Ice Floating in Lapland: The Strangest Arctic Experience (And Why You Should Try It)

I Didn't Expect Lapland Winter Activities and Tours to Feel Like This

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I'd been guiding northern lights photography tours for three winters by that point, and I'd watched dozens of guests shiver through -30°C nights in inadequate jackets. But I'd never tried ice floating myself. It sounded like a marketing gimmick, something invented for Instagram, like those glass igloos where you pay €600 to see the aurora through a fogged-up dome. But a friend who worked for the coast guard told me the dry suits they use for rescue operations are the same ones these tour operators use. "You'll be warmer in the water than on the shore," she said. I didn't believe her.

The tour operator, a small company called Arctic Avalanche that runs out of a cabin 15 minutes north of Rovaniemi, handed me a bright orange dry suit. It was a rescue-grade survival suit, the kind coast guard crews wear when they pull people out of the Baltic in January. It weighed about 8kg and smelled faintly of neoprene and woodsmoke. The guide, a Finnish man named Eero who had been running these tours for six years, helped me zip it up. "The seal is at your neck," he said. "If it's tight, you won't get wet. Even if the suit rips, you'll float."

I stepped into the water. The suit compressed slightly as I entered, and I felt a brief, sharp cold through the neoprene at my ankles, but it faded within seconds. Then I was floating. The water temperature was 0.5°C, measured by Eero with a digital thermometer. The air temperature was -22°C. My face was exposed to the frozen air, but my body was perfectly warm. I lay back and stared at the sky, a pale grey ceiling with a faint pink band where the sun was trying to break through. The sensation was disorienting. My brain kept telling me I should be freezing, but my body was comfortable. I floated for 12 minutes. Eero had to call me back in.

This is ice floating in Lapland. It's not a thrill ride. It's not extreme. It's a quiet, surreal experience that rewires your understanding of temperature. And it's one of the most honest winter activities you can do in Rovaniemi, no aurora guarantees, no reindeer selfies, just you and the ice and the strange warmth of a good dry suit.

The Moments That Made Lapland Winter Activities and Tours in Lapland Winter Activities and Tours memorable

After the float, Eero led us to a kota, a traditional Sámi wooden hut with a fire pit in the centre. The heat hit my face like a wall. I unzipped the dry suit and hung it on a peg, and my thermal layers were bone-dry. Not damp. Not sweaty. Completely dry. I sat on a reindeer hide and drank hot lingonberry juice from a tin cup. The fire crackled. Outside, the temperature was dropping toward -25°C. Inside, I was in t-shirt and merino wool leggings, perfectly comfortable.

Eero told us about the river. The Kemijoki is Finland's longest river, 550km from source to sea. It freezes solid from December through April, with ice thickness reaching 60-80cm by February. The avanto is a traditional Finnish practice, sauna, then ice hole, then back to sauna. But ice floating in a dry suit is different. You stay in the water for 10-15 minutes, not 30 seconds. The cold water shock, that gasping, panicked breath you get when you first hit cold water, doesn't happen because the suit blocks the temperature. What you feel is the pressure of the water, the weightlessness, the silence.

I asked Eero if he'd ever had someone panic. "Once," he said. "A man from Texas. He was fine in the water, but when he got out, the suit had a small leak at the wrist seal. His hand was wet. He screamed. I gave him a glove and he calmed down." He shrugged. "Most people are fine."

That moment, sitting in the kota, listening to a Finn tell a story about a Texan screaming over a wet hand, is what I remember most. Not the float itself, but the contrast. The warmth of the fire. The dryness of my clothes. The absurdity of having been floating in a frozen river 20 minutes earlier.

What Really Surprised Me About Lapland Winter Activities and Tours

Three things caught me off guard about ice floating in Lapland.

First, the silence. The Kemijoki River, when frozen, is one of the quietest places I've ever been. No wind. No birds. No traffic, the nearest road is 2km away through forest. When you're in the water, the suit muffles sound. You hear your own heartbeat, the faint rustle of neoprene, the drip of water from your hood. It's meditative in a way I didn't expect.

Second, the warmth. I'd read the reviews. I knew the dry suit kept you dry. But I didn't believe I'd be warm. I was wrong. The suit traps a layer of air against your body, and your body heat warms that air. After 5 minutes, I felt genuinely comfortable, like lying in a cool bath, not an ice bath. The only cold part was my face, and Eero had given me a neoprene hood that covered everything but my eyes and nose.

Third, the lack of fear. I'm not a strong swimmer. I don't love open water. But the suit is so buoyant that you can't sink. You just float. Eero told me the suits are rated for 6 hours in 0°C water. "You'd get bored before you got cold," he said. I believed him.

I booked the Arctic Floating Experience through Viator and it was worth every euro. The tour cost €129 per person, which included the suit, the guide, hot drinks, and photos. It lasted 2.5 hours from pickup to drop-off. For context, that's cheaper than most northern lights tours, and far more reliable, the aurora depends on solar weather, but the ice is always there.

Mia Ahola's Insider Tips for Getting It Right

I've lived in Rovaniemi my whole life. I've guided hundreds of tourists through Lapland winters. Here's what I know about ice floating:

• Book for the morning. December tours have about 2 hours of twilight (11:30-13:30). Morning slots give you the best natural light for photos. Afternoon tours are dark by 14:00.
• Wear merino wool base layers. The dry suit goes over your clothes. Cotton holds moisture and will make you cold if the suit leaks. Merino wool is worth the €80 investment. I recommend the packing list I wrote for winter trips.
• Bring a power bank. Lithium batteries drain in minutes at -20°C. My iPhone went from 80% to 15% in 20 minutes of outdoor use. A power bank kept it alive. I use an Anker 20,000mAh, it's heavy but reliable.
• Skip the Santa Claus Village restaurants. They're overpriced and mediocre. Eat in Rovaniemi centre instead, bus #8 runs every 20 minutes from the village to the city centre. Try Nili for reindeer stew or Kauppayhtiö for modern Finnish food.
• Check the cancellation policy. Ice floating runs in all weather, rain, snow, -30°C. But if the river ice is unstable (rare, but happens in early December or late March), tours cancel. The best operators offer 100% money-back guarantees. Arctic Avalanche does.
• Combine it with other activities. Ice floating is a 2-3 hour tour. You can easily do it in the morning and add a husky safari or ice fishing in the afternoon. I wrote a guide to ice fishing on the Kemijoki that pairs well with this.

What I Wish I'd Known Before I Went

I wish someone had told me these five things before I stepped into that dry suit:

1. The suit is tight around the neck. Really tight. It's a rubber seal that presses against your skin. If you're claustrophobic, this might be uncomfortable. You get used to it after 2 minutes, but the first time you zip up, it feels like someone is gently choking you. Breathe slowly. It passes.
2. Your face gets cold. Everything below your neck is warm. Your face is exposed to -22°C air. Eero offered a neoprene hood, but I declined because I wanted photos. Big mistake. After 8 minutes, my cheeks were numb. Take the hood.
3. You will need to pee. The cold makes your bladder contract. I didn't drink coffee before the tour, but I still felt the urge 10 minutes in. There's no bathroom in a dry suit. Eero told me to "just go", the suit is waterproof and you can rinse it later. I didn't. I regretted it.
4. Photos look better than reality. The water is black. The ice is white. Your orange suit is bright. The photos Eero took were impressive, me floating in a sea of white and black. But the actual experience is more subtle. It's quiet, not dramatic. Don't expect a thrill ride. Expect a meditative pause.
5. The best husky kennels are small family operations 30-60 minutes outside Rovaniemi. If you're combining ice floating with a husky safari, skip the large commercial farms near Santa Claus Village. Drive to Ranua or Palojärvi. I wrote a husky safari guide that names the kennels I trust.

I also wish I'd known that the northern lights don't look like Instagram photos to the naked eye. They're usually pale white-green arcs. Cameras with long exposure capture the colours. If you're hoping to see the aurora during your ice floating tour, you probably won't, the tours run during daylight hours (such as they are in December). Book a separate northern lights tour for that. Look for operators that offer 'unlimited mileage', they'll drive 200km if necessary to find clear skies.

One more thing: winter tyres are mandatory in Finland from December to February. Rental cars come equipped. Drive carefully on ice, the Kemijoki roads are plowed but slick. And carry a power bank. I said that already, but it bears repeating. At -25°C, your phone dies in minutes.

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