When winter comes, vacationers have the choice of escaping from the cold, or making sport of it.

If you’re the sort of traveler who awaits winter’s cold front each year so that you can excavate your skis or ice fishing pole from the closet and put them to use, here’s an adventure you won’t want to miss:

An overnight at an ice hotel.

Yes, that is a hotel that is constructed entirely of ice.

There are relatively few of them in the wide world and, as you might intuit, they’re seasonal. Winter-specific, in fact.

Think cold. Very cold. And, you’ll come up with their locations. Two in Canada -- one in Montreal, the other in Quebec -- and the third in northern Sweden, in the remote and pristine countryside north of the Arctic Circle, near the city of Kiruna.

All three ice hotels give guests a unique experience, and a great ‘you’ll never guess what I did on my vacation’ story to share with family and friends.

Of the three, the Swedish ice hotel -- called Ice Hotel -- is best because it’s surrounded by nature. Northern Sweden is a winter wonderland of snow that‘s deep and stable, and stays white. And, you have the pleasure of snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, dog and reindeer sledding. And, at night, you can moon over the spectacularly mysterious northern lights.

The IceHotel adventure can actually begin at the airport, if you arrange to be transported to the hotel by dog sled. It‘s a thrilling cross country trip through pristine snow clad pine forests to the village of Jukas. You sit in the sleigh, bundled up in arctic gear, wrapped in blankets and covered by reindeer hides. It‘s a long ride, so they give you a rest stop midway at a country cabin where you’re treated to a meal of moose or reindeer stew and a cup of delicious hot lingonberry juice.

The IceHotel is actually in Jukkasjarvi, a remote village in Swedish Lapland. When you see the stucture, you’ll be surprised by it size. It’s huge.

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