Guide · Experience

Ice Floating in Rovaniemi: in the ice lake under the Northern Sky

While ice floating, you float in a life jacket on a frozen lake and look up. Here you can read how it works, what it costs and how to combine it with a sauna.

Check availabilityfrom $228 · free cancellation

Editorial rovaniemipolarlichter.deUpdated on October 3, 20266 min read8 sources

The Tour for This Guide Rovaniemi: Ice Floating in Forest Lake with Aurora Borealis 4.3 (885 reviews) 2.5 hours from$144per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hours in advance

In short

01What it is: You float with a guide on a frozen lake, wearing a life jacket that covers you completely and keeps you dry.¹
02Safe?: According to Visit Finland, the guided step into the icy water with this suit is completely safe.¹
03Costs: Ice Floating in the forest lake from $144 per person, 2.5 hours, with pickup.
04Northern lights: Possible on dark, clear nights; the offer does not name a guarantee.
05With sauna: Sauna, ice bathing and dinner with Northern Lights chance: 4 hours, from $191.

What happens during ice floating in the ice lake

Ice floating sounds like a test of courage, but it is rather a quiet experience. You climb with a guide into a frozen lake where an opening in the ice is free, and let yourself drift in the dark water. You wear a life jacket that covers your whole body and keeps you dry.¹ You do not need to swim. You simply lie in the water, breathe calmly and look up at the sky over Lapland.

The appeal lies in the contrast. All around you is stillness, the ice cracks quietly, and the trees on the shore stand black against the sky. The cold of the water reaches you through the suit only muted, while your face stays in the clear winter air. The feeling is like floating, only that above you there is no ceiling, but the vast northern sky with its stars.

The tour we recommend here is originally called Ice Floating in Forest Lake with Aurora Borealis. It leads to a forest lake, lasts 2.5 hours and includes pickup. It is booked through GetYourGuide, where you can see available dates for your travel period and also read the exact terms before you commit.

The itinerary

An evening on the ice lake

In the afternoon

Check the sky

The Finnish Meteorological Institute shows on its northern lights page how active the sky is.²
Before the tour

Dress warmly

Visit Rovaniemi recommends several layers of winter clothing for the cold days.³
Pickup

Transfer to the forest lake

Pickup is included in the Ice Floating offer.
On the shore

Into the dry suit

The suit covers your whole body and keeps you dry.¹
On the lake

Drifting and watching

You float still in the water, stars above you and, with a bit of luck, green light.
Later evening

The best time window

In Finland mostly between nine p.m. and two a.m.⁴

How cold is it, and is it safe?

The honest answer: cold is mainly the air. In winter, average temperatures in Rovaniemi range from minus 10 to minus 20 degrees.⁵ The water beneath an ice sheet does not freeze all the way to the bottom, yet it is still icy. Without protection, you would cool down very quickly. That is exactly why the suit exists, and that is exactly why you never go alone, but always enter the water with a guide.

Visit Finland describes the guided step into the icy water as completely safe, thanks to a high-quality life jacket that covers the whole body and keeps you dry.¹ You keep your own clothing underneath it. It is important that you follow the guide's instructions: step in slowly, stay calm and let them know as soon as you feel too cold or want to go back ashore.

For whom is it not really for you? If you feel uncomfortable in tight suits or are traveling with health limitations, read the notes on the booking page beforehand and, in doubt, ask the provider. For everyone else: the experience is unusual, but with suit and guide it is manageable. Most of the excitement lasts only the first few seconds, after which it becomes surprisingly calm.

Compare

The evenings at a glance

Experience	Duration	From price	Pickup
Ice Floating in the forest lake	2.5 hours	from $144	included
Sauna, ice bath, dinner	4 hrs	from $191	included
Northern lights tour with guarantee	8 hrs.	from $228	included

Per-person starting prices based on the offers on GetYourGuide; the exact price depends on the date.

The offers

Three ways onto the ice and under the sky

Our pick

Ice Floating in the forest lake

With pickup

Duration: 2.5 hours
Rating: 4.27 out of 885
Guide: English
Price: from $144

Check dates

Rovaniemi: Sauna & Ice Swimming Tour with Dinner and Aurora

Finnish tradition

Sauna and ice bath

with dinner

Duration: 4 hrs
Rating: 4.79 out of 162
Pickup: included
Price: from $191

Check dates

For the sky

Northern lights tour

Small group with guarantee

Duration: 8 hrs.
Group: up to 8
Rating: 4.64 out of 4,381
Price: from $228

Check dates

Decision helper

Ice lake, sauna, or tour?

What do you want from your evening?

I want to experience something I have never done before I want to get to know the Finnish tradition I want to see the northern lights above all else I get cold very quickly I am traveling on a tight budget

Ice Floating

Wearing a life jacket, drifting on the frozen lake, calm and without any athletic effort.¹

Sauna and ice bath

The Finnish sauna culture has been on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2020.⁶

Northern lights tour

Eight hours and your money back if the conditions make it impossible.

Sauna

Between sessions you warm up again in the heat.

Ice Floating

From $144 per person, it is the more affordable of the two water options.

Dive into the frozen lake for an amazing and relaxing experience. This guided step into icy water is completely safe, with a high-quality suit that covers your whole body and keeps you dry.

Visit FinlandTranslated from English · Source 1

Seeing the Northern Lights from the ice

The Northern Lights are in the name of the tour, but nobody can promise them. The season in Rovaniemi starts at the end of August and runs until early April.⁷ For you to see something, you need darkness, activity in the sky and a gap in the clouds. The offer does not name a guarantee or refund if no Northern Lights appear.

In the evening, the best time window in Finland is mostly between nine in the evening and two in the morning.⁴ Whether a green arc stands over the lake at exactly that time while you lie in the water is up to the sky. Even without Northern Lights, a clear starry sky over the ice is a moment you will not forget quickly, and with Northern Lights it becomes a true Lapland experience.

One advantage of this location: a forest lake, as the tour name calls it, lies away from the bright streets. According to Visit Finland, even Rovaniemi has dark skies nearby, and just a short way out of town, to a frozen lake for example, makes a real difference.⁸ For you, that means: when the sky clears, you are lying in the right place.

Checklist

What is included and what to bring

According to the offer

Pickup Included
Live guide in English
Around 2.5 hours
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance

Bring

Warm layers under the suit
Hat and gloves for afterwards
Warm winter shoes
A small towel for face and hands

Good to know

In the water you wear a full-body wetsuit
Northern lights only in dark, clear skies
Book now, pay later

Cost calculator

How much does your evening on the ice cost

Choose an experience and the number of guests.

Ice Floatingin the forest lakefrom $144 Sauna and ice bathwith dinnerfrom $191 Northern lights tourSmall groupfrom $228

people 2

Total from$288

from per person $144

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Departure prices according to GetYourGuide, converted at the ECB reference rate. The exact price is shown when you book.

Video

Ice bathing in Lapland at minus 17 degrees

The video only loads when you tap Play.

Sauna and ice bathing: the Finnish way

If you prefer sweating to floating, you will find the classic combination of sauna and ice hole in Rovaniemi. Finnish sauna culture was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2020.⁶ In Finland, the alternation between a hot cabin and cold water is not a spectacle, but a ritual, and that is precisely what makes it so appealing to guests from the south.

One tour combines sauna, ice bathing, dinner and a chance of Northern Lights in four hours, with pickup, from $191 per person. It is rated 4.79 out of 162 reviews, but has fewer reviews than the ice floating with 885. A sauna under the Northern Lights is not a promise here, but a lovely possibility when the sky cooperates.

The difference from ice floating: with classic ice bathing, you dip into the water briefly without a suit and warm up again in the sauna afterward. That is more intense but shorter. With ice floating, you stay in the suit longer in the lake and calmly look up. Both can also be combined if you spend several nights in Rovaniemi and plan different evenings.

What the experiences cost

Ice Floating in the forest lake is available from $144 per person, with pickup and a live guide in English. The tour is rated 4.27 out of 885 reviews, and you can book now, pay later and cancel free of charge up to 24 hours in advance. All prices on this page are starting prices; the exact amount for your date is shown by GetYourGuide before booking.

The combination of sauna, ice bathing and dinner starts from $191 and lasts four hours. If you want to use the evening mainly to search for Northern Lights, the Northern Lights tour on this page offers a much longer option: eight hours, a maximum of eight guests, and from $228. It is not a bathing experience, but a ride to where the sky is clear.

What is it worth? With Ice Floating, you pay for an experience you cannot easily have at home, and for the gear that keeps you safe. If you see the northern lights, it becomes an evening you will talk about for a long time. If you do not, it is still a memorable moment on the ice under the stars. You book with this expectation and will not be disappointed.

Who will enjoy this experience

Ice Floating is for you if you are looking for something special and do not just want to gaze at the sky from a vehicle. It is quiet, slow, and requires no athletic effort. If you generally avoid water or get cold very quickly, a classic northern lights tour or a sauna session is a better fit, since warmth is never far away.

For couples, it is an evening worth remembering; for photographers, it is more of a challenge: you cannot bring a camera into the water. Photos are taken on shore, and for that you need someone who stays outside. Whether the Ice Floating tour includes photos for you is not stated by the provider. So ask beforehand if a picture of you in the ice lake matters to you.

A practical tip to finish: do not schedule Ice Floating on your last evening. If a date is canceled due to weather or the sky is overcast, you will then still have room for another chance, whether on the lake, in the sauna, or on a tour that drives above the clouds. With a little buffer in your plan, a try becomes a relaxed week in the north.

What to pack for the evening

Under the dry suit, wear warm, comfortable clothing that you would otherwise put on for a winter evening: a base layer of wool, then a sweater or fleece. Visit Rovaniemi recommends several layers of winter clothing on cold days.³ Tight jeans or thick jackets make putting on the suit difficult, so choose soft layers that move easily.

For after the lake, pack dry gloves, a hat, and a small towel. Your face and hands are the areas that may come into contact with water and cold during Ice Floating. A thermos with hot tea makes the walk back to the vehicle much more pleasant, especially during the cold months of the season.

Leave jewelry, watches, and mobile phones in the vehicle or in a well-sealed bag on shore. You do not need any of them in the water, and cold fingers let things slip easily. If you want photos, hand your phone to a companion on shore and briefly explain the night mode beforehand. That way, the moment on the ice stays entirely yours, and the keepsake photo will not be missed.

Book the tour