Experience chills and thrills in Norway's Arctic Circle with a stay in a snow hotel and husky sledding
It's not every hotel that tells you what to wear in bed. Then again, not every hotel looks like an igloo and boasts sub-zero temperatures.
Welcome to the Kirkenes SnowHotel in the Arctic Circle in northern Norway which is created entirely out of snow and ice, tightly packed up to 6ft thick deep to ensure it remains at -4C.
Staying there is an experience like no other – and, believe me, the advice our hotel guide Chanet gave us on how to prepare for our chilly night was gratefully received.
In a hilarious display, Chanet stripped down to her full-length patterned thermals then added a black balaclava and wool socks. Next she showed us how we’d have to roll up our clothes with any valuables such as phones and cameras and then push them into the bottom of our bulky Arctic-proof sleeping bags.
Max and Harvey all snuggled up in their SnowHotel room
Then she jumped into a thick cotton liner before lying down and wriggling into the bag herself to do her ‘exercise’ – a series of sit-ups to warm the air inside. Slightly daunted, we grabbed some hot water bottles and headed to our rooms.
The SnowHotel is tunnel-shaped with pods on each side that make up the 20-plus rooms and a trendy Ice Bar at one end. There’s no furniture – or doors even – apart from a bed frame made from huge ice blocks and an insulated mattress.
Toilets, showers and a restaurant are found in a conventional main building next door. Every year it takes a month to build before it opens in mid-December and runs until mid-April, when it’s knocked down.
My husband Tim and I were sharing a four-bed room with our two youngest children Rosie, ten, and Freddie, seven, while our older boys Harvey, 15, and Max, 13, slept next door. I noted with irony that it was probably colder inside than out – temperatures can plunge down to -30C, although it was much milder for us – but the chill still stung my face. Suddenly I had a great deal of sympathy for Eskimos.
But, as Chanet promised, I was soon cosy and sound asleep and woke up next morning feeling strangely refreshed.
Our Norwegian adventure had kicked off the previous day with a king crab fishing expedition. The huge crabs – part of the lobster family – are caught in nets through holes in the frozen fjords.
We’d arrived at the trap in a wooden sleigh, grandly pulled by our guide Louis’s snowmobile, and as we heaved up the heavy net the kids cheered at our haul – around a dozen king crabs up to 20in wide. And we didn’t have to wait long to tuck in.
It was simply delicious. Even the kids – one of whom wouldn’t even touch a prawn beforehand – wolfed it down.
Kirkenes is in Finnmark, the most northerly county in Europe, and home to hundreds of lakes, fjords and dense forest. Visit between October and April and you’ll find a winter wonderland of snow and ice – and as little as three hours’ daylight.
It’s also part of Lapland, which usually inspires images of Santa Claus but actually describes the large northern area of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia where the indigenous Sami people live. If you reckoned you only visited Lapland to meet the Bearded One, think again.
After our night in the SnowHotel we headed 10 miles south-east of Kirkenes to stay in a comfy two-bedroomed cabin at the Sollia Gjestegård, a guest house overlooking the Russian border.
For animal-mad Rosie, the best bit was the on-site husky farm. We got the chance to feed and pet them but the biggest treat was dog sledding.
After receiving instructions about steering and braking from our guides, Tim and I took it in turns to drive, our three pairs of dogs chomping at the bit to race off at their own death-defying pace, while the guides took the children.
That evening we had a beautiful meal of king crab followed by reindeer steaks in the Sollia’s renowned restaurant, Gapahuken, cooked in front of us by guest house owner Eivind Nordhus. The view across a snow-covered fjord was as breathtaking as the delicious food.
For the last two years Lidl have stocked reindeer meat for the festive season, so that’s one I can conjure up at home.
Not sure about the freshly caught king crab though...
Travel file
TOP TIP You’ll fly to Kirkenes via Oslo so why not tag on a few days in Norway’s capital to soak up its world-class art galleries, museums and architecture and stunning scenery. For ease, overnight at the Radisson Blu right by Gardermoen airport. This spacious, smart hotel has great breakfasts and is just a couple of minutes’ walk from both the train station for the city centre and the airport itself. Double rooms with breakfast cost from £180. Children (12 and under) can share for £20 extra each B&B. radissonblu.com/hotel-osloairport, 00 476 393 3000BOOK IT Magnetic North Travel specialises in tailor-made holidays to Scandinavia. They offer packages from £1,295pp including flights from London, transfers, half board accommodation for one night at SnowHotel and two nights at Sollia Gjestegard, dog-sledding and a king crab safari Departures from other UK airports also available. magneticnorthtravel.com, 0845 5195 242
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