Day trips from Abisko

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Abisko sits on the E10 between two very different places. To the west, the road and the railway pass Björkliden and Riksgränsen on the way to Narvik and the Norwegian fjords, about 80 km away. To the east, Kiruna is 93 km by road, with the Icehotel and the Nutti Sámi Siida reindeer museum in Jukkasjärvi just outside it. Every tour on this page collects you at the main places to stay in Abisko or Björkliden and takes most of a day.

Plan for the light. Around 21 December the sun does not rise at all in Abisko, and twilight lasts from about 09:09 to 14:16. A day trip in midwinter therefore means a good part of the drive in the dark. From February the days lengthen quickly, and by 1 March the sun is up for almost ten hours.

Narvik and the fjords

The Narvik day trip by Explore Arctic lasts six hours. A licensed bus company does the driving, the group has at most 19 guests and children under 6 cannot join. The route crosses the border to Narvik and the fjords around it, with stops at viewpoints, a look out for wildlife and a guide who takes photos of the landscape and of you. A packed lunch with a sandwich, snacks and a homemade dessert is included, and commentary is in English. One review from February mentions that some stops could not be reached because of the road conditions.

Another fjord tour also takes six hours and stresses wildlife and photography. It travels by 4x4 with a group of 9 to 18 guests, from 8 years. Bring your passport or national ID card for the border. Reviews so far come from September and October.

The mountain road can close for a while in strong wind or heavy snow, and the Björkliden resort advises checking the Swedish and Norwegian road authorities before any winter drive. On the way you pass Björkliden, with its view of Lapporten, and Riksgränsen at the border. You can also go on your own: SJ trains run between Kiruna and Narvik every day of the year and stop in Abisko, but the tickets are sold online in advance only, not at the station or on board.

The Icehotel and Jukkasjärvi

The Icehotel tour from Abisko by Lights Over Lapland takes seven hours. A bus drives you to Jukkasjärvi, you receive your entrance ticket and walk round the hotel on your own, with time for the Icebar and for lunch at your own cost. There is no guided tour inside. The tour runs all year; before mid-December the visit is to ICEHOTEL 365. Inside it is always −5 °C, so wear insulated boots, a hat and gloves. Reviewers like the visit but often wish they had another half hour or hour on site. You can bring your luggage and continue to Kiruna Airport at the end, which suits travellers on their last day.

Explore Arctic packs more into seven and a half hours. After the Icehotel, the tour stops at Jukkasjärvi church and at Nutti Sámi Siida, where you feed reindeer, and returns through Kiruna with a short drive through the old and the new town, which is in the middle of moving to a new site. Lunch is a stop at your own cost, and here too you can be dropped in the Kiruna area or at the airport instead.

Staying a night in Kiruna, or visiting the Icehotel without a tour? kirunatourism.com covers the town, Jukkasjärvi and the tours that start there.

Reindeer and Sámi culture

Lights Over Lapland also runs a trip that goes only to Nutti Sámi Siida. Pickup is from 10:00 in Abisko and from 09:45 in Björkliden. The ticket covers the open-air museum, Café Sápmi and the handicraft shop, and there is time with the reindeer and an optional guided tour at 12:15. Lunch can be bought at the café, and warm clothing is not provided, so dress for an outdoor day.

The Rautas trip is quieter. The Sámi village lies about 45 minutes from Abisko, and a reindeer herder leads a snowshoe hike of 1 to 3 km along the Rautas river, depending on the snow, before you feed the herd with lichen and sit in a tipi. It lasts seven hours, children must be at least 7, and you bring your own packed lunch from your accommodation.

The Sámi culture page also covers the shorter reindeer visits close to Abisko.

Dog sledding near Kiruna

Abisko has no dog sledding of its own on the market, so this trip drives you to a sledding camp near Kiruna. A musher steers each sled for up to four guests over a circuit of 10 to 12 km, and halfway there is a wilderness camp with a fire, a warm drink and a cinnamon bun. Overalls, boots, hats and gloves are provided. Lunch is neither included nor sold at the camp, so eat before you go. The whole trip takes about seven hours, and the most common criticism in reviews is that the bus ride is long compared with the time on the sled. More about the alternatives near the village is on the dog sledding and husky page.

Closer to home

Not every outing needs a full day. Björkliden is about 15 minutes from Abisko by bus and Riksgränsen at the Norwegian border about 40 minutes, and both are stops on The Arctic Route, the bus that runs between Kiruna Airport and Narvik twice a day in each direction; bus 91 adds departures in season. In 2027 Björkliden skis from 4 February to 2 May and Riksgränsen from 18 February to 23 May. See Björkliden and Riksgränsen for details.

If you are in the area at the end of January, the Kiruna Snow Festival runs from 27 to 30 January 2027 on Stadshustorget in the town centre. Entry is free, and the main event is an international snow sculpture contest. Dates and programme are on the Kiruna Lapland festival page.