A bucket list adventure filled with snow, fires, roasted marshmallows, solar light shows, and more stars than I’ve ever seen.

The Basics

Who & Why: I’ve always wanted to experience the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle, including all the coziness that comes with it – a glass-domed cabin, warm fires, sled dog rides, and plenty of cardamom buns.  For our kids’ half term in February, we thought it was the perfect timing to head north to catch the lights and give our kids some snowy fun that they’ve dearly missed since moving to the UK from the midwestern US.

What: six days in Lapland, Helsinki, and a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia

When:  mid-February, when prime viewing for the northern lights is still possible (generally best spotted between November and April)

Where:  We flew into and out of Helsinki, and then flew north to Levi (nearest airport is Kittila) for three nights.  We also took the ferry across to Tallinn (about two hours each way) from Helsinki.

Learnings

What I Loved

• Our Aurora Cabin:  We loved our Aurora Suite at Northern Lights Village Levi.  This was one of the best parts of the trip for me.  I love to be cozy, so snuggling up in our bed with a glass dome above us watching auroras dancing across the sky was something I will never forget.  The cabin had its own sauna, heated floors, heated windows to melt the snow so we could see the stars and auroras, and an amazing fireplace.
• Sea + Sauna Experience: though it was REALLY cold, trying the Finnish health regimen of a sauna followed by a dip in the sea was exhilarating!  I was proud of myself for giving it a try, and I even considered a second round (until our kids declared that they were absolutely not going again).  I think I could get used to it, and trying out something new and a bit scary that was commonplace in another culture was a good experience.  We went to the Allas Sea Pool, a public sauna and pool right in the middle of the Helsinki harbour.
• Food Tour: We all enjoyed our food tour with Heather’s Helsinki.  The variety of food was great, and we learned a ton about food, traditions, and culture as well!  While our favorite was the salmon soup, we loved the Karelian rice cakes, licorice, and pastries, too!  Another hit?  Sea Buckthorn – for those who like tart, citrusy tastes.
• Day trip to Estonia: visiting Tallinn was a very unique experience for our family.  It has so much history, and its medieval buildings were impressive, as well as their gorgeous Russian Orthodox church and hilltop views.  The old city melds with the new, and there were so many incredible artisan-made goods and crafts.  The city does retain a lot of Russian influence, and we visited the KGB Prison cells while we were there, which was important and sobering.
• Our Sled Dog Ride: I think my favorite activity was driving a sled dog team across the tundra for 10k – it was a sunny, crisp morning with perfectly blue skies, so everything around us sparkled like a winter wonderland.  My daughter got to ride in our sled in a thick reindeer fur blanket, and our dogs were super excited to go!  Watching them run, bark, and do what they love to do while coasting across the wintry landscape was so special, and being able to do the driving myself was especially memorable.
• Length of Trip: the length of this trip was perfect – six days.  Granted we were traveling from the UK, so flight times were shorter, we felt like having 3-4 days in Lapland, combined with 2-3 in Helsinki and surrounding areas was just enough to get a feel for the culture before heading back to work and school.

What I’d Change

• One more night in Lapland: many resorts in Lapland and other “aurora” destinations offer packages that range from 2-7 nights.  We opted for a three night package, but I think I would have liked one more night.  That would have allowed us a bit more downtime to just relax in our cabin vs. doing 2-3 snow activities each day.  We also then could have made time to visit the village of Levi vs. just staying on the resort grounds.
• One less late-night aurora hunting experience: in order to see auroras, you have to be out late at night.  Sounds obvious, but then you end up being out from 8pm until nearly midnight each night. When you then book activities starting between 8-9am, it makes for gradually more irritable family members.  Our kids opted to stay at the cabin for the last night and sleep, and I think that would have been smart for all of us.  Adding to this was the fact that we actually saw the best auroras when we were at the resort, sometimes as early as 7pm, and you realize that there are no guarantees and you still need to think about your overall wellbeing.
• Book a private sauna & pool ahead of time: while the Allas Sea Pool was fine, it was crowded!  The saunas are small and sometimes you had to wait to get in – meaning you were standing in the waiting rooms for a while until people swapped out to go in the sea pool.  I would have instead booked a private sauna at another location to better time things and make the experience a bit less chaotic.  

Tips for Travelers

Thinking of an artic or scandi adventure?  Keep these tips in mind:

• Flights and Timing: you’ll have an extra flight after landing in Helsinki (and likely for other destinations in Norway or Sweden) in order to get close enough to see auroras.  Be sure to plan your flight times and transfers with the property well in advance.  Also, be sure to consider the timing of your trip to make sure you have the highest likelihood of seeing auroras.  Our guides said that while they can be visible as early as September, December and January are the best.
• Set Expectations: our first night in Lapland was when we saw the best auroras, and our guides mentioned that the two nights prior to our arrival were even better.  By our third night, we barely saw any.  So, it is possible that you won’t see any when you’re there, based on wind, clouds, and solar eruptions.  Prepare in advance to make sure you have other goals and ideas that will make your trip a success.
• Bring your nicest camera: We have a very nice DSLR camera, but forgot it (d’oh!), and used our iPhones instead. They still worked quite well, but cameras that allow you to customise ISO and shutter speed will be even better.
• Helsinki airport: I didn’t realize how far away the Helsinki airport is from the city center.  It’s a good 40-45 minutes away, and it doesn’t seem to matter which mode of transportation you use.  With flying out of the airport multiple times throughout our trip, this got old pretty quickly.  Consider this when thinking about flight arrival and departure times.
• Clothing Choices: Think WARM!  While we were in Lapland, our resort provided us with plenty of warm clothes, but we had to bring layers from underneath.  Make sure you think about warm footwear for when you’re exploring in the cities, as well as gloves, hats, scarves, and a balaclava, too!  We brought fleece-lined leggings and our warmest socks, and we were very glad we did.

Final Words

Seeing the Northern Lights was an experience of a lifetime, and I am so thankful we got to see them.  But even if we hadn’t, I know I would have still treasured all the winter fun with my family – snowball fights, sledding, a ride in a sleigh with my son while being pulled by a reindeer, and plenty of hot blueberry juice around a cozy fire in a traditional hut.  This trip also allowed me to do some hard, scary, new things I hadn’t done, and thought I couldn’t/wouldn’t do – like driving a snowmobile, plunging into literally freezing water, and driving a sled dog team!  As someone who isn’t really a big winter fan, I found that leaning in to it and making it an experience was much more fun than I realized.