Dressing for the cold rooms of the Jukkasjärvi Icehotel

Two kinds of cold in one morning

The ice rooms in Jukkasjärvi stay below freezing all day. The hotel keeps them at roughly −5 °C (23 °F), cold enough to see your breath. The air in there is still, so it bites less than you might fear.

Outside is another story. On a clear winter day in Kiruna the air can drop to −15 to −30 °C (5 to −22 °F), and on a guided tour the reindeer camp and the walk to the church both happen out there.

So dress for the coldest stretch outdoors, then open a layer once you step inside the ice. On a bitter day the ice rooms can even feel milder than the yard in front of them.

Layers from the skin out

Start with thermal long underwear in wool or a synthetic fabric. Cotton holds sweat, and damp cotton turns cold within minutes of standing still on snow.

Add a wool or fleece mid layer, then an insulated jacket long enough to cover your hips. Lined trousers or ski pants over thermal leggings help more than people expect, because legs get cold first while you stand and listen.

• Thermal top and leggings
• Wool sweater or fleece
• Insulated, windproof jacket with a hood
• Ski pants or lined winter trousers
• One pair of thick wool socks
• Warm hat that covers the ears
• Scarf or neck gaiter

Boots with grip for snow and ice floors

Floors inside the Icehotel are packed snow and ice, and paths around the village are often slippery. Warm winter boots with a deep tread matter more than any other item on this page.

The listing for the three-hour Sámi-guided tour (~$182) asks for comfortable shoes and warm clothing, and it says the tour involves walking on snow. Sneakers or thin city boots will leave you cold within the first half hour.

If your boots are new, wear them around town for a day first. Cold feet usually come from boots that pinch or let in snow, not from the temperature alone.

Gloves you can take off for photos

Everyone wants pictures in the ice rooms, and touchscreens do not work through thick mittens. The fix is two layers on the hands, thin liner gloves that stay on and warm mittens over them that come off for a shot.

Phone batteries drain fast in the cold. Keep the phone in an inside pocket close to your body and take it out only for the photo. A small power bank in the same pocket helps on a long day.

Lights of Vikings tells guests to bring warm clothing and a camera on its four-hour Icehotel and Sámi camp trip (~$182). With about 1.5 hours inside the ice, a spare battery for a real camera earns its place in the bag.

What the tours lend you, and what they leave to you

Neither guided tour from Kiruna lists warm clothing among the things it includes. Arrive dressed for the whole morning, since the van drops you straight into the snow at Jukkasjärvi.

The Abisko coach day by Lights Over Lapland is the odd one out. Warm clothing appears among the inclusions on its Viator page, though the listing does not spell out what that covers. The GetYourGuide listing for the same Abisko trip (~$152) does not mention it.

Coming on your own with the ~$33 entrance ticket? Then you set the pace and can warm up indoors between the ice rooms. Our guided tour or ticket comparison weighs that freedom against a guide.

Moving between warm and cold

A tour morning moves in and out of heated spaces, from the van to the warm buildings and back into the snow. Open your jacket and pull off your hat each time you go indoors. Skip that and you sweat inside, then chill on the way out.

The reindeer stop is the longest stretch outdoors on both guided tours, about an hour and sometimes longer. Our guide to feeding reindeer at Nutti Sami Siida describes what happens there.

Eat a proper breakfast before the 9:30 am pickup and drink water even if you are not thirsty. A body with fuel in it keeps hands and feet warm far better than an empty one.

Dressing through the season

The winter Icehotel stands from about December to mid-April, and the weather shifts a lot across those weeks. December and January are dark and often bitter, while late March can feel soft in the sun. The best time to visit compares the weeks.

In summer only ICEHOTEL 365 is open, kept cold by cooling while the village outside turns green. A fleece with a light jacket over it covers a summer walk through the ice rooms, as our guide to ICEHOTEL 365 explains.

Sleeping in the ice is a different kit question, since the hotel usually supplies the sleeping bag. A night in the ice or a daytime visit covers what that night is like.