Levin Iglut

I remember first seeing photos of the glass igloos in Lapland years ago and knowing we had to go there someday. Since then, these glass-dome structures have become increasingly popular in northern Finland. Undoubtedly some of the best ones are at Levin Iglut. Located outside of Levi, the hotel is only a fifteen-minute drive from Kittilä airport. 

Each igloo has a bed, shower, toilet, kitchen and small sitting area. The beds are motorized so you can adjust the position for viewing the northern lights. Breakfast is included and served in their restaurant Aurora Sky. We ate dinner there one night and cooked our own meal over a fire in the kota the other night.

In addition to the igloos, they have the Northern Lights House, which sleeps up to six people. It wasn't occupied when we were there so we were able to rent it for two hours that day to use the private sauna and outdoor hot tub overlooking the fell. 

I am glad we were finally able to cross this off our bucket list. Sleeping under the stars and watching the northern lights from our warm cozy bed is an experience we'll never forget. 

Levi is Lapland's largest ski resort so naturally there are lots of winter activities nearby. We went on a snowmobile safari for the first time and it was really fun. Our tour took us to a reindeer farm where we went on a short sleigh ride and fed the reindeer. After warming up with a drink and snack, we switched who was driving on the snowmobile and headed back into town.

leviniglut.net

Finnish Lapland

Lapland is a remote and sparsely populated region that includes northern Finland. Sitting above the Arctic Circle, there are days in the year when the sun does not set and days when the sun does not rise. We went in March so we could experience a Lappish winter while still having some light during the day for activities. 

Itinerary

We spent one week in Lapland near three different towns: 

Levi: Levin Iglut
Rovaniemi: Arctic Treehouse Hotel
Saariselkä: Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Transportation

There are a few airport options available in Lapland, but in order to get there you will likely need to transfer via Helsinki. We flew into Kittilä, which is near Levi and out of Ivalo airport, a half-hour drive from Saariselkä.

The best way to get around Lapland is by renting a car, although there are busses that will take you between towns. With the amount of snow and ice it is best to have some winter driving experience if going by car. 

Activities

There are numerous winter activities to experience in Lapland. The usual activities include dogsledding, reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and of course, northern lights hunting. March is a great time of year to catch the lights as the skies are typically more clear and the nights are still long. Also, it is around the time of the spring equinox which is usually when the lights are stronger. We were lucky enough to see the northern lights five out of the eight nights we were there.