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Best ice fishing trip in Ruka: matching the trip to the day

A man in a winter jacket sitting on a box by a hole in the ice, a yellow tent behind him

Illustration photo: ice fishing on a frozen lake, not at Ruka.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

To eat what you catch, book the trip to the cottage on the Kitka River, where the guide cooks the fish. For the shortest outing with the least travel, the lake a short walk from the resort's gear house. To make a walk of it, the trip that reaches the ice on snowshoes and collects you from the hotels. For a fire on the shore, the three-hour trip from the safari house.

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.

Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka RiverRukapalvelu: nearby lakeRuka Adventures: by snowshoesRuka Safaris: with a fire
Length 3–4 h 2 h 2–2.5 h 3 h
Reaching the ice Not stated A short walk Car, then snowshoes A short walk or snowshoes
The catch Cooked for you Not stated Not stated May be cooked on the fire
Adult €95 €98 €85 €98
Youngest No age limit 4 3 5

Nothing is ranked: the prices sit within €13 of each other, and the trips differ in how the morning is spent. Prices are compared on the price page.

Where these figures come from
  • Northern Lights Expedition: Kitka River: Three to four hours at a summer cottage on the frozen Kitka River, where the guide cooks what you catch.
  • Rukapalvelu: nearby lake: Two hours on a lake a short walk from the company's gear house, winter clothing included.
  • Ruka Adventures: by snowshoes: A drive towards the lake and the last stretch on snowshoes, with pick-up from the Ruka hotels.
  • Ruka Safaris: with a fire: Three hours on a lake with a fire on the shore, coffee, tea and a snack.

The ice fishing trips around Ruka cost much the same, so the choice is about the rest of the morning.

Eating the catch

Northern Lights Expedition takes small groups to its summer cottage on the frozen Kitka River, and the guide cooks the fish you catch. A warm cottage and toilets are always close by.1

Staying close

Rukapalvelu’s trip fishes a lake a short walk from its gear house in the resort, about an hour and a half on the ice, with winter clothing and hot juice included.1

Making a walk of it

Ruka Adventures collects you from the Ruka hotels, drives towards the lake and covers the last stretch on snowshoes, with the clothing and snowshoes lent.2 The ski resort’s own snowshoe walk to the ice is the same idea from its centre in Ruka Valley.

A fire on the shore

Ruka Safaris’ three-hour trip reaches the lake on foot or on snowshoes, lights a fire and serves coffee, tea and a snack; the catch may be cooked over it.3

What each trip costs a family is on ice fishing prices in Ruka, and the ages on ice fishing with children in Ruka.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Which days do the trips run?

Ruka Adventures prints fixed mornings, Wednesday and Saturday at half past ten. Ruka Safaris runs open departures that go once four people book, and Rukapalvelu needs four adults for its trip. On a short stay, book the fixed departure first and treat the others as a second chance, because an open departure that does not fill is cancelled.

Do we need our own winter clothing?

Not on three of the trips: Ruka Adventures lends clothing and snowshoes, Ruka Safaris includes gear and a winter outfit, and Rukapalvelu includes winter clothing. The Kitka River trip asks you to bring warm clothing of your own. Sitting on the ice is colder than walking, so wear more layers than you would for a hike.

Can someone come who does not want to fish?

Yes, and on two of the trips there is somewhere to be. The Kitka River trip keeps a warm cottage and toilets close to the fishing spot, and Ruka Safaris' trip has a fire on the shore with coffee, tea and a snack. On the snowshoe trip everyone walks out to the ice, so a non-fisher should be happy to walk.

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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