Lapland Winter Wonderland by Rail

DAY 1

Travelling by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels, then onwards to Hamburg for our overnight stay at the InterCity Hotel where we check in and enjoy our first evening at leisure.

DAY 2

After breakfast this morning, we begin our journey north travelling through charming scenery into Denmark and onwards to Sweden and the capital city of Stockholm. On arrival, we walk the short distance to the Royal Viking Hotel for our overnight stay where we check in and enjoy an evening at leisure.

DAY 3

Today, we make our way to the city centre to join our guided walking tour of Stockholm exploring all the major attractions, learning the history, and visiting exciting exhibitions including the Vasa Museum. This afternoon, we have time at leisure to explore further, complete any last-minute shopping, and take an early dinner before collecting our luggage from the hotel in time for our overnight train into Swedish Lapland.

DAY 4

This morning, we arrive in Kiruna and transfer to our hotel for the next four nights, the Scandic Hotel, where we check in and enjoy a 2-course lunch together. Afterwards, we embark on a guided tour of Kiruna helping us to get our bearings and learning about this fascinating community where Swedish, Sami, and Finnish cultures meet. We return to the hotel in time for our evening meal together.

DAY 5

After breakfast, we enjoy some free time before journeying out on a thrilling Dogsledding Tour. We escape the lights of the city sitting aboard a large sled pulled by a pack of excited, friendly Alaskan Huskies. The trail winds its way down to the famous Torne River where the night sky stretches out far in front of us and, if the Aurora forecast is on our side, we may be able to see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky! At the halfway point, we stop at a traditional Sami-style Tipi for a warming drink and a sandwich taking the opportunity to warm up by the open fire before retracing our steps to the hotel and enjoying our evening meal together.

DAY 6

Today, we enjoy a visit to Kiruna Mine, the world's largest underground iron-ore mine where we take a guided tour through an authentic mining environment learning about the production of iron through displays, films, and fantastic machines. When we have finished exploring, we return to the hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure before reconvening at the hotel for our evening meal together.

DAY 7

This morning, after breakfast, we transfer to the fantastic Kiruna open-air museum for a unique and unforgettable experience learning of the Sami culture and their traditional way of life, enjoying lunch around a crackling fireplace, and meeting Lapland's most iconic creature - the reindeer. We continue our day with a visit to the amazing ICEHOTEL, the first and largest hotel to be built from snow and ice in the world, and we explore the beautiful hand-carved art before returning to the hotel for our evening meal together.

DAY 8

Today, we have time at leisure to revisit our favourite places in Kiruna, relax in the hotel taking advantage of their leisure facilities, and have an early dinner before boarding our overnight train to Stockholm.

DAY 9

Arriving in Stockholm this morning, we have time to stretch our legs before continuing onwards to Denmark and the capital city of Copenhagen. On arrival, we make our way to the Hotel Astoria for our overnight stay where we check in and enjoy our evening meal together in a local restaurant.

DAY 10

After a leisurely breakfast this morning, we transfer to the station for our train to Hamburg where we retrace our steps to the InterCity Hotel for our overnight stay and, after checking in, we enjoy our final evening at leisure.

DAY 11

We bid farewell to Hamburg, returning by rail to Brussels, where we will join the Eurostar service to London St Pancras.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner