Not many people would have thought that I would end up travelling through Lapland and northern Norway. The girl from Brisbane by way of Texas dealing with the extreme cold? No way she’d survive.
I thought that too — after all, I was the one that would put on a jacket if the temperature dipped below 15º. That was before I was given the chance to head to Lapland for a few days prior to a business trip; it was then that I became fascinated with this place that was a polar (ha ha) opposite to most places I had ever visited.
Me with Liza Minelli the sled dog on my first trip to Lapland in 2012.
In those initial planning stages, I realised how little I knew about travelling in an area with a semi-permanent cold climate (I say semi- permanent because winter takes up over half the year in these locations — more than every other season combined).
Plus, there were plenty of other logistical concerns that dogged me on both my introductory trip and my extended trip the following year. How would I deal with exchanging money so I didn’t end up in a financial bind after crossing the border into a very small northern town? How would I ensure I was adequately insured for all of the adventurous activities I’d be taking on, especially given I broke my leg on my first trip?
I eventually found answers to these questions and many more, but researching all of these concerns (and planning my itinerary around Norway, Sweden, and Finland) took more than double the length of my actual trip (which was roughly one month long).
Since it took so much time — and so many resources — for me to plan my own trip, I wanted to make the information I had learned available to other travellers to speed up their planning process. Thus, the Guide to Lapland and Northern Norway in Winter was born.
The goal of this guide was both to answer those burning questions you may have about planning a trip to Lapland or northern Norway as well as inspiring those not already planning a trip to travel to this extraordinary destination. It provides travellers with the information they need to have a successful overall trip in a region that presents a number of logistical challenges due to the extremes it endures.