Are you looking for a (ice) road less travelled? Just book a short holiday to a truly unique part of Swedish Lapland. You are just a few short hours away from a winter wonderland on an island surrounded by ice!
Jopikgården is a small and personal 4 room hotel, and warmly greeted by the staff. Jopikgården, a converted traditional Swedish farm house, will be your home away from home as you enjoy dog sledding, ice fishing, fat biking the frozen sea, hunting for the elusive aurora or enjoying traditional local food. Each outdoor activity has meals included, your personal experienced guide and all equipment and can be modified to make sure your experience is unique and truly your own. All transfers and activities are planned to ensure maximum safety, enjoyment and comfort at all times.
Oh and did we forget to mention we have a Husky kennel? 11 huskies are waiting to meet you, pull and play in the snow, are you?
Day one
You will be met at the airport by your guide for the transfer out across the frozen sea by ice road to Jopikgården, your farmhouse on the island. You will either take a snowmachine or car with your guide on the maintained ice road and meet our team and experience a little Swedish hospitality with warm drinks and a bite to eat after your journey.
The afternoon is open to settle in and get to know the area.
In the evening follow the candles to your dinner location where an outdoor dinner will be prepared by our chef. The location is quiet, remote and offers the best chance for seeing the Northern Lights.
If the aurora is out we can go out, after dinner, and marvel at the natural beauty that is Swedish Lapland in winter before returning to the lodge, and maybe something from the bar?
Day two
After a hearty breakfast we ensure you are properly dressed for the weather and you will be fitted with quality modern snowshoes for a guided tour in our old growth forest where you will learn wilderness skills including shelters, fire making and route finding and have a well-earned lunch cooked over an open fire. We have the opportunity to see island wildlife such as sea eagles, hares and foxes, and maybe an elusive moose as we make fire for lunch, followed by a Swedish outdoor specialty, coffee over the open fire.
After we return warm up by the fire as we prepare another not to be missed Swedish experience – the private wood-fired sauna overlooking the ice! Your private sauna will be warm and inviting as you spend time in the heat before resting in a warm room next door with an amazing view looking out over the sea, and of course snacks and drinks. If you prefer not to sauna, take the opportunity to explore the island with some fat bikes or kick sleds with some free time before dinner.
Dinner tonight will be in the restaurant, and the bar will be open throughout the evening. If the aurora is out you have the possibility to go out and view these amazing lights. Ask to take a dog with you as I am sure you have fallen in love with them already!
Day three
Our day starts with breakfast, dressing, feeding the dogs (if you want). Then it´s time to meet the dogs, and get ready for dogsledding!
Experience the Beauty of Luyleå archipelago as you sit on a sled behind a team of siberian huskies. As we are getting ready to leave, the dogs are getting excited and ready to take off. They just love to run! We travel over the ice covered bothninan bay. After the tour we will have ”fika” by a fire and talk about the experience. If you want you have a chance to spend time with the dogs after the tour.
The afternoon is open for you to explore the village or just relax by the fire in the lounge room.
Dinner this night will be served in the restaurant. And of course, if it´s a clear night you can go outside to look at the stars or the northern lights.
Day four
Our day starts with breakfast, then off for husky joring or a fatbike tour, your choice.
Husky joring is an exclusive experience combining fatbiking and being pulled by a Siberian Husky on prepared trails or on the ice. This experience is for cool and cold weather explorers, and it is unique in Swedish Lapland.
In the afternoon we planned an (optional) Ice yoga class. Your yoga guide will lead you through a yoga routine including a northern lights salutation on the Baltic Sea as you enjoy the sound of silence. You do not need any previous experience to take part of this class. After the class we will enjoy a warm drink and a snack.
If you prefer not to take the ice yoga class, take the opportunity to explore the island with some fatbikes or snowshoes with some free time before dinner.
Your final dinner will be our ‘departure banquet’ where we get to eat a hearty dinner, tell tall stories, relive our adventures, and spend our final night together before departing in the morning. After dinner, we will retire to the lounge where the bar will be available throughout the evening.
Day five
With a ‘Gentleman’s start and after breakfast or lunch you will begin your homeward journey back across the ice to town and the airport. Depending on your departure time there may be an oportunity to book an extra tour or visit downtown Luleå.
