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The best northern lights tour in Ylläs for how you want to spend the night

Green aurora curving over the black outline of a pointed mountain peak under stars

Illustration photo: the aurora over a mountain, not in Ylläs.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If you want to cover the most sky, book the search by car: it is the one evening that can drive far from the villages, and it lends the clothing. For a quiet evening outdoors at the lowest price, take the snowshoe walk to the campfire. With children of eight or more who would rather ride than walk, the sled evening is the gentlest. If you want to drive, the snowmobile evening is the one.

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.

Search by carSnowshoe walkSled eveningSnowmobile evening
How you travel By car, up to 200 km On snowshoes In a sled behind a snowmobile Driving a snowmobile
Adult price €145 €85 – lowest adult price €109 From €170
Length 4 h 2.5 h 2.5 h 2.5 to 3 h
Youngest Child fare from 4 Child fare from 7 8 4, in the guide's sled

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: lowest adult price. The snowmobile evening costs more from 13 December to 3 January and from 31 January to 28 February. None of these evenings can promise the aurora.

Where these figures come from
  • Search by car: About four hours by car, driving as far as 200 km, with clothing lent and a hot drink.
  • Snowshoe walk: Two and a half hours on snowshoes to a hut with a campfire, from Äkäslompolo.
  • Sled evening: A sled towed by a snowmobile to pancakes by the fire in a kota, from the age of eight.
  • Snowmobile evening: Two and a half to three hours driving 10 to 20 km to viewpoints, with a fire or a kota.

The aurora evenings sold in Ylläs differ most in how they carry you through the dark.

By car

North Wind Lapland’s search lasts about four hours, may drive up to two hundred kilometres and takes at most eight guests.1

On foot

Snow Fun Safaris walks guests on snowshoes to a Laplander’s hut with a campfire, three evenings a week from Äkäslompolo.2

In a sled

North Wind Lapland’s sled evening tows guests behind a snowmobile to a kota for pancakes by the fire.3

On your own snowmobile

Ylläs Experiences drives to forest viewpoints and lights a fire or opens a kota, depending on the spot.4

The other evenings, from the fireside night to the snowcat dinner, are compared on the northern lights in Ylläs.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What happens if it is cloudy?

The evening goes ahead. The snowshoe operator says a trip without the aurora is still worthwhile for the arctic nature at night, and the snowmobile operator says that on cloudy nights it focuses on the sleeping forest and the silence. No listing offers a refund or a second night for cloud.

Do we need a driving licence?

Only for the snowmobile evening, and only for whoever drives: every driver must bring a valid licence. The search by car, the snowshoe walk and the sled evening need none, because a guide does the driving or you walk. Children on the snowmobile evening ride in the guide's sled, not on a machine.

Can we be collected from Äkäslompolo?

The snowshoe walk starts from Äkäslompolo and collects guests free in that village. The search by car and the sled evening collect only from three points in Ylläsjärvi, so from Äkäslompolo you need your own way there; the operator puts a taxi between the villages at about 59 euros for up to four.

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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