Scandinavia Winter Road Trip on a Cheap Budget

A free & easy holiday with my wife Jess from 18–30 January 2019. Price includes return flights between Singapore and Tromso (multiple stopovers). We travelled through Norway, Sweden and Finland, stayed in airbnbs, and had the full Scandinavian experience! Highlights include:

PREPARATION, FLIGHTS & CAR RENTAL

We enjoy planning holidays, especially roadtrips. It’s much more hassle than joining a tour, but the cost savings and freedom to roam compensate for any shortfalls. Our itinerary:

Finland can be as cold as -35 °C (-31 °F) so pack plenty of warm clothing: Jackets, inner thermal wear, winter caps, etc. Gloves are a must; we regretted not buying touchscreen gloves. (It’s so cold you won’t want to remove them to take pictures!)

Selfie sticks are another big help but switching cameras/performing miscellaneous tasks on your phone with standard winter gloves is impossible. Also, camera phones can’t capture auroras so bring a decent digital camera (the Fujifilm FinePix XP130 is a value for money, well-reviewed option which is freeze- and water-proof).

Do note all the above stuff are either super expensive or impossible to find over there, so draw up a packing list to keep track and tick it off as you pack.

If you can’t take the extreme cold, consider going in October-November or February-March. Temperatures average around 0 °C (32 °F) at that time but you have shorter nights to catch the aurora.

We booked our flights through Skyscanner; a mix of Qatar Airways and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). Each journey involved two stopovers:

Total Flight Cost: S$1,050 (US$775) per pax

We didn’t exchange Norwegian Krone or Swedish Krona except a few hundred euros for Finland (all 3 countries use a different currency). Most store purchases could be done through credit card, which is really convenient.

For car rental, we booked from Avis through Easyrentcars as it had one of the cheapest rates online. Do note that you must use a credit card (not debit!) for this site, plus a hard-copy of the booking reference.

After a decade of driving worldwide, I am not a believer in the International Driving Permit (IDP) — an unnecessary cost and trouble to acquire in my opinion — yet some people swear by it. While not mandatory, most websites claim it is useful to have (especially for insurance claims in case of accident).

We set off at night on 18 Jan. Jess had 1GB of leftover data (purchased from Singtel) from a previous work trip so we chose to use that for our internet needs. Surprisingly, this was enough to last the entire trip as all our airbnbs had WiFi.

The flights went smoothly, but my luggage was misplaced in Doha during transit. It was only 2 days later I retrieved it at Tromso airport, a big screw-up by Qatar and SAS, so travel insurance does help!

DAY 1 & 2: NORWAY — TROMSO

We touched down early on 19 Jan in Tromso, a city north of the Arctic Circle and a popular place for viewing the aurora.

The airport was surprisingly small and the (domestic?) arrival terminal didn’t have a cafe or restaurant to grab lunch either. Good thing there were clear direction signboards (and mostly in English) to guide us. Most locals spoke English too.

Our first two nights were in Tromso, so we booked our rental car for only after. We boarded the airport express bus (Flybussen) to the city centre; There are also taxis (for convenience) and public buses (cheaper alternative but more complicated to use).

Dropped off at a city centre stop and walked to our airbnb. The weather was mostly cloudy and temperatures averaged -10 °C (14 °F). Norway isn’t as cold as Sweden or Finland but Tromso has a wicked wind chill. Daylight hours then was between 10 am and 2 pm.

Our first 2 nights were relatively expensive (total S$340/US$250) because of location; our place was literally a 5-minute walk to the city centre. For our other 9 nights, the average airbnb cost S$110 per room per night (US$80).

Overall, our airbnb stays were superb! Most of them were Superhosts and really outshone themselves with complimentary food and guidance. Our airbnb breakdown:

Total Airbnb Cost: S$1,320 (S$660 per pax / US$490 per pax) for 11 Nights

After dumping our luggage and showering, we headed out for food and sightseeing.

There are plenty of dining options along the main street of Storgata, including a Burger King, pubs, cafes and restaurants. We tried Egon Tromso, a restaurant with an affordable pizza buffet at 117 NOK (S$18/US$14).

Next day, we sampled the Egons English Breakfast at 184 NOK (S$29/US$21) and fish cup starter. The latter was very Norwegian and value for money (also 117 NOK).

Breakfasts was two sets of hot choc & croissant from a convenience store at 50 NOK each (S$8/US$6).

A quick dining option is the Rakketen Bar and Polse, a popular hot dog kiosk. There is no indoor seating here though, and no takeaway bag options. A dog costs 45 NOK (S$7/US$5). Uniquely garnished and pretty tasty!

Sightseeing-wise, the attractions were okay but not mindblowing. Sidenote: Avoid driving around Tromso as there are tolls for some tunnels.

Most tourists are here to catch the aurora (northern lights) tours or winter activities, which brings us to…

Within the city centre are tons of stores advertising a huge array of tour packages: Aurora chasing, husky sledding, fjord safaris, island hopping, etc.

We enquired at a couple stores and most staff were fairly honest with our chances of seeing the aurora (usually 50/50) and some will give a partial refund if you don’t see it. These packages are not cheap: A whole-night aurora chasing tour (in a bus, dinner maybe provided) can cost S$250 or more (US$200+).

Apps like Klook and Airbnb offer tours at cheaper rates but seem few in number and had limited slots. Some Airbnb hosts do organise their own tours too via third-parties (friends or affiliates) but prices didn’t seem much cheaper either.

Anyway, Jess and I decided to wait and see. I guess we were hoping to catch it for free (while sitting in our comfy room, sipping hot chocolate, and an aurora would miraculously appear at our windows :P ) but that never happened. Seeing the aurora is not so easy as we’ll find out…

On 21st Jan, we checked out of our airbnb (with no aurora success) and took the airport express back to the airport. Picked up my misplaced luggage (finally!) and collected our car.

The paperwork went smoothly but the open space rental lot was a 10-minute walk from the airport and lugging suitcases along the slippery ice-and-snow-covered pathways was a chore.

Regarding winter driving here: Most cars are equipped with winter tyres and snow chains are not required. Do drive slower on inclined roads or icy roads to prevent skidding. On minor roads with heavy snowfall, you may have to jam the accelerator to generate sufficient momentum forward.

Petrol/Fuel was pricey compared to USA or many other countries.

Parking in Tromso is pretty strict and restrictive, especially during daytime. However, we had no problems parking anywhere else during our trip. Most places have free parking while others like Rovaniemi’s city centre use a parking meter for street parking.

We began our roadtrip by heading to nearby Fjellheisen (Cable Car) to take us up Mount Storstein.

The cable car ticket is not cheap at 210 NOK (S$33/US$25) per adult for a round trip, but the view was amazing!

Next was a 3.5 hours drive to the port town of Narvik. Originally we wanted to stay in Abisko; a Swedish village known for its high aurora viewing predictability, but the area had limited housing options which were beyond our budget.

Narvik is most famous for its Narvikfjellet ski resort, which was unfortunately closed for maintenance or something when we visited.

We settled on an airbnb in Narvik for 3 nights run by Reidun, a superhost who blew us away with her hospitality. Furthermore, her rates were affordable, the room was cosy, and she provided a well-stocked fridge of food. One of our best airbnb experiences ever!

We chatted with Reidun about the aurora and learned there are several popular aurora tracking apps (also used by local tour groups) to improve the aurora hunt (a multi-million dollar industry there).

We downloaded a few recommended free apps: “Aurora Alerts” and “My Aurora Forecast” seem the most useful.

Whether you see the aurora and how spectacular it is depends on a multitude of factors: KP index, solar winds, cloud cover…

And it has to be sufficiently dark: Auroras occur throughout the year, but Scandinavia summers can be up to 24 hours of daylight (aka midnight sun) which makes winter months ideal for viewing. Plus the apps might alert you at ungodly hours (3 or 5 a.m) to wake up for a possible aurora forming nearby. It’s a test of your endurance if you can get up and stay awake on the off-chance of seeing one.

Our second night, Reidun informed us that optimum conditions were approaching for an aurora. We quickly hiked with her up a hill (Gulbransons Park) near her house. After just a 5 minutes wait, an aurora started to appear!

The aurora grew and morphed above us for 20 minutes; a shimmering and wondrous sight to behold. This was the one and only time we saw the aurora on the trip, but it was worth it!

Some airbnb hosts give details on their airbnb pages on where to view auroras from their houses (for free). So you can save a lot of money instead of doing a tour by following their advice and directions (It’s not guaranteed you’ll see the aurora, but neither is the tour).

Food-wise, Reidun recommended us a fish restaurant/marketplace called Fiskehallen (located in the town centre).

We had arctic char (tastes like salmon but better) and whale burger (combo of whale and fish meat) in the restaurant. An interesting meal for 345 NOK for 2 (S$55/US$40).

Other times, we bought groceries in a supermarket and cooked meals in the airbnb which saved a lot of money.

We didn't have time to explore all of Norway, but check this out to see many exciting places Norway has to offer!

DAY 6: SWEDEN — ABISKO

We left Narvik after 3 nights and drove into Sweden. Went past Abisko; a quiet, sleepy village which didn’t live up to my expectations: Some attractions there charge a lot and the supposedly common aurora sightings didn't materialize.

SWEDEN — ICE HOTEL

After a 2.5-hour drive, we got to the famous Ice Hotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi.

The entry fee is steep at 350 SEK per pax (S$52/US$38) as all the ice rooms and artworks are carved by professionals. To stay a night in an ice suite is about 8x that!

The interior of most ice hotels is -5 °C (23 °F) or lower so dress warm!

OPTIONAL: TREEHOTEL SWEDEN

If you have the time and money (unlike us), consider spending a night at the unique Treehotel (3.5 hour drive from the Icehotel). Be warned, the price per night is around US$600!

Then a 4 hour drive to Rovaniemi, home of Santa Claus. There was also an annual arctic rally being held in the city when we arrived.

DAY 7 & 8: SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE

This tourist village on the outskirts of Rovaniemi packs multiple Santa Claus attractions plus countless activities and tours to choose from such as ice fishing and reindeer sledding.

We took a photo with Santa Claus for 30 EUR (S$46/US$34). A tourist trap perhaps, but it seems weird to come here and not take a picture with “Santa”.

DINING IN SANTA’S VILLAGE

Lunch was a buffet spread at the Restaurant & Coffee Bar: Spaghetti bolognese, reindeer meat casserole, free flow of bread, hot chocolate and home-made beer. Cost: 15 EUR Per Pax (S$23/US$17)

SHOPPING IN SANTA’S VILLAGE

The village is huge with many souvenir shops and a few luxury hotels. We did get a few value purchases: Gingerbread cookies and a cool mug which produced an aurora image when you poured hot water in. But if you want to get chocolate gifts for friends or colleagues back home, supermarkets are a cheaper option.

HUSKY SLEDDING IN SANTA’S VILLAGE (HUSKY PARK)

Next day, we went husky sledding in Santa’s Village Husky Park. The compound is not sheltered and we were freezing in -28 °C (18.4 °F) weather while queuing to enter. Many ride options abound, from simple park admission tickets to full day tours.

Opted for a short 2 km ride and thankfully didn’t have to wait long to start. Although the cold and the wind were unforgiving, the ride reminded me of childhood stories like “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”. A worthwhile experience and much cheaper alternative to a 6 hours husky sledding tour costing 250+ Euros.

Admission Fee: 10 EUR Per Pax (S$15/US$11)

We then hit the road for a 2-hour drive to Kittila; near to the Snow Village (Ice Hotel) and Levi ski resort.

DAY 9: SNOW VILLAGE (2018–19 GAME OF THRONES THEME)

We headed to the famed Snow Village, which showcases a theme every year for its ice hotel. This and last year, it was Game of Thrones (GoT). Although not a big fan of GoT myself, the sculptures and artwork were spectacular!

At 17.50 EUR (S$27/US$20), its entry fee was half of Sweden’s Ice Hotel.

There were dozens of beautifully adorned rooms and halls; A pity these were all temporary as everything melts to the ground in spring. Visit their official website to check out the upcoming year’s theme!

Had a soup buffet lunch at the Log Restaurant for 10.50 EUR (S$16/US$12) each. Seemed very Finnish, loved the salmon soup most.

DAY 10: FINLAND — LEVI SKI RESORT TOWN

28 Jan, did a day trip to the Levi ski resort, adjacent to the Levi Fell (a cluster of gentle mountains).

Both main ski rental hubs, Zero Point and South Point, provide ski rental and ski lift services. A 5-minute drive apart.

Prices were cheaper compared to many ski resorts in Austria, Switzerland and USA so we snowboarded a couple times. The rental guy said he’d skied at as low as -40 °C or -40 °F(!)

DAY 11 & 12: RETURN TO TROMSO & FLYING BACK

Next day began our long drive back to Tromso... but with still some great photo opportunities.

Stopped at Karesuvanto village's Rajabaari Cafe for a light meal and some souvenirs.

After 6 hours, and after a couple rest stops, we reached the Tromso suburbs (on the mainland) and checked into our final airbnb. Revisited the city centre and Egon: BBQ Ribs at 303 NOK (S$48/US$35) and good ol’ fish cup.

Had a good rest and early next morning, we went to the airport, returned our car and flew back to Singapore. Took a few days to get acclimatized from -33°C to 33°C weather, but mission accomplished!

It’s possible to do a fulfilling Scandinavia trip without breaking the bank. Having 4 people is even better as it reduces car rental and fuel costs per pax. Also, some airbnbs can sleep 4 guests (at the same price) so you save extra!

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