17 Dec 2009
A beautiful layer of white snow now covers almost the whole of Sweden, stretching from Kalmar in the south, past Stockholm, covering our log cabins in Orsa and Fulufjällsbyn, our winter hotels (Fryksås Hotel) and all the way north to Lapland. Don't delay in booking your last minute winter holiday to Sweden and Lapland. Book now!

14 Dec 2009
Apologies for the lack of recent updates. We have been extremely busy with winter & Lapland bookings for this season and even some summer bookings, especially along the West Coast of Sweden.

Between 8th and 12th of December we have been in Lapland, making sure your holiday in Lapland lives up to and exceeds your expectations. We travelled to Swedish Lapland on the overnight train from Stockholm. A simple, comfortable and environmentally friendly way to cross the Arctic Circle and into Lapland. The train takes approx. 16 hours and is an increasing popular way to travel. We arrived at Kiruna Train Station at 9,45 on the morning of December 9th where our hire car was waiting for us. Our tour of Lapland was intense as we wanted to experience as much as possible to enable us to answer as many of your questions as possible. We started at one of Lapland's leading hotels, Hotel Arctic Eden, located in Kiruna Centre in a renovated old school, designed with a heavy Sami influence. The rooms here are spacious and there is a new indoor swimming pool & sauna in the relaxation area. Inga, Erik and Paul will make you feel extremely welcome. The Thai restaurant next door is a great place to eat lunch! Here is a full list of winter activities available at Hotel Arctic Eden.

That afternoon we wrapped up warm and took to the snowmobiles, travelling across frozen lakes and rivers, through ancient forests and gasped in amazement at the awesome scenery surrounding the Torne River Valley. We visited many of the wilderness log cabins you will stay in on your overnight husky and snowmobile tours. The husky holidays are very much back to basics, offering a wilderness experience in natural surroundings. The husky's themselves offer a hands on tour where you drive your own team of 3 or 4 huskies. You may prefer to travel 2 per sled and take it turns to drive! The wilderness log cabin used primarily for the overnight husky tours is basic yet comfortable. There is no running water or electricity and water is sourced from the nearby lake. The cabin is heated by a log burning stove and there is a wood fired sauna to relax in prior to or after supper. If you are looking for a genuine wilderness holiday then the overnight husky excursion is for you!

We stayed at the Wilderness Camp (also home to the Wilderness Suites) used mainly for the overnight snowmobile holidays. Supper was served around an open fire in a traditional sami tent as we sat on insulating reindeer skins. You won't be surprised to hear that reindeer meat was on the menu! We stayed in the Wilderness Suites, private rooms with private sauna and shower. Sit back, relax and enjoy the Lapland scenery sitting on the sofa with crackle and spark of an open fire. We tested the wood fired sauna, with space for 6 people. The sauna looks across the night sky and over the Torne River. If the Northern Lights dance for you could see them whilst sitting in a hot sauna! We also did a very Swedish thing of having a sauna, rolling in the snow and very quickly jumping back in the sauna to warm up. The Swedes describe it as a full body massage - I'm not so sure! This wilderness location means that these wilderness log cabins offer great chances to see the Northern Lights. During our stay the skies were a touch cloudy and unfortunately there were no bright colourful ribbons of light in the night sky for us.

Our guide, Gunnar, met us after a traditional Swedish breakfast of bread, cheese, ham and yoghurt. At this time of year the days are short and the sun skims below the horizon casting a blue light across the morning sky.

We headed to Aurora Retreat Guest House for lunch in the village of Junosuando 90mins from Kiruna. Aurora Retreat is exactly what it say's it is - a retreat tucked away in a quiet corner of Swedish Lapland way off the tourist trail, with great chances of catching the Northern Lights. Mobile phones and laptops are against the ethos of Aurora Retreat! Maya and Mikael have worked hard to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere in what is the old vicarage and bakery in the village of Junosuando. Lunch (a fantastic pumpkin soup with spinach samosas) was served in the dinning room, where you will find a constant supply of tea, coffee and fruit. After lunch we met Stefan, a warm and welcoming native Sami and local reindeer herder. Reindeer herding has been in his family for generations and during the Sami experience you will have a chance to lasso and feed the reindeer. The reindeer are key to the culture and lifestyle of the Sami. Stefan is also likely to be your snowmobile guide during your snowmobile tours and to your guide to the overnight northern lights wilderness log cabin. The Wilderness Log Cabin is cosy and built in a traditional style on the shores of a small lake. A wood fire sauna sits at the edge of the lake just a few meters from main log cabin. With no electricity or running water this really is a fabulous wilderness retreat. With no light pollution there are great chances of seeing evening weak Northern Lights. Your guide will prepare your evening meal before leaving your to appreciate the true size of nature, natures silence and each others company. We also visited the husky kennels from where the husky's excursions depart. The 80 huskies all eager to pull your sled it can get quite loud! Once you step on to the husky sled and head out into the wilderness the huskies turn their attention to pulling and the barking ceases. All you can hear is the gentle crunching of snow under the sled runners as you glide effortlessly through Lapland.

After a comfortable evening relaxing in the lounge in front of the open fire and a good nights rest we headed to Ripan for a very nice lunch, a hotel located in Kiruna, close to the centre, but more importantly on the edge of the snow white wilderness. The rooms are located in individual log cabins and if you are looking for a room with a small hob and microwave make sure we book you into a family cabin. New for 2009/10 is the Jacuzzi and for 2010/11 there are plans for a 'winter park'! This hotel is perfect for those looking for a full range of activities, staying in a hotel, with a log cabin environment.

During our trip of course we visited ICE HOTEL! No holiday to Lapland is complete without a visit to this annual masterpiece in ICE. Wonders will never cease as the magical hotel takes shape on the banks of the Torne River every year. Although delayed slightly by the warm weather in November, ICEHOTEL was once again looking in great shape. We started with a tour of the magnificent ARTsuites. A 'SPOONING' room of ICE and a some 'REST IN THE NEST' were the highlights of the completed ARTsuites. We were able to have a short chat with the artist of the Deluxe Suite who was hoping to complete his incredible work by Monday 14 Dec. All overnight guests receive a guided tour of ICE HOTEL. After a couple of drinks in the new lounge bar we walked across the road to ICEHOTEL restaurant. Wonderful service, attentive waiters and waitresses and mouth watering food, some of which was served on a plate of ICE. We were even lucky enough to have an ICEsculpture, made of ICE and SNICE (Snow and ICE mixed together) grace our table for a short period towards the end of our meal. After ICE HOTEL restaurant we noticed the skies were perfectly clear and keeping our fingers crossed (or holding our thumbs as the Swedish say) we headed for the darkness of the frozen Torne River. Staring at the night sky made us appreciate just how much of the natural environment we miss out on in large towns and cities. The sky was scattered with stars complete invisible from the UK. The Great Bear was as close as I have ever seen it and quite low in the night sky. Orion was perfectly clear towards the South. Shooting stars darted across the blackness at regular intervals and once again the northern lights were not visible. We did find out that they were visible just 2km away. After a comfortable nights sleep in a Nordic Chalet we took our time over a large breakfast buffet before heading to the airport for our SAS flight back to Stockholm.

Yet again another memorable journey to Lapland. We took a deeper and more intense look at the hotels and activities you will enjoy on your holiday and have come away with a much wider knowledge of the surroundings, intricate details and personalities of the people who who take great care of you. If you have already booked your holiday to Lapland we wish you a great holiday and if you have not yet booked your holiday to Lapland and ICEHOTEL - what are you waiting for?

21 Oct 2009
As Winter draws closer and snow begins to fall over Northern Sweden, temperatures are already below zero and preparations are being made for ICE HOTEL 2010, Simply Sweden continues to lead the way as one of Swedish Laplands travel experts. We have recently added an overnight snowmobile tour in the shadow of Sweden's tallest mountain, Kebnekaise. Standing at over 2100m above sea level, Kebnekaise is deep in Swedish Lapland close to the Norwegian border. The transfer from your hotel in Kiruna, or ICEHOTEL, is a little longer (1hr30) than usual, but we think the extra effort is worth it. Not only does this overnight snowmobile tour offer superb mountain views, there is also the chance of catching the Northern Lights dance across the night sky and shed some magical colours on the snow covered mountain sides. Find out more about this new overnight snowmobile tour here.

21 Oct 2009
As Winter draws closer and snow begins to fall over Northern Sweden, temperatures are already below zero and preparations are being made for ICE HOTEL 2010, Simply Sweden continues to lead the way as one of Swedish Laplands travel experts. We have recently added an overnight snowmobile tour in the shadow of Sweden's tallest mountain, Kebnekaise. Standing at over 2100m above sea level, Kebnekaise is deep in Swedish Lapland close to the Norwegian border. The transfer from your hotel in Kiruna, or ICEHOTEL, is a little longer (1hr30) than usual, but we think the extra effort is worth it. Not only does this overnight snowmobile tour offer suberb mountain views, there is also the chance of catching the Northern Lights dance across the night sky and shed some magical colours on the snow covered mountain sides. Find out more about this new ovenight snowmobile tour here.

21 Aug 2009

Simply Sweden announces yet another new tour for this winter - Hot Tubs & Northern Lights in Lapland. This holiday offers a huge amount of flexibility to your holiday in Lapland. You choose which hotel you stay in. Choose from Ripan, ICE HOTEL or Arctic Eden Hotel and the length of your stay. You may choose to stay in Stockholm on your way to or from Lapland. The hot tub has been built this summer so we don't have any glorious winter pictures yet! Located at a wilderness camp on the banks of the Torne River there are 2 wilderness suites, 1 riverside suite and the main building accommodating a maximum of approx 10 people. The riverside suite, as the name suggests, is located by the river, it is slightly smaller than the wilderness suites (below). It has electricity but no running water. Don't be put off - there is plenty of water around! You also have a private toilet and sauna. The 2 wilderness suites have a double bed, a sofa bed and a small dining area. They also have a private shower, toilet and sauna. Your meals will be prepared in the main building, however you decide whether to eat in the main building or privately in your cabin. The main building consists of 1 double room, 1 twin room and 1 room with bunk beds. The dining area is heated by a wood burning stove and there is running water and electricity. The hot tub has space for approx. 7 people and looks out across the Torne River. It will be kept warm for up to 3 hours. As you relax in the hot tub look to the night skies for an impressive array of stars or the magical Northern Lights. You will find little or no light pollution here to distort your view!

Some Hot Tub myths! Hot tubs are not as common as many may think and it is extremely rare to find them at a private log cabin as they are relatively expensive to install and maintain. They are large pools with space for 7 or more people, commonly heated by a wood fire. The locations where Simply Sweden can arrange hot tubs are at the impressive Fryksås Hotel, 4hrs north of Stockholm, in Lapland on many of our overnight wilderness tours and at ICEHOTEL (groups only). For more advice and information about our holidays that include hot tubs do not hesitate to contact one of our consultants on 0845 8900 300

5 Aug 2009
Simply Sweden begins a new ICE HOTEL winter tour for those travelling on a budget. ICEHOTEL is an extremely popular winter destination. At Simply Sweden we appreciate that some people are looking to stay at ICE HOTEL on a restricted budget. From Dec 10th 2009 you will be able to spend 1 night in comfortable cold accommodation at ICEHOTEL. This room is called a SNOWroom and is a room of ICE and snow. The bed has a thick comfortable mattress lined with a reindeer skin and you will be perfectly warm in your special ICE HOTEL sleeping bag. To keep the cost of this holiday to a minimum we are using an alternative hotel for warm accommodation. Hotel Ripan is just 30mins from ICEHOTEL and has spacious modern hotel standard log cabins. At ICE HOTEL and Ripan you will be accommodated on a bed and breakfast basis. Both have excellent restaurants and there are a full range of winter activities including huskies, snowmobiles and sami / reindeer experiences at both location. We do recommend you book your activities before you travel!

Looking for cheap holidays to ICE HOTEL - look no further!

23 July 2009
Simply Sweden confirms that the current special offer will not be extended beyond the 31st July 2009. From the beginning of August we will begin to look forward to a spectacular winter season with a range of new holidays, including our recent program of Northern Lights Holidays across the North of Sweden and Lapland.

14 July 2009
Simply Sweden designs a new holiday featuring honeymoons in Stockholm, Lapland and ICEHOTEL. The all new 5 night romantic break features the Nordic Light Hotel, ICE HOTEL and an overnight snowmobile tour staying under the stars in a romantic wilderness log cabin. The Nordic Light Hotel is a member of design hotels and is perfectly located in the heart of Stockholm, close to Gamla Stan (Old Town) and all of Stockholm's major attractions. Stockholm is commonly called the Venice of the North, and it is easy to see why. This city of water has 14 islands in the city centre alone and some 20,000 islands in greater Stockholm. The excellent Stockholm Card is included so you do not have to worry about public transport or entrance to the major attractions - they are all included!

Upon arrival at Kiruna Airport your husky guide will introduce you to your eager team of huskies who will provide your transport to ICEHOTEL. Sit back and relax as you cuddle up on the husky sled. Enjoy the pristine white wilderness as you glide effortlessly across the River Torne, through the forests of Lapland and onto ICE HOTEL. There really is no better way to arrive. At ICEHOTEL you will stay in an ARTsuite; stunning rooms of ICE elaborately decorated with amazing works of art and enjoy a 7 course evening meal served on plates of ICE.

During the afternoon you will depart on your overnight snowmobile excursion. You can choose to share a snowmobile or drive your own. You will need to be in possession of a driving licence. You will be guided through the wilderness across fields of snow and over frozen lakes. When you reach your log cabin you will have the opportunity to have a sauna, your guide will prepare your evening meal and then leave you to enjoy your night alone. Appreciate the silence, the vast expanse of nature and if you look to the skies the mesmerising northern lights may provide you with a romantic display of beautiful colours. Your guide will return the following morning to guide you back to ICE HOTEL!

During your honeymoon you will tick all the Lapland boxes! Huskies, cultural experiences, snowmobiles, northern lights, ICE HOTEL and traditional wilderness log cabins. This really is a complete holiday! Speak to one of specialist advisors on 0845 8900 300 as we tailor make all our holidays.

3 June 2009
Simply Sweden announces a new program of Northern Lights Holidays to Lapland in Northern Sweden. The holidays concentrate on seeing the northern lights in the stunning beauty of the winter white wilderness. Light pollution, such as street lighting, and even the light created by a full moon dilute the effect of the mesmerizing Northern Lights. If you are travelling to Lapland with the specific hope of catching the Northern Lights dance across the night sky we recommend travelling either side of a new moon. The New Moon dates for 2009 & 2010 are 16Nov, 16Dec, 15Jan, 14Feb & 15Mar.

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, occur in many forms. Curtains of colour, ribbons of green, a scattering of pink arcs of violet and rays of yellow light up the night sky as electrically charged particles from the sun collide with the earths atmosphere creating a dazzling show of light, which can last from just a few seconds to many minutes. The most common colours, green and yellow, are produced by low altitude oxygen in the atmosphere. The rare red and blue / purple aurora are caused by high altitude oxygen and nitrogen respectively.

Our recommended northern lights holidays include Lapland, Husky & Snowmobile tours and Aurora Retreat.

21 Apr 2009
Aurora Retreat Guest House in Lapland announces a new snowmobile activity for the 2009/10 winter holiday programme. This exciting 2hr excursion complements a full program of small scale traditional winter activities already available which include husky sleds, sami experiences and wilderness log cabins. Simply Sweden will tailor make your holiday at Aurora Retreat and we can include Stockholm, ICE HOTEL and other adventures.

Book your holiday to Lapland here.

8 April 2009
Norwegian Airlines reports that the Swedish arm on its business is performing well, with an increase in passenger numbers of 34% compared to last year. Simply Sweden teamed up with Norwegian several monrths ago as they are expanding the amount of domestic flights within Sweden increasing the travel opportunites within Sweden for our guests. They are seriously considering direct flights from London Gatwick to Sweden and we would be interested to hear your view. Norwegian are considering direct schedule flights from Gatwick to Swedish Lapland and the northern city of Luleå and they have our full support. This would dramatically cut the flying time from London to Lapland, which is currently an indirect flight through Stockholm Arlanda. A full range of our winter holidays would be available if this flight did take off. We will of course keep you posted but please leave your comments regarding this here.

19 February 2009
The indigenous people of Sweden are called Sami. They are the only indigenous people of Europe and have a population of just 75,000 covering northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia. Just 20,000 live in Sweden of which 2,000 are traditional reindeer herders. There is evidence suggesting Sami settlements were around as long as 9,600 years ago and the Sami were traditionally hunters and fishermen. Large scale reindeer herding began in the 16th and 17th centuries with Sami following their herds into the mountains during the summer and returning to the shelter of forests for the cold winters. Many cultural traditions remain today. Many herders still follow their reindeer to the mountains each summer, living in basic log cabins on the mountain side. Modernisation has also been integrated into this very traditional way of life with herders using helicopters, snowmobiles & four wheel drives to gather their reindeer for the winter migration. The other Sami traditions are arts & craft plus traditional folk singing or locally called 'yoik'. There are 2 main Sami locations in Sweden. The first is in Jokkmokk where there is a Sami museum and Sami college. Jokkmokk also hosts an annual winter market every February with a large presence of Sami culture. This market has a growing international reputation and if you wish to book for 2010 we suggest you get in touch to book now! The other centre is Kiruna, the capital of Swedish Lapland. Here is the Swedish Sami Parliament.

Simply Sweden recommends you get in touch for a tailor made holiday to Sweden if you wish to visit the Winter Market in Jokkmokk next February. We are also hoping to launch a holiday which includes spending time with the Sami high in the Swedish mountains as they follow their reindeer through the Swedish wilderness. If this is of interest please let us know so we have an idea of the level of interest & can let you know when we launch this reindeer spectacle. To experience the Sami culture during summer we recommend out Soul Of Lapland Tour on the Inland Railway, or enjoy a winter break in Lapland with a Sami excursion.

10 December 2008

On day 2 we travelled to Aurora Retreat. A beautiful old guest house in the small village of Junosuando. During our journey we saw the temperature drop to an incredible -30C and we extremely pleased to have the car already warmed by the magic heater! We were lucky enough to see several groups of shy elk at the roadside, an amazing sight. We just weren't quite quick enough with the cameras. Aurora Retreat is a great place to escape from the large cities of the UK. Maya and Mikael, the owners of this family run guest house, were extremely welcoming. Aurora Retreat is off the beaten tourist track and we explored the quiet village with the help of a kick sled. We stayed for lunch. I am not a vegetarian and I was a little apprehensive about the food and whether it would be filling enough. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent and I certainly did not leave with an empty stomach. I felt re-energised, ready to explore the wonderful white wilderness. Unfortunately our time at Aurora Retreat was at an end and we had to move on to Gällivare.

We returned to ICEHOTEL for a relaxing evening. Early the following morning we headed to Ripan. They had spent last year refurbishing the bar and restaurant area and we were keen to see the results. The family cabins are not quite as spacious as the Nordic Chalet at ICE HOTEL, but they have a better equipped kitchen area. The standard double cabins are spacious and comfortable. These are the cabins Simply Sweden recommends to guests at Ripan. There is a sports shop where you can rent warm outer clothing, skis and snowshoes so you can make the most of these stunning surroundings. The bar and restaurant is typically Scandinavian with a touch of Sami culture to be found. Wood obviously features heavily in the design and the reports from our guests are that the restaurant is outstanding. Just a few minutes walk from Kiruna centre, Ripan offers the perfect balance between the wilderness of Lapland and proximity of a town.

We then headed for our day with huskies and snowmobiles with our partners in Lapland. We took control of our own team of four legged friends and after learning where to stand and how to control the sled our guide led the way. Temperatures were around -20C and by the time we reached the wilderness camp we were ready to warm up by the camp fire. Our guide was wise and knowledgeable. He had been working with huskies for years and used to race them. Taking control of your own husky sled was an awesome experience, a true feeling of heading back to nature. The silence was deafening only interrupted by the sound of snow crunching as the sled glided smoothly across the surface. We spent 2 hrs with the huskies and next year we may try the overnight tour!

During the afternoon we drove our individual snowmobiles along the Torne River Valley, searching for Wilderness Camps. Our providers have some new Wilderness Suites with a little bit of added luxury in a very wild environment. The suites offer private rooms and private saunas right next to the frozen river. The traditional wilderness camps are a little more basic with accommodation for up to 6 people. Some do not have running water or electricity and this all adds to the authenticity of such an adventure. We have found that these overnight tours are extremely popular and we strongly recommend booking early!

That evening we took a tour of ICE HOTEL. Wow! It was still being built but this should not deter anyone from travelling. We were able to gain a unique insight into an impressive building site that does not feature any heavy or loud machinery. The architecture astounds. The ARTsuites impress and the ICEbar is totally cool! There is a bizarre sensation as your ICEglass sticks to and then melts from your lips. Hembygdsgården (The Old Homestead) had a Jul Bord (Christmas Table). This is the traditional Christmas Table in Sweden, dominated by cold meats and fish. Herring (Sill) is arguably the most popular item at the buffet and is traditionally enjoyed with schnapps.

On our last morning we took a tour of the Arctic Eden Hotel - a hotel we hope to work with in the winter of 2009-10. Located in an old school building on the outskirts of Kiruna and influenced by the Sami culture. The Hotel has a swimming pool, massage showers and several spacious relax areas. Before returning to the airport we visited Cafe Safari in Kiruna centre, which has a wide range of sandwiches, snacks, coffees & teas. A place we recommend if you have time to spare in Kiruna town centre.

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