No matter when you visit, there’s no absolute guarantee you’ll see the Northern Lights. But if seeing the Aurora is important to you, you’ll have the best chance of seeing them during the cold winter months. Remember: the longer you stay, the better chance you have of seeing the Northern Lights. Plus, you’ll have more time to dive deeper into local culture and history. 

Often, the secret to packing is layers. Because our itinerary included lots of outdoor activities, we knew that we couldn’t let discomfort from the cold hinder any of our plans. While our resort provided snowsuits, boots, mittens, and balaclavas upon arrival, we would need our own items for the other days of our stay. We live in a relatively wet and mild climate, so we were sure to do our homework on what to pack for the trip to Finnish Lapland. Below is our final packing list:

• Base layers: This is arguably the most important layer, since it’s in direct contact with your skin. Wool is best, since it stays warm even if it gets damp. We each took two sets of thermal long underwear, and rotated wears over the seven days.
• Mid layer & Top Layer Pants: I took a pair of fleece-lined leggings, and we each had a pair of sweatpants, which we wore while lounging in our rooms. We both brought a pair of jeans for city touring with a thermal base layer underneath. 
• Top Layer Pants: Hello, ski pants. Alternatively, we had waterproof hiking pants, which we wear often in our home climate. When worn over several thermal base layers, these performed well against the weather, too.
• Feet: Cold feet are the worst. Waterproof, thermal lined boots are standard footwear in Finland in winter. Thick wool socks, sometimes two pairs, were necessary for snow activities. 
• Hands: The only thing worse than cold feet is cold hands. Snow gloves or mittens are essential. I also had additional fine thin mesh liners, which I kept on my hands when using my phone. That way, my hands weren’t totally exposed while taking photos.
• Face & Head: Wool hats, scarves, and ear muffs were all used heavily throughout our trip.
• Handwarmers: We used these once or twice in our boots and gloves when it got really, really cold.

Finland is well-connected by rail and bus routes, which are safe and sustainable ways to get around. If you’re staying in somewhere very remote in independent lodging, you may want to rent a vehicle to get around. Beware that weather conditions can make driving treacherous. On the other hand, many resorts will offer transportation services to local transit stops.

We purposely planned our trip so that we had at least a full 24 hours to explore Helsinki, the capital of Finland. We walked everywhere in Helsinki, but there are also street cars and buses to help you get around. First, we stopped by the must-see major sites like Senate Square, Helsinki Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral, and the Helsinki Central Library. Then, we wandered through the exhibits at the Helsinki City Museum, the perfect place to learn about the capital city’s history.

Once we felt peckish, we sampled a variety of Finnish specialties inside the Old Market Hall. Smoked fish sandwiches and a traditional dish of potatoes topped with reindeer meat, lingonberries and blue cheese, were the crowd favorites. Next door, brave swimmers took icy dips at the Allas Sea Pool. Their saunas, cold plunges and swimming pools are open year-round. We also took a stroll along Töölö Bay, where well-maintained paths skirt along the Convention Center and Opera House. When the weather left us weary, there was always a cozy coffee shop or pub waiting to welcome us on every corner. Fun fact: Finns drink more coffee than anywhere else in the world!

We spent our second night in Finland on the overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, also known as the Santa Claus Express. This slow travel option saved us from having to waste a day of our trip in transit. A few hours after we arrived in Rovaniemi, we caught a bus to take us to our resort location up north in the Arctic Circle. 

By early afternoon, we arrived at our destination, the Wilderness Hotel Muotka. We booked a full room and board stay in one of their Aurora cabins with a private sauna. We spent our first evening exploring the gorgeous property, located roughly 250 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. 

Our first full day at our resort in Finnish Lapland began with a snowmobiling excursion to a traditional Sami reindeer farm. After a safety briefing, our group headed out on the well-groomed paths. After about an hour of winding through the Finnish wilderness, we stopped at a lodge for lunch. Then, we continued on to the family-owned reindeer farm. Once there, we enjoyed a reindeer-pulled sleigh ride through the forest. Our host then showed off his lasso skills and we fed freshly foraged leichen to some of the reindeer. Before our departure, we were invited inside to warm by the fire and learn more about Sami reindeer farms and their cultural traditions. 

After dinner that night, we headed off via a snowmobile-driven sleigh to a remote campsite to watch for the Aurora Borealis. Unfortunately, the cloudy night hardly revealed a single star, let alone the Northern Lights. We did, however, enjoy warming by the fire our guide built inside the camp shelter, sipping hot juice and conversing with our fellow travelers. 

The next day one of our most highly-anticipated activities was on the agenda: a visit to a husky farm. When we arrived, our guide greeted us, made sure we were geared up, and demonstrated how to operate the husky sled. That’s right—we would be driving our own dog sled team! Next, we were assigned dog sled teams, which were already harnessed and ready to go on the track. The dogs were literally leaping in the air with excitement. Huskies are noisy dogs, and our all-female team of Alaskan and Siberian huskies was no exception. Yet their eager howls and yips of chaotic anticipation immediately fell silent once we untied and set off. The sudden quiet was jarring. A once-in-a-lifetime experience that immediately became even more breathtaking.

After the run, we once again warmed inside by the fire with a cup of hot juice while our guide explained to us more details about the farm. We learned about the ethical litter control and training processes for the dogs, and how the dogs’ behavior changes based on the weather. At the very end, we were able to play with a few puppies in a playpen. It was incredible to see these stunning, intelligent, and athletic dogs in their element in Finnish Lapland.

That night, we once again set out in search of the Northern Lights. This time, we headed deep into the Arctic wilderness via snowmobile. The night sky was incredibly clear, and while we still didn’t see the Aurora, we did witness a spectacular moonrise. Speeding across the frozen moonlit marshland under a sea of stars was the perfect ending to a day we’ll never forget.

The last full day at the resort was the most active on our agenda with several winter sports. In the morning, we snowshoed through the wilderness surrounding the property, learning about various flora and fauna from our guide. Back at the resort, we enjoyed yet another fantastic meal for lunch and headed back out for some Nordic skiing. Finnish Lapland is home to an extensive network of cross-country skiing trails. Many of the major thoroughfares also have adjacent paths for fat tire biking, hiking, and snowmobiling. 

The grand finale to our stay at Wilderness Muotka was a private booking at the resort’s main sauna house and frozen river cold plunge. The resort provided us with wool socks to keep our feet from sticking to the icy path. For one hour, we darted back and forth from the steaming sauna house to brave a dip in the frigid babbling brook. From the sheer size of the traditional wood-fired sauna stove to the jaw-dropping vantage point of the Lappish wilderness from the icy river waters, this experience was truly extraordinary.

By now, we had made our peace with not seeing the Northern Lights. However, I did keep an eye on the forecast and alerts in apps like Aurora Forecast and My Aurora Forecast & Alerts. After dinner, on our last night high in Finnish Lapland, I noticed a reported sighting in one of the apps just 40 kilometers from our location. So, we donned our gear and headed out for one last Aurora watching session. 

Once I set up my tripod, we noticed that my iPhone camera was picking up faint Aurora activity. To be honest, we didn’t see much with our naked eyes. We did spot a few flashes through the clouds of what we suspect was the lights dancing, which was very cool even for just a few seconds. However, I must admit that we did not see anything like the photos on the internet. Our guides later told us that often the lights are only visible through a powerful camera lens. Despite our disappointment, it was clear that the elusiveness of the Northern Lights was also a big part of the allure.

Our final day in Finnish Lapland was spent in Rovaniemi, the gateway to the Arctic Circle. Here, we visited the Arctic SnowHotel, a bucket-list experience for my husband. Seeing how the otherworldly hotel was constructed was fascinating. Full disclosure, this experience was expensive. In hindsight, we could have likely skipped the dinner experience and simply visited for the property tour, but in the end it was still a unique experience that made for a wonderful ending to our time in Finnish Lapland.

On our last morning before departing Rovaniemi, we stopped by the Arktikum Museum. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time before our flight to make it through the entire museum, but we did enjoy what little we saw.