A night in the ice or a daytime visit to the Icehotel
Sleeping in a room of ice is the reason many people come to Jukkasjärvi at all. It is also cold and costly, and day visitors walk through the same carved suites a few hours earlier. This guide helps you decide which one suits you.
What a night in the ice usually looks like
A cold-room night means sleeping inside the ice itself, which the hotel holds near −5 °C (23 °F). The bed is a block of ice covered with reindeer hides, and you climb into a thermal sleeping bag made for the cold.
Your luggage does not spend the night with you. The hotel usually gives cold-room guests a warm room for their bags and for getting ready in the morning.
The night is short on comfort and long on story. Most guests are up early and go straight looking for something hot.
Cold rooms and warm rooms
The cold rooms come in two broad kinds. Art suites are each designed by an artist and carved by hand, while ice rooms are simpler.
The hotel also has warm rooms and chalets, heated like any other hotel room. Some guests split the stay, sleeping one night in the ice and the others in a heated room.
We do not quote room prices here, since they change with the date and the room. Check the hotel's own booking page for your night, and set it against what a day visit costs with extras.
ICEHOTEL 365 is open all year, while the winter building stands from about December to mid-April. Our guide to the two parts of the hotel explains what each one holds.
Day visitors see the same suites
You do not need a room booking to see the rooms. During visiting hours the art suites are usually open to day visitors, who see the same carved walls the overnight guests sleep beside.
The difference is the hour. By day the rooms fill with visitors and cameras, and after visiting hours the building goes quiet for the people sleeping in it.
The Sámi-guided tour from Kiruna (~$182) gives you about 70 minutes inside, and Lights of Vikings (~$182) gives about 1.5 hours. The ~$33 entrance ticket has no clock at all, if you can get to Jukkasjärvi yourself.
A day visit also keeps the reindeer and the church in the plan. Both guided tours stop at Nutti Sami Siida and the old wooden church in Jukkasjärvi, which a hotel night on its own does not give you. Reviews mention feeding the reindeer by hand, and our reindeer guide covers that stop.
The longest look at the ice on a guided day
Lights of Vikings spends about 1.5 hours in the Icehotel after the church and an hour with the reindeer, with pickup from six Kiruna hotels. Its score sits at a full 5.0 on both sites, over 43 GetYourGuide reviews and 9 on Viator.
Who should sleep in the ice
One night is enough for nearly everyone. The cold sleep is the story you take home, and a second night rarely adds much to it.
A night in the ice tends to suit these travelers best:
- People who sleep well in a tent or a cold cabin
- Couples marking an occasion
- Anyone for whom the night is the point of the trip
- Visitors already staying in Jukkasjärvi with time to spare
If you are unsure, start with a day visit and save the night for a later trip. The rooms will look different anyway, since the winter building is rebuilt with new art every year.
Who is better off with a day visit
Families with small children often do better by day. A night at −5 °C is hard on a toddler and on whoever shares the room, and our Sámi-guided pick turns away under-2s anyway.
Light sleepers and people who feel the cold badly should think twice. So should anyone on a tight budget, since a night in the ice usually costs far more than a guided morning from Kiruna.
Lights of Vikings lists its tour as unsuitable for people with animal allergies. The beds in the ice are covered with reindeer hides too, so ask the hotel first if that is a concern.
A night in the ice ends with a cold morning, not a lie-in. If you have an early flight or a long drive the next day, a daytime visit is the kinder plan.
Questions to ask before you book a cold room
Rules differ between room types and can change, so put your questions to the hotel directly. A short email before booking saves surprises at check-in.
- When cold-room guests can move into their room in the evening
- Where your luggage stays, and when the warm room is free
- Rules for children and for guests with allergies
- What happens if you give up on the cold room during the night
Ask too which parts of the hotel your stay lets you visit during the day. Then you know whether you still need a tour or a ticket for the ice art.
The middle way: a warm bed and a morning tour
Plenty of visitors sleep in a heated hotel in Kiruna and see the Icehotel on a guided morning. Lights of Vikings collects guests at six Kiruna hotels, so you wake warm and leave the driving to someone else.
Our two days in Kiruna plan puts the tour on the first morning. If you stay in the village instead, the way from Kiruna to Jukkasjärvi compares the ways out by road.
If you do book the night, pack as you would for a winter visit and add a little more. Dressing for the cold rooms lists the layers.