Best northern lights tour in Ylitornio: one pick for each party
Illustration photo: an aurora near Oulu, not on the evenings described here.
The short answer
For the best chance of seeing the lights, book the car hunt that collects you in Ylitornio, because it is the one evening built around the lights and it refunds a night lost to bad weather. With children of four or more, book the evening sled ride. With teenagers of twelve or more who want to drive, book the evening snowmobile trip. For a walk out on the ice under the sky, drive to Tornio.
Ylitornio’s aurora evenings are few enough to choose by the people going rather than by a ranking.
For the best chance of seeing the lights
The car hunt from Kemi is the one to book. It is the only evening built around finding the aurora, its pick-up covers Ylitornio and Aavasaksa, and it promises your money back if bad weather stops it.1
For small children, or for teenagers
The activity centre on Kopanmäentie sells an evening sled ride for children from four and an evening snowmobile trip from twelve, both two hours in the dark.2 Pick by the youngest in your party.
For huskies under the sky
The kennel at Meltosjärvi says it offers northern lights husky rides, without publishing a price or length.3 Write to it if dogs are the point of your evening.
For a walk on the ice
Tornio, down the valley, adds a snowshoe evening. The three local evenings are set side by side on northern lights in Ylitornio, and Tornio’s on northern lights in Tornio.
Questions people ask
Can we cancel if the forecast looks poor?
The car hunt is sold on a booking platform with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so you can decide the day before with the forecast in hand. The Ylitornio activity centre's booking pages print no cancellation terms for the evening sled or snowmobile, and the Tornio company keeps the full price inside 48 hours, which means deciding two days out.
Is the Tornio walk worth the drive?
For a party that likes to be on its feet, yes. It is two hours on snowshoes over the ice to an island on the Swedish side, from eight in the evening Finnish time, at 135 euros a head for two people or more. Add the 49-minute drive each way and it becomes an evening of about four hours, which suits adults better than young children.
Do any of these lend winter clothing?
None of the three local choices says so: the car hunt, the evening sled and the evening snowmobile trip all leave clothing out of their descriptions, so dress for standing still in the cold or ask when you book. The aurora drive sold from Kemi by Sea Lapland Safaris does lend overalls, boots, wool socks and gloves, but its listing does not name Ylitornio among its pick-ups.