Nuts and Bolts of vacationing in the Arctic Circle and Camp Ripan

Kiruna is approximately a 14 hour drive from Stockholm (the train is no faster) so a one and a half hour flight is the way to go.  There is one direct flight per day at 1:35pm to and from Stockholm to Kiruna's tiny two-gate airport.

Taxis or hotel shuttles are available from the airport.  We're happy we rented a car for flexibility.  The Icehotel is about a 20 minute drive from Kiruna.  We chose to drive into town each night for dinner because Thai, pizza and burgers are much more popular with the girls than a meal at a nice restaurant.  We've finally gotten smart, saving ourselves a lot of money and aggravation.

Staying at the Icehotel was a special, once in a lifetime experience for Gordon's 50th birthday. The Icehotel is otherworldly and beautiful during the day and totally different at night.  I'm so happy we stayed there because we were able to freely and fully explore it for two days.  Otherwise I would recommend staying somewhere like Camp Ripan and adding a tour of the Icehotel to the activity list.

I totally underestimated the desire to participate in more winter activities once we were actually in Kiruna.  We accomplished what we came to do.. stay at the Icehotel, dog sledding and snowmobiling, but skiing, playing in the snow and several more activities would have been fun.  I was surprised the girls said they would have liked to try ice sculpting.  Plus we needed a day to recover from a slightly sleepless night in the Icehotel, everyone crashed for a two hour nap Monday afternoon.

So I would recommend four nights and book activities early (not my strength)!  I think every hotel offers activities (either in-house or through an outfitter like www.kirunaguidetur.com).

Another tip I forgot to share was that I kept my iPhone in my bra or pants pocket.  It would shut down completely after a few minutes due to the cold.  So if you want to continue taking photos... have to keep it warm!

One revelation I had with this trip is that Gabby is an adventure traveler.  She is miserable exploring all the highlights of old European cities but was interested in seeing pictures of the Icehotel and Kiruna before we arrived and happy to go dog sledding, snowmobiling and play in the snow. 

Unfortunately, no matter how hard I look, I cannot find an activity listed for the stomach bug... which unfortunately, Sofia came down with Monday night (another sleepless night) and has since passed on to Gabby.  The rest of us are holding our breath. 

pre-nap giggles

We spent two nights at the Icehotel (one night in a warm room, one night in a cold room) and a third night at Camp Ripan.  Camp Ripan is on the edge of Kiruna, an easy walk into town.  They offer all the winter activities (dog or reindeer sled, snow shoe, skiing, snowmobile, moose safari, ice sculpting), a spa, restaurant and bar.  Their cabins are beautiful, little efficiencies with a kitchenette. 

Camp Ripan - main lodge

lobby

lobby

our cabin