Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by Deanne
Ice bars. Have you seen them on your travels? Maybe you actually have an ice bar in your hometown. These permanent, indoor bars made primarily out of ice have popped up in recent years as a place to have a cocktail and chill – literally!
Some people think it’s a fun experience while others scoff at the idea of visiting such a “tourist trap.”
Scenic and Savvy is here to weigh in on the topic and help you decide whether to include this excursion in your trip itinerary or skip it altogether. Read on to see whether we recommend you… Trip It or Skip It.
Ice Bars around the world
The first ice bar opened in Stockholm, Sweden in 2002.
Drawing 70,000 visitors in its first year, it was clearly a hit and thus began a trend. Ice bars began popping up all over the world. Now, you can find them anywhere from Canada to Queenstown, Prague to Paris and Orlando to Oslo.
It was here in Oslo, Norway, where we ventured into an ice bar and experienced a taste of what all the hype is about.
The Ice Bar experience
First, let me set the scene. We were at the end of a 6-day Norwegian vacation. We had hiked around the coastal city of Bergen, sailed along the famous fjords to the tiny village of Flåm, and explored various Oslo museums. Having a free afternoon on our last day in Oslo it started to rain. While walking around downtown we came upon the ice bar, Magic Ice. It wasn’t on our itinerary – and frankly we were probably more in the camp of thinking ice bars were tourist traps – but we had some free time so we thought, “Why not?”
We knew going into it that it was going to be a bit pricey and that we were paying for the novelty experience. There are different packages to choose from, but basically you pay roughly $25-30, which includes the entrance fee, use of a winter poncho, gloves, and one or two cocktails depending on which package you choose. As in most ice bars, there is a time limit you can be in there. For us it was 30 minutes.
After donning the poncho and gloves we headed into a fairly small room made entirely of ice – the bar, walls, tables, seats, glasses – everything but the floor and roof. The seats had sheepskin on them so you could sit comfortably without freezing your butt off – again, quite literally.
Impressive, professionally designed ice sculptures were scattered around the room.
Most of the cocktails on the menu were made with vodka, although they did offer non-alcoholic drinks, too. We were the only people in the ice bar for at least the first 15 minutes, but a couple people came in towards the end of our allotted time.
I’ll admit there’s not much to do in the ice bar other than sip your drink, view the ice sculptures and take pictures, but I must say we had fun. It was a unique and quirky experience that made for an interesting afternoon.
Our verdict on visiting an Ice Bar
Is an ice bar a tourist trap? Maybe… but fun nonetheless as long as you go into it knowing what to expect. You’ll definitely come away with unique memories and some interesting pictures!
I wouldn’t suggest going out of your way to visit an ice bar, but if you’ve never been to one and have time in your schedule it’s worth experiencing at least once.
Scenic and Savvy says: Trip it!
(And then after you do, come back and tell us what you thought of the experience.)
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