Northern Lights Dogsled Adventure in Lapland (Sweden)

You will arrive in the morning of Day 1 to do an introductory tour that day, usually covering around 15-20km as you get to know your dog team and gain confidence handling the sled. Accommodation this night is in comfortable rooms at the kennels.

On Day 2 and Day 3, you will do longer and more challenging tours, typically around 40-50km per day, as you sled to overnight location by the Rautas River for accommodation in heated tent and/or wilderness cabin. Sauna is available at the camp/cabin on Day 3 for a wonderful relaxing end to a day on the trail! Day 4 brings you back to the kennels with some very scenic sledding of around 15-20km in time for departure in the early afternoon.

During your tour, you'll be sledding in a remote and varied Arctic landscape, at times travelling on twisting trails through the pine forest where you need to pay close attention to navigate the turns and avoid obstacles, at others crossing more open areas of frozen lakes and wetland with the wide horizons of Swedish Lapland spread out before you.

Option to drive tandem sled if preferred

As an alternative to the standard arrangement of adult participants driving own sled, usually with 4-5 huskies per team, this tour also has the flexibility to use tandem sleds, where both persons are standing and assisting in driving and controlling the sled.

This allows guests who drive a sled together if they wish - for greater confidence/control, or just to be sociable!.

Watch the night sky for signs of the Aurora

With no light pollution, the evenings offer very good chances for a spectacular display of the Northern Lights in the night sky - don't fall asleep too early!

Extend your stay for extra activities in the Arctic

Kiruna, the capital of Swedish Lapland, is the travel point for this experience, with transfer time to the kennels just 15 minutes. The Kiruna area offers a number of options for additional activities if you would like to spend more time in the area. Maybe you'll take time to visit or stay at the world-famous Ice Hotel, stay at the Lapland Sámi Retreat at the Reindeer Camp or join a Reindeer Encounter and Sámi Experience?

Getting Involved

As with all our dogsled tours, you will be involved in all aspects of the trip, and this is very much part of the experience. You will assist with caring for your dog team, including harnessing, feeding (and, yes, picking up poo!), as well as tasks around camp such as fetching water, chopping wood, preparing food, washing up, etc.

Included

Accommodation:

• Day 1: Shared 2-person rooms in comfortable, modern cabin at the kennels. There are four rooms in total. Depending on the number of persons and composition of the group, it may be possible for solo travellers to have own room for this night, but this cannot be guaranteed or known in advance. Solo travellers will normally share with another member of the group. Dinner is usually served in the grill hut.
• Days 2 and 3: Overnight in simple wilderness cabin (with bunk beds) and/or winter camping in heated "gamme" tent at same location. Shared sleeping accommodation. No electricity or running water. Dry outside toilet.
• Sauna is available at the kennels on Day 1 and at the wilderness cabin/camp on Day 3.

Meals:

All meals from dinner Day 1 to lunch snack Day 4 (breakfast, lunch, dinner + coffee/snacks, etc). Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements.

Equipment and Clothing:

• All necessary equipment during dog sledding tour including sleds with own dogsled team. Each adult participant drives their own sled as standard, usually with 4-5 dogs per team. On request or where appropriate, a "tandem" sled arrangement can also be used where both participants are standing and assisting in driving and braking the sled, with a larger team of huskies. This is suitable for adults who do not wish to drive own sled or for children sharing sled with adult.
• Warm winter clothing for all activities: insulated parker and snow trousers, winter boots/overshoes, mittens and balaclava. Please bring own winter hat.
• Winter sleeping bag with liner, mattress/reindeer skin for winter camping night(s).

Guide:

• Instruction in harnessing and sled handling.
• Services of local guide(s) during the tour.

Transfers:

• Return transfer between Kiruna airport, train station or accommodation in Kiruna and the kennels in connection with arrival/departure.

Not Included

• Travel: We do not arrange flights or domestic travel, but are happy to advise on suitable connections and assist you with any aspect of planning your journey. See under "Getting There" for general travel information.
• Alcoholic drinks.

Required

Health requirements/experience:

General good health and level of fitness. No previous dog sledding experience required.

Minimum age 16. Guests aged 18+ will drive own sled as standard, but may also choose to use tandem sled (with both persons standing behind the sled and assisting in driving) if appropriate. Guests aged 16+ will usually drive own sled depending on size/weight and trail conditions and at the discretion of the guide.

Dog sledding can be physically demanding and to drive your own sled you must be able to brake the sled when going downhill and also assist the dogs during uphill sections by stepping off and running behind the sled for short distances (note, however, that this tour runs in a landscape of frozen lakes, rivers and forest so will be less demanding than sledding in mountain terrain). Tasks around the cabins/camp (fetching water, etc) can also be physically demanding.

If weight >95kg, please contact us to discuss suitability.

What makes this "Medium"?

This is a multi-day winter experience featuring sledding on all four days, with one night's accommodation with comfortable, modern facilities and two nights in heated tent and/or wilderness cabin. The expedition element of the tour will add to the level of challenge compared to tour itineraries using a fixed base.

The area is remote and offers exciting and adventurous sledding, but with the flexibility to adapt the level of challenge and distance covered depending on conditions and the participants.

NB: Perception of difficulty is very subjective. What is hard to one person may be easy for another and vice versa, depending on factors including level of fitness, age and previous experience. Weather conditions/temperatures can also dramatically affect the actual level of challenge encountered.

Equipment/clothes needed:

For information on any equipment and/or clothing included as standard for this experience, please see under "What's Included".

A detailed recommended packing list for personal items to bring will be sent with your booking documentation.

NB: We advise you not to buy equipment or clothes for your trip or to incur other non-refundable expenses such as flights until you have received confirmation of your booking from us in writing. Note of course that the most appropriate clothing to use as well as the level of challenge experienced during any outdoor activity may vary significantly depending on factors such as the time of year and the particular weather/temperature conditions during your trip.

Preparing for your trip:

For further reading, we also have a number of general information articles to get you ready for your trip, covering a wide variety of topics from what to do on a city break before/after your tour, advice on packing, eyewear for winter and considerations for female travellers.

Minimum number:

A total of minimum two persons is required for scheduled tours to run. You are of course welcome to book as a solo traveller.

Combine This With

This experience makes a good combination with the following:

• Lapland Sámi Retreat at the Reindeer Camp (30 mins by transfer, ideal for extra night(s) locally before and/or after your tour)
• Reindeer Encounter and Sámi Experience in Lapland (afternoon activity for departure day, 30 mins by transfer)

Groups

Maximum group size 8 persons for scheduled tours, with 6 persons per guide. If the group is 8 persons, the group will normally split to sled separately during the day in 2 x 4-person groups with own guide.

This experience is also available as a private experience for groups. For private tours, it may be possible to accommodate groups of more than 8 persons. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Eco Info

This provider has a written environmental policy.

Will I see the Northern Lights?

This experience is located in the far north of Sweden, one of the world's best locations for seeing the Northern Lights, and offers good chances to see a display during your tour. Wonderful displays are regularly seen on the tours. However, it is important to bear in mind that the Aurora is a natural phenomenon and sightings can never be guaranteed in any location - it is not possible to search for a display. The skies may be cloudy, there may be no activity, or you may be fast asleep after a day of adventure on the trail!