Winter Holiday Ideas for Solo Travellers

Winter holiday ideas for solo travellers.

Travelling as a Solo Traveller is becoming increasingly popular and we know why – you get to meet interesting, new people and it’s a great confidence boost to achieve something independently. But if you’re not used to travelling by yourself you may be worried that it might be lonely at times.

Joining an active outdoor holiday can be the solution – sharing experiences together with others will automatically give you something in common. Even if you’re an intrepid solo traveller, joining a group is a wonderful way to enjoy an outdoor adventure.

For most of our tours, since sleeping accommodation on the tours is always shared, there is no single supplement for solo travellers as would commonly be found for many other trips.

Here are five ideas for winter adventures for solo travellers this season:

Polar Lights Husky Sledding in Finnish Lapland (Finland)

Like all our dogsled tours (with the exception of one tour we offer as a private trip for two persons only), this is an ideal option for solo travellers. Drive your own dogsled on a husky adventure with great chances to see the Northern Lights! Enjoy the feeling of travelling through the winter landscape together with your team of dogs.

Polar Lights Husky Sledding in Finnish Lapland.
Polar Lights Husky Sledding in Finnish Lapland. Photo: PH.

Tours are 6 days/5 nights with 4 days’ sledding and the option to extend your last day with extra sledding. Accommodation is at a simple but comfortable cabin, heading out each day to explore the beautiful landscape of the Pallas-Ylläs National Park. No previous dog sledding experience is required.

  • Location: Kittilä (northern Finland), domestic flight from Helsinki or night train to Roveniemi + bus to Levi.
  • Accommodation: Wilderness cabin (with additional facilities)
  • Landscape: Forest, fells, frozen lakes
  • Challenge level: Medium
  • Optional extras: additional day’s sledding on departure day
  • Dates/period: Dec-Apr, 6 days/5 nights
  • Required: General good level of health and fitness. If weight >95kg, please contact us to discuss suitability.

Cross Country Skiing in Eastern Finland (Finland)

Meet the locals in the region of North Karelia, which borders Russia in the east of Finland, and enjoy local delicacies on this is multi-day ski tour led by a local guide, with accommodation in guest houses and luggage transfer. For this experience, you should have some previous cross country skiing experience. If you have less experience, but a suitable level of fitness, you may also join the tour provided you arrive at least two days early to practise in the local area before beginning the tour.

Cross Country Skiing in Eastern Finland.
Cross Country Skiing in Eastern Finland. Photo: AKA.
  • Location: Nurmes (eastern Finland), 1 hour by domestic flight or 7 hours by train from Helsinki.
  • Accommodation: Guest houses along the route
  • Landscape: Lowland forest/tracks
  • Challenge level: Medium
  • Included as standard: Accommodation, guiding, food, local transfers, ski equipment (for Discover tours only)
  • Optional extras: Ski equipment (required for Standard tours unless bringing own), extra night(s) in guest house.
  • Dates/period: Feb-Mar, 8 days/7 nights

Discover Mountain Ski Touring in Lapland (Sweden)

Do you have some previous experience of cross-country skiing and/or downhill skiing, but have never done a mountain tour? Then this tour is for you. You’ll have the chance to improve your ski technique and practise with windsacks, snow shovels and climbing skins and at the end ski with a full pack.

Discover Mountain Ski Touring in Lapland.
Discover Mountain Ski Touring in Lapland. Photo: Maurice Strubel.
  • Location: Gällivare (northern Sweden), night train from Stockholm.
  • Guided or self-guided: Guided
  • Accommodation: Mountain station and mountain cabin
  • Landscape: Rolling mountains
  • Challenge level: Medium
  • Included as standard: Accommodation, guiding, food. Ski equipment and other tour equipment are available to borrow free of charge but must be requested.
  • Dates/period: Mar-Apr, 7 days/6 nights
  • Required: Good general health and level of fitness, some previous cross-country skiing and/or downhill skiing experience. No touring experience required.

Ice Skating on Natural Ice (Sweden)

Ice skating on lakes and archipelago waters is a magical feeling, like floating on water. Conditions can often be mirror-like and snow-free. For this experience, you can choose between Novice tours and more Experienced tours. For Novice tours, some previous skating experience (e.g. rink skating or rollerblades) is required.

Ice Skating on Natural Ice.
Ice Skating on Natural Ice. Photo: NG.
  • Location: Stockholm (east Sweden) for transfer to skating location (exact location varies depending on best ice conditions)
  • Accommodation: Hostel accommodation
  • Landscape: Frozen lakes
  • Challenge level: Medium
  • Dates/period: Jan-Mar, 4 days/3 nights
  • Required: General good level of health and fitness, able to swim, enjoy outdoors. Skating experience appropriate to tour chosen.

Snowshoeing in the Hossa National Park (Finland)

Do you enjoy hiking and trekking in the summertime? Then this is the winter experience for you. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person’s feet do not sink completely into the snow. Snowshoeing is a form of winter hiking. You’ll be hiking in Hossa National Park between cabins with luggage transfers. No previous snowshoeing experience is required, but you should enjoy the outdoors and have a reasonable level of fitness.

Snowshoeing in the Hossa National Park.
Snowshoeing in the Hossa National Park. Photo: UT.
  • Location: Kuusamo (northern Finland), domestic flight from Helsinki or night train + bus from Oulu.
  • Accommodation: Traditionally-built log cabin and wilderness cabin
  • Dates/period: Jan-Mar, 7 days/6 nights
  • Required: General good level of fitness, enjoy outdoors.

These are just a few of our holidays which are suitable for solo travellers – any of our other guided tours in summer or winter are also very suitable!

We look forward to welcoming you on a winter adventure in the Nordic countries!

Additional articles published before 2018 can be found at our previous blog location at naturetravels.wordpress.com