Alternative winter experiences, from ice-climbing in Italy to camping in Finland

There are plenty of unique and memorable ways to make the most of the European winter, whether you want to take a snowy train ride across the Alps, cosy up in a wood cabin in the Scottish Highlands or watch the Northern Lights dance across the skies from a frozen lake.

1. Snowshoe in Romania

There’s no better time to sink your teeth into Transylvania than winter. One of Europe’s wildest corners becomes a smidgen wilder in the colder months: meadows are buried under drifts, bears snooze in woodland burrows, church towers and castle battlements are strung with icicles. Exodus offers a winter hiking tour of the Romanian region, using either boots or snowshoes, depending on the depth of snow. Participants poke their noses into bat caves, look for wolf prints on mountain plateaus and stop in traditional villages and farms to taste plum brandy. The tour ends with a visit to Bran Castle, traditionally, if not accurately, known as the home of Dracula. Eight days from £1,299 per person. 

2. Spot wildlife in Scotland

Mull is among the most stately of the Hebridean islands, with a convoluted coastline carved up by inlets and an interior crowned by brooding Ben More. Up close, it’s equally captivating, particularly if you happen to be snooping on its animal residents through binoculars. Join a week-long winter wildlife safari with Naturetrek to see Mull during this most majestic season, when snow dusts the hills and the vegetation has thinned out, making it easier to spot herds of red deer. Birds of prey are busy at this time — look out for both golden eagles and white-tailed eagles riding the thermals, as well as otters swimming in the sea lochs below. Seven days from £1,795 per person. 

3. Take a train through the Alps

While the British railway network grinds to a halt with the slightest dusting of snow, Swiss trains soldier on undaunted through snowdrifts, raging blizzards and conditions that would make polar explorers wince. Perhaps the boldest trains running through the Alps are those of the Bernina Express— reaching an ear-popping elevation of 2,253 metres as they enter a realm of glaciers while traversing a mountain pass dividing Switzerland and Italy. The sublime four-hour journey leaves skiers behind in St Moritz, as each train screeches skyward to the railway’s highest point at frozen Lago Bianco, before looping its way downhill to Tirano. Look out for the snow plough train that clears the line — it’s affectionately known as ‘the monster’. One way from CHF 61 (£63) per person. 

4. Ride a bobsled in Latvia

The closest many folks get to bobsleighing is watching a certain ’90s film with a reggae soundtrack. The Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track, about 50 minutes by rail from the handsome Latvian capital of Riga, however, is doing its bit to change all that. The course is 1,500 metres long, contains 16 curves and was built in 1986, mainly for use by Soviet athletes during the twilight years of the USSR. Since then, history has taken its own twists and turns, and the track now serves as a training ground for the Latvian Winter Olympic team. An exception is made for paying visitors, however. During each session, an expert bobsleigh pilot takes the controls while ordinary mortals cower in the back, clinging on for dear life as speeds of up to 80mph are reached. From £40. 

5. Ice fish in Estonia 

No winter activity is as meditative as ice fishing. Swaddled in winter clothing, participants plod onto frozen lakes, drill saucer-sized holes in the surface and spend still, silent hours with their eyes trained on the void below, minds wandering as they await a snag on the line. It’s especially popular in Estonia, where Sauga Fishing Village offers classes for beginners close to the town of Pärnu in the south. Expert fishermen guide you on a woodland walk, heaving along a sledful of supplies to a remote lake. Tea and soup are on hand while you await your catch; should your body need a thorough defrosting afterwards, there’s the chance to conclude your day in a sauna set inside an old fishing boat. Four hours of fishing instruction for two people from €425 (£372). 

6. Skate in Sweden

Come winter, ice rinks establish themselves in market squares across Europe, with stollen and mulled wine in abundance. None, though, can compare to the experience of skating on the natural ice in Sweden — should the temperature sink low enough, thousands of miles of possible routes unfurl for anyone with a pair of skates and a spot of gumption. Guided tours with Nature Travels see skaters slice their way across backcountry lakes, gliding amid boreal forests, listening to the creak and rumble of shifting ice and peering into the crystalline depths beneath the metal blades. If conditions allow, itineraries also allow participants to skate on the salty ice of the Stockholm archipelago, where a frozen sea is studded with thousands of islets and skerries. Four days from £748 per person. 

7. Whale-watch in Norway

Winter sees vast shoals of herring migrate to the Lofoten archipelago, where they seek sanctuary in fjords warmed by the Gulf Stream. Hot on their fishtails come pods of orcas that congregate here to gobble up mouthfuls of said herring, their sleek black forms rupturing the surface of the Norwegian Sea. Third in line are the tourists who come to see these whales on seasonal safaris — Lofoten Opplevelser offers daily departures in rigid inflatable boats, watching dorsal fins circling and clouds of spray erupting from blowholes. Almost as distracting is the backdrop to all this fishy drama: snow-capped mountains rising sheer from the sea, and villages of blood-red cabins strung along the shore. Four-hour safari from NOK 1,800 (£133) per person. 

8. Ice climb in Italy

Most of the year, the waterfalls of the Italian Dolomites form the backdrop to holiday photographs, but in winter they offer themselves as ice climbing routes for enthusiasts armed with axes and crampons who scale nooks of the mountain range normally out of bounds. Local operator Mapo Tapo has a three-day guided introduction to ice climbing in the region, during which you learn belaying techniques and how to use ice screws and, hopefully, take the occasional moment to glance away from the ice at your fingertips to admire the limestone mountains beyond. Two nights from £290 per person. 

9. Hike In Slovakia

Most people craving snowy landscapes instinctively head for Scandinavia or the Alps. Far fewer venture into the Tatras, the mountain range that arches along the Slovakia-Poland border. Much Better Adventures offers a four-day hiking trip on the Slovakian side of the range — groups spend days treading through forests shaggy with fresh snowfall, climbing to highland lakes ringed by frosty peaks. After sundown, you get to experience Slovakian apres — expect goulash instead of fondue — with thermal springs on hand to revive trail-weary limbs. Three nights from £512. 

10. Cross-country ski in Finland

Cross-country skiing is deeply ingrained in Finnish culture — it was the nimbleness and manoeuvrability of skis that saw the Finnish army outsmart Russian invaders during the Second World War. To this day, skis are deployed on missions as diverse as marathons, school runs and brief hops to the shops. To learn how to use them yourself, take a day-long cross-country ski trip out of Saariselkä, a resort set among the fells and forests of Finnish Lapland. Participants traverse an upland area crisscrossed with over 100 miles of trails, forging a deeper connection with the Arctic landscape as they swoosh along snowbound tracks. €82 (£72).

11. Fat bike in France

With the arrival of snow, the French Alps welcome hordes of skiers, crowds of snowboarders, a smattering of snowshoers and a sprinkling of ice climbers. Perhaps the rarest of these tribes are the fat bikers — the ‘fat’ in this case applies to the supersized, knobbly tyres adapted to get maximum purchase on snow and ice. Ride the Alps offers winter fat biking trips out of Samoens — a commune on the Swiss border, set in the shadows of the Chablais Alps. Here, fat bikers get to experience a different kind of Alpine descent — ski lifts are off limits, so riders hop in a support van to gain some elevation before carving their way through snowy forests and descending pistes once skiers have adjourned for their apres. Two days from £349 per person. 

12. Horse-ride in Iceland

Descended from steeds brought over on Viking longships, Icelandic horses are small but sturdy creatures. With their thick coats they’re accustomed to working year-round so it’s possible to take a horse-riding trip even in the thick of winter. Íslandshestar offers itineraries in southern Iceland. Short days might involve riders trotting beside the glacial Thjorsa River and passing under the brooding Hekla volcano, as well as learning about the horse’s unique gait, the tölt (somewhere between a canter and a gallop). There are also interludes where guests get to dismount and explore the sights of the Golden Circle via bus. Four days from €1,299 (£1,136) per person.