What to Expect on an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland (Our Experience and Tips!)
Are you looking for a bucketlist-worthy experience for your trip to Lapland? Then check out the icebreaker cruises in Finland! An icebreaker cruise is an incredible opportunity to sail across a frozen Arctic sea and have the chance to walk on the ice and float in the frigid icy water. In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about taking an icebreaker cruise in Finland, including the different options, costs, best time to go, if it’s worth it, and exactly what to expect!
Imagine…you’re standing on a giant ship. You gaze up from the deck and look out to nothing but a sea of white in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Below, you hear the cracking of ice as the ship is crushing through a thick sheet of frozen water. Later, you step off the boat and walk on top of the frozen sea before donning a goofy-looking survival suit to hop in the water and float among the massive chunks of ice.
Sounds pretty cool, right?
So, where can you have this totally unique experience?
Cue…the icebreaker cruise in Finland. The icebreaker cruise is an awesome experience to have in Finnish Lapland in the winter. These ships sail through the frozen Gulf of Bothnia where you can experience the boat crushing through the ice, and have the opportunity to float in the frozen sea!
At first, it seemed like such a random and odd thing to do, and people certainly gave us weird looks when we told them our plans. But I think that’s sort of the beauty of it, and what makes the experience so special. I mean, where else can you say you’ve sailed through and floated in the middle of an icy Arctic sea? It’s a totally unique experience and one that I think deserves a place on anyone’s bucketlist!
So in this guide, we’re going to share everything you need to know about the icebreaker cruise in Finland. We’ll go over the different options for icebreaker cruises, what they cost, when to go, and what to bring. Plus, we’ll share our entire experience on an icebreaker cruise in Finland so you can know exactly what to expect and decide if this is something you want to add to your winter Finland itinerary.
Let’s get to it!
In this guide to icebreaker cruises in Finland:
What Is An Icebreaker Cruise?
While an icebreaker cruise might seem like it’s for the thrill of sailing through the frozen sea, the existence of icebreaker ships are for a bit more than that. Icebreaker ships are actually crucial for Finland’s economy.
Finland is actually the only country in the world where all the ports freeze over in the winter- not a great thing for the economy and keeping imports and exports going.
Icebreakers were created to break through the ice in the Gulf of Bothniaa nd open up channels for cargo ships to move through and continue trade in the winter.
However, cargo ships became bigger and bigger overtime, and the existing icebreakers were no longer big enough to create large enough channels for the cargo ships to pass through, and they eventually had to be retired.
These retired ships were then repurposed for tourism so that people could experience the thrill of crushing through the ice in the middle of the Gulf of Bothnia.
On an icebreaker cruise, you can sail through the Gulf, float in the frozen water, and get a tour of the ship. The ship that we went on specifically, the Sampo, still has all of the original equipment and controls from when it was built in 1961, so it was a very cool and authentic experience.
Touring the engine room of an icebreaker ship in Finland
There are a few different options to choose from for an icebreaker cruise in Finland, so let’s get into that now!
What is the Best Icebreaker Cruise in Finland?
When it comes to icebreaker cruises in Finland, there are three options.
The Sampo Icebreaker
The Sampo Icebreaker
The Sampo Icebreaker is operated by a company called Experience365. They operate out of Kemi, Finland, where the port is located on the Gulf of Bothnia.
There are morning and afternoon cruise options on the Sampo. The whole experience includes: a 3.5 hour (morning option) or 4 hour (afternoon option) cruise on the Gulf of Bothnia, the opportunity to walk out on the ice and do an ice float, a guided tour of the ship by one of the crew members, a lunch buffet onboard (afternoon cruise only), and a cute diploma at the end of the trip.
The Sampo ship was built in 1961, and was converted over to tourism purposes starting in 1987. The ship still retains all the original controls and equipment which is cool to see during the tour.
A ticket for the Sampo Icebreaker also includes entry into some of the other experiences offered by Experience365. These are located right at the Experience365 Snow Castle area, which is where you check in for the icebreaker boat, so it’s easy to include these experiences in your day.
These additional experiences include entry into a year-round SnowExperience365 exhibition room, which is essentially a giant warehouse room kept cold enough to preserve ice and snow all year. Inside, there are a bunch of elaborate ice sculptures, a fun ice slide, and an ice bar with ice tables and chairs. You can also check out the Snow Castle Winter Park area, which is a large snow fort where you can walk down hallways made of snow and that have intricate snow carvings, slide down another ice slide, sit in a snow chapel, and ride on a traditional Finnish carrousel. (Keep in mind that the Winter Park might have more limited seasonal hours based on conditions and this might not be available when you take your cruise.)
We chose the Sampo Icebreaker, so you’ll hear all about our experience on this ship specifically and at the Snow Castle in just a bit!
The Arktis Icebreaker
The Arktis Icebreaker
The Arktis Icebreaker is another ship operated by Experience365 out of Kemi, Finland. It’s a smaller but more modern version of the Sampo Icebreaker (it started taking tourists in 2023), and because it’s a shorter cruise with less included, it’s a more affordable icebreaker option.
The Arktis Icebreaker includes a 3 hour cruise on the Gulf of Bothnia, and the opportunity to walk on ice and ice float. You also get a diploma at the end of the trip. The ticket for this ship does not include the other Experience365 experiences like the exhibition room and Winter Park, but you can buy tickets to those separately if you wish. It also doesn’t include lunch on board, but there is a café onboard for purchasing snacks, and a buffet restaurant at the Experience365 area.
The Polar Explorer
The Polar Explorer is operated by a different company than the Sampo and Arktis, and it actually leaves from a port in Batskarsnas, Sweden, which is just over the border from Finland. The boat was built in 1976 for icebreaking, but was then rebuilt in 1991, so may not retain all the original features.
The Polar Explorer Icebreaker includes a 3 hour cruise on the Gulf of Bothnia with an opportunity to ice float and walk on the ice, a hot drink as well as snacks for purchase at the onboard café, a self-guided audio tour including a movie about icebreakers in the onboard cinema, an onboard photographer, and a diploma at the end of the trip.
Which icebreaker cruise in Finland should you choose?
As you can see, all three of the icebreakers offer a very similar main experience: a 3-4 hour cruise, ice floating, and walking on the frozen sea. Since those are the main reasons for taking an icebreaker cruise, it doesn’t matter too much which one you chose. The three just differ slightly in what other minor inclusions they offer (such as a buffet lunch, an onboard photographer, the type of ship tour, etc). It really usually comes down to budget and what you want to spend, as their prices range.
With each of the icebreaker cruise options, you’ll have the chance to walk on and float in the ice water!
We chose the Sampo Icebreaker because we thought it was the best bang for our buck for what it offered. It had the longest sailing time out in the Gulf (and we wanted to soak up all the time we could on the boat!), plus a nice tour and lunch. The add-ons in the Experience365 area were a nice little bonus.
But if you’re just looking for the experience of icebreaking and ice floating, the Arktis or Polar Explorer are great options. We wouldn’t let the addition of the Experience365 add-ons be the only thing to sway you into taking the Sampo Icebreaker. The exhibition room and Winter Park weren’t anything special in our opinion, but we’ll go over our experience more in a bit to help you decide.
How to Get to the Icebreaker Cruise in Finland
Walking across the frozen Gulf of Bothnia in front of the Sampo Icebreaker
Getting to Kemi
For the Sampo and Arktis icebreaker cruises, you’ll need to get to Kemi in Lapland, Finland, located right on the Gulf of Bothnia in southern Lapland. Kemi is about 1.5 hours south of Rovaniemi, the main tourist hub of Lapland, Finland. Specifically, you’ll be going to the Experience365 area, located here. This is where you’ll check in for either the Sampo or the Arktis cruises, and where you’ll find all the Experience365 activities, like the exhibition room and the Winter Park. From here, a shuttle bus will pick everyone up and bring you to the port for the icebreaker cruise.
Getting to Kemi without a car
If you don’t have a car, the icebreaker cruise ticket includes shuttle bus pickup and transfer to the Experience365 area. The shuttle provides pick-ups from the different hotels as well as the train station in Kemi, from Rovaniemi, and from Haparanda (Sweden) or Tornio on the Sweden-Finland border. Depending on where you need to get picked up from, the cost of your icebreaker tour will differ (the “icebreaker from Kemi” ticket is cheapest, followed by the “icebreaker from Haparanda and Tornio”, and the “icebreaker from Rovaniemi” is the most expensive).
Getting to Kemi with a car
If you have a car, you can simply buy the “icebreaker from Kemi” ticket and drive yourself to Kemi. It’s an easy drive from Rovaniemi (just be sure to carefully watch the speed limit changes along the way- there are a ton of speed cameras all along this route!).
We had our own car and drove to Kemi for the cruise, but based on the ticket options on the website, it made it seem as if shuttle bus pick- up for the Experience365 area was required. So we drove to Kemi and then parked at the Kemi train station to wait for the shuttle bus. However, once we arrived at the Experience365 area by bus, we saw no reason that you couldn’t just simply park here on your own and bypass the shuttle, so we’d definitely recommend just doing that.
Getting to Batskarsnas
If you are taking the Polar Explorer Icebreaker, you have similar options for getting to the port in Batskarsnas, Sweden. You can drive yourself and park for free right at the port. Or you can pay extra for shuttle bus pick up from either Kemi, Rovaniemi, Tornio, or Haparanda that will bring you right to the port.
How Much Does an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland Cost?
A view of the frozen Gulf of Bothnia from an icebreaker cruise!
We won’t lie, the icebreaker cruises in Finland aren’t exactly budget friendly, but it makes sense for this kind of bucketlist activity. Luckily, the different ships have a range in price, so you can pick what works best for your budget.
These are the prices for the icebreaker cruises in Finland at the time of last updating this guide, but we highly suggesting using the links below to get the most updated pricing, schedules, and inclusions for each one.
Polar Explorer:
Depending on the cruise type (morning, afternoon, or evening), the price of this icebreaker cruise can range from 275-335 Euro, with an additional charge for shuttle pick-up from Kemi, Tornio, Haparanda, or Rovaniemi. Be sure to check their website for the most up-to-date cruise options and prices.
Sampo Icebreaker:
(note that for these prices vary depending on the time of year you go- check their website for the most up-to-date cruise options and prices)
With transport from Kemi (or without transport): 422-448 Euro (afternoon cruise) or 392-418 Euro (morning cruise)
With transport from Tornio or Haparanda: 455-481 Euro (afternoon cruise) or 425-451 Euro (morning cruise)
With transport from Rovaniemi: 526-552 Euro (afternoon cruise) or 496-522 (morning cruise)
Arktis Icebreaker:
(note that for these prices vary depending on the time of year you go- check their website for the most up-to-date cruise options and prices)
With transport from Kemi (or without transport): 279-309 Euro
With transport from Tornio or Haparanda: 330-360 Euro
With transport from Rovaniemi: 401-431 Euro
How Long is an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland?
Ice floating in the Gulf of Bothnia!
The actual icebreaker cruise itself lasts 3 to 4 hours, depending on which one you take. However, this still should really be planned as a full day activity. Between getting to the port, checking in, doing any extra activities at the Experience365 area, taking the cruise, and driving back to your accommodation, we would say to plan for a full day. And especially in winter, days can be short in Finland, so the icebreaker cruise may take up most, if not all, of your daylight hours. So we wouldn’t plan anything else for this day.
Best Time to Go on an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland
As you might guess, icebreaker cruises in Finland are only offered in winter when the Gulf of Bothnia is frozen over. Typically, they start running sometime in early to mid-December and run until early April, but you can check each of the websites for specific start and end dates.
It doesn’t matter too much when you do an icebreaker cruise within this timeframe. We’d say to figure out when you want to visit Finland based on other factors (like seeing the northern lights, participating in other snow-based winter activities, how much daylight you want, how much cold you can stand…), and then book your icebreaker cruise from there.
We visited Finland in late March around the spring equinox, mainly to give ourselves the best chance at seeing the northern lights, and to have longer days with warmer temperatures (because -30 degrees Celsius temperatures and 3 hours of daylight just did not sound appealing to me at all!). Be sure to check out our Winter Guide to Visiting Lapland, Finland for more information about the best time to visit Finland and all the other amazing things to do to help you figure out when you’d want to go!
What to Pack for an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland
Here are some things we would recommend having specifically for the icebreaker cruises in Finland. You don’t have to bring too much- as most of the necessary things are provided for you, but some useful things to have on hand include:
Layers- In case you didn’t know, Finland gets cold in the winter, and being on a ship in the middle of a frozen sea can be extra cold and windy. In Finland, my go-to ensemble was a pair of warm base layers, a mid-layer fleece (plus I kept an extra on hand just in case), and an outer warm winter jacket. I also always had mittens, a hat, an ear buff, and a neck gaiter (I don’t like being cold!).
Good shoes with traction- For your entire time in Finland in winter, we recommend a good pair of snow boots or shoes with good traction. These will be helpful on an icebreaker cruise when you have the opportunity to walk around on the ice around the ship.
Sunglasses- If it’s a really sunny day, the sun can be really bright and cause a glare off the sea of white ice, so sunglasses are super handy.
A Go Pro- or some other action camera attached to a selfie stick, specifically for when it comes time to ice float. Once you get your survival suit on, you’ll essentially have crab claws for hands and it will be very hard to hold onto any phone or camera, let alone use it to take pictures- and of course you won’t want to bring it in the water with you. We did see plenty of people that were able to hold a Go Pro on a selfie stick, though and bring it in the water with them (start recording before putting the suit on!).
A small bag- Have a small bag to carry all these items in, plus any small valuables like wallets, cash, etc. The key word here is small. The lockers on board that you’ll use when you ice float are pretty tiny and you’ll want to be able to fit everything in there.
The Icebreaker Cruise in Finland: Our Experience and What to Expect
Ok, now onto the good stuff- our experience onboard an icebreaker cruise in Finland! We hope that by sharing our detailed experience and pictures, it will help you decide if this is something you want to do!
We chose the afternoon Sampo Icebreaker tour, so our descriptions are specific to this ship, though we do think you’d get a similar experience on either of the other two ships as well.
Getting to Kemi
As we mentioned above, the icebreaker tour for the Sampo (and the Arktis) starts at the Experience365 area. We had our own rental car, so we were able to drive to Kemi. Based on the website, it had seemed like we had to get shuttle bus pick-up somewhere in Kemi as part of the tour, so we parked at the Kemi train station since this was a pick-up option.
There was another couple there who had the same thought as us, and the bus came and picked all four of us up to make the five minute ride to the Experience365 area. Once there, we did see there was a large parking lot here, and it seemed that we could have simply driven straight here to bypass the shuttle bus pickup- a good thing to know for the future!
However, you can also buy the ticket option that includes pick-up from other towns such as Rovaniemi if you don’t have your own car. Be sure to carefully check the schedules that are sent to you to know when you’ll be picked up.
In any case, everyone will end up at the Experience365 building, where you’ll be directed to check in for your cruise, either on the Sampo or the Arktis.
The Experience365 entrance
The check-in process was smooth and easy, and they go over everything you will need to know for the day. The whole process is very organized and well-run, which I really appreciated. You’ll get a colored wristband when you check in, and the color of your wristband places you into a group that determines the times for your different activities while onboard (your specific times for lunch, the ship tour, and ice floating).
The helpful schedules that we got before the cruise!
There were only about 50 people onboard the ship for our cruise, and there were 7 different wristband colors, so the group sizes were really small which was nice. The ship can fit a lot more people, so I’m not sure if this was just a particularly empty cruise near the end of season or if this is the standard number of passengers they book, but these small group sizes definitely made the cruise way more enjoyable, and it never felt crowded or touristy. In fact, I was often the only one out on the deck enjoying the views!
The Experience365 area
We arrived at the Experience365 area at about 11:45 am, and they gave us until 1 pm to explore the different exhibits here, which were included in our ticket for the Sampo Icebreaker. If you are taking the Arktis, you can buy separate tickets to these areas if you want.
Just a little note about the Experience365 area: This company runs the SnowCastle of Kemi, which you may have heard of or seen pictures of. It used to be a pretty elaborate and extensive snow castle made entirely of snow and ice, and was once considered the world’s largest. It had a pretty large snow hotel with several rooms where you could sleep on a bed of ice, a huge ice restaurant and bar, and a small chapel, among other things.
However, the concept of the Experience365 area has changed to focus on more of a year-round destination as well as an event space. So, the Snow Castle area isn’t as grand as what it once was.
The main attractions are the SnowExperience365 exhibition room and the Snow Castle Winter Park.
The exhibition room is basically a large warehouse-like space kept cold enough for snow and ice year-round. Inside, there are some big elaborate ice structures, a fun ice slide, and an ice bar with tables and chairs made of ice. It’s neat, and it’s a fun space for kids, but it really doesn’t take too much time to walk around and explore.
Some of the ice sculptures in the Exhibition Room
The ice slide!
The actual outdoor snow castle is now the Snow Castle Winter Park, which is also included on your Sampo Icebreaker ticket. It’s a small snow fort where you can walk hallways made of snow with some intricate snow carvings in the walls. There’s another ice slide, a small chapel, an ice bar (that didn’t look like it was actually used), and also a small room with a bed that seemed to be a remnant of once was when the bigger snow hotel existed. There’s also an outdoor space with a traditional Finnish carousel for the kids.
Walking around the ice bar in the Winter Park of Kemi
The small chapel in the Winter Park
The whole Winter Park doesn’t take long to walk though, and if we hadn’t already visited the Snow Village in Kittila, we may have been more impressed. But comparatively, it wasn’t as impressive to us. (On a side note, we do highly recommend making a visit to the Snow Village in Kittila while visiting Finland in winter- it’s an incredible snow castle experience!) That said, if you don’t have plans to visit another snow or ice castle, it may be worth it to visit these spaces just to have the unique experience of walking through structures made completely of snow and ice.
The Experience365 area’s main building also has a small café and a gift shop area to spend some time in while you wait for the icebreaker tour. We didn’t need the full hour we had to explore everything, so we waited outside for a bit for the bus to come pick us up and bring us to the port.
The Sampo icebreaker cruise
Now for the main event! Right at 1pm, the bus came and picked us all up from the Experience365 building and brought us to the pier about ten minutes away. We all got off the bus and were shuttled right onto the Sampo Icebreaker. As we boarded, we were directed where to go based on the color of our wristband.
Boarding the Sampo icebreaker cruise!
Our group had some downtime before our first scheduled activity, so we got to hang out a bit at the back of the boat and watch as it pulled backwards out of the dock right on schedule at 1:30 pm. As it started moving forward through the main channel of pre-broken ice, we moved to the front of the boat to watch the views ahead as we ventured further out into the Gulf of Bothnia.
The view off the back off the icebreaker boat as the ship cruised out of the Kemi harbor
Taking in the views from the front of the icebreaker cruise
Not too long after we started, we passed the Arktis ship, which had left port just about 15 minutes before us. It was pulled off to the side of the channel where it had broken through some ice and seemed to stay there for its entire duration before heading back to port (so we were glad to have chosen the Sampo for the longer experience out in the Gulf!).
The Arktis icebreaker cruise
The first activity for our group was a tour of the Sampo ship at 1:50 pm. Our small group met with one of the crew members inside one of the ship’s lounges. Here, our guide went over some of the interesting history of the Sampo Icebreaker, its features that allow it to break through the thick ice, and the different areas of the ship we’d be seeing on the tour.
She then guided us through the ship, where we got to visit the Captain’s bridge, the engine room, and the control room and ask the crew any questions. Everyone was super friendly and seemed really happy to be hosting us and answering our questions. The tour was about a half hour, so it was just the right amount of time and information to stay interesting.
Touring the Captain’s Bridge!
Checking out the control room of the Sampo Icebreaker
The tour ended in the changing rooms where she went over the procedures for the ice floating later that day. We then emerged out to the back deck of the boat, and just in time! The Sampo was now actually starting to break through the fresh unbroken ice in the Gulf of Bothnia.
At this point, we had a little bit of downtime before we were scheduled to have lunch. So we were able to walk around the docks on the different levels of the ship and just watch the icebreaker do its thing!
The boat had turned around in the channel and began retracing its route, but it was now making turns in and out of the fresh unbroken ice at various points along the channel, so there were plenty of opportunities to watch the ice breaking beneath the ship, which I have to admit, was so much cooler than I was expecting!
It was really neat to hear the cracking of ice beneath the ship and then watch the ice crack and break, which often created and left behind some massive ice chunks in the sea. Some of them were so big, even the crew was out taking pictures!
Watching the ice break beneath the icebreaker boat!
Looking back at the path our icebreaker cruise had made through the frozen Gulf of Bothnia
The icebreaker cruise leaves behind some massive chunks of ice!
It was so cool watching and hearing the massive ice blocks breaking beneath the icebreaker ship
It was also just overall a surreal feeling to look up every now and again just to appreciate where we were and what we were doing. Often, we’d look out to a vast sea of white in the middle of seemingly nowhere, and I’d think, “we’re literally on a ship, smashing through ice in the middle of nowhere on a frozen sea in the Arctic somewhere”. Mind. blown.
Just a sea of frozen ice- so cool!
Another sidenote- before the tour, I was kind of worried that the boat would feel crowded. There were lots of people at the Snow Castle area, and it felt crowded and touristy. But surprisingly, the ship felt pretty empty! It’s a big boat, and there were about 50 of us on it (not including the crew). It might be that we had a small group because it was close to the end of season, or perhaps this is what they normally keep their passenger count to. But the ship is big and the smaller groups sizes were really nice. We often were out on the decks by ourselves, adding to the surrealness of the experience. I’m not sure where everyone was! Maybe enjoying the warmth by the onboard bar, eating at the restaurant, and being caught up on the tour of the ship. But I knew that I wanted to spend as much time as I could outside on the deck watching the main event- no matter how cold it was!
Admiring the views of the frozen Gulf of Bothnia from the quiet decks of the icebreaker ship
At 2:40 pm, it was our time for lunch. There is an onboard restaurant area that serves a huge buffet lunch, and it was so good. There was a lot to choose from and it was all delicious. I was scarfing down food in between running in and out from the deck because I didn’t want to miss the icebreaking!
Getting ready for a delicious lunch!
Cool views from the porthole of the icebreaker ship!
Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed back out to the front of the boat and just took some time to enjoy the views and the experience.
Ice floating experience
At about 3:45 pm, the Sampo Icebreaker made its final trek through unbroken ice and came to a halt, which could only mean one thing- it was time for some ice floating!
The ice floating happens just behind the ship in the broken ice water left behind in its wake, and it’s all a very efficient process. Small groups would go one at a time based on the color of the wristbands, and an announcement would be made each time it was new group’s turn to start getting ready.
Looking down at the first group of ice floaters from the back of the ship!
Our group was one of the last to float, so we had some time to first get off the ship and walk around the frozen sea. It was super cool to be able to walk right on the sea, get a close look at the massive ship locked into place by the ice, and pose for pictures at the front of the boat. Honestly, it was just so neat to have the experience of walking around a frozen sea in the middle of nowhere!
We also watched as groups of people donned their survival suits and took the plunge into the icy water, and soon enough, it was our turn!
Walking around the frozen sea next to the icebreaker cruise!
Getting to see the massive icebreaker ship parked in the ice was such a neat experience
Pulling the ship through the ice!
Watching people float in the ice behind the icebreaker boat
After about 20 minutes or so of walking around the ice, we headed back on the ship and before we knew it, our group was being called. We headed down to the changing rooms and were instructed to take our shoes off, and then they recommend stripping down to just one layer of clothes so that it’s easier to fit more comfortably inside the survival suit. They also recommend taking glasses off, too, just so the suit more comfortably fits around your head. I forgot that part until it was too late, and my glasses did get pressed a bit tightly to my head, but it wasn’t a big deal. There are small lockers in the changing rooms to store your stuff under lock and key if needed.
Once you’re ready, the crew will then help you into the survival suit. They make it so easy- you just step into it and they slip it right onto you and secure everything up in about ten seconds. Easy peasy!
The survival suits are pretty heavy duty and do feel a bit cumbersome. The hands are like crab claws and you can’t really grab anything with them, and we did definitely feel goofy in them, but it’s all part of the experience! And you’ll for sure be glad to have them on once you’re in that frigid ice water!
All suited up and ready for ice floating!
We didn’t have a photographer on board the Sampo, which was kind of a bummer because it’s pretty impossible to take pictures on your own once you’re in the survival suit. With the crab claws, it’s hard to securely hold a phone or camera and be able to take pictures, so your best bet is to have a Go Pro or other action camera attached to a selfie stick that you can hang onto while you’re in the water. We saw quite few people doing that, but we didn’t bring ours.
So instead, we found someone who was hanging out on the boat and kindly asked them to be our impromptu photographer while we were in the water. And we found the absolute nicest person who agreed to do this for us! She was actually a local from Kemi who was taking some visiting friends on the ship, and she did an amazing job taking so many great pictures of us- we couldn’t thank her enough (so if you’re out there reading this- thank you again!).
So, now fully donned in our survival suits, we walked back off the ship and made our way over to the edge of the ice. The crew there will help you get in and out of the water. They’ll have you sit on the edge and then they slowly just push you in until you’re fully floating on your back in the water. They’ll instruct you to stay on your back and to not try to right yourself vertically or stick your head up too much.
Kevin getting gently pushed into the Gulf of Bothnia!
And it’s actually a pretty relaxing experience! We’ve heard the ice floating experience described as “thrilling” many times, but for us, it was kind of the opposite! The suit allows you to float very easily and it really protects you from the frigid temperature of the water- I only felt just a gentle coolness on my back. It almost felt like we were floating on a cool, relaxing waterbed.
Ice floating in the Gulf of Bothnia!
Playing with the large chunks of ice
Because they allow the ice floating in such a small area right by the ship, it might get a bit crowded in the water, and it might feel like you’re playing bumper boats with the people around you. But luckily, a big group of people got out of the water shortly after we got in, so we were able to have our own space, spread out, and move around more easily. We had fun playing with some big chunks of ice and just soaked up the experience.
We probably spent about ten minutes floating. Once we were ready, the crew helped us out. They instruct you to kind of lie on your side in the water while bringing up an arm and a leg, and then they sort of hoist you up onto the ice like a beached whale- but it works!
Since we were one of the last in the water, by the time we got out and finished changing out of the suits (again, super easy with the crew there), grabbed our things, and went back up to the dock, the boat was already heading out (around 4:50 pm).
All smiles!
Posing in front of the icebreaker ship
Back to Kemi
After our ice floating experience, we watched as the icebreaker ship backed up and headed back to the main channel. We had a relaxing drink in the restaurant and used the rest of the time to sit outside on the deck and soak up our last few minutes on the ship as the sun started to set.
Heading back to Kemi at the end of the day
We pulled back into the Kemi port right on schedule at 5:30 pm.
Once we docked, we were loaded back onto the buses, which headed back to all the drop off points around Kemi. Once back at our car, we started the easy drive back to Rovaniemi, getting there just before 8 pm. It was a long and full day!
Is an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland Worth It?
If you couldn’t tell already, our answer to this question is a resounding “yes”!
Honestly, I loved this experience way more than I thought I would. I knew it would be cool and something unique, but I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the money or if it would just be okay, but it ended up being so much better than I was expecting.
It was such a unique experience, everything was super well-organized, the crew was incredibly nice, and it wasn’t a crowded or touristy experience at all. We often found ourselves alone on the deck admiring the views and listening to the sound of the ice breaking.
It ended up being our favorite experience in Lapland, Finland.
Watching the ice break beneath the ship was a mesmerizing and unqie experience
Where to Stay for an Icebreaker Cruise in Finland
Because the icebreaker cruises happen on the Gulf of Bothnia, we recommend you stay anywhere in the southwestern corner of Lapland, Finland the night before and after your icebreaker cruise.
The easiest place to stay for the Sampo and Arktis cruises is right in Kemi. You could spend a night or two here before and/or after the cruise for convenience (we wouldn’t recommend spending any longer here, though, as there is more to do elsewhere in Lapland).
The Experience365 area itself has the option to stay in Seaside Glass Villas right on the Gulf of Bothnia, which would be great for northern lights viewing in the right conditions. There are also other hotel options around the city as well.
Rovaniemi is another good place to base yourself in for winter adventures in Finland. It’s a pretty central location to a lot of the best things to do in Finland in the winter, and it’s only about an hour and a half drive from Kemi, and two hours from the Polar Explorer port in Sweden. If you have your own car, it’s an easy drive, but you also have the option to pay extra for the shuttle pick-ups.
Be sure to check out our Finland guide for more thoughts about where to stay in Finland!
More Finland Guides
Heading to Finland in the winter and looking for more things to do after your icebreaker cruise? Be sure to check out our other Finland guides to help you plan your perfect trip!
Are you interested in an icebreaker cruise in Finland? We hope this guide gave you a better idea of what you can expect! Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments below, and happy travels!