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Best reindeer tour in Ivalo: one pick for each kind of visitor

Two reindeer grazing on a snowy shore by calm water, with steep snow-covered mountains behind under a clear sky

Illustration photo: reindeer grazing by a northern shore, not near Ivalo.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

To see how herding actually works, book the morning with the herder's family, who take you to feed their free-ranging herd and collect you in Ivalo. With small children, book the farm near the village, whose tame reindeer eat from your hand in an enclosure and whose visits start at half an hour. For an evening, choose between the family's fire and the farm's enclosure under the sky.

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.

Herders' morningFarm near the villageHerders' eveningSnowmobile safari
The reindeer A free-ranging herd A farm's herd in an enclosure The family's reindeer, by a fire Two on an island
Length 4 h 30 min or 2 h 2 h 3.5 h
Time of day From 8 am Daytime Evening Daytime
Getting there Pickup in Ivalo included 6 km from the centre; transport not stated Pickup on request Pickup in Ivalo

Nothing is ranked: a working herd and a tame enclosure are different outings, not better and worse versions of one.

Where these figures come from
  • Herders' morning: Four hours from eight in the morning with a herder's family, feeding a large herd that lives freely in the forest, for up to eight guests.
  • Farm near the village: A farm six kilometres from Ivalo whose reindeer roam a large enclosure, with a fire in a hut and a try at the lasso.
  • Herders' evening: Two hours with the same family's reindeer in the evening, with sausages and a hot drink by the fire, for up to eight.
  • Snowmobile safari: A safari you drive to Lake Inari, stopping on the company's island to feed its two reindeer before lunch.

At Ivalo you can meet reindeer at work, at home or on the way to lunch, and the choice decides the day more than the price does.

To see the work

The herder’s family takes up to eight guests out from eight in the morning to feed a large herd that lives freely in the forest, and collects them from Ivalo as part of the price.1 It is the outing for anyone who wants to understand herding rather than photograph a tame animal.

With small children

The farm six kilometres from the village keeps its reindeer in a large enclosure where the tamest eat from your hand, and sells a half-hour visit as well as two hours with a fire and a try at the lasso.2 Short and close is what small children need, and a half-hour visit ends before anyone gets cold.

In the evening

Both the herder’s family and the farm sell evenings with the reindeer under the sky, one around the family’s fire and the other in the farm’s enclosure. The snowmobile safari to Lake Inari feeds reindeer too, but they are two animals on an island, a stop on a day about the driving. Ages and child fares are on family reindeer outings in Ivalo.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can we book the herders' morning on their own website?

When we tried, their own site returned an error, so the listings on the booking platform are the practical way in. The platform shows a start at eight in the morning, a group of at most eight and pickup from Ivalo in the price. If you stay in Saariselkä or Inari, the pickup is extra in each direction.

Is the farm near the village open all winter?

Its page still shows last winter's season, from the start of December to the middle of April for the daytime visits and to the middle of March for the evening one, with no dates yet for the coming winter. Expect something similar, but check before you plan a visit at either end of the season.

Is there anything we should not wear to the farm?

Perfume. The farm near the village asks visitors not to wear strong scents, because a reindeer's sense of smell is very sensitive and the animals may not come close to someone who smells strongly. It also says it lets the reindeer do everything of their own free will, so the shyer ones may stay back whatever you wear.

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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