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Best ice fishing in Inari, by the day you want

Two small figures in winter clothes standing far out on a wide, white frozen lake under a pale sky

Illustration photo: two anglers on a frozen lake, not Lake Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a first try without a car, book Galddoaivi Safaris' two-hour trip on its own site, where pickup from your hotel in the village and clothing are included. For a proper morning out, take a four-hour trip with lunch: Visit Inari's lets adults drive a snowmobile out, the hotel's goes by sleigh. If the local way of fishing is the point, the hotel's morning checking nets with a fisherman ends with the catch cooked over a fire. A keen angler should book the fishing guide's full day.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

Wilderness Hotel: 2 hoursVisit Inari: 4 hoursWilderness Hotel: lake to plateGalddoaivi Safaris: full day
Price per adult €122 – the lowest adult price €175 by sleigh, €205 driving €280 €295
Length 2 h 4 h 4.5 h Full day; hours not stated
Food Warm drinks Soup lunch by a fire The catch, cooked over a fire Food and drinks for the day
Out to the ice Snowmobile sleigh Sleigh, or drive a snowmobile Snowmobile sleigh Not stated
Runs on Not stated Tue, Thu, Sat Not stated By request

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest adult price. Prices are per adult as each seller prints them on its own site. Only price is marked: a longer day on the ice is not a better one for everybody.

Where these figures come from
  • Wilderness Hotel: 2 hours: A short snowmobile sleigh ride to the fishing spot, a lesson in drilling and jigging, and warm drinks while you wait for a bite.
  • Visit Inari: 4 hours: Across Lake Inari to the guide's chosen spots, with a soup lunch by the fire. Ride in the sleigh or drive a snowmobile yourself.
  • Wilderness Hotel: lake to plate: A morning with a local fisherman checking nets under the ice, ending with a meal of the fresh catch cooked over an open fire.
  • Galddoaivi Safaris: full day: A day with a full-time fishing guide and his own gear, with sonar, a tent in the cold, food by a fire and hotel pickup in the village.

Most of the ice fishing that starts in Inari is sold on the operators’ own sites, and it comes in four lengths of day.

A first try

Two hours is enough to drill a hole and learn to jig. Wilderness Hotel Inari’s short trip goes out by snowmobile sleigh.1 Galddoaivi Safaris’ trip on Lake Inari, set against the lodge on Route 92 on ice fishing in Inari, includes pickup from your hotel in the village and clothing if you need it when booked on its own site.2

A morning with lunch

Visit Inari’s four-hour trip crosses Lake Inari to the spots the guide chooses and stops for soup by a fire; adults can ride in the sleigh or drive a snowmobile out.3 The hotel’s four-hour trip goes by sleigh, breaks for lunch and cooks the catch over a fire when the fish oblige.

The local way, or a long day

The hotel’s morning with a local fisherman is the one trip here that shows how people in Inari fish for food: you help check the nets under the ice, and the day ends with a meal of the fresh catch by an open fire. A keen angler is better served by Galddoaivi’s full day with its founder, a full-time fishing guide who makes some of his own gear, with food for the day and a tent when it is cold.

What each trip costs a family, and what the terms keep when plans change, is on ice fishing prices in Inari.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What will we catch?

Nobody promises a catch. Galddoaivi Safaris says whitefish has no length limit and tastes good, but most other species do have limits, and it fishes selectively, so be ready to put some fish back. On the deeper water its guide uses a sonar to find them. The hotel's trip that checks nets depends on what the nets hold that morning.

Is a fishing permit included?

Visit Inari says the price of every trip includes the permits it needs, along with guiding, winter clothing, insurance and fuel. Wilderness Hotel Inari and Galddoaivi Safaris do not mention permits on their pages. On a guided trip the guide brings the gear and chooses the water, but ask either company if you want to be sure.

When does the season run?

Visit Inari sells its four-hour trip from 1 December to 7 April, and says winter activities start as soon as it is cold enough and there is enough snow, so check availability close to your dates. The hotel and the fishing guide print no season on their ice fishing pages, so ask them which dates they take bookings for before you plan around a trip.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

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