“Spend the winter with Icelandic horses”
7 Day Winter Horse Riding Holiday in Kiruna, Lapland
Ofelas Islandshästar, Puoltsa 1057, Kiruna, Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Lapland, Sweden
Sweden Horse Riding Holiday
Spend an exciting winter week with Ofelas Islandshästar and their Icelandic horses and do a lot of other activities. It is exciting to ride in the snow, in the forest on smaller tracks, in the dark, and during daylight. What you will experience when you visit is both genuine and exciting!
Key Information
- Rider Weight Limit: 198 pounds / 90 kilograms
- Horse Height Range: 12.8 - 14.8 hands
- Tack Type: Icelandic/English tack
- Horse Breed: Icelandic Horses
Meet the instructors
Mats , Kerstin , & Jenny
Read more
Read more
Highlights
- 5 days of horse riding
- Approximate daily riding time: 1 to 2 hours
- Northern lights tour on horseback, reindeer sledding, and snowmobile
- Experience the Sami culture and a moose safari on horseback
- Various activities for non-riders
- Visit to Kiruna and the famous Ice hotel
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily meals
Skill level
- Intermediate
Styles
6 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: Swedish
Group size: Minimum of 3 participants
Airport transfer included:
Kiruna Airport
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
15:00
Facilities
- Sauna
- Kitchen
During this week, you will stay in a house on Ofelas Islandshästar's small horse farm with double rooms, a shared kitchen or living room, and a bathroom. The farm is beautifully located close to the Kalix River, west of Kiruna, in a small village. If you want to live close to nature, have animals, like moose, outside your window, and experience the silence, this is the place for you.
There is also a sauna at the river bank. You can, on your own, take a walk in the forest and on the river, go skiing, try the “kick” or walk with snowshoes. It is also possible to order meals if you don’t want to cook by yourself. You can rent winter clothes if needed. You can get to Kiruna by bus during the summertime.
Program
You have local guides with you these days, very familiar with the area and culture. During these days, you also visit the famous Ice Hotel. You will feel peace and quiet and be much out in nature. Hopefully, you will see northern lights, reindeer, moose, and other animals. What you will experience when you visit Sweden with Ofelas Islandshästar is both genuine and exciting. Sami culture and reindeer sledding are focused on getting to know more about Sami culture, living, meeting reindeer, and trying reindeer sledding.
That is not just a long reindeer sleigh, so you can check what is written in your itinerary. During this week, you stay overnight in a house on a small horse farm with double rooms, a shared kitchen or living room, and a bathroom. The farm is beautifully located, close to the Kalix River west of Kiruna in a small village. You will be served local specialties, like game and fish.
Most of the activities you will do from Ofelas Islandshästar farm, but for some of them, you will need to go by car, and the activities are probably done in another order than in this program and the group is asked to always have to respect the winter weather. Arrival latest 3:00 p.m. to do the activity on the first day. Most of the activities, you will do from the farm but for some of them, you will go by car, and the activities are probably done in another order than in this program and you always have to respect the winter weather.
Activities
- Day 1: Arrival and riding lesson
- Day 2: Snowmobile with outdoor lunch and northern lights tour on horseback
- Day 3: Reindeer sledding, get to know more about Sami culture, and Ice hotel
- Day 4: Riders - Forest or road riding and visit Kiruna | Non-riders - Cross-country skiing or snowshoeing tour and visit Kiruna
- Day 5: Riders - Moose safari on horseback and sauna | Non-riders - Arctic wildlife safari with snowmobile and sauna
- Day 6: Riders - Forest and oval track riding | Non-riders - Visit Nikkaluokta with photo opportunities (with a car) and free afternoon
- Day 7: Departure
Riding experience
Riding experience is required, you can ride in faster gaits than walk.
Daily itinerary
Day 1
After your transfer to the farm, start with an introduction in the afternoon to get familiar with the horses. Eat a three-course dinner together after. Outside the window, you will probably see moose and maybe some northern lights.
Day 2
Go up the mountains by snowmobile, two persons are allowed on each snowmobile. You'll learn how to drive a snowmobile this day and have an outdoor lunch prepared over an open fire. In the evening, have a riding tour in the dark looking for northern lights and spend the evening in the goahti (Sami hut), around the fire while eating dinner.
Day 3
The next day, have a reindeer sledding tour including lunch where two persons will be sharing a sled; that's the old way of transportation for Sami people in this area. In the afternoon, visit the famous Icehotel, have dinner at the restaurant, and in the evening, come back to the farm.
Day 4
Have a riding class about riding Icelandic horses and for non-riders, you can go on a cross-country skiing/snowshoeing tour. In the afternoon, visit the town of Kiruna and the Sami Museum.
Day 5
Ride in the forest, probably seeing moose. Non-riders can go on an arctic wildlife safari tour with a snowmobile. In the afternoon, you will have a sauna, from where you'll have a beautiful view of the river and mountains.
Day 6
Ride in the forest and the afternoon, have a riding lesson. Non-riders can go by car to the small village of Nikkaluokta, it is a nice scenery to drive to and you will also have chances to photograph. The afternoon is free for you, you can maybe read a book, try kick sledding, or have a walk.
Day 7
On the last day, Ofelas Islandshästar will bring you back to the airport in Kiruna.
Animals
Right now, Ofelas Islandshästar has about 25 Icelandic horses at the farm, a few are privately owned. The stable cat, Lunar, also lives there, as well as two goats and four dogs. During the winter, Ofelas Islandshästar also gets quite a lot of moose there.
The Ofelas Islandshästar Team
The company has been run by Kerstin Nilsson and Mats Blind-Berg, since 1997. Jenny Jansson and Sara Hansson work at the farm, they have both moved up there from south of Sweden. Usually, Ofelas Islandshästar has some extra employees during the high season.
Instructors
Mats Blind-Berg
Also called Matti, owner of Ofelas Islandshästar. He is from this area with roots in Girjas Sami community, and active in Sami politics and the work of the community. He likes photography when there is an opportunity for that.
Kerstin Nilsson
Kerstin is an owner of Ofelas Islandshästar and comes from this area. She is a qualified handicraft teacher from the beginning and educated in the Sami language, has also the “riding teacher 1” education. She has the roots in Leaváš Sami community and also has reindeer there.
Jenny Jansson
Jenny is from Arboga and has been working here for quite many years, she also lives in Puoltsa. Has a tourism education and has been riding Icelandic horse for a long time. She has her own horse at the farm, Skriða, and a Finnish sami dog called Ira.
Location
Ofelas Islandshästar is located 25 kilometers west of Kiruna in the direction of Nikkaluokta with a fantastic view of the mountains and Kalix River. In wintertime, they have the northern lights and during summer, the midnight sun.
Puoltsa
The farm is located in a small village called Puoltsa (Buolža in Sami). It is between Kiruna and Nikkaluokta, next to the riverbank of the Kalix River. Ofelas Islandshästar has had the business since 1997.
Distances
- Kiruna, 25 kilometers
Features
Activities
- Horse riding
- Sauna
General
- Barbeque facilities
- Kitchen
Food
During this trip, daily breakfast, lunch, and two or three-course dinner are included. Reindeer and moose meat is an important ingredient in Sámi cuisine, usually smoked to last longer when you are out in the mountains for many weeks. Other local specialties in this area are fish from the river or mountain lakes. Berries and herbs are also important ingredients, like cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, meadowsweet, etc.
Ofelas Islandshästar provides any special diet if you require it, like no lactose, gluten-free, or vegetarian, just remember to inform them in advance. Traditional food in Sámi is meat and fish supplemented with herbs and berries. Salt and flour were bought so you could bake bread. Fish and meat were eaten either fresh, salted, smoked, dried, or conserved differently. The Sami cuisine still looks the same but with new dishes and outside influences.
Reindeer and moose meat, Arctic char, Whitefish, cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, and Mountain Sorrel are common in Sami cuisine. Coffee cheese was made from reindeer milk and, later, also from goat and cow milk. Lots of new exciting things are happening with the development of Sami cooking today. Ofelas Islandshästar must get the information about food restrictions in good time. During a week, you will have 17 meals so they need to plan in advance. Please let them know what you want upon booking.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Gluten Free
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Lactose Free
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
- Riding tour (1000 SEK)
Dog sledding
Now and then are coming guests who think that dog sledding is included in the program, but it is an extra option. Check your information so that is clear that it is an extra option and not included in the price. Also, they need to book dog sledding in advance. It costs 2700 SEK for two people per sled including lunch.
Icehotel
Ofelas Islandshästar always visits Icehotel. If you want to book a night at Icehotel as an extra option, it needs to be done in advance. It costs 3500 SEK per person for double room and 6200 SEK per person for single room.
What's included
- Riding lesson
- Snowmobile with outdoor lunch
- Northern lights tour on horseback
- Sami culture, reindeer sledding, and icehotel
- Riding forest or road to visit Kiruna
- Moose safari on horseback
- Sauna
- Riding forest with oval track
- Cross-country skiing or snowshoeing tour to visit Kiruna for non-riders only
- Arctic wildlife safari with snowmobile for non-riders only
- Visit to Nikkaluokta and photograph (with car) for non-riders only
- 6 nights accommodation
- Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner
What's not included
- Airfare
- Personal expenses
- Additional activities
- Extra meals and drinks
- Alcoholic drinks
- Single supplement fee (3300 SEK)
How to get there
Recommended Airports
KRN
Kiruna Airport
19 km
Transfer included
Arrival by bus
From Kiruna Airport (KRN), there is a shuttle bus to Kiruna city center. You can also arrange a transfer service with Ofelas Islandshästar at an additional cost of 400 SEK per person. Ofelas Islandshästar normally picks up at the time of your arrival but if the flights are close to each other, then you may have to wait for the next flight.
Arrival at the latest is 3:00 p.m., so you can do the activities on the first day. You can get to Ofelas Islandshästar by bus from Kiruna during summertime. Kindly arrive at Nikkaluokta fjällstation, it usually departs twice a day during high season. For more information, please send Ofelas Islandshästar an inquiry.
Arrival by train
You can book train tickets to Kiruna. Between Stockholm and Kiruna, there is a night train without change. From the train station, there are free shuttles to the city center.
Arrival by taxi
If you would like to arrive through a taxi service, please send Ofelas Islandshästar an inquiry for more information.
Here is some information about traveling to Kiruna this winter:
As normal there is the SAS and Norwegian flying Stockholm-Kiruna (Norwegian just Fridays and Sundays Nov-March)
There's a night train Stockholm-Kiruna also.
Direct flights:
- Paris - Kiruna: Air France Saturdays 21th of Dec-8th of March
- Köpenhamn - Kiruna: 12th of Dec - 30th of March Thursdays and Sundays
- Düsseldorf - Kiruna: Eurowings Saturdays 1st of Feb-22nd of March
Airport: Kiruna Airport
Airport transfer included: Kiruna Airport
No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 7 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookHorseRidingHolidays.com. All major credit cards supported.
86573
Similar Horse Riding Holidays you might like
Why choose BookHorseRidingHolidays.com
Largest Selection
Friendly Customer Service
Offers for every budget
Best Price