Experience Luleå in Swedish Lapland
Luleå is the capital of Swedish Lapland and boasts the city features that make any holiday comfortable and fun. It is also a city in the wilderness and within minutes you are in the dense forest where moose and bear and reindeer roam or out on the frozen sea of an archipelago with over 700 islands.
Luleå is also easily accessible with over 16 daily one hour flights from Stockholm and excellent connections are available via Stockholm from various major airports in the UK. There is also a fantastic train journey from Stockholm to Luleå which travels through the winter landscape on an overnight journey.
The region around Luleå including Boden, Piteå, Älvsbyn and Kalix has some fantastic experiences and we have listed a few of these below. Contact one of our fabulous supporting tour operators in the UK in the menu to the left to discuss or purchase a holiday to Luleå in Swedish Lapland.
Northern Lights
The Midnight Sun conditions of summer are, of course, balanced by a winter phenomenon called Polar Night. The arctic circle is the point where on the shortest day of the year the sun never rises above the horizon. So the long winter nights in Luleå, situated just below the arctic circle, are the best time to experience the Northern Lights, dancing across the velvet black polar skies – considered by many as one of the most beautiful, spectacular and dramatic sights to be seen upon this planet.
Sami Culture
In Lapland there are traces of Sami settlements that date back as far as to the Ice Age, some 9,600 years ago. Originally, the Sami were hunters and fishers, who took up larger scale reindeer herding in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, about ten percent of the Sami population are reindeer herders, moving their herds over huge areas, from the woodlands in winter to the mountain highlands in summer, much like in ancient times, though today they use modern equipment such as snowmobiles, motorcycles and helicopters, rather than skis and dogs.
Dogsledding
Have you ever heard the sound of 60 exhillarated Alaskan Huskys? This is what greets a visitor at Svedjekojan, the Husky-farm located at Tanuträsk some 35 minutes from Luleå. The team of dogs are enthusiastic and ready to go and you will soon be seated on a sled with 2 or 3 other people behind a team of 4 or more huskys. When your sled driver, you and the huskys are ready you will take off at pace along trails through the forest and across frozen lakes on a 2 hour adventure. Going on a dog-sledding tour through the arctic winter is an extraordinary experience in many ways. The strength of the dogs and their capability to pull the sled at high speed in the varied terrain, the crisp climate and stunning surroundings all gives the visitor a thrill never forgotten!
TreeHotel Experience
From IKEA to the ICEHOTEL, Sweden has long led the way in design and innovation and the Swedes of today continue to push the envelope. If you want your stay to be a truly memorable one, then the Treehotel in Swedish Lapland has to be on your must stay list.
Driving on Ice experience
Experience an adrenaline kick like nothing else by driving a car across 25 km of ice tracks. Try ABS manouvering, ESP double lane changing, power turns, slaloms, circular driving, handbrake turns and eco-driving - all supervised by by fully qualified and experienced instructors.
Icebreaker experience
Ever wondered what 332 tones of Arctic vessel crashing through a frozen sea would sound like? Well, now's our chance. Jump aboard the ice-classfied Arctic Explorer and challenge the laws of nature in safe and comfortable conditions as you sail through an endless ice landscape. You can even don a survival suite and take the plunge, swimming in the ice floes or just take a stroll across the solid sea!
Snowmobile experience
A snowmobile safari is a must-do in Swedish Lapland and it offers a wonderful way to experience the vast and unspoilt wilderness. You can reach remote mountaintops and alpine lakes with ease. We have a whole host of options for you from a half day snowmobile safari to the pack ice beyond the archipelago or a 2 hour tour through the forests right up to a 6-day Lapland expedition.
Hovercraft Experience to the Archipelago
On this spectacular tour you will visit the outer edges of the Luleå archipelago travelling 30 centimetres over the ice! The tour begins with a guided minibus tranfer from your hotel which will take you out onto the ice roads. After a briefing and go-through of equipment the journey towards the pack-ice fields outside the archipelago begins. After arrival at the outer edges of the islands you will take a walk around the towering ice on trails checked by the guide. If conditions for pack-ice are not ideal then the islands of Kluntarna and Brändöskär with small idealic fishing-villages will be visited instead.