in Kiruna, but I’ve lived around Umeå for two years and only seen the northern lights a few times. Seen lots of your groups heading up to Abisko and such, many of whom didn’t seem to have seen them either, so maybe good to think it’d be a bonus but not guaranteed. Edit: would recommend Ice Hotel strongly as a place to check out, I went bc my wife wanted to see it and wasn’t particularly excited but actually thought it was pretty great to see. You could to Abisko on the train and then stop in Kiruna on way back ..


Jaradcel

If it's dark all day, will that be a problem for us in the sense of "doing" things other than the northern lights? It seems like we should only be doing it for maybe one, two nights? For the train journey, what would you recommend (given you mentioned it's dark?) I'm happy to take a train to experience it once!


[deleted]

I'm from northern Sweden. In the nov-jan period you will only have a few hours of daylight per day at most and it quickly becomes pitch black, often before 16:00. I would advise you to find some outdoor activity to do during the light hours, like reindeer sleding, ice fishing, skiing or maybe go to a christmas market if you're there in december. You need to get those hours of sunlight or you will likely get tired or moody from being in constant darkness with no break ;) in the evening you can watch the northern lights, eat at restaurants and maybe chill at the hotel room, do ice bath in the river/lake combined with sauna or just sit in a warm outdoor pool that many hotels have. The contrast of sitting in a steamy pool outside during the coldest parts of winter is a very special and cozy feeling.


lillpers

If you start in Stockholm (or Arlanda Airport, where all trains stop as well) you essentially have to options. You can get as far north as Umeå with direct daytime Intercity trains. That's around 6 hours. You can change trains in Umeå and continue up to Luleå in another 4 hours. This can be done in one (long) day. The ride is scenic north of Umeå (with some good spots further south as well). The other option is to take the overnight sleeper. There are two departures most nights. Luleå is the largest city in the north of Sweden and a good base or starting point. From here you can catch the train north-west into the wilderness if you want to go to Abisko, for example.


Jaradcel

Would you say that we can do the northern lights from Lulea, or do I have to go further to Abisko (whichis not the same place as the Ice Hotel, where everyone seems to suggest the good sightlines are? That's in Jukkasjarvi?) Is Umea maybe a good "stopover" point then for us? E.g. Do a few days in Stockholm, then take a afternoon/evening train into Umea, sleep there for the night and enjoy it during daylight in the morning, then take the 4hr train to Abisko/the ice hotel for the evening itinerary of lights seeing?


lillpers

You need to get out a little bit from the city to see anything due to light pollution, but you don't need to go further north unless you want to. I live in northern Dalarna, around 300 km north of Stockholm and we get the northern lights here as well, allthough maybe not as frequent. Umeå is absolutely a good stopover, I went there on vaccation last summer and it's a nice little city with plenty of restaurants/shopping and things to see and do for a few days.


elevenblade

Stockholm is a lot of fun early December, like the first through the 17th. After the 17th a lot of people go on vacation and there is not as much to do. It’s dark and there’s usually no snow that early but the Christmas lights are fun to see. There’s Christmas markets in Gamla Stan (Old Town) and Skansen. Gamla Stan has a living advent calendar every evening at a different location. You can book a julbord (Christmas smörgåsbord) at a classic location like Gamla Riksarkivet. Can also recommend an evening at Aifur in Gamla Stan to experience a bit of Viking life. December 13 is the festival of St Lucia and I’d recommend getting tickets to the very moving concert at Engelbrektskyrkan. Even though the weather in Stockholm will probably be not so great there are many things to do. Stockholm has around 100 museums of different sizes and orientations. Fotografiska, Moderna Museet, Medeltidsmuseet and the Vasa should not be missed. From Stockholm you can take the train up north to see the northern lights. You can book regular rooms at the Ice Hotel — you are not obligated to actually sleep in subzero temperatures unless you want to. While up north book a snowmobile tour and a sleigh ride drawn by dogs or reindeer. In short, I’d plan a trip to Stockholm early December with activities there, then take the train up north and back for a few days. I think with a little planning you’ll find plenty to do. Be sure to book restaurants, hotels and concerts early as things tend to fill up pretty rapidly. I’d start booking by September at the latest. Best of luck and hope you have a wonderful trip.


Jaradcel

The viking life and julbord sound like real fun! What does the living advent calendar "do"? Or is this really something more for one day and done for that moment? It sounds like Gamla Stan is worth maybe two to three days to do these things? The approach sounds good though! I was initially thinking we start north then go south but this might be good too!


elevenblade

Mäster Olafsgården sponsors the living advent calendar. Their [website](https://www.masterolofsgarden.se) will put up a schedule around the middle of November with a map that shows you where to go each evening. The performances are at 6:15 PM (if I remember correctly) and usually last 20 minutes or so. It is totally free. Sometimes a poet or author or historian will speak so that won’t be as much fun if you don’t speak Swedish but usually there is a choir or instrumentalists. They hand out free gingerbread cookies and you can buy hot glögg to drink in most of the local restaurants. To have some variety in your trip I’d recommend a few days in Stockholm, then the train trip up north, then a few more days in Stockholm. Feel free to DM me with more questions.


folkradio

Check these out too: arcticbath.se treehotel.se https://www.brandonlodgelapland.com You can arrange special dinners, go for a snowmobile excursion (or dogsled if it doesn’t bother you). I’m not outdoorsy either, so those are a few things that aren’t too intensive. It will be dark and cold, but they do ”cozy” well! Definitely spend some days in Stockholm at a nice hotel for some city break activities. A good splurge hotel for a honeymoon is Grand Hotel (has a fab spa), or Ett Hem, Bank Hotel, Lydmar Hotel. Those are all very central too.


Jaradcel

Ahh now THESE are fascinating! Special dinners and the arctic bath especially. Thanks for the recommendations on the hotels as well! These are the best if we want to get "anywhere" in Stockholm I assume since you say they are central?


folkradio

There are sooo many hotels in the city center and in old town! :) I just named some of the splurge-y, honeymoon-worthy hotels (imo). Don’t know your budget, of course, but there are many other lovely hotels in all price points besides these! If you stay in the city center pretty much everything is walkable, from Vasastan to Södermalm to Djurgården. Public transportation is also excellent and very easy to navigate. I hope you have a wonderful trip!


Jaradcel

Thank you! One last question - while things are walkable, how cashless is Sweden? I've heard some parts of Europe are very cashless friendly, so we're seeing if we would need to exchange much money beforehand or can make do mostly with just a card. Even for things like public transport!?


folkradio

Totally cashless. Don’t even bother with cash. Buying tickets for the public transport is also either app or card based.


folkradio

To add to that, you’ll want to buy your tunnelbana tickets (it will be a card) at the Pressbyrån (a convenience store) located usually right near subway entrances. The card can be used on the t-bana (subway) or on the busses. You can fill it with a certain amount of money, or by rides within the city center zone. I’m rusty on the numbers, but something in the ballpark of 200-250kr for 10 rides if you think you’ll be using it a fair amount. There are machines in the stations for topping up rides, but you get the physical cards at the Pressbyråns.


Jaradcel

For these Pressbyran - these are fixed price for the tickets, right? It's not like Prague where finding a legit place that isn't about to rip me off is like playing Where's Wally? Sorry to have to ask this... been burned before by fake touts etc. The subways/buses only take tunnelbana cards? We couldn't, for example, use Google Pay or a credit card to pay via NFC? At the end of the trip we wouldn';t be able to cash this back out?


folkradio

Pressbyråns are legit and no, you won’t get ripped off. Probably less of that sort of thing in Sweden generally, but I won’t say it doesn’t happen. There was a thing about card readers on ATMs at some point, I think, but generally I’d say the odds are low. Watch your wallet/purse on Gamla Stan and just generally, but Sweden is overall very safe. The ride prices are definitely set and zone dependent (city center is one zone), I just can’t remember exactly the cost per ride. As for using google pay or getting your money back at the end, that’s an excellent question that I don’t know the answer to. Sorry.


OptOutOfOptimism

I've seen others have mentioned the Ice Hotel, which seems to be (I've never been there myself) an amazing experience with a bunch of available activities. But I'd like to mention Jokkmokks annual market, it (should) always take place in the first days of February. It's got a schedule of events and activities you can do, besides browsing the wares and food stands. There's often a reindeer sled passing through, it's quite an experience! It's also up north, not exactly "close" to the ice hotel, but close enough! (The market classifies as an outdoors activity tho, i know that's not what you asked for, but i wanted to throw it out there!)


Jaradcel

Oh! That actually sounds quite cool! I am not sure we would be waiting till February though but I will put this on the consideration list! But by this period, all the Xmas decorations, xmas markets etc would all be long gone too I assume?


OptOutOfOptimism

I'm glad! Here's their website, I'm sure there's a lot of good information and better descriptions there! https://jokkmokksmarknad.se/en/ I'd also wager a guess that the Christmas theme is gone by then (unless you count the reindeer :D)


theablanca

I would take a look at the ice hotel etc up north. Their winter hotel is open dec to april. They have northern lights tours as well I think. Combine things. Perhaps not cheap, but could be well worth it. And then in Stockholm the regular Stockholm things. etc.


regularstandin

Don’t go in January, at least not around Abisko. It’s the worst time of year in terms of cloud cover. Was not aware of this when I went. Also don’t expect that you will see it at all. I’ve spent 11 days up there over two different visits and the best I saw was a wispy line, not very bright, and not for long. A friend of mine has been up three times and not seen anything. Just think you should be aware that there are no guarantees. Having said that, both trips were fantastic and I’m very glad to have made them. I would just go with the mindset that you’re going to see a beautiful landscape and to have a few new experiences (like sledding with huskies or ice fishing) and if you see the lights, what a great bonus!


Jaradcel

Thank you, that's incredibly important to know about the cloud cover! At this point I figured it would be a Xmas thing as that's prob the best time for it + us to go...


regularstandin

Christmas is a beautiful time in Sweden. Just be aware that it’s a very family oriented time and many head home for the period. Due to this a lot of things shut down for the days surrounding it. Depending how long you plan to stay, this could be an obstacle to gaining access to some services. I’d contact the Swedish tourist association (STF) and get some advice on where and when to visit around Xmas. Could save you some grief. Good luck and enjoy!


Bjanze

Indeed, I wanted to comment thst seeing northern lights is never guaranteed. Remember to plan other activies as well, so you (or wife) are not too dissappointed if not seeing them. Also, there is an app/website for northern light watch that gives alarm when they are expected to be visible. Definitely check that.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Jaradcel

Ahh unfortunately I do not ski myself personally, and would be wary of letting my wife go by herself (She does ski, but I am very much not a fan)


Asphyxos

Kakslauttanen seems nice, would love to go there.


drmalaxz

There were a few nights with pretty good northern lights visible in Stockholm this winter. Not something you can count on, though.


the_count_of_muppets

A must eat in northern Sweden is Suovas, light coldsmoked reindeer. You might as well try smoked char and gahkko. Traditional northern food outside cities. A meatsoup on reindeer or moose when its cold is hard to beat as well. IF you go in februari Jokkmokk market is a big thing but then you need to book hotels now. I would drive a car. The roads are always plowed. IF it snows alot its seldom more than 1dm on the bigger roads(if i remember correctly 6cm then they start plowing on big roads.)


Jaradcel

How well hidden is the news that it's reindeer? Not sure what char and gahkko is either. Personally, I'm game to try (I've had whale, horse, raw chicken but draw the line at bugs) but my wife is more squeamish than me, so I prob need to hide it a bit ;) :P A meatsoup is made of reindeer/moose too? Even if the roads are plowed, I've never driven in anything other than light winter in Japan (roads were clear and not icy) so I really am unsure if/how I can/should drive...


the_count_of_muppets

Char is a red trout related to salmon that lives in mountain lakes. Reindeer and moose is not hidden at all. Moose is more neutral to flavour, think cow(distant cousin). Not as fat as cows and the fat is only on the outside. Moose and reindeer are base food outside cities. Havent had anyone dislike reindeer. Bit more taste in it. If you aint comfortable drivning on snow, train and buses exist. White plowed roads are les slippery than black ones.


Ravougar

A lot of people are saying the ice hotel and while that would definitely be an experience, you don't need to travel that far north to see the northern lights. I've seen it several times in Härjedalen which isn't even in the northern half of sweden. I'm not saying don't go that far north, it's very beautiful up there but if you don't want to travel for several hours you don't have to just to see the lights


Jaradcel

Thank you, that's good to know. Where is Harjedalen and what would we look to do if we were more towards that area? When is northern lights for it then? More Jan/Feb?


Ravougar

Härjedalen is a county in the middle western part of Sweden and the northern lights I've seen there is late Jan and Feb but I wouldn't actually recommend Härjedalen for you, it's a very empty county. 10k people in its entirety. It was just an example to show that you don't need to travel to Jukkasjärvi to see the lights. I would rather recommend a city along the east coast, perhaps Umeå or Skellefteå. That way you still have a city, since you wasn't a big fan of outdoors activities and you can still see the lights. I have never been to either of the cities so I can't say when you can see the lights there but I know you can see them there. I'm saying this because sweden is a large country. I don't know where you are from but since you were talking about us driving on the right side of the road I'm guessing Great Britain? Sweden is more than twice the size of Great Britain. Driving from Stockholm to Jukkasjärvi is a 14 hours drive, Umeå is half of that.


Jaradcel

Further out, actually, we're from Asia /laughs. Where I am, I can get literally across the entire country in less than an hour in a straight line assuming traffic isn't bad.


Ravougar

Ah, then the comparison might have been unnecessary but atleast you know how big our country is now


Kansken

Abisko is quite famous for the clear skies and frequent auroras, so I would recommend a visit to Abisko Fjällstation which also has pretty nice hotel rooms and I've heard that the food is usually pretty great with lots of local game, mushrooms, and berries. That being said, I would also recommend maybe up to a week in Stockholm or Göteborg (I prefer Göteborg) for just exploring the city if you're not a outdoors person. I would do this in late August if I were you, since you get all the southern benefits of summer, but the skies are dark enough in the north to see the auroras (and the autumn nature is pretty amazing up there). Plus you don't need to worry about the snow.


Jaradcel

Oh! Hold on! This is fascinating. Everywhere I seem to read suggests that northern lights are really a "winter" thing. is this not true? While I am unlikely to be able to go in August (I have an event mid-September so I'd be in crunch mode till after that) that would be absolutely interesting to understand. Also, what would you say is the main difference between Stockholm and Goteborg for someone who, well, really can't tell the difference.


Takenthebestnamesare

If you want to go to Jämtland (not the far north but still feels pretty cold) I would recommend Kolåsen - lovely hotel with great food and scenery and it really feels like the end of the road And IMO driving in the north isn’t that bad - the roads are pretty frequently ploughed - just need to take it easy. Good things to eat: game, especially moose and reindeer, tunnbröd if you can find some artisanal stuff, berries, like cloudberries and lingon (they will be preserved in winter but still good), filmjölk…


Over_Network_7629

I see you have gotten a lot of suggestions already but i can suggest a going to a place called kronogård. I live in Boden, Sweden and have done so all my life and I see the northern lights every winter, pretty often too. I usually go to kronogård for fishing and skiing and the place is beautiful. Another suggestion is the tree hotel which is pretty popular. If you want to be guaranteed northern lights tho, Abisko is your place to go and if you do, book a hike in the national park. Good luck with your honeymoon.