Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Sweden – Germany – Hamburg – Stockholm – Swedish Lapland – Harads – Jukkasjarvi – Gallivare
100% customisable for you
Bags packed and out-of-offices set – the holiday begins today. Your Eurostar train leaves London from St. Pancras International this morning and pulls into Brussels-Midi two hours later. You’ll then have around 20 minutes to change platforms before the second stage of your journey begins.
This time, hop on a speedy ICE (InterCity Express) train from Brussels to Cologne, which takes just under two hours. From Cologne, it's a final four-hour ICE train to Hamburg, a city renowned for having the best nightlife in Europe – no small feat.
Once you’ve checked in and dropped your bags, take to the streets to enjoy a night on the tiles. Your trusty Concierge can recommend the best restaurants and bars in the city.
After tucking into a tasty breakfast this morning, catch an early train from Hamburg to Copenhagen Central Station. This scenic five-hour journey heads north across the German/Danish border and cuts east to the Funen and Zealand Islands before gliding through the city via a series of bridges and tunnels.
From Copenhagen, take the high-speed X2000 train to another Scandinavian capital: Stockholm. The journey takes around five hours and 45 minutes, meaning you’ll arrive in the evening.
Then, jump in a quick cab or walk – Stockholm is conveniently compact – to your hotel. Once you’ve checked in and freshened up, sample some of the city's culinary wares in one of its excellent restaurants. Whether you fancy traditional dishes in a cosy bar or gourmet cuisine with a view, this Scandi showstopper has it covered.
Wake up in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, enjoy a delicious breakfast and wrap up warm before venturing out this morning. Today, you’ll have the chance to learn more about the Swedish capital on a three-hour private walking tour of Gamla Stan – more evocatively known as the Old Town.
The standout sights here are the Riksdag (Swedish parliament), Royal Palace and Royal Swedish Opera. Between your oohing and aahing, your knowledgeable guide will fill you in on the history of this cultural hotspot. Then, having worked up quite the appetite, enjoy a lovely lunch in another of the city’s stellar restaurants.
The afternoon is yours to spend exploring more of the city. Just be sure to stop in a cosy café for fika (a traditional Swedish coffee and cake break) to tide you over until dinnertime.
The name of the game today: mastering Nordic ice-skating. Fuel up on a hearty breakfast before meeting a local expert to spend a few hours learning the basics (and possibly more) of this traditional Swedish skill.
Nordic ice-skating isn’t just any old ice-skating. Here, the blades of the skates are longer and detachable, as people used to skate across the ice as a means of travelling around and remove the blades afterwards to walk on land in between.
After taking to Nordic ice-skating like a duck to... ice, settle down to a well-earned lunch in the city centre.
Following some more downtime this afternoon, scoop up your bags and head to the station to catch the overnight sleeper service to Boden.
This charming town takes 11 and a half hours to reach, so you’ll spend the night on board and arrive in Swedish Lapland the following morning. Time to slip on an eye mask and drift off to dreams of a winter wonderland...
Pull into Boden bright and early this morning and meet your private driver for the hour-and-a-half-long journey to your next destination, the humble town of Harads.
Check in for three nights in a quintessentially cosy lodge, drop your bags and freshen up. After a lunch of local specialities (think reindeer and lingonberries), take the afternoon to explore your new surroundings.
Rosy-cheeked and wide-eyed, return to the welcoming warmth of your lodge this evening for drinks and a seriously scrumptious supper. Then, settle into bed to rest up for the adventures of tomorrow.
Rise and shine – it's time for your first Arctic adventure. Down-jacket-up, because today, you’ll mush your own team of huskies on a delightful dog sledding safari.
Once you’ve been kitted out and taught the basics of the technique, delve into the wilderness with your new furry friends, following your guide through snow-clad forests and across frozen lakes.
Eyes peeled. You’ll be in with the chance of seeing moose, reindeer, red foxes, lynx and hardy local birds, such as ptarmigans and grouses, while you’re out and about – be sure to draft a bucket list of winter wildlife encounters beforehand to indulge in some seriously satisfying ticking off later on.
Stop for lunch around an open fire before looping back to the lodge. This evening, enjoy a celebratory cocktail (bonus points if it’s winter-themed) in front of the fire – you are on holiday, after all.
We have another iconic Arc-tivity (sorry, couldn't resist) lined up for you today. After breakfast, head out with a local guide and climb on the back of a snowmobile for a wilderness safari.
If you didn’t manage to see all the winter wildlife on your bucket list yesterday, you’ll have another chance today. Don’t forget to keep those cameras close, too – time to snap one for the photo wall.
Following some well-earned R&R back at the lodge this afternoon, freshen up and turn your thoughts towards dinner. If you haven’t already, sample a local delicacy by ordering some palt (hearty potato dumplings filled with pork) tonight.
Tuck into one last leisurely breakfast this morning before you’re privately transferred back to Boden to catch the three-hour train to Kiruna. From here, it’s just a 20-minute private transfer to Jukkasjarvi – home to the original Ice Hotel.
Built from huge blocks of ice drawn from the Torne River, this legendary hotel features a number of rooms made entirely from ice (yes, really). So, once you've checked in and received your arctic outerwear, don’t hesitate to explore your suave new digs.
Come evening, indulge in a chilled drink in the ice bar, served in – you guessed it – an ice cup, before wrapping up warm and jumping onto your reindeer hide-covered bed.
After breakfast this morning, move your things across to a 'warm' room for a more conventional stay tonight. Then, head back out into the cold for an Arctic wilderness skills course led by an expert survival guide. Time to add some seriously niche know-how to your repertoire.
Delve into the woods surrounding the hotel to learn how to make a fire using a flint, navigate using clues in nature and forage from the natural pantry around you. If your desire to reconnect with nature wasn’t satiated before, this is sure to scratch that itch.
Return to your hotel this evening to sit down for a mouth-watering meal at the award-winning on-site restaurant (yes, please).
Enjoy a lie-in and a leisurely lunch today before being privately transferred back to Kiruna for your train to Gallivare, which takes just over an hour. Here, you’ll be met at the station for the five-minute transfer to your last hotel in Swedish Lapland.
It’s pretty hard to follow the Ice Hotel, but sleeping in a lavvu (a traditional Sami tent, similar to a tepee) might just do the trick. Once you’ve checked in and soaked up the stellar scenery of your new snow-blanketed setting, warm up with a wintry cocktail.
Having settled in and done a spot of unpacking, enjoy a supper of Sami delicacies, such as moose and arctic char fish, before curling up for a good night's sleep.
Over the next few days, learn all about the Sami lifestyle, including how they tend to their livestock and their cultural traditions. There’ll also be the opportunity to snowshoe and cross-country ski – this is the Arctic wilderness, after all.
Sadly, today is your last day in Swedish Lapland, but don’t worry: you still have one last morning to revel in the beauty of your surroundings and enjoy some more Sami specialities before you leave (yum).
Later, return to the station to catch the train back to Boden and hop on the overnight sleeper to Stockholm, a 14-hour journey in total. Time to settle in for the night…
Pull into Stockholm Central Station early this morning. Then, hop on the high-speed train to Copenhagen, which will take you to the Danish capital in time for lunch... and possibly cause some déjà vu.
Once you’ve taken the opportunity to try smorrebrod, a traditional Danish open sandwich, jump back on the high-speed train to Hamburg, which takes four and a half hours.
Arrive in the German juggernaut in time for supper, after which you might even have the energy for one last night on the town. But, if not, simply slip away to your hotel and indulge in the cosy comforts of an early night.
It's an early (ish) start this morning as you head back to Hamburg station to board the high-speed ICE train to Cologne, which takes about four hours.
When you reach Cologne, switch platforms to hop on the high-speed train to Brussels-Midi. Here, you’ll catch the Eurostar for the two-hour ride under the Channel, bringing you back into London in time for dinner this evening.
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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Our team of destination experts will get to know you and your unique requirements for your holiday
We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
All of our holidays include little extras designed to make a big difference to your trip, from checking you in for your flights to our network of local Concierges
