What do Santa’s village, an ice hotel, and the Northern Lights have in common? They are Arctic destinations perfect for a Christmas holiday with your family and friends. Perfect for children (and the young at heart – myself included!), a short escape to the Arctic in the wintertime will get you in the holiday spirit without chilling you to the bone!
This winter, how about taking a short holiday to the Arctic to discover one of the iconic and exciting experiences below.
3 short Arctic holidays you should experience this winter
Everyone in your family will get into the Christmas spirit in these Arctic winter wonderland settings.
1. Visit Santa’s Village in Lapland (Finland)
Meet all nine reindeer, stay in a glass ‘igloo’ and fill your belly with milk and cookies at Santa’s Village in Saariselka, Lapland in Finland. All kinds of fun and festive packages are available for the holiday season each year – so book in advance, as this experience always sells out!
2. Stay a night at Sweden’s iconic Ice Hotel
Everyone in the whole family will be delighted by the chance to sleep in the original and iconic Swedish Ice Hotel. Bundle up in warm downy coats as you enjoy the winter sports on offer, delicious regional cuisine, and majestic ice sculptures that dot the property.
3. Marvel at the Northern Lights in Norway
Norway is one of the best places on earth to marvel at the magical light show known as the Aurora Borealis. Stay in a quaint and colorful Norwegian fishing village by day and then travel out to the tundra to take in an unobstructed view of the dancing lights by night.
Sometimes, 24 hours is all you have to spare for a winter break
While you might want to get into the holiday spirit with a trip to Norway, Iceland, Finland, or Sweden, it’s not always possible to take too much time away from work and commitments. Parents in the UK are penalized for taking their kids out of classes for holidays, so unless you can travel over the half term breaks, you will be in trouble with school administration. Sometimes you simply only have 1 day to make a magical trip to the Arctic happen for your family!
However, if you plan to travel to the Arctic for just 24 – 36 hours and you are taking a commercial airline flight, you are going to be queuing in airports, security, and the ‘cattle call’ of immigration with hundreds (or even thousands) of other passengers. Your precious holiday time will be cut in half – it pays to spend the extra to fly on a private charter to the Arctic.
With a private plane, you’ll never be stranded abroad
One of the problems of traveling on such a tight time schedule is that small problems, including weather, labor strikes, and emergencies, can really put a cramp in your plans. Airports in the Arctic Circle require specially-trained crews, aircraft, and equipment – not just any plane will be able to get you back to the UK.
Flying on a private plane has countless benefits, including increased comfort, stylish design, and exclusivity. However, it can also have some very real positives when it comes to safety, convenience, and getting out of situations that are otherwise affected by delays and emergencies.
In early September 2019, a pilot’s strike in Norway left thousands of passengers stranded across the country. While it was an inconvenience for people in Oslo, Bergen, and other big cities, they could still access roads and trains, and even choose to re-book on a different airline.
However, for one tourism group traveling up to the Arctic Circle, they really had no choice – it seemed that they were stranded until the pilots could sort out their grievances with the airline. Thankfully, an air charter company was able to provide a private chartered Bombardier CRJ-200 with the capacity to land in the extreme Arctic conditions of the Harstad/Narvik airport. The holiday was saved!
24 hours in the Arctic can be a magical experience
Traveling to the Arctic can be a wonderful experience for you and your family, bringing you closer and creating warm and magical memories that you will cherish for a lifetime.
So how about it? Will you be seeing Santa sooner than you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Read more posts about Sweden here: RexyEdventures in Sweden
