See the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland

This mountain-top observation station lays on an enticing evening for Northern Lights watching. After a 20-minute chairlift up from Abisko village, you’re treated to a four-course dinner inspired by Lapland and Nordic cuisine, and a guided tour. 900m up, in the heart of the Aurora Oval, sightings are excellent.

Snowmobiling is the ultimate high-octane way to get out and experience the great outdoors. Speeding at up to 100km/h, they allow you to cover vast distances, even on the short tours.

Lapland, being a vast, unspoilt wilderness with spectacular scenery and miles and miles of empty trails º is perfect for it. No wonder, then, it’s recognised one of the best places in the world to snowmobile.

Tour options will range from ‘try it out’ experiences lasting several hours, to authentic adventures lasting several days or even a week that often also include experience of the traditional Sami way of life. Some tours are aimed specifically at seeing the Northern Lights

There are countless variations of times, locations and add-on experiences, but see our recommendations below of specific snowmobiling-inspired experiences and organised tours (provided by our partner Viator).

The iconic igloo has been used by generations of Inuit for shelter (the word igloo comes from the Greenlandic word Illu, meaning ‘house’). Air pockets in the ice insulate the inside, which can reach temperatures of 16°C, while outside, temperatures plummet to an icy -40°C. Unlike the Intuit, you’ll be supplied with cold-reflecting thermal mats, insulating sleeping mats, thick reindeer furs and expedition-grade thermal sleeping bags.

The brilliant Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort offers you the chance to sleep in a real one. They promise the cosiest of igloo stays, providing thermal sleeping blankets and thick furs.

NB If you don’t fancy the real thing, opt for one of their luxury glass-domed ‘igloos’ instead.

Built each winter, this icy architectural showcase has become one of Lapland’s – and indeed Finland’s – biggest draws. Designed by a different architect each year, it always includes the castle, a restaurant, wedding chapel and the infamous ‘SnowHotel’. Bedecked with dramatic ice sculpting enhanced by colourful lighting, it’s a unique visual spectacle that will captivate adults and children alike.

The castle contains bedrooms for guests to stay over in; beds made from of ice and room temperatures a chilly 0°C to -5°C. Thick furs and sleeping bags are provided, but one night is usually enough.

There’s also a restaurant (open to anyone) that serves up Finnish cuisine on tables made of ice; choose between a 3-course menu or a simpler menu of soups and pastries. Drinks include fresh juice from pressed local berries, mulled wine or hot chocolate if you need some warming up, and a fully licensed bar. It’s open for lunch and dinner.

If staying in a treehouse AND seeing the Aurora are both on your travel bucket list, the Tree Hotel is the place for you. Even if they’re not, go anyway. This extraordinary concept offers 7 unique treehouses – including a UFO and a bird’s nest. See the Aurora from your room, the jacuzzi or on special Northern Lights tours.

Wilderness really doesn’t get wilder, remoter or more pristine than this daring resort in Swedish Lapland. Or gloriously glamorous. The ingenious design of its striking spa complex, clad in tree branches, means in summer, it floats on the Lule River, while in winter it is held captive, frozen in the mesmerising stillness of the ice.

Authenticity is central to the resort’s ethos, so the indigenous Sámi culture is celebrated through unforgettable food (more reindeer anyone?) and cherry-cheeked activities such as dog-sledding, ice-fishing and moose whispering in ghostly birch forests.

The wellness taps into the Swedish concept of lagom, a life lived in balance and moderation. Mindfulness means listening intently to a reindeer herder sing Sami songs in a tent, or treatments that feature traditional herbs with aromatic scents.

The absence of light pollution ensures the aurora borealis viewing, from August to March, is nothing short of fantastic.

This simple but comfortable Lapland hotel has 64 rooms and 28 log cabins, suitable for all ages and budgets. But what sets it apart from other accommodation in Lapland is what’s outside your bedroom door.

With over four hundred huskies – Harriniva is the biggest husky centre in Finland and the place to come for a husky safari. Tour options range from several hours to several days. Multi-day tours, staying in one of their traditional lakeside wilderness cabins, gives you the opportunity to harness, rig, feed and prep the pack for the following day’s mush, followed by dinner and a sauna. Open to ages 4 and up.

They also offer snowmobile safaris, which along with the dog sledding tours, take you speeding out onto the tundral plains and through the dense boreal forests that make up Lapland’s most spectacular wilderness. Other enticing icy activities on offer include reindeer safaris, ice fishing, snowshoe hiking, and northern lights workshops – pretty much all your winter bucket list activities are covered.

Husky and snowmobile tours are available only from November until April, subject to weather and snow conditions, though you can visit the husky farm at any time. The Northern Lights appear from the end of August to the end of April – this is also, at time of writing, when the hotel is open for guests.

This extraordinary hotel, beautifully set on the edge of one of Finland’s greatest national parks, offers a wealth of outdoor adventures for adults and kids including snowmobiling, husky tours, ice fishing, hiking, mountain biking, reindeer safaris and even gold panning. You never really need go anywhere else for your Lapland experience.

But what it’s really known for is its igloo-esque rooms; constructed of thermal glass that functions like a two-way mirror – you can see out but no-one can see in – they allow you to lay in bed and stare at the starred universe. If you’re lucky, you may even see the famed Northern Lights – from the comfort of your thermal-blanketed bed.