We are considering a trip to Lapland in mid-April to match friends' travel availability, taking overnight train from Stockholm to Lulea and then returning by air. Would appreciate advice on whether this timing is a bad idea (e.g., would this be mud season with no snow, no greenery) and on an itinerary for ~3 days/nights in Sweden's north.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6969 posts
Luleå is in Norrbotten, not in Lappland. So where are you actually going and what is the reason for going there?
It's not a bad idea in general, but it depends a bit on the expectations of the trip. Weather is hard to predict, but last winter there was still a lot of snow in northern Sweden in April. On the 30th, most of the northernmost third of the country was covered in snow, with Kittelfjäll reporting a snow depth of 126 cm. There is no snow measuring station in Luleå, but Piteå is not far away and reported 45 cm on the 30th.
So if you just want some snow, you have a pretty good chance I'd say. And in April the sun is back so it won't be as dark.
Posted by
Australia
1072 posts
We were in Lulea in late March. There was still plenty of snow around and it snowed at night. But the days were brilliantly sunny.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
2 posts
Thanks for these comments - very helpful! Clearly I need to start doing more detailed research if we're going to put this plan into action, but first step is to understand what kind of weather/snow conditions might be (knowing how unpredictable things are these days).