Kirkenes Snowhotel: Complete Guide and Review
The Kirkenes Snowhotel is one of Norway's most distinctive Arctic accommodations. Built fresh every winter from ice and snow harvested from the nearby Langfjord, it offers the unique experience of sleeping at -4°C in a room carved from ice — then warming up in the traditional log sauna and hot tub under potential northern lights.
What Is the Kirkenes Snowhotel?
The Snowhotel is part of the Snowhotel Kirkenes complex, located about 9km from Kirkenes town centre. It's rebuilt every year from scratch, with a new design and new ice sculptures in each room. The construction happens in November/December and the hotel operates from December to April, when it melts back into the fjord.
The complex also includes warm accommodation options — log cabins and glass cabins (the "Aurora Cabins") with panoramic glass roofs for northern lights viewing from your bed. Most visitors combine a single night in the ice room with the rest of their stay in warm accommodation.
Sleeping in the Ice Room
The ice rooms are kept at a constant -4°C. You sleep in a thermal sleeping bag rated to -20°C or colder, placed on top of a reindeer skin and insulating mattress on an ice bed. The experience is entirely safe — many guests report sleeping surprisingly well. You're given a briefing on how to sleep warm, what to wear (base layers, not your outdoor gear), and what to leave in the warm changing room.
Each ice room has a unique sculpted design — past themes have included Arctic wildlife, Sami mythology, and local history. The rooms are lit with coloured LED lighting that enhances the translucent ice walls. It's genuinely beautiful.
Aurora Glass Cabins
The Aurora Cabins are purpose-built for northern lights viewing. Each cabin has a large slanted glass wall facing north, allowing you to watch for aurora from your warm bed without stepping outside. They're significantly more comfortable than the ice rooms and the northern lights experience is arguably better — you can watch the aurora develop over hours without freezing.
The cabins book out months in advance for January and February. If the aurora glass cabins are your priority, start planning 4-6 months ahead.
Activities at the Snowhotel
- Dog sledding from the hotel — kennels on site
- Snowmobile safaris into the Finnmark wilderness
- King crab safari on the Barents Sea (Kirkenes is famous for king crabs)
- Reindeer sledding with local Sami herders
- Ice fishing on the fjord
- Northern lights tours by snowshoe or snowmobile
How to Book
Book directly through the Snowhotel Kirkenes website. Ice room nights typically cost 3,000-4,500 NOK per person, including breakfast. Aurora glass cabins run 4,000-6,000 NOK per person. The hotel is accessible by taxi from Kirkenes Airport (10 minutes) or via their own transfer service.